Page 59 of Black Roses

“Am not,” she lies through her pearly whites.

My cheeks hurt from suppressing a huge smile. “It’s okay to want me, Piper. I want you, too. I want you so much that I think about you every minute of every goddamn day.”

Her hand trembles in mine. “I’m scared,” she confesses.

“And you think I’m not?” I turn to face her, taking both her hands in mine. “Everything about this”—I pull a hand away to wave a finger between us— “terrifies me. But I have feelings for you. Huge feelings. Feelings that override any apprehension, concern, or doubts I have about us.”

She nods and I can see her try to swallow her emotions. “Me, too.”

Jesus.Did we do what I think we did?Did we just fucking move to New York?

I stand up and offer her my hand. “Come with me.” I nod to my bedroom. “I promise you we’ll only go as far as you are comfortable with. I have to see you again.” My gaze shifts to the breasts still concealed beneath her blouse.

Her eyes flit nervously back and forth between me and the bedroom.

“Look at me, sweetheart,” I beg. “Keep your eyes on me. It will be okay. It will be perfect.”

“If by perfect, you mean a train wreck with multiple casualties, then you’re about right.”

My heart sinks before I see her eyes brighten with the beginnings of a smile. “A joke? You made a joke about having sex with me, Mitchell? You know that’s not very good for my ego, right?”

“I have a feeling your ego can take it,Dix.”

Laughing, I reach down and scoop her up into my arms, carrying her back to my bedroom, making her the one and only woman who has ever crossed the threshold.

After kissing her senseless on my bed, I remove her clothes, watching her cheeks pink up in the soft light I intentionally left on in the room. When I peel her jeans off, I spy a birthmark on her left thigh. About the size of a silver dollar, it looks like the state of Texas. It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. I trace the beauty mark with my tongue, never breaking eye contact with her. She makes soft mewling sounds, causing my already hard dick to pulsate in time with my heartbeat.

I push a finger inside her. Then two. Her head falls back against the pillow. My mouth breaks the seal on her skin. “Eyes, sweetheart,” I remind her. “I’m the only one who’s going to touch you here.”

Her body trembles as my fingers work inside her, crooking forward to try and find that one spot—that Holy Grail that will drive her wild.

I add my tongue to the campaign, cupping her behind and tilting up her hips to match my slow, circling rhythm. Every cell of my body erupts with need as I taste her muskiness and watch her squirm and writhe beneath me. When I lightly rake my teeth across her clit, her hips buck against my mouth and her nails dig into the meaty flesh of my shoulders. She is pure energy beneath me, her legs wrapping around my back before she stiffens and pushes them into me in time with her throbbing clit.

Hands, fingers, lips, tongue—it’s a challenge to do everything I want to do to her while keeping eye contact. But damn it if it doesn’t make every touch, every caress, every moment more intense.

Her tight walls squeeze my fingers and her groan of sweet release just about finishes me. Her eyes glaze over, the deep green irises burning into mine as she tumbles over the last edge of pleasure.

I climb up her languid body, my painfully hard erection straining against her shin, her knee, her thigh. I balance on my elbows above her, resting myself at her entrance. I reach over and retrieve a condom from my nightstand drawer. I show it to her.

Her eyes close and open on a ragged sigh. Then she nods slowly.

“Are you sure, sweetheart? I don’t want to hurt you.”

Her mouth trembles as she reaches up to touch my face with tentative fingers, brushing them back and forth across the soft hair on my jaw. “Yes. I’m sure.”

A longing like nothing I’ve ever experienced washes over me, my need to protect her is fierce. I trace my thumb over her quivering lips. “You’ll always be safe with me.”

I sit back on my haunches and tear open the small square package. I watch her study me as I roll it on and then hover over her. She’s so fucking nervous. Her hands are shaking. Her breathing accelerates, causing short successions of hot breath to roll over my face. I watch her swallow.

I can’t do this. I’m afraid I will break her. I reach deep inside for my willpower and gently pull away, but she grabs my shoulders, bringing me closer.

“Mason, please. I’m sure.” Her tender, conceding eyes contradict her apprehensive movements.

I’ve never wanted anything so much in all my life. “Sweetheart . . . ” I lean in to kiss her, the head of my throbbing dick begging for entry, riding the edge between too much and not nearly enough. I start to push in slowly, torn between savoring the surreal sensation of sliding up her tight walls and needing to keep her grounded. Sheltered. Safe.

I won’t last long. I’m not even an inch inside her and I can feel my balls tighten. I close my eyes and try to think of something, anything, to hold off my own release so I can see her enjoy this.

But then she lashes out, her arms flailing blindly. A guttural, painful scream tears through the air, making my heart tumble uncontrollably into the trenches of my clenching stomach. My eyes fly open to see her staring blankly at the ceiling, her eyes hollow as if nothing is behind them but an endless pit of fear.

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