by J. H. Croix
I could practically see the wheels turning in her brain, thoughts shifting wildly as she stared at me, her cheeks flushing a deeper shade of red. Her tongue darted out, swiping across her bottom lip and sending another hot jolt of lust through me. My cock was hard, so hard it ached. I knew she could feel it, pressing against her lower belly.
“You mean like a one-time thing?” she asked.
Something passed through the depths of her eyes, my heart giving a hard kick to my ribs in response. Holly didn’t usually exude vulnerability. She was strong, sassy, and opinionated as hell. She was never one to back down. Yet, I sensed a glimmer of vulnerability in her, and it gave me pause.
While I knew she trusted me as a friend, she’d made it fairly clear she didn’t trust me in this respect. I knew I had to show her she was wrong. I also knew there was no way I was going to sweet talk her into this, and had every intention of taking full advantage of the white-hot need that had caught fire between us.
She was quiet for a beat too long, and I sensed she was going to argue the point. “Maybe, maybe not. Let’s see what happens,” I finally replied.
Her breasts pressed against me when she took a deep breath. It was about all I could do not to rock my hips into her.
She surprised me next. “Okay,” she said on a soft exhale.
Somehow, even though this was exactly what I wanted, I hadn’t thought past this moment. Well, it was fair to say thought didn’t have much to do with what was happening. Abruptly, I reminded myself she was a virgin. Much as I wanted to, I couldn’t fuck her up against the wall. It didn’t seem right.
Let me clarify. It seemed quite right, but I’d have to save that for another time. The vision of Holly’s legs curled around me, bare naked and her skin flushed pink all over as I fucked her, was enough to bring me to my knees. But that was the kind of thing to save for after she wasn’t a virgin.
I’d never been one of those men who thought too much about a woman’s virginity. It wasn’t like something I owned, or something to claim. I was realizing that perhaps I hadn’t cared because I hadn’t let myself care about any woman enough. Ever since Holly’s little bombshell the other day, I’d been thinking that I couldn’t fucking believe no other man had been lucky enough to have all of her.
Chapter Eleven
Nate
I didn’t wait, lifting a hand and brushing a few loose tendrils of hair off her cheek before I leaned forward, speaking against her lips. “Okay then, let’s do this,” I murmured.
She immediately arched into me, sliding a hand around the nape of my neck and murmuring, “For God’s sake, kiss me.”
Leave it to Holly to take control of the situation.
No sense in arguing with her. Our mouths collided. I was coming to learn that one thing Holly and I did incredibly well together was kiss. Jesus fucking Christ, I could kiss her for days. She didn’t hold back, her soft sensuous lips moving against mine, her tongue darting in to glide against mine.
I loved the sounds she made, little pants and moans, right into my mouth. I lost all sense of time. I didn’t even know how fast it happened, but I was lifting her as her legs wrapped around my waist. I could feel the damp heat of her through her thin cotton pants and the denim of my jeans.
Through the haze, I reminded myself this wasn’t just any woman. This was Holly, the woman I had fantasized about for years and told myself I couldn’t have. And she was a virgin. I needed to get this right. Scrambling for purchase in my mind and latching onto what little control I had, I broke free from our kiss, gulping in a breath of air.
Holding her against me, I turned away from the wall. “Bedroom,” I muttered.
She laughed, the husky sound sending a hot shot of blood to my groin. It would be a fucking miracle if I didn’t come in my pants over this woman.
“What? Is this one of those things where you think you have to do this right? We almost fucked in an elevator. Not to mention, I don’t think this virginity thing is going to be all that you think it is. It’s not like nothing’s ever happened, and I have plenty of vibrators.”
Dear God. I might end up actually praying to maintain my restraint. The vision of Holly playing with herself nearly snapped what little control I had left. Like I said, it’d be a miracle if I didn’t blow this before it came to prime time.
Angling in the direction of her bedroom, I held her high against me. “Shut up.”
“Oh, like that’s going to happen,” she teased as I shouldered through the door into her bedroom.
On the heels of another giggle, she dipped her head and nipped at my neck. I hadn’t been kidding myself, she was the opposite of passive. Hell, she climbed me like a damn tree in the dressing room after the fundraiser. Not to mention what happened in the elevator.
Yet, three days of mulling over the bombshell that she was a virgin, and I’d worked myself up into this idea where I needed to be gentle with her. Holly was having none of that. Another nip on my neck, and then when I paused at the foot of the bed, she nudged my shoulder. “Get on with it, would you?”
“For fuck’s sake, Holly,” I muttered.
I started to ease her down and she shimmied free of my hold, the subtle motion of her against my body tightening every fiber. Anticipation was thrumming through me and need shot like fire through my veins.
With one hand, she snagged the hem of her T-shirt and lifted it up and over her head in a swoop, where it drifted to the floor. I lost my breath. Literally. While I’d had plenty of fantasies about Holly’s breasts, I hadn’t seen them in their full glory until now.
I felt lightheaded for a beat. Her breasts were plump and round, the skin tight with her dusky pink nipples peaked for my touch. She caught my eyes, a slight grin curling the corner of her mouth.
“Oh, I see. What did you think? I was suddenly going to get shy? That’s not how this came about. This”—she paused, circling her hand and rolling her eyes—“virginity thing. It’s just, the right guy hasn’t come along. But you have a point. I might as well get it out of the way. Then, it won’t be a nuisance.”
Although I could hardly think straight—hell, I didn’t even know if I could be accused of having a thought—I experienced a pang at the way she spoke about her virginity. I sensed she’d cordoned me off, put me in a corner labeled “casual, friends with benefits.” Considering that I practically specialized in casual, although I had avoided getting tangled up with friends, it wasn’t like I could hold it against her, but still. Fortunately, she didn’t let me dwell, stepping to me and swiftly shoving my jacket off my shoulders. “You have too many clothes on,” she murmured.
She slid her hand up under my T-shirt, the feel of her palm sending streaks of fire over the surface of my skin. The tethers of my control were slipping, so I tightened my grip. Reaching behind my neck, I caught the collar of my shirt and tugged it over my head, flinging it to the side where it fell on the floor with hers. Yanking a condom out of my wallet, I tossed it on the nightstand by her bed as I kicked my jeans off.
When I looked back to Holly, she was shimmying out of her cotton pants, kicking them free from her feet. Fuck me. For too long, she had been testing my restraint. I wasn’t sure if this was some form of punishment at this point.
She stood before me, her breasts tempting me beyond belief. My eyes soaked up every detail—the dip at her waist, the soft curve of her belly, the flare of her hips—all of it combining to make me nearly crazy without even laying a finger on her.
Of course, to tempt me to the very edge of my restraint, she was wearing a scrap of navy blue silk for panties. She moved to hook her fingers on the edge of the silk, and I yanked on the reins of my control.
“No,” I muttered, my word coming out a rough order.
Her wide brown eyes flicked to mine. “No?”
“Not yet.”
Closing the distance between us, I almost groaned when I slid my hand into her hair and the other down her spine over the sweet curve of her ass. I’d felt Holly agains
t me before, but there had always been at least a layer or two between us. When I felt her breasts against my chest, her bare skin soft and silky, it was like bolts of lightning zapping under my skin.
I needed her distracted, needed her as lost as I was. I claimed her lips, pouring the desire storming through me into her mouth. She fed the storm kiss for kiss, stroke for stroke, nip for nip. One hand mapped my chest with the other sliding down my spine, her nails scoring me lightly. I clung to some semblance of control if only because she was everything I wanted. Finally. Having her naked in my arms was a fantasy I’d had for so damn long, it was practically imprinted in my brain.
The relief of actually feeling her was immense. I tumbled us onto the bed, rolling to the side, finally giving in and breaking free of her lips to explore every inch of her delicious body. Her skin tasted sweet and salty. Cupping one of her breasts, I looked up when she arched into me, a soft moan escaping.
My fantasies about her had been poorly uninformed. I’d had a little more to hang onto the scaffolding of them since our recent close encounters. Yet, nothing could’ve prepared me for how exquisite it would feel to have her naked against me, with nothing but that tiny scrap of silk keeping me from all of her.
I brushed my thumb back and forth across the tight bead of her nipple before dipping my head to swirl my tongue around it, sucking it in and nipping lightly as she cried out. I dallied on the other breast, circling my finger in the moisture left behind from my tongue.
It was all a blur—her fingers buried in my hair on a rough gasp, my own ragged breathing, my cock so hard it ached, and need beating like a drum inside of me with every touch.
I blazed a trail over the soft curve of her belly, savoring the give of her skin as I gripped her hip and leaned back. When I dragged my fingers between her thighs, the silk was drenched. I knew what she felt like, the slick feel of her on my fingers. I couldn’t fucking wait to be buried deep inside of her.
But first, I needed to make her lose her mind.
Teasing my fingers over the silk, I watched her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her entire body glistening with a sheen of sweat. The soft glow of a lamp in the corner was the only light in the room, casting her in a haze of gold.
“Nate,” she gasped, her hips flexing into my touch.
I couldn’t help the roll of satisfaction at the knowledge she wanted me this much.
“What?” I murmured in reply.
Her hair was a tangled mess on the pillows around her. She lifted her head, one elbow sliding back as she propped herself up. My cock throbbed. She was fucking glorious, her nipples all but begging for me to suck and lick them again. As I waited, her eyes narrowed. Oh good, I loved Holly angry.
“Get on with it,” she ordered.
She shifted, reaching for me. “Not so fast,” I said, catching her hand in my free one just as I pushed that silk out of the way and buried my fingers in her channel. She was hot and wet. Whatever she meant to say next blended into a rough cry as she fell back against the pillows, her hips bucking into me.
There was no such thing as finesse when it came to Holly and me. It was like two sparks colliding and feeding the flames, setting off more and more fires everywhere we touched.
I shifted down, and pushed her knee to the side. Leaning forward, I dragged my tongue through her folds. Her channel clenched, squeezing my fingers. Needing her panties out of the way, I drew back just long enough to yank them down her legs and fling them across the room. Then, I buried my face between her thighs, licking, sucking, stroking, all the while teasing her with my fingers as she moaned and her hips rocked into me.
I felt the ripples of her climax begin, her sex clenching tighter before she cried out. My name was a rough shout as she came in a noisy burst. I’d meant to take it slow, but then that would’ve required some sort of control. With a yank and a kick, my briefs fell to the floor at the foot of the bed. I was mapping my way back up her body with my lips and tongue. I was after only one thing, the feel of her around me as I finally, fucking finally, buried myself inside this woman who had tortured my fantasies for years.
My hips settled in the cradle of hers, the slick, wet heat of her teasing me as I rocked my hips against her once, my cock sliding easily through her slippery folds. Reality suddenly hit me like a slap. I was so lost in the tornado of need whipping inside me that I almost forgot a condom. Rolling away quickly, or rather trying to, I muttered, “Condom.”
Holly had hooked her legs around my hips and held me fast. She was a small woman, at least on the height side, but she was strong. When I looked down, she met my gaze, her eyes wide and dark.
“Holly?”
She gave her head a shake and then eased her grip on my hips. I moved fast, reaching for the condom on her nightstand and getting it on in no time. When I settled back over her, about lost at the feel of her against me, I forcefully punched through the haze of desire in my mind. “Are you sure about this?”
She giggled, the sound making my heart squeeze. “I think it’s a little late to back out now, don’t you?”
This was heavy, heavier than I had expected. All fantasies aside, this was Holly, a woman I’d known for as long as I could remember. I was about to be the first man who had ever been inside of her like this. It might take every ounce of willpower I had, but if she changed her mind, I would respect it.
Chapter Twelve
Holly
Nate’s dark gaze held mine, the look there so intense, it took my breath away. I could feel his cock, long, hard, and thick, resting against me. I’d just had an explosive orgasm, courtesy of his fingers and mouth. I should’ve been sated, and I wasn’t even close.
And now, now, he wanted to know if I wanted to back out. If I had any sense, we wouldn’t be bare ass naked in my bedroom, seconds away from me making what would probably be an epically bad mistake.
None of that figured into this moment. All that mattered was the drumbeat of my heart, need mingling with emotion and spinning into a storm inside, and the near desperate ache to feel him inside of me.
“I’m sure,” I said.
My hips arched reflexively, the feel of him sliding over my swollen clit sending a hot little jolt of pleasure through me. I wanted more. Finally, finally, he gave it to me. When he drew back, I felt the tip of his cock at my entrance. All teasing aside about technicalities, for a moment, I experienced a flash of anxiety.
And then he was sliding inside, an incrementally slow, deep stroke. I sensed him hanging onto his control. He was taut as a bow, every hard inch of him even harder as he slowly filled me. There was a subtle pinch and burn, but it wasn’t awful. Perhaps I’d been right that my vibrators had helped.
His voice was almost slurred when he spoke. “Holly, are you okay?”
“Mmm-hmm,” I managed, my heart beating so hard and fast it thundered through my body.
My hips rocked into him again, another subtle burn stinging me. But it felt good, the feel of him stretching and filling me felt better than I could’ve imagined. I knew I’d been missing out, I guess I just hadn’t realized how much.
Nate drew back slowly and then sank inside again. Again, I sensed him trying to measure this, trying to manage it. Restless with a burning, yearning need driving me, I arched into him, my hips rising to meet every stroke. I was too caught up in slick sensation, too tied up to let this be drawn out, to let this be slow.
Curling my legs around his hips, I slid my hand down his spine. “Don’t make me wait,” I murmured.
Our gazes collided, his dark and intent. Something flickered there that reached straight into my heart, hooking deeply. I felt as if I were spinning. With every stroke of him inside me, his skin against mine, his hard muscled body surrounding me, I was caught in a web of desire and intimacy.
“I’m not rushing just because you say so,” he said, his gruff voice whispering against my lips.
It was true that I hadn’t been saving myself, yet I couldn’t have been prepared for this. I felt as i
f I’d be ruined forever. Having this with Nate being my first experience, I was tossed asunder on the waves of emotion and desire crashing against the rocks.
Everything blurred. With his hips rocking into mine, he took complete control, not that I could’ve taken it back. It was a slow-motion dance of madness with his hard muscled body against mine, and every surge of his cock into the clenching walls of my sex. Slick and wet, the pull and glide of him pushed me higher and higher, pressure gathering in my core.
All the while, his eyes were on me and I couldn’t look away. Pleasure scattered through me and sparks caught hold, fire flashing through me. He reached between us, shifting up slightly with another slow drive into me. With the press of his thumb over my clit, the pressure spun loose, snapping with such force that I cried out.
He kept moving and my orgasm just kept going and going and going, clenching tightly down around his cock. I was spent from the force of it when it finally started to subside. I felt him go taut with a rough shout. On the heels of that, he collapsed against me, rolling us so he was on his back as I rested, limp and sated against his chest.
I was boneless, spinning in the currents. Nate murmured something and brushed my damp hair back away from my face.
“Are you okay?”
That simple question, which I presumed was tied to his concern that somehow this had hurt me. Oh, there had been a bit of a burn and a stretch, definitely more than anything I had experienced before, yet somehow, it chafed at me to have him ask.
Probably because I felt too vulnerable, too exposed—caught in an undercurrent of desire and intimacy far more intense than anything I had experienced before. I couldn’t have said why things had never gone further with other men, not when I wasn’t holding back on purpose. But this—the way I felt with Nate—was so much more than I had expected.
Emotions slammed through me, and I couldn’t quite speak. Unable to look away from his dark chocolate gaze, I managed to nod. I was barely there mentally, still awash in sensation, little shudders rippling through my body, pleasure pinging in tiny aftershocks.
