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that dragged against some new part of her that had her nails digging into his shoulders.

“You’re so bloody tight,” he groaned against her temple, his words more like a prayer than a chastisement. “I don’t want to

hurt you. Tell me... if I am and I’ll... stop.”

She felt as though she were melting from the inside out, her body turning liquid and malleable. “I like this.”

“This?” He rocked his hips, the shallow thrust meeting with hot honey.

A zing of pleasure rippled through her, so lovely that she had to close her eyes. Turning her head into his neck, she hummed,

“Mmm-hmm.”

Chasing that sensation, she arched her hips to meet his. But her actions made his breath catch, his carefully measured strokes

stuttering out of rhythm.

What followed was like learning the steps of a new dance, neither of them sure-footed, body parts bumping together in a way

that should have been nothing more than awkward. And yet, with each clumsy collision a new thrill rifled through her.

At least, until he drove in, deep, rending her flesh in a sharp bite of pain.

A strangled gasp left her throat. For an instant, they both went still, assessing. Her first impulse was to squirm away to ease the ache. But then he began to apologize, his voice so stricken and shredded, that she felt the need to comfort him.

“No, you’re not a monster and you haven’t torn me in half, you silly man,” she said, rasping the half-truth against his cheek,

hoping he took the breathless quality of her voice as passion. “I was told that the first time would bring some pain, but

that it would be fleeting.”

Oh, please let it be fleeting.

He nodded jerkily with relief. “I won’t go in any farther. But I don’t think I can move yet. I just... need to stay still

for two more seconds before I die.”

His morbid prediction pulled a reluctant grin to her lips despite the discomfort, and she turned her head to press a kiss

to his cheek. The words any farther , however, caused a tiny jolt of alarm. Surely, there wasn’t more of him. Was there?

As if arming against a supplementary invasion, her body clenched reflexively.

He cursed and abruptly withdrew, his hand gripping the base of his cock. When she reached up to smooth the damp hair from

his brow, he shook his head. “Don’t touch me just yet. If you do... I might lose... the last remnants... of my restraint.”

“But that’s what I want.” She propped herself up on her elbows, his heavily lidded gaze drawn to her breasts. “I want you

to feel safe with me as I do with you. I want you to lose yourself inside—”

His mouth collided with hers, swallowing down the rest of her plea on a groan of surrender. The kiss was almost bruising,

his passion all-consuming as his body moved over hers. This, at last, was him giving himself to her, holding nothing back.

His hand roamed between them, scouting the hooded flesh that guarded the little bundle of nerves, the blunt tip of his finger moving in heavy rotations.

“There?” he asked on a ragged breath, his hand trembling.

The pleasure that swelled inside her was almost too much, too fast. But after another rotation, she was already there with

him, blood simmering, her hips hitching eagerly. “Yes. There.”

His open mouth dragged along her throat, until he took the tender peak of her breast in his mouth, his skillful flicks making

her arch beneath him as his finger slipped inside her, sinking to the hilt.

“Yes. There,” she said again. Feeling drunk on pleasure, she clutched at his shoulders, shamelessly riding the hand between

her thighs.

“Can I...” Without finishing the question, his head dipped between her legs once more, hands on her bottom, lifting her

to his mouth.

He feasted on her, his lips vibrating on a low, hungry growl, laving and licking until—Heaven help her—she gripped his head

and began to move herself against him. She was truly wanton now. Wanton and needy. Willing to do anything to feel that bright

explosion of ecstasy.

But just as the fuse was lit, he stopped, leaving her body to smolder without detonating. “Wait... I haven’t...”

He came back to her, his mouth greedy on hers, a faint coppery flavor lingering on his tongue. And then his hips pressed against

hers, the heavy weight of his length rocking against her slick folds.

This time when he nudged her entrance she was ready, bracing herself for the invasion. But the pain never came.

He entered her in a hot, slow slide that sent starbursts of sensation shooting through her. It was different this time. The

stretch not unbearable. In fact, it felt good when her swollen flesh closed around him, welcoming the fullness, the sure,

thick thrust.

“This... good?” he asked hoarsely, the two syllables reduced to rubble.

Unable to form words as tingles collected at the base of her spine, she nodded. Her legs wrapped around his hips, their bodies

grinding together, the friction making her womb quicken, her sheath squeezing around him.

His hips hitched out of rhythm, and the drag of his flesh inside the tight constriction buzzed through her. Her nails bit

into his shoulder as she arched her back, undulating on a tidal swell of pleasure as needy mewls wrenched out of her throat.

He cursed, sinking deeper. “You cannot make those sounds... It makes me... I’m going to...”

His next words were choked as he withdrew then thrust in again as he lost himself in a frenzy.

Thea was caught up in it, too, unable to bear the pleasure of holding on to his big body, skin to skin, his flesh driving

in and in, sensation building to a pinnacle that seemed to have no end, no limit, and if she didn’t go over the edge soon,

she was sure to lose her mi—

She came apart on a cry, sparks exploding behind her eyes and scattering in showers of tingles beneath her skin as she tumbled

over the edge, taking him with her as he buried himself three times deep, the guttural shout of his release against her neck

as he filled her with rivers of molten heat.

And when she could catch her breath, she finally understood why Lady Content was so willing to be ravished.