Page 58 of Reckless Promises

“In my lifetime?”

He chuckles, nipping at my neck. “In a row.”

I’m not sure what kind of question that is. The answer should be obvious. “One.”

He hums, a grin forming in the corner of his mouth as he lifts off me and kneels between my legs. “Show me.”

“Show you what?” Butterflies flutter all the way up to my throat with my question.

“I want to see how you make yourself come.”

My eyes widen as my confidence drains. It’s one thing to tease him—or even touch him. But for Cillian to watch me touch myself has my nerves exploding.

Shaking my head, I scoot back on the bed. “I can’t do that.”

“Why?” His face pinches.

A seemingly simple question when none of this is.

“It’s just… I’ve never…”

My cheeks flush with heat, and even if I was confident a moment ago, it all falters with his request. I’m not surehow I thought I could go toe to toe with a man who has his level of experience, but I’ve made a huge mistake.

“Odette.” Cillian reaches for my hands when I try to bury my face in them. “Come here.”

He leans back against the headboard next to me and pulls me between his legs with my back to his chest. Wrapping his arms around me, he holds me. His steady breathing is comforting when my heart is racing.

My body relaxes, wrapped in his scent.

“I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. I told you that from the beginning.” Cillian brushes my hair behind my ear and kisses the peak of my shoulder. “And even though I’m not thrilled about the prospect ofdying celibate, as you so eloquently put it, I’ll wait for you without complaint, and I won’t cheat on you. That’s not who I am.”

“I know.” He might have a reputation, but I’ve been around Cillian long enough to read his nature. “I was frustrated tonight; I know you’re not my father. And I know you’re not like Sascha. If I’d ended up with him—”

I can’t even finish the thought. It’s too much to imagine what Sascha would have done to me by now. And here I am, talking back to Cillian like he’s not taking care of me and giving me everything I could ever ask for.

“You didn’t.” Cillian slowly trails his hands down my arms until he laces his fingers through mine. “And you won’t. So don’t think about it.”

Sometimes I swear he’s hacked my brain. He reads my reactions, my emotions, my fears. It’s almost as terrifying as if he didn’t care to read me at all.

Cillian flips my hands so my palms face up, and he traces the lines like he’s reading my future.

“It’s not that I don’t want to do it.” I swallow, as his gentle graze makes my skin prickle when he slowly moves his palms from my hands to my legs.

“You made that pretty clear when you climbed onto my lap.” He grins against my neck, and I can’t help but laugh.

Tipping my head back against his shoulder, I lay my hands over where his rest on my thighs. “I just don’t know how.”

“You don’t know how to do what?” He looks down at me.

“I’ve never given myself an orgasm. At least, not with my hand. I…” My cheeks are burning with my embarrassment.

“You don’t have to be shy with me.”

“I’ve only ever used a vibrator.”

“Really?” His response is borderline playful.

“Yes, why?”

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