Page 8

Hannah

What was I doing? This was the worst idea in the history of ideas! Why the hell had I basically dared Knuckles to kiss me with feeling? There was no way I could handle a man like Knuckles in a sexual situation. Not like this. Not when he had me tied up in knots just being near him.

He threaded his fingers through my hair, cradling the back of my head in his big hand. A low growl from him made me shiver. There was no fear or dread, or anything other than an intense lust so strong I needed to scream.

His lips moved over mine in an aggressive glide, his tongue slipping into my mouth with a hunger I knew all too well.

My body responded instantly, heat pooling between my thighs as I wrapped my legs around his waist, drawing him closer. I needed his massive body nearer to me. Imprinting on me. I wanted to feel his heavy weight pinning me down when that was never a position I’d assumed willingly. I wanted it with this man. And I had no Goddamned idea why he appealed to me so fucking much!

I melted against him, my body responding without my permission. His taste was intoxicating -- whiskey and sin and something uniquely Knuckles. He was overwhelming in the best way possible.

I’d given myself to men who weren’t nearly as big and aggressive as Knuckles. Men who were rotten to their core. For me, sex had never been about pleasure. Not since that first time, and that situation had turned from pleasant to terrifying in the space of a heartbeat. But this…

I had nothing to compare with the sensations coursing through me from this kiss. I felt like I’d been waiting for this my entire life. Maybe I had. His beard scratched against my skin as he deepened the kiss and I found myself clutching at his shoulders, digging my fingers into the solid muscles there.

When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard. His eyes were dark with desire, pupils blown wide.

“That real enough for you?” His voice was rough, gravelly. I expected him to smirk at me, to know how he’d affected me and make fun of my inexperience, but that wasn’t the look he gave me. There was smoldering intensity. And I could most definitely feel his cock pressed against my pussy through our clothes.

I couldn’t speak, could barely think. All I could do was nod, my heart hammering so hard I was sure he could hear it.

“Good,” he murmured, his thumb tracing my lower lip. “Because I’m just getting started.”

He lifted me off the counter in one fluid motion, my legs automatically wrapping around his waist to lock my ankles as he carried me across the small studio to the bed in the corner.

He laid me down with surprising gentleness, his large body covering mine as he settled between my thighs. The weight of him should have been terrifying, but instead it felt like an anchor, grounding me in the moment.

“Tell me to stop and I will,” he whispered, his breath hot against my ear. “No questions asked.”

I shivered. This time there wasn’t an ounce of fear. I wanted this. Everything Knuckles was willing to give to me, I fucking wanted. “Don’t stop,” I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper.

His answering smile was predatory, sending another wave of heat through me. He lowered his head, trailing kisses along my jaw, down my neck, pausing to nip at my collarbone. I gasped, arching into him.

“I’ve wanted this since the first time I saw you at the clubhouse,” he confessed against my skin. “Knew it was wrong. Knew Gunnar would have my balls. Didn’t fuckin’ care. Still don’t.” The mattress dipped under his weight as he positioned himself above me, arms braced on either side of my head.

The intensity in his eyes made me shiver. This wasn’t just about sex for him; I could see that now. There was something possessive, something primal in the way he looked at me. Like he was claiming more than just my body. His mouth crashed down on mine again, hungrier this time, more demanding.

His beard abraded my skin as he moved from my mouth to my cheeks, then down my neck to my collarbone. Then he inhaled deeply, like he was trying to take my scent deep inside him where he’d never be rid of me. I was woman enough to admit I loved that thought.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered against my skin, his voice rough with want. “I knew you’d be responsive, but this…” His hand slid under my shirt, his calloused palm hot against my stomach.

“Take it off,” I demanded, surprising myself with my boldness. “I want to feel you against me.”

He pulled back just enough to search my face, his eyes dark with desire but also questioning. “You sure about this, Hannah? We can go as slow as you need to.”

Instead of answering, I reached for the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head in one fluid motion. His sharp intake of breath as he took in my simple black sports bra was all the encouragement I needed.

I’d had men look at me with lust before. But never like this. Knuckles was focused squarely on me, on the way my body responded to him. The man was on a fucking mission, and I was afraid it was to drive me out of my mind with wanting him. And goddamnit, it was working!

“Fuck,” he breathed, his gaze traveling over my exposed skin with such hunger it made me shiver. “You’re goddamn beautiful.” He inhaled deeply again. “Smell so fuckin’ good.” His voice was like another hand to stroke me with.

His work-roughened hands skimmed up my sides, leaving goose bumps in their wake. When he reached my bra, he shoved it up over my breasts, drawing it slowly over my head to toss it aside.

The cool air of the room pebbled my nipples, but it only added to the sexual tension gripping my body.

“Please,” I whispered, not recognizing my own voice. I’d never begged a man for anything, especially not like this. But Knuckles wasn’t just any man.

As he stared at my bare breasts, his eyes darkened. The man was practically salivating as he looked his fill. I felt exposed, vulnerable, but the admiration in his gaze made me feel beautiful rather than afraid. It had been a really long time since anyone had looked at me the way Knuckles did, and it was intoxicating.

“Fuckin’ perfect,” he growled, lowering his head to press his lips against the swell of my breast. I gasped, arching into his touch. “Absolutely fuckin’ perfect.”

Knuckles’s mouth closed over my nipple, and I nearly came off the bed. His tongue swirled around the sensitive peak while his hand cupped my other breast, thumb brushing back and forth. My hands fisted in his hair, holding him to me as waves of pleasure radiated through my body.

I’d never felt anything like this… this raw need coursing through me. My body was on fire, every nerve ending alive and screaming for his touch. Even through my yoga pants, I could feel the heat of his erection pressing against my pussy, and I instinctively rocked my hips against him, seeking friction.

He groaned against my breast, the vibration sending another jolt of pleasure through me. “Keep that up, and this is gonna be over before it starts,” he warned, his voice rough.

“I need…” I trailed off, not even sure what I was asking for.

“I know what you fuckin’ need, woman.” His growl should have scared me. Or at least triggered all the shit I’d put myself through in my quest for… vengeance? Justice? Fuck if I knew anymore. Instead, the desperation in his voice only fueled my need.

Given everything I’d put myself through over the past decade, I didn’t think I could get excited about sex. I’d never really had sex for the pleasure of it. Because I wanted to. There was always a goal, and I’d never relaxed. I became pretty good at faking everything. Or, I thought I had until Knuckles angled his hips to give me the perfect amount of friction on my clit. Given the intensity of the first orgasm that ripped through my body, I had been grossly underperforming. I came so hard I saw spots.

“Fuck me.” The words seemed to explode from Knuckles. He shuddered around me even as I was coming down from a euphoric high. “Sweet Christ, I’ve never seen anything so fuckin’ beautiful as you comin’ your brains out.” He didn’t sound condescending or superior. No. This huge, alpha male sounded in awe of what he was seeing.

As my vision cleared, I met his wide-eyed gaze. The man looked like a kid who’d just discovered Santa Claus was, in fact, real. There was a mixture of awe, lust, and a look of greed so profound I knew my life was about to change forever. And those changes would have a ripple effect. Either way, I knew my hunting days were over. Not necessarily because I knew Knuckles would want that. But because there was no way I could ever allow another man to touch me after knowing what it was like to be in Knuckles’s arms.

With his weight still firmly pinning me to the bed, Knuckles slid his fingers down my body, trailing fire across my skin until they reached the waistband of my pants. He paused, his eyes seeking permission.

“Yes,” I whispered, lifting my hips in invitation.

With agonizing slowness, he peeled the pants over my hips. He gave a frustrated grunt when he had to sit up on his knees to pull my pants and panties down my legs. The cool air against my overheated skin made me shiver, but it was nothing compared to the tremors that ran through me when he settled back between my thighs. I whimpered when my bare pussy brushed his muscled abdomen.

He looked up at me, waiting until my gaze found his. “I told you I was gonna eat your pussy until you screamed my name,” he reminded me, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through me. “And I always keep my promises.”

I raised up on my elbows, my breaths coming in little pants. If he was really going to eat my pussy like he promised, I wanted with everything in me to watch him do it. Until I couldn’t. Given the orgasm Knuckles had already given me, I doubted I’d be able to recognize my own name before he was done with me.

The first touch of his tongue against my clit had me arching off the bed with a strangled cry. He chuckled, the vibration sending another jolt of pleasure through me, before he gripped my hips firmly and held me in place.

“Easy, baby girl,” he murmured. “We’re just gettin’ started.”

He worked me with devastating skill, alternating between broad strokes of his tongue and focused attention on my clit until I was writhing on the bed, crying, begging him to finish me.

The motherfucker didn’t!

Knuckles shoved away from me with a yell and pushed himself off the bed. I was about to protest -- loudly -- when he unfastened his jeans, shoved them off his lean hips, and stepped out of them. Veins roped his arms from his hands and wrists, up his forearms and biceps. Lean hips and powerful, thick thighs rounded out his perfect body. Between his legs, in a nest of dark hair, his cock stood angry and proud.

Knuckles’s breath was deep and even, his unblinking gaze hard on me. I loved the way his focus was solely on me. With slow, deliberate movements, he shifted his attention to the nightstand beside the bed. He pulled out a pack of condoms and took one out.

“Ain’t sure this first time’s gonna last beyond the second I get inside you, but I promise you I will rebound and you will come.” I would have chuckled at his words except I found I needed the reassurance. Somehow, this man… knew. He knew my insecurities. Did he know he’d given me the first orgasm I’d ever had by a hand other than my own?

“I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.” I reached for him, wanting this with every fiber of my being. His powerful body was an aphrodisiac on its own. The tattoos. With him naked before me now, I noticed the shattered chain ink winding around his hip. He noticed my gaze.

“You’re staring,” he said, his voice rough with need as he sheathed himself.

“Can you blame me?” I whispered, my gaze roaming back up his body to meet his eyes. The intensity I found there nearly stole my breath. “You’re… breathtaking.”

He moved back onto the bed with predatory grace, lowering himself over me once more. Sweat slickened his skin and I knew he was as turned-on as I was. The feeling of his skin against mine, all that hard muscle and heat, made me whimper. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he lowered himself to me, bracing himself on one, powerful arm. He guided his cock to my entrance before lying fully on top of me. I squirmed, trying to impale myself on him, but he snarled at me.

“Hold still,” he bit out. “I’m hangin’ on by a fuckin’ thread here.” Still, his hips snapped forward, making the head of his dick stretch my entrance but not quite penetrate. “Motherfuck.” He tensed, shuddering above me. “Fuckin’ embarrassin’,” he muttered before shaking his head. Fine droplets of sweat flung from his shaggy hair.

“Please,” I whimpered. “If it’s too much, you can come in my mouth.”

“Goddamnit, woman!” His eyes were wide and wild. The man looked like he was on the verge of losing his shit. “Don’t say shit like that! I’m about to blow my fuckin’ load before I even fuckin’ get inside you!”

In answer, I wrapped my legs around his waist and arched my back, dragging him just that little bit closer. His dick pushed through my entrance, stretching me deliciously before he stopped.

Knuckles roared before shoving himself as deep as he could go inside me, and I sucked in a breath. I had a moment of panic. He stretched me almost uncomfortably, but just shy of pain. The burn added to my pleasure in a way I’d never expected. Now I was the one breaking into a sweat.

Instantly, he stilled. “Did I hurt you?”

“W-What?” I looked up at him in confusion, the haze of lust making it hard to think. “NO!” I cleared my throat and tried again. “No, Knuckles. You didn’t hurt me. Not at all.”

“I ain’t done this in a long fuckin’ time.” I knew the admission wasn’t something he’d wanted me to know. The fact he went outside his comfort zone and made himself vulnerable settled something inside me I didn’t know was uneasy.

“I have,” I said, looking up at him with what I was sure were wide, wild eyes. “And it’s never felt like this.”

“Christ, don’t I know it.” His muttered reply held a wealth of relief. The tension in his shoulders was still there, but I thought it was more from exertion than him being unsure about what we were doing. Knuckles settled his weight fully on top of me. I was surprised at how good it felt to have his big, hair-roughened body pinning me to the bed, but it was as delicious as the rest of this experience. He rested his forehead against mine with a shattered groan and shuddered above me again. “You ready?”

I couldn’t help the smile even though I knew he probably couldn’t see it. “I think I’ve been waiting for this moment since…” I trailed off, unsure. “This is what I’ve always been looking for.”

He kissed me gently. Then with more passion. “You sure I didn’t hurt you? You’re OK with me on top of you?”

“I wasn’t sure how I’d like this position, but this experience is so far removed from any other situation I’ve ever been in, it’s not even the same act.” I meant every word too. Sex had never been like this. Of course, I’d used sex as a weapon. And that was never something I’d desired. Ever. This, though… “I can’t imagine you taking me any other way, Knuckles.” I reached up to stroke his face with my fingers before whispering, “Please don’t stop.”

Something flashed in his eyes -- possession, triumph, relief -- before he captured my mouth in a searing kiss and began to fuck me. For the first time in my adult life, I completely surrendered to the moment, to the feelings coursing through me. I wasn’t playing a role. I wasn’t setting a trap. I was just Hannah, wanting this man with an intensity that frightened me.

It took him a few seconds, but when he met my gaze again, there was a frightening intensity in his eyes. “I’m gonna make you feel so fuckin’ good, Hannah. I swear it on my life. If I come in the first fifteen seconds it’s gonna be fourteen seconds longer than I thought I would, but I swear to you, I will make you come so hard you see stars.”

I pulled him down for another kiss, whispering against his lips. “I already did, Knuckles. Now I want more. I want you.”

“Thank fuck.”

Then Knuckles started to… move .