Page 58 of Thorns That Bloom (Venusverse #3)

I look around, my eyelids drooping with desire. The bed feels like too much. The expectation of what happens there is more than I can handle at this moment. I don’t want to push myself too far. Not when this is the first time I’ve been so incredibly turned on and wanting.

I notice the nice, spacious armchair in the corner by the door.

Before Theo can turn around, I force him backward until he falls down onto it. With a huff—suddenly aware of how damn pregnant I actually am—I sit in his lap. “Am I not too heavy?” I ask, insecurity shining through the otherwise pleasantly dense fog of mindless desire intoxicating me.

“Don’t be silly,” he says and slowly places his hands on my thighs, watching for my reaction.

“That’s okay,” I mutter, gently rocking my hips into him.

His cock strains against his pants, poking at me, thick and painfully hard. “Dear fucking god, Sam,” Theo moans out, digging his fingers into my thighs. I crane my head back with a delighted smile.

There’s no sound more thrilling than those gruff cries of pleasure.

“The boundaries, Sam. Please, tell me,” he begs softly.

I lick my lips, leaning forward again with my elbows resting over the front of Theo’s muscular shoulders.

I feel my briefs getting soaked with precum and slick.

All I want is Theo’s hands all over me, but one wrong touch could make it all come crashing down.

That horrible truth ruminates inside me, waiting for something to trigger it.

I run my hand over his face, copying his sharp, strong features. “From the front. Only from the front, I…need to see you.”

When I reach his perfectly proportionate, pink lips, I rub my thumb into them and come closer, going in for a hungry kiss. We kiss messily, all groans and saliva and tongue.

“Kissing is safe. Good,” I whisper once we pull away to draw in air.

They haven’t ruined that. They could never ruin that for me.

“Good,” Theo echoes, smiling against me as he kisses me back. We ease off, letting more tenderness than lust move us forward until satisfied. Or rather, painfully itching for more satisfaction.

I desperately search within myself for what would feel good and right. My cock throbs inside my pants, but the idea of Theo touching it is too intense.

“I want you to touch me so bad, but d-down there’s not… Not yet.”

He places a soft kiss on my cheek, copying the shape of my beard. “Okay. I won’t touch you there.”

I reach down for his hands and pull them back to rest on my hips. The hips he said were perfect. Theo groans into my ear with satisfaction, his thumbs tracing over my skin.

“What did you like before?” he asks after a moment of aimless, dissatisfying grinding. Still watching me for any signs of discomfort, he runs his left hand through my hair, taking in the scent of it, of me. “Let’s help you rediscover what you like; what do you say?”

I nod eagerly.

What I liked before…

“Always been into this cat-and-mouse thing,” I whisper. A chuckle escapes me as I compare the old me from only a year ago to now. “Lots of hate sex with people I couldn’t stand but couldn’t resist either. Angry sex. Never violent, just…”

“Passionate,” Theo finishes the sentence, raising a brow questioningly.

“Yeah. It’s stupid, really…”

“It’s not.” He keeps kissing, now further down my throat. I quiver as he gets in the middle of my chest, hovering with his mouth above the hem of my t-shirt’s collar. His right hand kneads my hip, moving higher tentatively. “Can I see you?”

The longing passing through his voice, bowstring-tight, makes my heart skip.

Theo squeezes my nape the moment he notices me squirming with unease. “It’s alright. No is a completely fine response. I was only asking,” he says quickly and goes in for a kiss. I move away.

“It’s not that.” I whisper, averting my gaze. “I want you to touch me. I want you to want me to touch me, but…” I sigh in frustration. “But I look like a fucking sow right now.”

He stares back at me like he can’t believe what came out of my mouth.

"Oh, Sam…” he whispers, pressing his mouth back to my face as his hand on my hip slides smoothly beneath my shirt.

Feeling him on my belly sends shivers through me.

Good shivers, I think. There’s a smidge of discomfort and uncertainty behind the warm, blooming pleasure traveling downward to my crotch.

“You’re wonderful and beautiful and breathtaking.

” With each word, he gives me a gentle peck and lets his hand wander upward, from my waist, over my bump, and then toward my chest. “The way your body changes to grow life is fucking incredible.”

I moan sharply, digging my fingers into his shoulders.

Theo flirts with palming my swollen breast. “Good? Bad?”

“They’re so—ah—sensitive,” I whisper, moving my head forward.

I try to ignore my own feelings about my body right now.

I haven’t felt exactly comfortable, and not just because of the toll the pregnancy is taking on me.

It might be natural for me to get pregnant, but I’ve grown up around betas.

My chest filling up with milk isn’t something I find easy to look at.

A part of me finds this all a little uneasy, deep down.

“And gorgeous,” Theo says, gently taking the flesh into his hand. I shudder under his touch, crying out softly. The thought of them leaking or being stimulated more than they are right now makes me want to crawl out of my skin, no matter how tender and sweet he is about it.

“Th-they’re for the baby,” I mumble. He lets go immediately. When I look into his eyes, there’s no disappointment, only understanding. “Maybe when…when this is over, you can…you can enjoy them then,” I say, suddenly overcome by shyness.

Theo smiles. “I’ll take you up on that.”

When I move around to readjust, our straining cocks rub against each other over our clothes, reminding us both how this touching and teasing just isn’t enough.

“I want you to make me come, Theo,” I beg him, breathless and desperate.

His eyes dart across my face. “How? Fuck, Sam. Tell me how you want it, and I’ll do it.”

I can’t see down there over my bump, but I feel the wetness. Theo must be similarly strung up. Our clothes are as good as ruined now, anyway, so I grind into him harder, pressing my entire body into his. We share a few messy kisses before I pull away and meet his eyes again.

“Your fingers. I want your fingers inside me.” His cock strains in response. The wave of pheromones Theo releases nearly makes me choke. I bite down on my lip and let it pass through me, making me that much wetter. “Come on,” I say, raising my ass the best I can so he can have access.

Theo’s hungry eyes pin me down while his hand moves across and down my back.

He teasingly glides his fingers above the hem of my pants before slipping them under.

First, he squeezes my ass cheek, drawing a low moan from my lips next to his ear.

He advances further in and is met with the wetness waiting for him.

“Holy shit, Sam…”

“That’s all for you,” I say, closing my eyes. His middle finger rubs my entrance, making me flex my spine and cry out his name. “Ah, yeah. That feels good. Do it. Please, Theo.”

“You want me to fuck you with my fingers?” he asks, the roughness of his voice sending such a jolt through me I nearly come undone. I rub myself against him like I’m in heat, nodding and completely surrendering to the pleasure.

“Please. Keep going…”

He obliges. I’m so fucking wet he slips in two of his fingers with ease.

The sudden pressure is euphoric. He thrusts his fingers in and out in a fluid rhythm matching the way I grind into him.

I feel his breath on my neck, shaky and fast, and then he puts another finger in, sending them deeper, burying himself knuckles-deep inside me where he works efficiently on the soft, wet insides, creating shocks of pleasure that branch throughout my body.

I tighten around him as he rubs the sweet spot that makes my eyes roll back.

“There it is… God, you’re melting around me, lovely. My cock’s about to explode,” he whispers, desperation and lust mixing in his voice, making it all dewy and husky and fucking irresistible. “I wish I could be inside you right now. You’d feel so…ah…so good, Sam.”

I open my mouth wide, barely controlling my ragged breaths.

I’m getting close. So close. And it feels so good.

“Theo,” I moan, my voice breaking.

He knows. Like a good alpha, he knows exactly what I mean. “Me too. Keep grinding like that, baby. I’ll make us come, alright?”

Nodding, I don’t stop the urgent rocking of my hips. Theo works his hand even faster, the squelching sounds of it and his fingers fucking my hole nearly overpowering the heavy groans and moaning coming from the both of us.

My mind is drowning in the bliss and comfort of it—the feel of Theo’s hot, firm body pressing into mine, even over clothes, his thickness against my cock, his breath on my skin and the way he moves inside me like he knows me better than I know myself…

There’s no fear. No pain. Only the two of us.

As the sensation of incoming orgasm grips my entire being, I seize Theo’s lips. The overwhelming, dizzying pleasure rips through me, spreading into every corner of my being. I hear Theo’s moans mingling with mine, his body growing rigid underneath me.

When I open my eyes again, I’m resting on his chest, head on his shoulder, completely breathless and wrung out.

“Sam, are you…mhmm, are you okay?” he asks, running his hand through my hair.

I chuckle. What a stupid question. “I’m more than okay. I’m fucking marvelous.”

He smiles into my cheek as he places a kiss there. My fingertips still buzz with the pleasant aftershocks of the orgasm. I am warm and safe.

Suddenly, Theo tenses under me. I force myself to leave the comfort of his chest and pull away to face him.

His delightfully red, sweaty face is twisted in concern.

“Is the baby okay? Does she… I mean, can she tell what we’re doing?

” he asks, lowering his voice like she can hear us or like he’s talking about something forbidden.

I can’t help but laugh. Theo isn’t pleased, pouting slightly in response. With a grin, I wipe the hair sticking to his skin with sweat off his forehead.

He’s so damn handsome. Why don’t I think more about how handsome he is?

“She doesn’t know,” I say, placing his hand—the one not drenched in my juices, that still comfortably rests near my entrance like he can’t bring himself to let go—over my belly. “She’s been still. I think the rocking movements put her to sleep.”

Looking down, I feel the wet mess we’ve made of both our pants, not to mention the one at the back. I crinkle my nose. Theo follows my gaze.

“Ah, yeah. We should…take care of this,” he says with a chuckle.

“I’m all sweaty. But I…really enjoyed this,” I add quickly, because I already know he’s going to worry about that. With my hand over his chest, I smile and lean in to touch his nose with mine. “It was great. More than great. You were. Thank you, for…making me feel safe.”

Theo gives me a brief, tender kiss. “I’m glad. Let’s take a shower. You can go first, then I’ll start working on—” He pauses when he pulls his hand out of my pants. His eyes go wide. His face turns pale.

“Theo?”

“Oh, shit.”

I turn around sharply to see his trembling hand, fingers spread out, blood glistening on them. My heart stops.

Then it starts pumping like crazy. A dizzying fear surges through me as I stick my own hand down the back of my pants, reaching for the moisture I thought was only my arousal. When I pull out, my fingers are coated in blood, too.

“I…I don’t feel anything,” I blurt out shakily, quickly grabbing at my stomach.

Theo squeezes my shoulders, making me look at him. Tears already prickle in my eyes. “We need to go to the hospital. Now,” he says, firm and clear, and yet on his face, I see the same wild terror that’s coursing through me.