Slow and Steady 1

by J. H. Croix

  His strong arms twined around my waist, holding me against him. He was so hard, every inch of him pressing against me. I felt the hard, hot length of his cock pressing against my low belly, my channel clenching in response.

  A low moan echoed in the kitchen, and it took me a second to realize the sound had come from me. Sonny deepened our kiss in response, his tongue sweeping into my mouth hungrily.

  My heart was thudding against my ribs, my nipples hardening to taut little peaks. An insistent throb between my thighs had me shifting my legs, restless to relieve the ache.

  I moaned against his mouth as my hips rolled against his, sparks of pleasure flying from my core to the tips of my fingers. I gasped, breaking our kiss.

  More. I needed more.

  “Want to move this to the bedroom?” Sonny’s voice was husky, his breathing as choppy as mine.

  I nodded, suddenly shy about how wild I felt inside. Sonny sensed a change in me, using an index finger to lift my chin. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to. I could stand right here and kiss you for the rest of the night if that’s what you want.”

  “It’s not that.”

  A line appeared between his eyebrows as he gently asked. “What is it, then? You’re going to have to talk to me here, Niki.”

  “It’s—” I fought the urge to hide my face with my hands, knowing he would just wait me out. “I moaned. Out loud. And you were only kissing me.”

  Slowly, his lips curled into a wide smile, and his worry disappeared. “Which means I was doing something right. I like hearing you. A lot.”

  My brows pulled together. “You do?”

  “Oh yeah.” He pulled me closer to him, eyelids growing heavy again as his concern over my hesitation faded. “Don’t even think about holding back when you’re with me, okay?”

  Since I didn’t intentionally make those noises, I wouldn’t have been able to hold them back anyway. Knowing he liked it would hopefully avoid any more embarrassing interruptions like this one. “You really like it?”

  “I really do.” He took my hand, his thumbs running across my knuckles as his eyes bore into mine. “You can feel how much if you want. Ease away any doubts you still have.”

  My eyes grew wider when I realized what he was saying. He wanted me to touch him. There. “Oh. Okay.”

  Reaching between us, he turned my palm, a low groan at the back of his throat when I curled my hand over his cock and stroked. His eyes rolled back as my fingers wrapped around him, his breath quickening as another noise rumbled in his chest. “See, I make them too.”

  “You do.” Because of me. I was making him make those sounds. Feminine power coursed through me, making me bolder and wiping away the shyness. I stroked him firmly, dragging my hand over the hard length of him.

  Breathing heavier, he caught my wrist. “Bedroom?”

  “Yes.”

  Sonny flipped a switch at his nightstand after we entered the dark, bathing the room in a soft light. Sitting down on his bed, I felt fidgety and uncertain again.

  He paused at the foot of the bed, pulled his shirt over his head, letting it fall to the floor. My jaw almost dropped open. My imagination hadn’t come close to doing him justice. Logically, I knew being a cop and a member of the SWAT team meant he would have to be fit, but I hadn’t known fit looked like this. He was lean and defined. The muscled planes of his chest made my mouth water and sent another wash of heat through me.

  He approached the bed, setting one knee between my legs on the mattress and leaning toward me. I leaned back reflexively, my shoulders hitting the bed with a soft thump. Sonny ran his hands up and down my sides, his eyes following their path.

  Hooking his fingers into the hem of my tank top, he tugged it up slowly. I rose up, lifting my arms so he could get it off. His gaze never left me as he flung it away where it fell to the floor in a rumple. His sharp intake of breath as his eyes roamed over my shirtless torso spurred me into motion.

  His mouth crashed to mine as I started undoing his belt, our kisses hot, wet and wild as we shed what was left of our clothes. When I was bare, he stretched out over me, the feel of his hardened body against mine and the incredible heat of his skin.

  With his fingers trailing across my bare skin, he drew a path from my collarbone, trailing over my breasts before circling a nipple. His touch was like a trail of fire. My back arched as I pressed my breast into his hand, moaning softly at the contact.

  Deepening our kiss, he shifted above me, and suddenly I could feel him. Right there. I hadn’t seen him yet, but what felt like a much too broad head to fit into me skimmed my inner thigh, the skin velvety and hot. I tensed, realizing this might be painful.

  Sonny broke our kiss as if he’d heard my silent questions. He planted kisses on my jaw, my neck, murmuring to me. “Relax, baby. I’m not going to hurt you. Remember, you’re in control here. If you want me to stop, all you have to do is say so.”

  “I don’t want you to stop,” I murmured, as sure as ever I wanted to do this with him. I just had to get out of my head.

  He drew back, looking into my eyes as he brushed my hair back, while the other hand continued teasing my nipple. “What do you need?”

  “To not overthink this.”

  Running his hand down my stomach, he grinned and bent his head to kiss me again. “I think I can manage that.”

  I didn’t ask him how. I simply looped my arms around him and kissed him. I wanted to do this with him because I trusted him, so I had to start doing just that.

  His fingers traveled across my stomach, down my thighs and over the curve of my hips. They left a path of fire in their wake as he awakened every nerve ending, set me ablaze with a need that pulsed at the apex of my thighs.

  He kissed me and teased me without touching me until I was desperate. Only then did he dip his fingers into me, sending me plummeting into a well of pleasure so deep I lost myself in it. I cried out, my hips arching into his fingers.

  Bolder and needier than ever before, I rode his fingers until my channel throbbed around him and pleasure snapped through me, my climax hitting me hard. My breath was coming in fast pants as I came down. Sonny kept kissing me, murmuring my name as my vision cleared and his face came back into focus. “Better?”

  “Much,” I admitted. I had no idea what I’d been worried about anymore. All I knew was I wanted more of that. More of him. “Please don’t stop now.”

  “Wasn’t planning on it.” Reaching over to his nightstand, he pulled out a condom and sat back on his knees to roll it on. “You still want to do this?”

  “More than ever.” I opened my legs wider to make space for him, my eyes flicking to the length of him. Seeing as my experience with men was limited to making out, I didn’t have much experience for comparison, but I knew he was well-endowed. His cock was thick and full.

  I swallowed. I could do this. Sitting up to clasp his face between my hands, I kissed him and rolled back, bringing him with me.

  As if our bodies were in sync, his hips rocked into mine. The broad head of his cock nudged at my entrance. Instead of shying away from it, I lifted my hips to welcome him.

  Breaking our kiss as he entered me, his eyes locked with mine as he pushed in. Slowly, so slowly, he slid into me. He was patient, watching me closely. I was so slick and wet, it happened faster than I’d imagined.

  It was tight. Uncomfortable, but not painful. A sharp tightening, and he was there—all the way inside of me.

  “Still okay?” he breathed, his teeth gritted with restraint. “Fuck. You’re so tight.”

  Whispering against his lips, I murmured, “I’m fine. You can move now.”

  I wasn’t expecting my first time to be enjoyable, much less pleasurable. But it was. Sonny read my body’s every cue, gave me what I didn’t even know I needed until I was clamping down around him again. He started to rock into me slowly. As the burn of his entrance faded, my body moved on its own accord, arching and rocking with him. Pressure gathered in my core until I was
chasing after another release.

  Murmuring his name, with every stroke into me, pleasure scattered through me. Just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, he reached between us. The slightest pressure of his thumb over my clit sent me flying. Again.

  An orgasm so intense it felt like I would never come back from it thundered through me. Sonny stayed with me all the way, giving in to his own needs only after I screamed his name, trembling beneath him.

  He tensed, his eyes shut as he chased his own release and shuddered when he found it. “God. Christ. Niki. Oh, fuck.”

  His weight fell against me, his lips coming to mine with a slow kiss.

  Sonny rolled over when my breathing started to slow, hooking his arm around me to tug me close to his side. Resting my head on his shoulder, I snaked my arm across his ridiculously muscled abs, tracing the ridges with my fingertips.

  The man was built like a god. My entire body was warm in the aftermath, and my limbs were weak, languid. So this is what all the fuss is about sex.

  I didn’t know it was possible to feel this relaxed. I was bare naked, tangled up with him, but there wasn’t a single part of me that felt tense, or like I made a mistake.

  Except for one thing in the back of my mind that wouldn’t go away. I’d completely forgotten it in the heat of the moment. But it was back, gnashing away at my afterglow.

  Sonny said I should stay until he was sure I was safe, that everything was okay. But it felt like whatever storm we were walking into was only getting started.

  Pressing a soft kiss to the crook of his neck, I looked up at him. “How do you know everything is ever going to be okay?”

  His arm tightened around me as he brushed a kiss to the top of my head. “It will be. I’ll take care of you Niki, I promise.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sonny

  “It smells divine in here,” Niki sighed dreamily as we walked into the coffee shop in the center of town.

  The rich scent of freshly brewed coffee pervaded the space, and I nodded, keeping my hand on her back as we walked to the front to place our orders. I knew she didn’t need me to guide the way, but I was having trouble keeping my hands off of her.

  Touching her back, even through her clothes, was the closest I could get to that in public. My shock over her being a virgin had very nearly ruined what turned out to be one of the best nights of my life. Thankfully, Niki saved it by reading me like an open book and setting my mind at ease over feeling like I was taking advantage of her. I had my doubts at first, but they’d faded fast. Her responses to me had only deepened my need for her.

  It had been so fucking sexy to see how she grew bolder and more sure of herself as the night progressed. I nearly lost hold of my control so many times, only my determination to make her first time as good and memorable as I could had kept me hanging on by a thread.

  A difficult task, but I succeeded.

  An unforeseen consequence of our night together was that the protectiveness I felt over her had grown substantially while we slept. As had the need to touch her.

  We reached the counter, and Niki studied the menu written in cursive with white chalk on a blackboard. The coffee here was phenomenal, along with the sandwiches and other items they offered.

  Waylon approached us, winking at me when he saw Niki’s attention focused on the board overhead. “What can I get for the two of you?”

  “I’ll have a cappuccino, please,” Niki replied, ignoring Waylon’s curious smile.

  I gave him a pointed look, then ordered. “Regular black coffee for me.”

  “Coming right up,” Waylon promised, his eyes flicking to Niki and then me with a sly grin.

  I ignored his hint. Taking a few steps to the side, I tugged Niki by the hand, and she followed. We settled in at the takeout counter for the wait.

  Waylon, however, didn’t take the cue I wasn’t up for chatting. He ambled over to us while the espresso machine was humming, shoving his long hair behind his ears. “So Sonny, did you find anything on your dad’s case the other day?”

  “No.” I frowned, checking around to make sure no one had heard what he said. “Don’t worry about that. It was nothing.”

  “But—”

  “Really Waylon, I was just reading some stuff. Nothing you haven’t seen or heard a thousand times. Let it go.”

  He shrugged, his eyes lifting to the door as another customer came in. “Whatever you say, Sonny. Say hi to your brothers for me.”

  Taking two plastic tops off a stack, he grabbed our coffee cups and closed them, passing them over when he was done. “See you around.”

  “See you,” I replied, but Waylon was already moving to the other end of the counter to help the new customer. Niki lifted her coffee and headed over to a table nearby.

  She chose one by the window with a view of the center of town and people strolling down the sidewalk. Early morning sun shone through the window, falling in a sliver down the middle of the table.

  I took the seat across from her, doing my best not to stare. Her eyes were the same color as the sky outside, relaxed and warm as she sat there with her coffee. How had I ever thought of her as only pretty?

  She was downright gorgeous.

  She winced as she took another sip, blowing softly over the top of her coffee for a moment. Meanwhile, I felt like that small wince was her sending up the bat signal that she needed help.

  “Too hot?” I asked.

  “A bit,” she said, blowing across the top of the cup once more. “I forgot it would still be piping hot, that’s all.”

  “I can get you a cold drink?” I offered, but she waved me off.

  “It’s really not that bad.” Flashing me a shy smile, she reached up to twist a thin silver chain around her neck. “What are your plans for today?”

  “I’m going to meet up with Zach later. He’s a friend who works with me. I want to see if he has any information yet, and Maclin is on a witch hunt for his head, so I need to check in any way to make sure he’s okay.”

  Her eyes turned wary at the mention of Maclin, an exasperated huff falling from her perfect lips. “Is he after everyone?”

  “Nah, Zach and I are the lucky winners of his ire this time around.” I shrugged. “Maybe he just doesn’t like our faces. Who knows?”

  “Me.” Smiling, she took a cautious sip of coffee. “I can’t speak for Zach, but in your case, it can’t be your face. It’s too cute.”

  Eyes widening as if she hadn’t meant to say that out loud, she cut them away to attentively study people passing by the window. I reached for her hand across the table, giving it a squeeze to get her attention. “You’re beautiful.”

  Rosy pink crept onto her cheeks, but her hand relaxed in mine. “Thanks.”

  “Do you have anything planned for the day?”

  She glanced down at her cup, then lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “Not really. Maybe I’ll finish that book I started yesterday.”

  I lifted an eyebrow, dropping my chin. “You read that fast?”

  “I do. I think it’s because I read so much,” she said, trying to act like it was no big deal.

  “Something else you’re great at,” I told her earnestly. “Is there anything you’re not good at?”

  Knitting her brows, she nodded fast. “Everything else. You name it, athletics, people, art, knitting, gardening.”

  “That’s weirdly specific,” I said with a chuckle.

  Niki laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “No one can say I haven’t tried other hobbies.”

  “I don’t know about the others, but you’re not bad at people. Look at you, here with me.”

  Shaking her head vigorously, she pointed at me with her cup. “You’re an exception to the rule. Along with my friend Karen. Most other people I suck at.”

  I begged to differ. I’d seen her with customers in the library, and they loved her. But I wasn’t going to push her. Even though she dismissed compliments, I wasn’t about to stop giving them. She was a
mazing, and she should know it. “I don’t believe that, but I guess I’ll have to prove it to you. For now though, how do you feel about trying your hand at another skill?”

  “What did you have in mind?” She tilted her head, studying me.

  “Shooting. I want to show you how to use a gun. That way, when you’re at the house by yourself, you’ll be able to protect yourself if something happens.”

  “Um, are you serious?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Yes, if only because then I won’t worry so much when I’m not around.”

  “I hate that you’re that worried, but if you think it would be smart, I’ll do it,” she said with a sigh. “But I guess it might make me feel safer if I knew how to use one.”

  “I guarantee it.”

  We finished our coffee, and I drove us over to the shooting range. After making sure she was set up with eye and ear protection and getting all the formalities out of the way, Niki and I walked to an open spot, bantering all the way there.

  The range was pretty empty at this hour, so we had plenty of space.

  Niki looked around nervously until I put my hands on her shoulders. “You can do this. I’ll talk you through it. I’ll be right here.”

  “I know,” she said, taking a deep breath as she held out her hand. There was a hint of apprehension in her voice when she asked. “Are you going to give me the gun yet?”

  “Absolutely.” I handed her my gun. My dad bought me the handgun for my twenty-first birthday. In all these years, I hadn’t even let my brothers shoot it. Handing it to Niki didn’t feel the same as it would’ve handing it over to anyone else, somehow. “You ready to get started?”

  Her fingers closed around the grip, lifting it as she felt the weight in her hands. She raised it, pointing it in the direction of the targets. A smile spread across her lips as she peered at me over her shoulder. “I feel kind of like a badass holding this. Show me how to use it.”