Page 44 of Escaping Wonderland

“You have no reason to fear me,” he whispered in her ear, his hands slowly sliding down toward her elbows. “I would never hurt you. I just want to make you feel good. Don’t you want to feel good, sweet Alice?”

Yes.

Desire curled low in her belly. Her nipples hardened against the towel, and her breasts felt heavy and achy—just because of his nearness, his voice. His touch sent ripples of excitement through her. Alice turned her face toward him, lips parting withher gentle pants as her attention fell on his mouth. It was so close, so tempting.

Play the game.

She lifted her eyes to his, which were half-lidded but glowing brighter than she’d ever seen.

Shadow trailed his hands over her elbows and down her sides, brushing them past her hips before settling them on her bare thighs—mere inches from the bottom of the towel. His fingers crept back up slowly, his claws teasing her flesh, and Alice shivered; goosebumps rose on her skin.

For an instant, his fingertips slipped beneath the towel, but they slid back out again as his palms continued up over the fabric. The upward trek of his hands had her suddenly desperate to have the towel torn away, eliminating the barrier between them. She needed to feel his warm palms on her breasts.

“Shadow,” she breathed.

“Alice,” he replied just as breathlessly. As his hands neared her underarms, he shifted them to her front. They rasped over her breasts; the friction caused by his palms pressing the towel against her nipples almost made her gasp.

He covered her left hand—which was clutching the towel in place—with his, while the fingers of his right hand curled under the towel’s upper edge. “You can let go with me, Alice. You don’t have to worry. Don’t have to hide.”

Alice tightened her fingers around the towel. Her heart raced in anticipation and anxiousness.

This isn’t real.

So what? Whether it wasphysicallyreal or not, this moment would never happen again. She might never share anything like this withShadowagain.

And she wantedallthese moments with him; they would be the shining light in the darkness, the glimmer of hope that carried her through this ordeal. Something to look back onwith fondness when she escaped this place and returned to her comfortable, mundane life.

Even if none of this was real, it was the most excitement she’d ever had.

Alice released the towel.

Shadow drew it aside. The fabric brushed over her sensitive nipples as it moved, and when he let go, it slid down her side, caressing the bare flesh of her hip, thigh, and backside before pooling at her feet. He moved his hands to her waist and pulled her against him. His skin was soft over his lean, solid muscle, and his erection blazed like a brand against her back, throbbing faintly.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her neck. Alice shivered. She tilted her head and closed her eyes as tingles spread across her flesh from the spot where his mouth was touching her. Shadow’s lips seared a slow path down her neck toward her shoulder, and he ran his hands up over her stomach to the undersides of her breasts. Cupping her breasts in his palms, he kneaded and caressed them, brushing his thumbs over her taut nipples before pinching them.

Explosive currents raced through Alice. She gasped, covering his hands with hers and squeezing them as she pressed her thighs together in the hopes of alleviating the pulsing emptiness at her core.

It didn’t help; all it did was make her more aware of the slick evidence of her desire, more aware of that hollow, achingneed.

“Don’t be afraid of what you feel,” he whispered, his breath hot against her neck, as his deft fingers teased her nipples. “Don’t fight it.”

“I’m not.” She turned in his embrace. “Not anymore.” She met his gaze briefly before she closed her eyes, looped her arms around his neck, and pressed her mouth to his.

She had only ever kissed two other men in her life, neither of whom had been able to steal her breath with a single touch, neither of whom had set her body aflame merely by looking at her.

Shadow returned the kiss. His tongue slipped across the seam of her lips, demanding entry, as his hands dropped to cup her backside and draw her pelvis against him. He made a low, satisfied rumbling sound in his chest. It vibrated like a purr, stimulating her nipples, which were now pressed against him.

Alice made a small sound—something between a moan and a whimper—and parted her lips. His long, rough tongue delved between them. He explored the recesses of her mouth and stroked her tongue, coaxing it to dance with his. She shivered with delight. His mouth was firm, demanding, and divine; she didn’t want this to end. Currents of pleasure coursed through her, heightening her need.

Without breaking the kiss, he lowered his hands to her thighs and lifted her, palms sliding to her knees as he did so. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. The new position pressed her open sex to his cock; it glided along her folds and stroked her clit, and she gasped against his mouth, moving her hands up to grasp his hair. When he walked forward, his stride intensified the sweet friction at her core.

A shudder wracked him, and he squeezed her legs with his strong fingers. The points of his claws pressed against her flesh, but she wasn’t afraid; she was eager to feel more. Those tiny pricks of pain only stoked the flames of her desire.

He finally broke the kiss as he laid her on the bed. Alice’s lashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes, looking up to meet his half-lidded gaze. For a moment, he lingered over Alice, panting, braced with his arms on either side of her.

Lips parted with her ragged breaths, she loosened her grip on him and smoothed her palms over his shoulders and arms, memorizing the feel and texture of the muscles beneath.

In this quiet moment, everything feltright—like this was meant to be, like they’d been destined to meet and come together here. There was no reality, no simulation, no other places or people, only Alice and Shadow, drawn together by their attraction and something more, something indefinable.

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