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CHAPTER SEVEN

NIALL

I picked her up in my arms, carrying her back to the suite.

“There’s a bed right there,” she protested.

“I’m not fucking you in my mother’s bed,” I replied, my voice rough.

I felt her shiver.

In my room, I tossed her onto the bed, following her down, pinning her to the mattress with my body. We sank into the pillowy cushion, our mouths fused together.

I was angry. Furious, even. Turned on. Frightened.

I wanted her with a desperation I had never felt before.

I didn’t want to hurt her. Physically or emotionally, and I feared I would do both.

But she refused to leave it or me alone.

So, I would give her what she wanted, and I prayed she still looked at me with the same sweet acceptance.

Kissing her was like air. Potent and life-affirming, and it filled me with euphoria.

Her mouth was sweet and addictive. Kissing had never been high on my priority list, but with Anna, I could kiss her for hours.

And I loved how bold she was right now. Kissing me back, licking into my mouth, digging her nails into my shoulders to keep me close.

Her tongue slid along mine in sensuous passes, twining together, teasing, tasting, exploring.

She nipped my bottom lip, swiping over it to ease the sting.

I bit down on the juncture where shoulder met neck and left a mark.

Then I went back to her mouth, holding her down, yet not pressing into her sore areas, all too aware of her still-healing injuries.

She seemed to have forgotten about them, dragging me close, wrapping her legs around my waist, pulling my hair.

She tugged at my suit jacket, making angry little sounds of frustration.

I sat up, shrugging it off and tossing it behind me somewhere.

I did the same with my shirt and tie, not caring if the expensive cloth ended up creased, torn, or ruined.

I gripped the bottom of her sweater, yanking on it, wanting it off.

Wanting her bare to my eyes. She shimmied under me, pulling the garment over her head.

Her breasts sprang free, and I captured them in my hands, caressing the already hard nipples.

She whimpered as I pinched the pink tips, dropping my head to suck at them.

She ran her hands over the planes of my chest, stroking my nipples, then down my torso, yanking on my belt.

I slid away, standing by the bed, undoing the buckle and pushing down my pants and boxers, letting them fall to the floor.

I kicked them off, my socks following, and I stood in front of her, naked, my cock erect, my chest pumping rapidly.

“Your turn, Polly.”

That was the first time she hesitated. Her eyes were huge in her face as she took me in, gazing at me. I saw the fear and worry creep in. I knelt on the mattress, nuzzling her mouth. “I won’t hurt you, mo mhuirnín. ”

“I know,” she replied, a quaver in her voice.

“Tell me,” I demanded tenderly.

“You’re so beautiful. So strong and fit. I’m covered in scars and bruises. You’re a god, and I’m just…”

“Just?” I prompted.

“A pale ghost. Inexperienced. A body more like a child than a grown-up. How could I compete with all the other women you’ve had? I don’t know?—”

I cut her off with my mouth, kissing her until she was breathless. I stood, tugging off her pants and socks, leaving her as exposed as I was.

“You are lovely,” I murmured. “Pale, yes. Ghostly, no. You glow for me, Anna. Your skin is marked, showing you survived. Your bruises don’t make you less beautiful to me.

I want to kiss every one of them and watch as they fade every day until all I kiss is the velvet of your skin.

And yes, you’re tiny.” I smiled as I looked at her, small on my large bed.

“But not a child. Your breasts nestle perfectly in my hands. Your legs were exactly right wrapped around my waist. We are going to fit together so well.”

I climbed over her, tracing my tongue along one bruise. “I’ll start here and mark out a map. We’ll count daily until there is nothing left to count. Nothing but skin for me to lick and kiss. Mark as mine.”

I had no idea where my words were coming from. But they fell from my mouth before I could stop them, and at the moment, I didn’t care.

She groaned as I started, caressing and kissing each mark.

Every bruise. I traced some, nuzzled others, licked more.

From her neck to her feet, I went, and then I started back up, pausing by her thighs.

“I know where each one is now. But I think maybe you’re aching elsewhere?

” I ran a finger to her center, her gasp making me smile.

“Here, mo mhuirnín? You’re aching here for my mouth? ”

“Niall,” she whispered, grasping the comforter.

I sat back on my heels, looking at her. Committing her to memory.

Her hair was spread over the navy sheets, a swath of gold on the blue.

Her nipples were stiff and damp from my mouth, her lips swollen from mine.

I wrapped my hands around her knees, opening her to me.

She was pink and wet, her skin glistening.

I licked my lips, stroking along her seam. She arched off the bed with a cry.

“Oh, very needy,” I murmured.

“I’ve never. No one ever—” she babbled.

“I know, baby. That makes it even better.”

Then I lowered my head, spread her wide, and kissed her clit.

ANNA

I hadn’t expected to end up in bed with Niall this afternoon. Normally a quiet person, I knew the argument I started was unlike me. His reaction should have frightened me, but instead, it turned me on.

Because underneath the anger, his furious words, and his implied threats, was Niall. And I knew he would never hurt me.

And now with his mouth on my body and his tongue licking at me, I was a mass of quivering need and want. I had never experienced the sensations I was feeling right now. My own attempts never brought out anything like he was doing.

He groaned as he worked me, as if he was enjoying it as much as I was. He licked and sucked at my clit, teased my entrance, sliding in a long, hard finger. I gasped at the invasion, wondering how it would feel when he replaced it with his cock. His much larger, thicker cock.

He snaked one hand up my torso, pinching my nipple, then did the same to the other side. It felt so good, I cupped them as he removed his hand, pinching them myself.

“That’s it, Anna. Play with them. Show me how much you like what I’m doing to you.”

He cupped my ass, lifting me closer to his mouth, and I gasped at the added feeling.

His tongue dipped inside me, twisting, plunging as he sucked on my clit.

Pleasure built inside me, a slow, steady burn, and I rocked my hips against his mouth.

He used one hand to hold me, the other to press his finger in again, adding a second and stretching me wide.

He curled them, hitting something deep and mind-blowing.

I cried out as an orgasm tore through me, obliterating everything else.

I was a mass of responsiveness. Hot, cold, shaking, waves of euphoria crashed over me, leaving me breathless.

He tempered his touch, his mouth now soft and gentle on me, easing me back to the mattress.

He loomed over me, a dark shadow in the room, his lips glistening from me.

“Round one,” he stated.

I laughed weakly. “More?” I asked.

“Oh, baby. So much more.” He lowered himself down, and I felt his cock press against me. “I want you to come on my cock. I want to feel you wrapped around me.”

“I want that too.”

He reached over, holding up a condom.

“Do we need that? I mean, I’ve never, but I’ve been on birth control since I was in my teens.”

He hesitated.

“I had bad periods,” I explained. “And it’s the shot, so I haven’t missed any doses. I had one before I left to come here.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “It’s been a long, long time for me.”

“Really?”

He smiled, running a finger down my cheek. “Yes. Over two years.”

“Then just you.”

He tossed the condom away.

“Feck yes.”

He bent his head, kissing me. I tasted myself on his mouth, finding it oddly erotic.

In a move I didn’t expect, he rolled so I was on top of him, holding me close, his mouth never leaving mine.

My chest pressed into his, and I felt his hard nipples push into my skin.

Remembering how he had explored me, touched me earlier, I sat up, looking down at him.

“I want to touch you.”

His smile was wide, and he spread his arms. “Touch away.”

I explored his torso, finding his muscles fascinating.

They flexed and moved under my fingers. His biceps were bigger than my thighs, and he seemed to like it when I would run my nails over them.

He groaned as I sucked his hard, flat nipples, and I liked the low noise he made in his throat when I dragged my fingers across his pelvis.

His legs were strong. Sinewy. Covered in a dusting of coarse hair like his chest. His feet were big like the rest of him and, as I discovered to my delight, ticklish.

His bark of laughter made me giggle, and his threats about returning the favor made me roll my eyes. I wasn’t ticklish in any fashion.

I swung my leg over his calves and stared at his erect cock. It was hard under my touch, yet the skin was surprisingly soft. The girth was astonishing, and I felt a flutter of nerves as I stroked it tentatively. Niall groaned, wrapping his hand around mine.

“Like this,” he urged, showing me how to hold him, stroke him the way he liked. I ran my finger along the thick vein on the underside, my thumb rolling over the top, feeling the silky liquid gathering there.

I shimmied closer and bent, licking at the head. Niall arched off the bed, cursing.

“Feck.”

I met his glittering eyes and saw the way he was fisting the comforter. I did it again, this time lowering my head and closing my mouth around him.

I was sure he growled.

I started to move, taking him a little deeper. I had no experience. No idea if I was doing this right. Except Niall was muttering, praising me. Then he buried his hand in my hair and begged me.

“More, Anna. Suck me harder.”

I opened my mouth wider and sucked him in. I twisted my tongue around him as I lifted my head, then repeated the move. He hissed and groaned. Lifted his hips. I kept going, learning quickly what he liked.

Which, it seemed, was everything I tried.

Then he sat up. “Enough,” he panted.

I frowned. “You didn’t like it?”

“Baby, I loved it. But I want to be inside you when I come.”

Then he wrapped his arm around my waist and rolled us. He kissed me, his tongue going deep as he fingered me again. I whimpered, opening to him, and he slipped between my legs. I could feel him, hard and thick, nudging at me. “Tell me you want this,” he whispered.

I gripped his back, running my hand down and cupping his hard ass. “Yes. Make me yours, Niall.”

He lifted his hips, guiding himself inside me. I gasped at the sensation of being filled. He stretched me, patient and slow, his movements controlled. He buried his face into my neck.

“Jesus,” he whispered. “You’re heaven.”

“Please,” I begged. “Niall, please.”

He lifted his head, his intense gaze locking on mine.

He eased back and snapped his hips, burying himself completely inside me.

I cried out, his size too much. He stayed still, kissing my cheeks, his mouth chasing the tear that fell from my eye and into my hair.

He murmured words I didn’t understand, then drew back again, pushing back into me.

This time, there was no pain, only a moment of pleasure.

I gripped his shoulders. “More,” I breathed.

He rocked into me. Long, unhurried strokes that made me whimper.

He kissed me, his tongue mimicking his cock.

I felt his hands everywhere. Stroking my back, grabbing my hips, fisting my hair.

I wrapped my legs around him, holding him close.

He started to move faster, his breathing becoming choppy.

Harsh. He held me tight, his movements hitting nerves I didn’t know existed.

My muscles fluttered around him. My heart began to soar. I started shaking, holding him close, crying out his name. He buried his head into my neck, groaning my name. “Anna, mo mhuirnín . Feck. Yes. Yes. Yes .”

I felt the heat of his release fill me. My orgasm was so powerful I couldn’t speak. A long rush of air left my lungs as he collapsed on me, his weight pressing me down and only emphasizing the spasms my body was experiencing.

Until I was done. Sated. Adrift in a quiet fog of pleasure.

Niall withdrew, and I winced, already missing the feeling of him.

He climbed from the bed, lifting me, and carried me to the shower.

We stood under the spray, not speaking. The warm water felt good on my sore muscles.

Strangely, I felt no embarrassment as he cleaned me, then himself, tossing the cloth to the corner, before wrapping me back in his arms and kissing me.

After, he dried me and carried me back to the bed, before sliding in himself and holding me tight.

I drifted, safe in his embrace, trying to gather the words I needed to say in my foggy mind. I sighed, tracing my finger down his forearm. “That didn’t feel like fucking.”

He tucked me closer. “It wasn’t.”

“Una was right. Your accent gets even heavier when you’re passionate.”

He chuckled. “Good to know.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He pressed a kiss to my head. “No. Thank you, mo mhuirnín. ”

I was on the border of sleep when he spoke again.

“That was the greatest gift I’ve ever been given.”