Page 98 of The Bond That Burns

“Why are you being...like this?” Her eyes were filled with confusion. As if she couldn’t reconcile the Blake she knew with the one standing in front of her now.

“Like what?”

“Kind,” she whispered, her voice so soft I almost couldn’t hear her.

My chest tightened. “Because you deserve it,” I said roughly. “Because you’ve always deserved it.”

She let out a shaky breath, her fingers tightening along the ridges of my back, pulling me towards her as her lips found mine again. This time the kiss was slower, deeper. The desperation was still there but it had been softened, replaced with something that made my chest ache with need.

Her hands slid over my shoulders, and I held her tighter, feeling the delicate curve of her waist under my palms. I wanted to memorize every inch of her, every soft little sound she made. She was a storm of contradictions, all fragility and fire. If she let me, I’d be the one who held her through every storm and tempest on the horizon.

Our kiss deepened. Her body pressed more firmly against mine and I couldn’t stop the low groan that escaped me. Her fingers tangled in my hair.

“Come here,” I murmured against her lips, my voice a low growl as I tried to keep my need at bay. I didn’t want to take from her. Not today. Today I wanted to give her something. Everything. Anything she needed. Anything that would help the hurt, stem the tide of her tears.

I held her by the waist and gently guided her backwards towards the bed in the center of the room until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the mattress.

She looked up at me, her eyes huge, unsure.

I waited, giving her time to tell me to stop.

She didn’t.

I brought my hands to her shoulders, my touch gentle as I eased her back, lowering her onto the mattress, my weight hovering above her. My lips brushed hers, slow and patient, trailing down to the corner of her mouth, then down to her jaw. I kissed my way down to her neck, lingering there before forcing myself to move on. My fingers reached for the buttons of her blouse. I hesitated, looking down at her, silently asking for permission.

She nodded slowly, her breath catching as I undid the first button Then the next. And the next. The blouse parted and I moved onto the little white chemise she wore underneath, the thin cotton fabric the only thing keeping me from her breasts. I could already see the tips of her nipples straining against the thin cotton. For a second, my fingers stumbled over the tiny pearl buttons, but then I continued steadily, as though I wasunwrapping something infinitely precious. When the chemise finally fell away, my gaze swept over her.

“You’re beautiful,” I said, my eyes darkening. “So fucking beautiful, Pendragon.”

My hands moved to the waistband of her skirt. I paused, my eyes meeting hers. “Tell me if you want me to stop,” I said, my voice a little hoarser now.

She shook her head. “Don’t stop,” she whispered.

I lifted her skirt slowly, taking in the sight of the white lace undergarment she wore. I slid my hand down her bare thigh, then between her legs, feeling the dampness. She gasped as I pushed the fabric aside, then moaned as I slipped a finger inside her.

Her breaths came in urgent pants as I slid my fingers in and out of her. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted to give her more.

I leaned over her, kissing the tips of her breasts, then moving my mouth down the plane of her stomach, across her hips. I lifted her skirt, sliding it up to her waist, and then lowered my tongue to her pussy. Her breathing quickened. She clutched the coverlet of the bed with her free hand as she tangled the other in my hair.

I moved my thumb over her clit as I licked between her legs, the stubble along my jaw brushing the soft sensitive skin.

I went slowly, running my tongue up and down the length of her. Enjoying the sounds as her breathing sped up, becoming a ragged pant. Feeling the quivering of her thighs as I teased and tasted, savoring her scent.

Then, finally, the sweetest words.

“Blake, please,” she moaned. “I can’t...”

“Fall apart for me, sweetheart,” I breathed against her skin, then captured her clit between my lips, sucking hard enough to make her cry out my name so loudly it was almost a scream.

I felt her orgasm rip through her in a shockwave, her hand tightening in my hair as her hips arched against my mouth, her knees shaking.

I slid my hands over her hips, her thighs, savoring the soft perfection of her skin. Memorizing the smell of her. The scent that had filled my dreams.

She reached down for me, pulling me up beside her and I complied, sliding up the bed and wrapping her in my arms. Her fingers skimmed over my chest restlessly.

“Not enough,” she whispered. “Still not enough.”

I looked down at her in surprise.

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