Page 24

RORY

As soon as Gage embraces me, the last of my fears slip away.

In their place, a certainty sweeps through me.

This is right .

I don’t feel ugly when Gage looks at me. I feel beautiful, just like he says.

He sees my scars and doesn’t care.

Or—

Oh.

Gage presses a soft kiss to a raised scar on my collarbone, leaving tingles of pleasure sizzling across my skin.

His hand is still at my breast, his thumb caressing and stroking and flicking at my nipple.

Heat builds at my core, blossoming into an aching need.

I’m laid onto my back, and Gage leans over me, bracing himself with one very muscly arm. His biceps flex, drawing my attention and earning a low chuckle.

“You like my arms?” he asks, in a low, rough voice.

“Yes.” It comes out in a husky breath. “They’re really sexy.” I touch the golden dusting of hair on his arm. “I really like watching you lift stuff.”

The corner of his mouth quirks. “You mean like all the times I carried around those big bags of dog food?”

My cheeks go hot. “Maybe.”

“Rory.” He grins. “If I’d only known you were asking me to carry all those heavy bags so you could stare at me…”

“That’s not why,” I retort. But the rest of my argument is forgotten when Gage lowers his mouth to my breast, taking my sensitive and swollen nipple into it.

He laves and laps at my nipple, suckling at it, and I arch towards him instinctively. My head falls back, my eyes fluttering closed as a wave of delicious sensation sweeps through my body.

One hand moves to my stomach, big and warm with a hint of rough. His fingers trace searing lines across my bare skin, kindling the fire building inside me.

My womb clenches.

My core pulses, aches, demands to be filled.

Releasing my nipple with a little pop, Gage moves to the other. His wicked fingers tease at the fabric of my panties, a plain cotton I chose without thinking that our night might end up here.

“They aren’t very sexy,” I say; a beat later wishing I could smack myself. Why would I point that out now? Do I want to ruin the mood?

“I don’t know about that,” he replies. His voice hums across my breast. “I think they’re very sexy. Although—” His thumb hooks into the band at my hip. “I think I might like them even better off.”

My breath catches. “Would you?”

Gage raises his head to look at me. “I would. If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind.” Then I reach down to tug on his navy blue briefs. “As long as you lose these, too.”

His pupils flare, his eyes darkening until they’re a molten black. Skin draws tight across his cheeks and his jaw goes hard. “I can do that.”

But a moment later, as he begins to pull them off, he freezes. Tension pulls at his shoulders. Lines etch into his forehead.

At first, I don’t understand his hesitation.

Then I realize.

Protectiveness rears up, swift and intense.

I don’t want Gage to worry. To think he’s less. To think I’m looking at him in any way other than awe and gratitude, still not quite believing that this man—this amazing man—is choosing to be with me.

“Actually,” I say, my voice taking on that sultry tone again, “Could I take them off?”

And before he can answer, I sit up and reach for him, my fingers grazing his hips. My gaze searches his. “Is that okay?”

A muscle ticks in his jaw. Then he nods.

My heart fluttering with anticipation, I draw the elastic band down.

Gage’s hard length springs free, slick and flushed and straining towards me.

It’s even thicker and longer than I thought it might be, but then again, I’m not exactly the best judge given that this is only the third time in my life I’m seeing one in person.

My core squeezes around nothing, feeling desperately empty. But a sliver of worry sneaks in, as well.

Intellectually, I know he’ll fit. It’s simple physiology.

But as I wrap my fingers around him, feeling him throb even larger in my hand, I find myself whispering, “It’s been a long time. Really long. I’m not sure…”

“Baby.” Gage wraps his arms around me and flips us over, so I’m beneath him again. “It’s been a long time for me, too.” His lips brush that spot on my jaw again. “And don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re ready. The last thing I would ever do is hurt you.”

Then he slides my panties off and tosses them aside. His fingers stroke at my center, caressing my sensitized skin. His thumb finds my bud and pinches it gently, sending pleasure arcing through my body.

My bra somehow disappears and cool air hits my skin. A moment later, Gage’s lips close around my nipple again. A low moan sounds deep in my chest.

One finger plunges inside me, shockingly thick. My inner muscles clench around it, and Gage groans with pleasure. “Ror, damn. You feel so good. I can’t wait?—”

“Gage,” I breathe. I find his arousal-slicked skin and stroke it, loving the feel of it in my hand. “It feels?—”

I can’t explain it. The other times, I couldn’t relax enough to enjoy much of anything. But now…

Another finger joins the first, moving slowly at first, then faster. At first, it’s a stretch, but soon Gage’s fingers are plunging in and out easily.

Something hot and intense coils in my belly.

Little flutters of ecstasy build at my core.

Gage finds that sensitive bundle of nerves again and flicks at it. My hips jerk towards him, seeking more.

My muscles tense. My lungs seize.

I can feel myself hurtling towards the edge; not much longer and I’ll go flying over.

But it’s not what I want. Not like this. Not our first time.

I want to feel Gage inside me. I want to feel his pleasure along with mine.

So I still his hand, placing mine over it.

“Rory?” Worry laces his tone.

“I want to feel you. Inside me. It’s our first time, and I want us to… I want us to finish together. Maybe that sounds stupid?—”

“No, baby.” His lips press to my forehead. “It doesn’t sound stupid at all.”

Then he notches himself at my center. I’m so ready, so wet, he slips partly inside me. “Shit. Ror. I’m not wearing anything yet. I need to get my wallet.”

“I’m protected. I have an IUD to regulate my periods. And I’ve been tested. My doctor always checks, even though there’s no reason. So—” My mouth clamps shut. Heat floods my cheeks. This is way too much information. And I’m sure Gage wants to be sure, not just take my word for it.

“I’m negative, too. I got tested for everything back when I was in the hospital. And I haven’t been with anyone…” He pauses. His eyes soften with an emotion I can’t quite name. “If you’re sure, Ror.”

With anyone else, I’d never consider it. I wouldn’t trust them enough. But with Gage… “I’m sure.”

“Baby.” His hand cups my cheek. “I’m sure, too.”

But the way he says it, the way he looks at me, makes me wonder if that’s the only thing he’s sure of. Or if it means something more.

Then he sinks inside me, inch by breath-stealing inch, and all thoughts cease.

It’s just sensation.

Heat.

An incredible feeling of fullness. Of completion.

When we’re finally joined.

When I can’t tell where I end and Gage begins.

Then he moves. Slow. Gentle. Pulling out so he’s barely inside me, then slowly sliding home again.

My legs come around his waist, holding him to me.

As the inferno between us builds, our rhythm speeds. It gets more intense. More frantic. Our bodies crash against each other. Our breaths come in uneven pants. My heart is a locomotive speeding out of control. My chest strains for the air I keep forgetting to take.

“You’re so beautiful,” Gage says. “So damn beautiful.”

Joy explodes inside me. Tears burn my eyes.

Gage grabs my hips, tilting them so he can plunge even deeper. His fingers work their magic. His lips caress mine.

Then, like a lit fuse burnt down to the bottom, I explode, a firework bursting into the night.

My body convulses around him. My vision is an explosion of stars. From my toes to my fingers, all my muscles go tight. I cry out, a primal sound I’ve never heard myself make before.

Gage keeps moving inside me, bottoming out with each thrust, until he flies into the sky along with me. He groans, a rough, guttural noise. His arms come around me, hugging me close. I can feel him pulsing hot inside me, and it feels more right than I could have imagined.

Even as the aftershocks are still rippling through me, he rolls us over so I’m draped across his chest. One hand combs through my hair in long, gentle strokes. His lips press to the top of my head.

I notch my head under his chin, nuzzling his neck. I feel boneless. Sated. But I can’t help my insecure self from asking, “Was that okay?”

Gage hugs me closer. “It was so much more than that. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”

“I hope you mean that in a good way?”

I can feel his lips smiling against my hair. “Baby. Good doesn’t describe how that was. Being with you was the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced.”

Oh.

A bubble of happiness expands in my chest, making it hard to breathe. “Good. I thought so, too.”

I don’t want to get out of bed.

I want to stay cuddled next to Gage, breathing in his comforting scent and letting his steady heartbeat lull me back to sleep.

I want to fall back into a blissful slumber uninterrupted by nightmares now that Gage is sleeping next to me, protecting me from them.

I want to absorb every perfect thing about this—his arm wrapped around me, his breath brushing my hair in soft puffs, the cute sounds the three dogs are making as they dream their doggie dreams at the foot of the bed.

Unfortunately, my bladder has other ideas.

So I carefully extricate myself from Gage’s embrace, tossing a longing glance back at the bed before I leave it. Then I tiptoe across the room and out into the hallway, then down to the half bathroom at the end of it.