Page 41 of Throw Down

“How are you real?” he whispered, spreading his fingers out across Derek's chest, reveling in the contrasting textures.

Derek didn’t reply. He caught Briar’s hand and lifted it to nip at his fingertips, sending a bolt of lust straight through Briar's groin.Briar shuddered.

Derek tracked his shiver with eyes that burned even in the darkness.

“Get naked,” he commanded, catching the hem of Briar’s shirt and practically ripping it off his body.Briar let out an embarrassing squeak, shimmying free of the sleeves before they garroted him.

“You have no idea how happy I am to get out of these pants,” Briar laughed, helping Derek as he peeled the sticky vegan leather down his thighs.Cool night air bathed his overheated skin, and he sighed.“But should we be doing this out here?What if we get caught?”

One corner of Derek’s mouth lifted in a crooked grin.“Now I know you’re from the city.Ain’t nobody around this time of night.”

“What if they want to fish?”

Derek shrugged, as if the risk was so slim it wasn’t worth considering, and asked, “You want to stop?”

“No!” It came from the depth of his soul, and he didn’t even care.If they stopped now, he might never recover.

Derek’s smile was its own reward.He dipped his head down for a long, lingering kiss.Briar clutched his hair in both hands, returning his kiss with shameless enthusiasm, and refused to let go.Derek obliged, angling his body over Briar’s and parting his lips with his tongue.

Briar moaned, happy to be devoured, pinned like a butterfly beneath Derek's heavy body.It felt so decadent to be splayed and naked while Derek still wore his jeans.The denim scratched at Briar's inner thighs, a deliciously bright sensation amid the melting warmth that pooled inside his limbs.He wrapped his legs around Derek's hips and ground up against the huge erection threatening to bust through Derek's zipper.The friction was so intense it rode the edge of discomfort, and they both groaned.

“Slow down,” Derek rasped into his mouth.

Briar ignored him and dragged his blunt nails down Derek’s chest.He caught the pebbled peak of one nipple, and Derek cursed, grabbing him by the wrists and pinning his arms down on the blanket one-handed.

“Slow down,” he repeated.

Briar flexed, experimenting and testing his grip, but he couldn’t budge him even a little bit.Derek had immobilized him with one hand and hadn't even broken a sweat.The disparity between them was insane.As small as Briar was, getting manhandled was sometimes a fact of life, but he’d never gotten off on it—until now.It was like his mind had snapped.

“Touch me,” he begged, writhing desperately.“Fuck me, please, please.”

Derek’s expression was tortured.“I don’t have any condoms.”

“I don’t care.” Briar whimpered, even though he did care.Of course, he cared. He wasn't stupid.He'd never skipped protection—and he wouldn't really skip it now.He just wanted to pretend. He felt safer with Derek than he'd ever felt with another human being, and he knew Derek's hyper-developed sense of responsibility wouldn't allow him to take advantage of Briar's lapse of judgment.Derek was in control, and so for once, Briar didn't have to be.He could toe right up to the line and never worry about crossing it.

He captured Derek's mouth in another searing kiss and worked his hips, scandalized by the punishing size of the erection pressed against his balls.

“Stop,” Derek groaned, ripping their mouths apart.He rested his damp forehead against Briar’s and squeezed his eyes shut, struggling for control.The veins in his neck were bulging, and his chest was rising and falling in rapid, shallow breaths.

Briar ignored him. He was reveling in making Derek slowly lose the control that meant so much to him.It made him feel powerful, and all he could think was: more.The most primal part of him wanted to shatter Derek’s self-restraint completely, enslave him with his body, make him so drunk on it that Derek would never, ever consider leaving him.

“Stop,” Derek repeated, rougher this time.He grabbed Briar’s pelvis in both hands, stilling his movements.

A whine caught in the back of Briar’s throat.“Why?”

“I don’t ever get the chance—” Derek rasped, struggling for breath, struggling for words.“I want to be gentle with you.”

The haze of desire clouding Briar’s mind finally began to clear, and he blinked up at Derek, charmed.No one had ever said that to him before.“You don’t need to be.”

“I want to be,” Derek said through clenched teeth.A bead of sweat ran from his temple down the tip of his nose.It was clearly taking every bit of willpower he had to hold himself back.“This—you—are going to be the only man I ever touch like this.I want to take my time…and I want to make sure you’re here with me.With me. I'm a human being, Briar, not some sex toy for your gratification.Not the monster in your head.”

Derek's words were like a bucket of ice dumped right over Briar's head.He felt cold and ashamed. He tried to pull away, shrinking beneath Derek's scrutiny, but Derek didn't allow it.He pinned Briar in place, patiently waiting for him to settle.

Briar swallowed hard, feeling small for all the wrong reasons.His fingers shook when he reached up to stroke the side of Derek's cheek.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Derek shook his head, turning his face into Briar’s palm and kissing it.“Don’t be,” he said. “I know—I know what you need.I feel it too. But let’s take our time, okay?I promise, I’ll take care of you.”

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