Page 89 of Unnatural
I’m going to make you believe it, Sam. Someday.
She laced her fingers with his, bringing them up and gazing at her small hand in his large one. She remembered thinking, so long ago, in that forest where she’d first cast eyes upon him, that he could crush her beneath him if he wanted. Yet in some metaphorical way, she felt like she was holdinghimin her hand, that only she was the one capable of crushing. His heart, his view of himself. Again, she felt that edge of fear, that unworthiness, but she breathed it away. He was counting on her, so she would be brave. “Touch me,” she whispered.
“After that?” he breathed.
After that.After he’d told her what happened in thatdistant land where he’d tried to save a little girl and, to his mind, failed.
But not to hers.
“Especially after that,” she said.
His breath hitched. “Tie me up.”
She raised herself up and leaned over him, her gaze meeting his in the shadowy room. “No. I want to feel your hands on me. I want to feel you over me. Because I trust you. Because I love you.”
He blinked, his soul shining in his gaze, his lips parting in a surprised O. He took her face in his hands, cradling it gently, and she tilted her head, smiling, nuzzling her cheek against his palm. He brought his mouth to hers, kissing her softly, slowly, as she lay back on her pillow and he leaned over her, his large body above hers for the very first time. She relished the moment, the feel of his lips pressing down on her, the heat of his naked skin mere inches from hers. Despite being at his mercy, she’d never felt more protected. She whispered his name between kisses. There was no fear, no trepidation. She knew he would never hurt her. She always had. He’d learned to receive, but she realized now that maybe it was even more important that he learned how to trust himself enough to give.
Their kisses grew deeper, his skin hotter, the press of his arousal probing her hip. She shivered with delight, with anticipation, growing wetter between her legs with each stroke of his tongue. “Undress me, Sam,” she said between kisses.
He hesitated for only a moment, leaning back and helping her lift her tank top over her head. The mechanics of undressing, of removing her underwear, his boxers, was awkward in the close quarters of their double bed, yet therewas something dreamy about it too, something magical and secret, and they laughed softly, that laughter dissolving into moans as naked skin touched naked skin and again, he brought his mouth to hers.
“Please,” she whispered, taking his hand to her breast, sighing when his rough palm grazed her nipple.
He raised his head, watching her face as he explored, running a thumb over her nipple as she moaned his name. His hips thrust, an instinctive seeking, and as if he’d heard her silent asking, he brought his mouth to the place his fingers had just been. She gasped, pressing her breast to his mouth, fireworks of pleasure bursting between her thighs when he gently pulled.
He spent several minutes going between her breasts, kissing, exploring, and though there was a dreamy quality to their interlude, for Autumn, it was also bright and vivid. Not the room or the outside world but them, their bodies, as they sought and gave, pleasure flowing from one to the other. As if she’d fallen asleep and been swept into an electrical storm.
He trailed his hands down her stomach, touching, feathering, seemingly rapt, intent on knowing every inch of her. Autumn gloried in his slow exploration. He was also driving her insane with desire. “I need you so much, Sam,” she said, lifting her hips, her own desperate seeking, the raw need to be filled and stretched, to feel the way her body so naturally accepted him. To experience the welcome invasion of every part of her all at once: her body, her heart, and her soul.
She almost expected him to hesitate or even resist, when he didn’t, when he first brought his hand between her legs, stroking, she almost wept with the bliss but also the relief. He was as caught up as she was, even if not as certain. Shecould still see the vulnerability in his heavy-lidded eyes, still feel the unpracticed nature of his movements. It made her craving for him rise higher. She was vibrating with it. She’d known sex could be more than she’d experienced it in the past, but she’d never realized passion could be like this. Like burning hunger. Like sweet insanity.
His finger dipped inside her, and she cried out softly, her hips bucking. He let out a low growl, doing it again and then using his finger to mimic the movements she’d made with her own hand when she’d made herself come. She’d told him there was something infinitely better about having someone else give you pleasure, and she hadn’t been wrong. “Oh, Sam, Sam, Sam,” she moaned. It was so good. His finger sped up, gliding easily through her drenched folds. She was only delicious sensation and breath and the booming echo of her own heart. Her body sang, and so did her soul, each note calling his name. “Please,” she panted, and he covered her body with his, replacing his finger with the blunt tip of his erection. Their eyes met. His body quivered. He was shaking with need, with some measure of fear perhaps too. “I love you,” she breathed again, right before he began pressing slowly inside, her arousal easing the way, her body remembering him, ecstatic at his return.
He panted, groaned, gasping her name as he began to move, slowly at first, pausing before each deliberate press that brought his flat stomach to hers. She spun higher, the electrical storm sparking around her, glowing brighter, carrying her away so that she could only wrap her legs around his hips and hold on tight.
His movements sped up as he relinquished some control, and she let out a strangled gasp of joyful bliss, his hips thrusting ever faster. She wanted to scream with the pleasure, butshe knew she couldn’t do that, not here, so she turned her head to the side, squeezing her eyes shut as the first wave of release crashed over her, making her gasp and thrash. It went on and on, one crest after the other until she was mindless, boneless, and sobbing his name.
He came with a gasp and a groan, pressing his face into her neck as he shuddered, pressed, and poured into her, eventually slowing, their stilted breath merging with the gentle breeze making the curtains lift and sway. She ran her fingers over his back, up his arms, the beauty of what they’d just experienced still sparkling through her cells.
At some point, they fell asleep, though it was hard to remember the difference between reality and slumber. She woke slowly, her body remembering the night before her mind brought it forth. She reached for him, but his side of the bed was empty. She leaned up to see a note on the bedside table, telling her in his blunt, all-caps writing that he’d gone for a walk. She placed it back down and then hugged her pillow, a dreamy smile tilting her lips, the beauty of the night still filling her with wonder.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Do you have a minute to chat?” Mark asked as he came into the kitchen.
Autumn placed her almost-empty coffee cup down, looking up at the agent who, in only a few short days, had begun to become a trusted friend. His expression was troubled, and a tremble of trepidation made the hair on her neck rise. “Of course. Is everything okay?”
“I’d like to tell you and Sam about what I’ve found regarding—ah, here he comes now,” Mark said, nodding out the window behind Autumn.
She turned to see Sam walking across the yard from the path along the water, a hood pulled up over his head, shoulders hunched.
He came through the door a moment later, taking down his hood. Their eyes lingered, memories of the night before flowing between them, adding an invisible shimmer to the air. Her heart quickened, and she had the inane temptation to giggle, despite her worry about why Mark was calling a meeting with them. “Good morning,” she said instead. “Mark wants to tell us something.”
Sam looked at Mark. “Okay.”
“Let’s go into the living room,” he said, leading the way.
When they got there, Jak was already seated near the fireplace. Harper had told Autumn she was taking Eddie into town for some groceries, and Autumn had assumed Jak was going with them too, so the sight of him surprised and concerned her.
