Page 19 of Knuckles

Instead of answering, I reached for the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head in one fluid motion. His sharp intake of breath as he took in my simple black sports bra was all the encouragement I needed.

I’d had men look at me with lust before. But never like this. Knuckles was focused squarely on me, on the way my body responded to him. The man was on a fucking mission, and I was afraid it was to drive me out of my mind with wanting him. And goddamnit, it was working!

“Fuck,” he breathed, his gaze traveling over my exposed skin with such hunger it made me shiver. “You’re goddamn beautiful.” He inhaled deeply again. “Smell so fuckin’ good.” His voice was like another hand to stroke me with.

His work-roughened hands skimmed up my sides, leaving goose bumps in their wake. When he reached my bra, he shoved it up over my breasts, drawing it slowly over my head to toss it aside.

The cool air of the room pebbled my nipples, but it only added to the sexual tension gripping my body.

“Please,” I whispered, not recognizing my own voice. I’d never begged a man for anything, especially not like this. But Knuckles wasn’t just any man.

As he stared at my bare breasts, his eyes darkened. The man was practically salivating as he looked his fill. I felt exposed, vulnerable, but the admiration in his gaze made me feel beautiful rather than afraid. It had been a really long time since anyone had looked at me the way Knuckles did, and it was intoxicating.

“Fuckin’ perfect,” he growled, lowering his head to press his lips against the swell of my breast. I gasped, arching into his touch. “Absolutely fuckin’ perfect.”

Knuckles’s mouth closed over my nipple, and I nearly came off the bed. His tongue swirled around the sensitive peak while his hand cupped my other breast, thumb brushing back and forth. My hands fisted in his hair, holding him to me as waves of pleasure radiated through my body.

I’d never felt anything like this… this raw need coursing through me. My body was on fire, every nerve ending alive and screaming for his touch. Even through my yoga pants, I could feel the heat of his erection pressing against my pussy, and I instinctively rocked my hips against him, seeking friction.

He groaned against my breast, the vibration sending another jolt of pleasure through me. “Keep that up, and this is gonna be over before it starts,” he warned, his voice rough.

“I need…” I trailed off, not even sure what I was asking for.

“I know what you fuckin’ need, woman.” His growl should have scared me. Or at least triggered all the shit I’d put myself through in my quest for… vengeance? Justice? Fuck if I knew anymore. Instead, the desperation in his voice only fueled my need.

Given everything I’d put myself through over the past decade, I didn’t think I could get excited about sex. I’d never really had sex for the pleasure of it. Because I wanted to. There was always a goal, and I’d never relaxed. I became pretty good at faking everything. Or, I thought I had until Knuckles angled his hips to give me the perfect amount of friction on my clit. Given the intensity of the first orgasm that ripped through my body, I had been grossly underperforming. I came so hard I saw spots.

“Fuck me.” The words seemed to explode from Knuckles. He shuddered around me even as I was coming down from a euphoric high. “Sweet Christ, I’ve never seen anything so fuckin’ beautiful as you comin’ your brains out.” He didn’t sound condescending or superior. No. This huge, alpha male sounded in awe of what he was seeing.

As my vision cleared, I met his wide-eyed gaze. The man looked like a kid who’d just discovered Santa Claus was, in fact, real. There was a mixture of awe, lust, and a look of greed so profound I knew my life was about to change forever. And those changes would have a ripple effect. Either way, I knew my hunting days were over. Not necessarily because I knew Knuckles would want that. But because there was no way I could ever allow another man to touch me after knowing what it was like to be in Knuckles’s arms.

With his weight still firmly pinning me to the bed, Knuckles slid his fingers down my body, trailing fire across my skin until they reached the waistband of my pants. He paused, his eyes seeking permission.

“Yes,” I whispered, lifting my hips in invitation.

With agonizing slowness, he peeled the pants over my hips. He gave a frustrated grunt when he had to sit up on his knees to pull my pants and panties down my legs. The cool air against my overheated skin made me shiver, but it was nothing compared to the tremors that ran through me when he settled back between my thighs. I whimpered when my bare pussy brushed his muscled abdomen.

He looked up at me, waiting until my gaze found his. “I told you I was gonna eat your pussy until you screamed my name,” he reminded me, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through me. “And I always keep my promises.”

I raised up on my elbows, my breaths coming in little pants. If he was really going to eat my pussy like he promised, I wanted with everything in me to watch him do it. Until I couldn’t. Given the orgasm Knuckles had already given me, I doubted I’d be able to recognize my own name before he was done with me.

The first touch of his tongue against my clit had me arching off the bed with a strangled cry. He chuckled, the vibration sending another jolt of pleasure through me, before he gripped my hips firmly and held me in place.

“Easy, baby girl,” he murmured. “We’re just gettin’ started.”

He worked me with devastating skill, alternating between broad strokes of his tongue and focused attention on my clit until I was writhing on the bed, crying,begginghim to finish me.

The motherfucker didn’t!

Knuckles shoved away from me with a yell and pushed himself off the bed. I was about to protest -- loudly -- when he unfastened his jeans, shoved them off his lean hips, and stepped out of them. Veins roped his arms from his hands and wrists, up his forearms and biceps. Lean hips and powerful, thick thighs rounded out his perfect body. Between his legs, in a nest of dark hair, his cock stood angry and proud.

Knuckles’s breath was deep and even, his unblinking gaze hard on me. I loved the way his focus was solely on me. With slow, deliberate movements, he shifted his attention to the nightstand beside the bed. He pulled out a pack of condoms and took one out.

“Ain’t sure this first time’s gonna last beyond the second I get inside you, but I promise you I will rebound and youwillcome.” I would have chuckled at his words except I found I needed the reassurance. Somehow, this man… knew. He knew my insecurities. Did he know he’d given me the first orgasm I’d ever had by a hand other than my own?

“I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.” I reached for him, wanting this with every fiber of my being. His powerful body was an aphrodisiac on its own. The tattoos. With him naked before me now, I noticed the shattered chain ink winding around his hip. He noticed my gaze.

“You’re staring,” he said, his voice rough with need as he sheathed himself.

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