“I should leave more often if this is the kind of greeting I get when I come home,” I tease.
“I was worried about you. The way you had to rush out of here this morning… Then I didn’t hear anything from you.” Lani playfully smacks my shoulder and I wince. “Oh my God, are you okay?” Lani asks, slipping from my arms and pulling at my shirt to look at my shoulder.
“I’m fine, sweetheart. Just a little bruise.”
She manages to lift my shirt until I’m practically trapped in the damn thing, so I help her out and pull the t-shirt off and toss it to the ground. Lani hisses between her teeth as she takes in the bruising that will look a hell of a lot worse come morning.
“What happened?”
She looks up at me with haunted eyes. So many emotions play across her face that I can’t narrow in on just one to see exactly what she is thinking right now. Her lip is trapped between her teeth, and her eyes flicker back and forth between mine and the nasty bruise I got when a beam fell on me earlier today. My job can be dangerous, but today was a one-off. I rarely, if ever, get injured beyond a few scratches—cats man—or a couple punches from helping the sheriff with drunk and disorderlies.
Whatever she’s thinking, can’t be good.
“It’s nothing really. I’m fine. Today’s fire was a big one. The barn out off of Lemon Lane… the one behind the old Shaeffer place was set on fire by some idiot teenagers who were using it as a party spot. The barn was already coming down before the fire.
A beam came down while we were doing the walkthrough after we put it out. I jumped out of the way but was just a second too slow, and it caught my shoulder on the way down.” I’m trying my best to be reassuring, but from the wide, fearful look in her eyes, I don’t think I’m succeeding. “I really am okay, beautiful.”
I cup her cheeks in both my hands and lean down to kiss her soft and slow. It takes a few beats before she opens to me. This isn’t the same as our fevered kiss from earlier. It’s a slow mating of mouths. A claiming kiss that promises love and devotion. A future. I pour everything into this kiss.
After we pull away, Lani stands on tiptoe to press light kisses across my bruised shoulder. “I don’t like seeing you hurt,” she admits. “I know your job is dangerous… seeing the evidence of that danger just really hits home that you could be seriously hurt doing it.”
Her eyes swim with tears, and I can’t stand it. I tug her to me and hold her. Pressing kisses to the top of her head and making all sorts of promises I pray I can keep. I tell her that nothing will happen and that I’ll always come home for her. After long minutes, she calms down. She sniffles once then seems to draw upon some inner strength and stands in front of me, brave and sure.
“I cooked baked spaghetti and crusty garlic bread. We should eat before it gets cold.”
“It smells delicious… almost as delicious as you.”
Lani’s cheeks heat in a blush at my teasing words. I pull my shirt back over my head, and she watches almost sadly as I cover myself. That doesn’t stop her eyes from moving up to my lips. She licks her own, probably imaging the searing hot kiss from before she discovered my bruise. She takes a step closer, then shakes her head as if to clear the sexual fog. “Dinner…”
I smirk at her trying to and reaffirm that there’s a reason we aren’t attacking each other like the lustful animals that we become every time our lips touch. She cooked me dinner and wants to take care of me. Maybe more so now than every other day she’s made dinner for us.
We make our plates then sit side by side at the breakfast bar. The food is delicious as always, and I tell her so. She blushes and says it’s nothing special. I have to disagree. Every meal she cooks me is special, but I know those words will just embarrass her, and that’s not what I want to do, not after upsetting her already. I hate that she was so worried and that I only exasperated that by getting hurt. If I could go back and be just two seconds faster at dodging the beam, I would. Not for myself, these kinds of injuries are par for the course some days, but for Lani. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep a smile on her face.
“Do you want to watch a movie after this?” I ask between bites of the most amazing meal that’s ever come from this kitchen. I could enjoy this kind of thing from now until the end of my days if I can convince Lani how perfect we are together.
I remind myself again that we are going to get there. She’s skittish until I get my hands on her, then she lights up. It gives me hope. Her body knows who it belongs to. I just need to convince her heart that we are meant to be.
“Yeah, that would be nice. It seems like we don’t get enough time together.”
She’s not entirely wrong. Between my job and her bookstore, we’re both busy. That’s probably why every time we’re close, we practically maul each other with pent-up desire.
I make a quiet sound of agreement, grabbing our plates and carrying them to the sink. Like all the other nights she’s cooked, I insist on cleaning up. She puts the leftovers away, then comes to dry the dishes. I grab the dishtowel from her hands and playfully swat her with it. “I’ve got this, sweetheart. Why don’t you go pick a movie.”
She giggles happily, all of the worry from earlier in the evening erased. “What do you want to watch?”
“Anything as long as it’s with you.”
Lani’s cheeks turn that beautiful shade of pink I love so much. She gives me a quick nod of her head, then scuttles off to the living room to pick our movie. When I get to the living room, she’s sitting in the middle of the couch with her legs curled up under her. She gives me a breathtaking smile, and I make a b-line to the couch instead of my usual spot on the recliner. Her eyes widen when she realizes that I’m going to sit right beside her. She starts to scoot over to give me more room, but I grab her and pull her close against my side—her body tenses for a brief moment before she relaxes against me.
I push play on the remote and am shocked by her choice of move. Definitely didn’t peg her for a scary movie girl. “Isn’t a little too early in the year for Michael Myers?”
“Bite your tongue. It’s never too early for all things Halloween.”
We fall into a comfortable silence as the movie starts. About halfway through, Lani’s slight weight against me changes, and her breathing evens out telling me she’s fallen asleep. Even after the movie is over, I don’t move. She feels so good in my arms.
I’m not sure how long I sit here holding her before I decide to put her in bed so she can sleep more comfortably. I pick her up, and she sleepily wraps her arms around me, resting her head on my bruised shoulder. I wince but would let her stab me before I give up the chance to carry her around.
I carefully lower her to the bed in the guestroom, wishing more than ever that she was in my bed. Instead of releasing me, her grip tightens around my neck, and she whimpers. “Sweetheart, you’ve gotta let go.”
“Uh-uh,” she mumbles sleepily. “Don’t wanna.”
“As much as I would love to crawl into bed with you, this bed wasn’t made for a man my size.” I greatly regret not buying a king-sized bed, but the only person I anticipated sleeping in this room was my mother.
Lani looks up at me with sleepy eyes. “Your bed, then.”
I’d love to say that I argue that it’s not a good idea. That having her in my bed is tempting the beast inside me that wants nothing more than to devour her, but I’m only so much of a gentleman. Now that she’s dangled the possibility of even just sleeping with her in my arms, there’s no way I can resist.
I lift her back in my arms and carry her to my bed. I lay her down, then strip out of my clothes. Lani wriggles out of her jeans, then does that magic trick where women take off their bra without taking off their shirt and throws both things on the floor. I watch with rapt attention as she snuggles down into my bed in nothing but a thin t-shirt and panties.
Has a man ever been so tempted?
I consider putting my jeans back on just to keep my wayward cock in check but decide
against it. She wants to be in my bed, and I want to feel her skin against mine. As soon as I’m beside her on the bed, she moves over to drape herself over my body. She wriggles against me, finding the perfect spot. Once she’s comfortable, she falls into a deep sleep leaving me awake with an erection that aches in the sweetest possible way.
Kissing the top of her head, I let myself drift.
9
Lani
Mmm. I snuggle into my blankets, soaking in the warmth; it’s then that I realize I’m not alone. And I’m not even in my room. It takes me a minute to remember the movie and me falling asleep against Torin. Then I remember him carrying me to bed and me not wanting to lose his arms around me, and basically begging him to sleep with me.
Now, I’m waking up wrapped up in Torin’s strong arms. I wriggle against him and gasp at the feel of his hardening cock against my bottom. A rush of arousal hits me. I press my legs together, trying to relieve some of the pressure. Torin’s grip tightens around me, and his hips move his length against me.
Is he awake? Does he realize what he’s doing?
“Beautiful, you’re driving me crazy with that sexy little body of yours,” he says, his voice rough from sleep and sexier than ever.
“I feel like I should apologize, but I don’t think I’m very sorry,” I whisper shyly.
His hand coasts up my body until he’s cupping the underside of my breast. I shudder when his thumb skates over my sensitive nipple. It pebbles to an achingly stiff peak. I grind my bottom against him with a bit more purpose and am rewarded with wet, hungry kisses down my neck and shoulder.
Fuck, that feels amazing. I’ve never been so turned on in my life. I don’t know if it’s having slept in bed with a man for the first time that has me so on edge, but I have a feeling it’s all because it’s Torin. We’ve been dancing around each other for days. Kisses and teasing touches… denied releases and interrupted moments have built up into a frenzy of hunger that we are both feeling.
I turn my head, capturing his lips with mine. Before I know what’s happened, he has me pinned to the bed, and his big body wedged between my legs as he kisses me like he’ll die if he stops. He rolls his hips, mimicking sex as he rubs against my soaked panties. Bright lights spark behind my eyelids as his cock strokes along my clit. I gasp his name, wrapping my legs around his waist and rubbing against him, encouraging him to move harder and faster.
Our lips never part. The pressure in my stomach grows and grows until it’s so big it explodes in a million glittering sparks of light. I rip my lips from his, screaming at the overwhelming pleasure.
“Fuck, love, you’re amazing when you come. I could watch that every day for the rest of my life and never have enough,” he growls, nipping and sucking my neck. He’s probably marking me, but I can’t find it myself to care. I want to be marked by him. I want everyone to know he’s mine and I’m his.
Despite my release, I’m still turned on beyond anything I’ve ever known before. I reach between us and run my hand over his length, hating the cotton of his underwear for keeping me from his skin. I try to push them down, but with him pinning me to the bed, I barely make any progress and whimper when he helps. He kicks his boxers off, and I make quick work of removing my own panties.
“We don’t have to—"
“I want you, Torin,” I say, cutting him off. “Please.”
With a groan, his lips crash back to mine. Then he has his fingers at my pussy, sliding through my slick folds. He finds my sensitive clit and rubs tight circles around it. I’m so sensitive after my first release than I quickly build to another. I whimper when he moves his fingers away. Then he’s pushing one thick finger inside me, and the pleasure is unlike anything I’ve felt before.
“Jesus, you’re tight.”
I can feel my cheeks turning a million shades of red at that. He knows I’m a virgin, but maybe it’s a bad thing in his eyes. I know the men in the romance books I read all get growly and possessive when they know they will be the only one to make love to their woman, but this isn’t fiction. Reality is hardly ever as sweet as fiction.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Hey,” Torin says, cupping my cheek with his free hand. “Don’t you dare be sorry. You’re perfect, and you’re all mine.” He thrusts his finger then slowly adds a second stretching me. “This pussy is mine and mine alone. It’s a fucking gift that I’ll treasure always.”
I moan as a third finger slips inside me. There is a slight twinge of something like pain, but not quite because everything he’s doing feels so good it barely registers. I’m lost in the feel of his fingers inside me, rubbing me expertly that I don’t realize he’s moved until his tongue slips between my lips and right across my clit.
“Torin!” I cry out at the immense pleasure. I’ve never felt anything like his mouth on me. It’s overwhelming my senses. I bury my fingers in his hair and hold him more to keep myself grounded to the world than to hold him to my pussy, though both are necessary in this moment.
He licks and kisses and nips and rubs his stubble all over me. My clit, my thighs, he licks into me, replacing his fingers with his devilish tongue. He brings me to the brink, then backs off. Over and over, he does this until I’m a sobbing desperate mess. When I think I can’t take anymore, he sucks my clit into his mouth, and I explode. He hooks his fingers into me and rubs that perfect spot inside, sending me to another world.
Before my orgasm subsides, his big body is back between my thighs, and his hard length is sliding inside me. Inch by inch, he pushes inside my quivering channel. There isn’t an ounce of pain like some women have their first time, just white-hot pleasure. When he’s fully seated inside me, he grinds down reigniting my sensitive clit adding a new layer to the overwhelming pleasure he’s giving my body.
“You feel perfect. God, you’re practically strangling my cock,” Torin says between gritted teeth. “It’s taking all of my self-control not to just rut into you like an animal.”
“Do it. I want to feel you. All of you,” I confess. And it’s true. I don’t want him to hold back. I want everything he has to give and then some. There’s a niggling worry in the back of my head that if I don’t get all of him now, I’ll never know how it feels to get it all. This could all be temporary, and I’m determined to make the most of every single second.
I’ll worry about broken hearts later. Right now, I’m going to pour every ounce of my desire and love for him into this moment. I’m going to soak up every bit of what he’s offering me and burn it to my memory so I can bring it up later when I’m back in my quiet apartment all by myself. I don’t have the time to get. Lost in melancholy thoughts because Torin starts moving his hips, pistoning in and out of me. Every time he hits me deep, his cock filling me unlike anything I’ve ever imagined.
Torin growls and curses and tells me how perfect I am. How beautiful. How tight. He tells me I’m his like it’s some kind of threat. I’m not naïve enough to take it as a promise, but I can dream. My pulse quickens, and that now-familiar tightness starts to build again, this time it feels bigger—all-encompassing—something I’m not sure I will survive.
It would almost be worth dying for this kind of pleasure. I can tell you I’m not sure I would be mad at dying like this. Dying making love to the man I’ve loved for my whole life seems like a pretty good way to go.
“I’m going to… oh, God… Torin…” I moan, as my whole body starts shaking with the power of my impending release.
“That’s it, beautiful. Let go. Let me feel you come all over my cock,” he grunts. “Christ, you feel so good, I’m not going to last.”
I moan at the idea that we could have that perfect synchronization to find our releases simultaneously. I want that. It’s an elusive thing that romance novels everywhere convince people is possible, but in practicality, it’s a rarity. Since this thing with Torin is like a fairytale, it would be fitting for this to be perfect too.
“Come with me. I want to feel you,” I beg.
&nb
sp; That’s all it takes. He buries himself deep, grinding his pelvis down on my clit, tipping me over the edge into the abyss. Torin groans, and I feel his cock jerk inside me as he finds his own release. He falls to the mattress and pulls me with him so that I’m splayed over his chest, still connected. A tremor plays through my body at the change in position.
He runs his fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp, then down my back all the way to my bottom. He clenches my cheeks in both hands and pulls me down on him causing me to shudder and moan.
I swat at his chest when he chuckles. “Sensitive, love?”
“Yes… wow. Is it always like this?” I ask, in awe of what we just shared.
He shakes his head. “No, sweetheart, this was something else entirely. It’s never been like this.”
A spark of jealousy burns in my heart at the thought of him with other women, but I brush it aside because he’s here with me now. It may not be permanent, but he says what we have is more than he’s had before. That is enough to chase the jealous feelings away. With a content sigh, I close my eyes and doze in Torin’s strong arms. I don’t want this moment to end. Ever.
* * *
I find myself smiling for the millionth time today. This morning was amazing. I’m pleasantly sore between my legs. After that first time, Torin took me again… Well, he encouraged me to ride his cock until we were both screaming our orgasms. Me because he rubbed my clit until I couldn’t stand a second longer. Him because I wouldn’t stop riding him until he exploded deep inside me.
Amazing really doesn’t cover the level of greatness it was. There is a tiny amount of worry that we didn’t use a condom. I don’t think I’m in any danger of getting pregnant based on my cycle, but I’m not an idiot and know things can happen. I apologized to Torin because I don’t want him to think I was trying to trap him or anything, but he simply shrugged and said whatever happens is meant to be.
Chasing His Forever: Sweet Somethings Book One Page 4
