Page 30 of Protected By the Billionaire Ex-SEAL

“Careful.”

“I am. I’ve always been.”

“I mean now.”

“I don’t want to be careful now.” There’s that challenge in her eyes again, piercing right through me. “Truth or dare?”

It’s the same, but it feels different—like the trees have cut us off from the outside world, making everything so much more intimate. I should tell her that it’s time to get out of the water, but something else comes out of my mouth.

“Dare.”

“I dare you to do something you’ve never done before.”

Same dare, too, but now it’s much more personal.

“Are you sure about that?”

She nods. I’m not aware that I’ve been wading closer, too, until her chest is brushing against mine. Then I’m all too aware of everything, from the way the smallest graze becomes an unbearable friction to her rapid, hot breaths.

“Yes.”

Her whisper feels like a punch. I shudder from the impact of it, then lower my head so she can feel how erratically I’m breathing, too. I close my eyes and fight it one last time, a struggle that feels futile when her hands clutch my shoulders and she rises from the water.

Instinct drives my leg forward until I can catch her and she won’t sink back. Desire streaks in like a lightning bolt when her legs straddle my thigh, but it’s when our mouths meet that I know I’m doomed. I thought sleeping with her would have lessened the desire, but the kiss feels brand new and familiar at the same time—and it’s as hot as ever, sparking a rush of delight before even more desire surges like a tide.

When I find her bra strap and lower it, she softly bites my lower lip. When I cup her bare breast, she moans against my tongue and has my cock hardening even more. I can’t help but trail my kisses downward while I play with her breast, enamored by the velvety smoothness of her neck.

“That’s cheating.” Her voice is throaty and shaking, but she arches toward my mouth. “You’ve kissed me before.”

“I’ve never kissed you in this waterhole before. I’ve never kissed a woman here before.”

And I want to do more than kiss her. I want to be inside her again, sinking into that wet heat and driving in and out until she clamps tightly around me. The fantasy of fucking her against the rock her back is against is so visceral that I fight back a groan when she starts rocking against my thigh as if that alone can give her pleasure.

But it doesn’t, not when she needs more. I can sense her restlessness building again as she writhes against me, so I lift her and change her position until she’s trapped against me—and I grind my erection into her heat until she can feel how hard I am for her. With only our underwear separating us, it’s heaven.

It’s also hell, especially when her sweet moan echoes in the air.

I deny myself a lot of things. My life as a soldier and my eye for investments instilled discipline within me through the years. But I know what Raven needs—and I find that no matter how hard I try to fight what I feel, I can’t deny her this.

“You can moan all you want,” I whisper in her ear. “No one’s going to hear you here. And I’ve never done this before.”

Her breath hitches when I grind a few more times, the friction turning up a notch. Then, because I’m too tempted to jerk her panties to the side and plunge into her, I return her on top of my thigh and use that to rub against her. She whimpers in protest when I lift her too far, then gasps when my finger slides into the most exquisite heat there is.

“Beautiful. So tight.”

And so wet already.

She shudders. “You said you had one rule. Not to sleep with clients.”

“I’m not sleeping with you again.” It feels like a lie, but it’s the truth—at least, it is in this moment. “But I’m going to make you come, Raven.”

Her eyes widen. The amber darkens as I slide another finger in, then begin to thrust them in and out of her. Not satisfied, I pluck her waist again.

“Christian?”

“Wrap your legs around me.”

She doesn’t hesitate, those smooth legs locking in and allowing me to bring her higher until her chest is level with my mouth. I tug her bra down completely and close my lips over a nipple, groaning at how stiff it is—and no, I’m sure it’s not from the cold. I slide my hand down her ass to squeeze it, then slide that same hand in between us.

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