Page 65 of Dance for Me

The man who held her heart in his hands grinned down at her, handsome as any devil, before he rolled off her and onto his feet beside the bed. “Protection first, little one. If I don’t get the condoms now, I’m not going to want to leave the bed in a few minutes. You okay here for a minute?”

If he was asking if she was going to run while he was in the next room, she was pretty damn sure the answer was no. There was no blood left in her head, and she couldn’t feel anything below her thighs. The sole focus of her attention was the needy throb between her legs and the responding twinge in her belly. “I’ll just...wait here.”

“Remember, if you run...”

“You’ll haul me back home.” A knot formed in her throat at the idea of coming home, to him, on a daily basis. She watched him prowl into what she assumed was the adjoining bathroom, and fantasized about what it would be like to do this every night. For this to become her normality.

Waiting for her lover, her Master—and she had no idea when that concept dwindled on the fear scale—in bed, naked and eager to feel his body against hers. Embracing the safety he let her feel, instead of fleeing from him every chance she got.

Maybe they’d have dinner before they both went to work at Avalon, after he got home in an evening from whatever job he did through the day. They would eat, then go to the club, and she would dance her heart out while he watched. She’d dance for him, only for Braun, and then they’d slip into their roles as Dominant and submissive.

When the night was over and the club was dark, she’d walk home with him, hand clasped tight in his, and he’d lead her up the stairs to their bedroom. This bedroom. He’d strip her and kiss her, lay her down right here, and they’d fuck one last time before curling up together and falling asleep.

No. No, fuck didn’t sound right. It didn’t fit the vision in her mind.

Make love.

Yes, that was infinitely more appealing.

They would make love and fall asleep with her butt pressed into his groin and his arm snugged tight around her waist, keeping her safe from the monsters running riot through her dreams.

Movement in the bathroom doorway merged daydream into reality.

Braun stepped back into the bedroom, graceful as any warrior, and beautifully proportioned. From her vantage point, he seemed massive, a tall and proud visage of masculinity waiting to pounce on her. Muscles bunched and rippled beneath his skin as he walked toward her wearing considerably less than what he’d had on a minute ago.

She kept her eyes six inches above his navel, not daring to glance down at his crotch. But her heart thudded like a war drum in her ears, her breath rasping unsteadily, even as her body sensed the arrival of a prime male specimen and welcomed him with a purr of delight.

Don’t look, don’t look, don’t—ah, fuck, I looked.

“You look like a serial killer just popped his head through the shower curtain and told you you’re about to die, little one.” Braun tossed several foil packets onto the drawers next to the bed, then sat beside her. Naked. “For all your bravado, this genuinely scares you, doesn’t it?”

Bodie ignored the evidence of his arousal and scoffed. “Like hell it does.”

Instead of rising to her snippy bait, he just shrugged those broad shoulders nonchalantly. “There’s no shame in it, Bodie. Everyone’s nervous the first time—it’s all new, you don’t know what to expect or how to act.” He stroked his fingertips down her temple, her jaw, her throat in the lightest caress imaginable. “The main thing I want you to remember is that I’m not going to hurt you. We’ve got what’s left of the night and all damn day to make sure this is the best experience for you, okay?”

She swallowed, appalled to find her throat tight. “Don’t do that. Don’t be nice to me, not now.”

“Now, during, and after,” he retorted sternly. “We are not treating this like a quick fuck, Bodie. I think more of you than that, and you should too.”

His fingers trailed over the ridge of her collarbone, skimmed her chest and the prominent bones of her upper rib cage before circling her breast. Around and around, never touching the taut nipple straining toward him, but sensitizing the flesh until thinking about anything was impossible.

“Any questions, observations?” he murmured.

God, no. Just keep doing that and we’ll be just fine, Sir.

He leaned down, a smile tugging his lips. “Time to see if these taste as good as your pussy, little one. My money says no, because nothing’s as sweet as that, but I think I should check just to be sure.”

What was she meant to do with her hands? Grab the sheets? Grope him? Maybe he’d like that. Would it make her seem too eager if she started pawing at him? He didn’t give her a chance to find out—warm breath washed over her flesh, then heat surrounded her nipple.

Her body arched, twisted, but his mouth remained attached to her breast, tongue flicking and rubbing the distended peak he sucked on greedily. Pressure spiraled wickedly down her body, between her kicking legs, then pain spiked through her other nipple, caught between his thumb and forefinger. “Braun!”

He released her with a soft pop of suction. “I stand corrected, little one. Just as sweet.” Returning to his task, pain blossomed through the nipple in his mouth, matching the one controlled by his fingers. Teeth and hands teased her until she writhed desperately on the bed, mewling like a wounded kitten.

Braun finally gave her a break, letting her catch her breath as he nuzzled between her breasts. “I’m hoping you’re not having a panic attack, Bodie, by the way you’re wheezing. Just take a minute, breathe.”

Breathe? How the hell was she supposed to breathe when her skin was alive with tingles and her body was seconds away from combusting in a puff of smoke? The brush of his stubble along the insides of her hypersensitive breasts was driving her crazy. “Braun, please. Please do something.”

Trembling, she mourned the loss of him as he pushed up from his leant over position and surged fluidly onto his feet. Where his hip had rested against hers, her skin wanted him back. That simple connection settled her.

---