Page 20 of The Bachelor

His eyes locked on hers and Avery felt soft and sexy and appreciated. Worshipped. She felt her throat close up as she reached up and stroked Shane’s cheek, his lip. He was the sexiest man she had ever seen. And he had no idea what he was doing to her, for her, right here in the dark hotel room.

Then he shifted, thrusting, and Avery let out a gasp as he buried himself deep inside her.

NINE

Shane paused, staring down at Avery, his body straining to stay still. Her eyes were wide and something was not quite right about the look on her face and the way she felt. If he didn’t know better, he would think she was a virgin. She was so damn tight…

When he started to stroke and she gave a startled wince, he knew without a doubt he was right. Holy fucking shit, she was a virgin. His first instinct was to just pull out and try to process why in hell she would be untouched when she had been with a guy for eight years. Clearly, it wasn’t a celibacy pact, since she had just willingly enough opened herself for him. Which he didn’t understand at all and, frankly, wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

But if he pulled out, it was going to be awkward as hell. Like really awkward. So fucking awkward there could possibly be more tears on her part and a whole lot of apologies on his part. It was too much to have rushing through his head when his dick was buried seven inches deep, and he decided there was no going back. He was in, he was going to be all in. She wasn’t pushing him away or giving him any indication that she regretted it. The opposite in fact. She had started making whimpering sounds of need, her hips lifting.

“Shane, yes,” she breathed. “Please.”

His arms were braced on either side of her head, and as he looked at her, he felt another wave of tenderness towards her roll over him. This woman had no idea what she did to him with her innocent words and sweet smiles. She was a strange little creature, unlike any woman he’d ever been with, and he couldn’t resist that sexy voice pleading with him. He started to move, slowly this time, bending forward to give her a plunging kiss. She relaxed beneath him, her knees falling slack again. He lifted her ankle and raised it to his shoulder so she would be fully open to him. Her eyes widened in shocked pleasure as he stroked inside her, both eyes darkening.

“Does that feel good?” he asked, because he wanted some kind of reassurance that he wasn’t hurting her.

“Oh, my word, you have no idea,” she said. “It feels amazing.”

Yeah, that would be his chest swelling from pride. He couldn’t help it. “Good.” His voice was gruff, short because now that he knew she was enjoying herself, he could allow himself to let go, embrace the sensations she was creating in his body. And they were intense ones.

Damn, her soft wetness was just gripping and squeezing his hard cock, a perfect hot fit. He hadn’t been with a virgin since he was a virgin, but it was more than that. It was the strength of her thighs, the natural way she lifted her ass to meet him, the look in her eyes. The soft bounce of her perfectly round breasts, and the smooth expanse of creamy skin, sprinkled with freckles in the oddest places, that just turned him on hard core. It took some effort to hold himself back—he didn’t take her with an aggression she wasn’t ready for—but it was still damn good nonetheless.

When he reached down between them and stroked her clit, she made a sound in the back of her throat, and clutched at his ass as another orgasm shuddered through her. He hadn’t expected that so easily, and the sight of her, shattering beneath him, was a thing of beauty. Her backside lifted up off the mattress and she cried out with pure pleasure. Damn. That was an orgasm that looked like years in the making.

He thrust deeper. He didn’t want to draw it out, or wait. He needed to push his thoughts aside and the only way he could do that was to pound into her, to feel nothing but the two of them slamming into each other. He found a rhythm she easily matched and he stroked inside her harder and harder. He was vaguely aware of her repeated gasps and moans, but mostly he forced himself to focus on that welcoming heat and what it did to his cock.

When she reached behind and gripped his ass, nails scraping across his flesh, he allowed himself to explode with one final thrust. He kept himself controlled, let it draw out, feel the intensity of his pleasure within her.

Then he shifted onto his back, breathing hard, and pulled her on his chest. He was still buried in her. He wasn’t going to say anything about his suspicions. He was just going to lie there and catch his breath, and enjoy the feel of her body warm and soft on his.

Kissing the side of her head, he lazily ran his fingers over her back until goose bumps rose beneath his touch. Her chin dug into his chest as she stared at him. He refused to look at her because he wasn’t sure he could keep his cool. He was torn between wanting to reprimand her for failing to tell him something pretty damn important and wanting to cup her cheeks with his hands and kiss her with an unspoken promise he’d never be able to keep.

This was an entanglement he hadn’t expected and didn’t need. He didn’t want to glance down and see that she was attaching to him. That her eyes were soft and round and filled with longing. That would kill him. Because he knew he couldn’t give her whatever she was seeking. She was three minutes out of a relationship and he wasn’t looking for a girlfriend. This was it. One night. Or more like two hours. That was what they had essentially agreed to, and if she was hoping for more, he would disappoint and he didn’t want that.

“Am I crushing you?” she asked.

That made him scoff. “Please. You weight about a hundred pounds. I’m fine.” He moved his hand down further, to brush over her ass, which was firm and round, but small. She shifted with a soft giggle.

“That tickles.”

Her movement had set their bodies apart and he reached down, removed the condom. He could feel her staring at him again, intently. He didn’t know what to say. For the guy who claimed to be charming, he was a fucking tree stump at the moment. He had nothing to say because he wasn’t sure what in the hell could possibly be said. Good luck? Nice to meet you? Hope it lived up to expectations? Were you seriously a virgin until now? Every possibility that floated past sounded trite.

Instead, he just held her, brushing kisses here and there over her temple, the top of her head. His fingers, callused from childhood chores, and working in construction when he came to Nashville, explored her absently, while she sighed, and settled back down against him. He could no longer feel her gaze on him and it was a relief. Eventually Avery dozed off and Shane stared at the ceiling, feeling like he might have stepped in some serious shit. It was five in the morning and he was lying in a hotel with a very vulnerable woman and he didn’t really want to leave. Even as he worried that she might attach to him, he had the nagging fear in the back of his mind, that given half a chance, he might be attaching to her.

It should have been a terrifying thought. Instead, it was oddly intriguing.

He wanted to ask her out. See her again. That might be the craziest thing ever, and firmly uncharted territory for him. Yet, he felt strangely content in the warm bed, holding a woman he didn’t know.

He fell asleep that way, Avery O’Leery tucked in beside him, her blue and green eyes dancing behind his closed lids.

TEN

Avery woke up to a loud song shattering the dark quiet of the hotel room. She jerked awake, startled, heart racing, and sat up, thinking it was an alarm. Her intention was to just hit it so it would stop making that awful ear-splitting sound, but after a second she realized it wasn’t an alarm—it was a call coming to the phone Shane had left on the nightstand.

Shane. The man she had sex with.

The thought had her turning back to the bed. Shane showed no signs of waking up, his mouth slightly open on a small snore. His arms were up over his head in what was a sexy yet adorable sleep position. It was damn near incomprehensible that she had a man this gorgeous naked in her bed. This kind of thing just didn’t happen to her. Obviously, it had though. He was the proof, still lying beside her.

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