"I'd rather take you."
He suited words to action, popping open her button and dragging her zipper down until he could slide his hand into the warm valley between her legs. He heard her gasp, felt her arch beneath him, and grunted in satisfaction. He'd barely touched her, and already she'd caught fire for him. He couldn't wait to see her burn.
Light, teasing strokes along her inner thighs made her tremble and spread her legs wider. He smiled grimly and prayed his control would hold long enough for him to accomplish what he'd been craving since the first time he'd laid eyes on her.
His fingers feathered up the inside of her thigh, feeling the tightly corded tendon flex and shiver as she arched to bring him closer. She had thrown her head back and closed her eyes, and as Max watched, she parted her lips and moaned at the feel of his long fingers parting her delicate folds to reveal her sweetest secrets.
He pressed forward lightly, his movement hampered by the confining folds of her clothing, but he didn't care. He could feel her flesh swelling and opening beneath his touch, could feel the rush of liquid heat as her body wept for him, and he knew he couldn't have waited for another second to discover exactly how much she wanted him.
Kitty moaned softly and pressed against his hand, her hips shifting in a futile attempt to guide his caress. He soothed her with soft, meaningless sounds and watched her face intently as he scissored his fingers around her swollen clit and drove forward toward her tender opening.
"Max…"
The sound of her name on his lips was like music, sweet and soft and stirring. Her lips trembled around the single syllable, and he fought against the urge to taste them, needing to see her face for just a few more minutes.
"Max…"
His fingers traced the sensitive rim of her entrance, taunting with the promise of pleasure, until her breath broke on a gasp and his self-control broke along with it. He pressed forward, sliding a finger past the tight ring of muscle and deep into her welcoming core. Her body tightened, clinging to him, and he swore in anticipation of feeling those sweet, intense contractions milking the length of his cock.
Her breathless cry, broken and urgent, drove him on like a lash. He'd spent last night wanting her, had woken up this morning with her taste on his lips. If he didn't get inside her soon, he was going to lose his mind.
Dragging his hand from between her legs, he felt her shudder beneath him and gritted his teeth. Without releasing her wrists, he used one hand to strip off her jeans and toss them to the floor. Her socks followed, but when he reached for her shirt, his eyes caught on the cinnamon-flecked cream of her freckled skin and he froze.
She painted such an erotic picture, lying half-nude and supplicant in the casual disarray of his tangled sheets. The shirt he'd helped her into earlier lay spread open and puddled at her sides, and her short, snug T-shirt ended just at her belly button, exposing that tempting hollow in teasing little flashes. Just below it, her belly curved gently in the faint, soft rounding of a healthy, fertile female. The urge to sink his teeth gently into that soft, fragrant skin nearly overwhelmed him.
His breath caught in his throat at the length of her pale, round thighs and the neat triangle of curls at their junction. They really were the color of cinnamon, a rich reddish brown many shades darker than her hair and already dewed with her arousal. His mouth watered at the sight.
"Max…"
Again, that breathless whisper, a note of urgency creeping into the background. She might as well have taken spurs to him.
He reached for the hem of her shirt, intent on dispensing with the last remaining barriers between them, but his dilemma became immediately clear. In order to pull the T-shirt up over her head, he'd have to take the button-down off her first, and to do that, he'd have to release her hands. But she looked so delicious, stretched helpless and needy beneath him. He felt like a conqueror, a warrior, a king, and it would take a stronger man than he to give that up.
Decision made, he leaned down and brushed her mouth with his. Whispering an apology against her parted lips, he fisted his hand in the collar of her T-shirt and ripped at the same moment that he seized her lips and thrust between in a shameless act of claiming. Instead of protesting, Kitty moaned and arched against him, her little hands clenching until her knuckles whitened, her hips and belly rubbing against him beseechingly.
He growled against her lips and discarded the shredded remains of cotton so he could glide his free hand over the creamy skin of her stomach, up her smooth side to curve possessively around the warm weight of her breast. His growl of satisfaction mingled with her soft gasp and drew another strangled cry from him when his fingers firmed and gently kneaded. His thumb brushed over the rosy crest of her nipple and felt it crinkle and harden at his touch. It drew up into a firm little point that begged for the touch of his fingers, the warmth of his mouth.
Deliberately, he withdrew from her mouth until his lips just brushed hers with a teasing, feathering pressure. He heard her whimper, felt her strain closer, but his grip on her wrists held her pinned. He couldn't quite give up the hot, sweet taste of her, but he wanted her focused on his hand, not his mouth. He wanted her to feel every stroke, every pinch, every teasing flick of his fingers on her breast.
The new tension crept over her slowly, tightening her already-trembling muscles, creating a maddening little hitch in her breath. When he saw her eyelashes flutter and caught a glimpse of dazed, glittering green, he let his lips curve and his fingers tighten around her nipple with excruciating slowness.
Max savored every moment of her reaction, following her body's and her expressions' clues like a treasure map. He saw her eyes widen, felt her lips part, and heard the rush of air as she drew in a quivering breath. A little more and she pulled back from his kiss, her mouth rounding into an o, her head falling back to the pillow to expose the slim length of her throat. With a growl, he buried his head in the seductive curve where neck slid into shoulder and sank his teeth lightly into her skin at the same time that his fingers closed tighter.
Kitty cried out, a low shudder of sound, and pressed her breast farther into his hand. Her breath roughened, soughing in and out of her lungs in harsh pants. He felt her thighs quiver against his legs and knew he couldn't go another second without tasting her.
Abruptly, his fingers released her nipple, making her moan as blood rushed back into the aroused tissue. Changing the moan into a scream as he dipped his head and drew the red little bud deep into his mouth.
She jerked, her knees drawing up, her elbows down, as if she would curl herself around him and trap him against her, but Max held firm and pushed her wrists insistently back against the mattress. He sucked hard at her nipple even as his fingers stroked the curve of her neglected breast and closed with teasing hesitation around her other nipple.
"Oh, God," she whispered, and her body drew up like a bow against his. Humming around the tasty morsel in his mouth, he forced his knee between her tightly clenched thighs and brought his denim-clad leg hard up against her.
He could feel her moisture soaking through the thick fabric, feel the power in her legs as she gripped his thigh and rubbed herself frantically against him. Chuckling wickedly, Max drew his lower body away from her, making soothing noises when she cried out a desperate protest.
"Sh," he murmured. "I'll take care of you, kitten. Trust me."
"Hurry," she gasped, nearly choking on her own voice. "Please, hurry."
"Ah-ah. It no fun to rush." He reached up and parted her wrists, grasping one firmly in each hand and drawing them down to her sides and pinning them against her hips. "You are definitely something I want to savor."
Kitty whimpered, but he doubted she had the strength or the will to fight his decree. Smiling against her skin, he dragged his mouth down the center of her body, tasting her from her collarbone to her belly. When his lips hovered just above her curls, he raised his head.
"Bend your knees, kitten."
Breathlessly, she obeyed, spreading her thig
hs and opening herself to him.
"Good girl," he murmured. "Wider now. Bring them up against your sides."
She whimpered but complied, drawing her knees up until she lay before him completely exposed, totally vulnerable.
Max stared down at her, entranced by the sight of her dusky folds all soft and swollen, pearls of moisture trembling on the tempting flesh. He wanted to eat her up like candy, and seeing that he was the one in control here, he saw no reason not to give in to the urge.
"So pretty." Unable to resist, he lowered his head and blew a stream of air against her, knowing the breeze would feel icy against her overheated body. She cried out and Max grinned, lifting her wrists and guiding her hands into a new position.
"Right here." He curled her hands around the backs of her thighs just above her knees so that she held legs up for him, held herself open for him. Offered herself to him without reservation. He'd never seen a more beautiful sight in his life. "Now hold on, kitten. Whatever you do, don't let go."
Her whimper echoed in his ears, but he just smiled and slowly released her hands. When she remained motionless but for the uncontrollable shivers wracking through her, Max slipped his own fingers between her thighs and used them to part her slick fold, exposing her fully to his devouring gaze.
"So pretty," he repeated. Then he bent his head and set his tongue to her flesh.
Kitty screamed. The high, frantic cry filled the room, filled his head, but he didn't care. He'd never tasted anything as delicious as this woman. She ran like honey against his tongue, thick and melting, and like honey she was sweeter than sugar. He lapped at her hungrily, consuming her, using lips and teeth and tongue to explore every inch of the body he was claiming as his. When he drew his tongue slowly up the length of her slit, she shuddered, and when his tongue flicked hard against the tight little knot of her clit, she let go of her legs, clutched handfuls of his hair, and released a high, keening wail that reverberated through him like a symphony.
A warning rumbled in his chest as he lifted his head and pulled her hands from him. "I said to hold on," he reminded her sternly.
She blinked at him, her bright green eyes wide and unfocused as if she couldn't understand him. Max felt a surge of masculine satisfaction and smiled as he took her hands and positioned them back where he wanted them.
"Now don't move," he warned, keeping his hands over hers as he bent his head to taste her again.
Kitty might not have moved her hands, but her hips arched into his tormenting mouth, trying to force his tongue back to her clit. She whimpered and moaned and begged, but she tasted too amazing for Max to hurry through his snack. He explored every fold, delved into every crevice, savored every drop, while her voice grew higher and thinner every second.
He could feel her quivering on the edge of climax and debated for a moment whether to shove her over before him or to give in to both their desires and plunge into her right now. His tongue teased her entrance while he considered his options, but in the end, he couldn't withstand her pleas any longer.
Whispering soothing words of praise and pleasure, he released one hand, skimming the palm down the inside of her thigh to tease the damp skin where leg curved into buttock. When she drew in a frantic gulp of air, he bent his head and closed his lips around her clit, at the same time plunging two fingers deep inside her clenching warmth.
Her explosion shook him. Every inch of her body seemed to burst into flames. Her clit throbbed against his tongue; her pussy clenched around her fingers; her scream of pleasure pulsed in the air around them, as loud and wild as a lioness in heat.
His lioness.
In that moment, feeling this woman come apart in his arms, he knew he didn't need to wait for her heat to know she belonged to him. It didn't matter. She had to be his mate. No other woman could ever taste, ever smell, ever feel this good. No other woman could ever make his dick so hard or his heart so soft. No other woman could give his cubs those green eyes and that incredible resilience. In that moment, Kitty became his, and Max knew he would never let her go.
Panting, he raised his head and tore at the fastening of his jeans, yanking them open and freeing his swollen length. He wanted to feel her bare skin against his own, but he knew that if he paused long enough to strip, he'd go completely insane. He had to get inside her now.
He rose to his knees and settled himself between her thighs, guiding her hands to pull them wider, stretching the tight tendon on the inner face of each leg until it quivered with the strain. She still breathed raggedly, sucking great gulps of air into her starved lungs, but her eyes had drifted shut and her pale cheeks were stained pink with the remnant of her climax. She looked like a goddess and as he fitted himself to her entrance, she made Max feel like a god.
His forearms braced against the backs of her legs, keeping her in position as he slowly, deliberately, pressed forward into her tight sheath. His breath caught in his throat at the exquisite feel of her body spreading before him, then closing like a fist around the sensitive crown of his cock. He forced just the head inside her and paused, struggling for restraint. His head bowed and his muscles trembled as he fought to control himself. To keep from plunging into her with the delicacy of a battering ram. To stop himself from hurting her, from abusing the tender body he treasured.
If he thought he would go mad from waiting to have her, Max realized then that he might lose it anyway. She felt too good. Too wet, too hot, too tight.
Much too tight.
Gritting his teeth, he opened his eyes and glared at her, his gaze boring into hers the way his body ached to do.
"You're too tight," he growled, fighting for the power of speech.
This was important, but he had to search for every word and yank it from the deepest reaches of his mind where the civilized part of him had retreated while his primitive self held sway. Her eyes, dazed and sleepy with satisfaction, blinked up at him in confusion.
"Virgin?" he demanded, not knowing what the hell he would do if she said yes. He needed her too badly to wait, much too badly to be gentle, yet the thought of hurting her made him furious.
For a moment, she seemed not to understand his question; then her blush deepened and she shook her head hesitantly. "No," she whispered. "But only once before. Years ago."
Christ, that was almost as bad.
Max clenched his teeth, threw back his head, and swore a stream of words so foul he doubted Kitty even recognized half of them. If he'd known that before, he would never have let her come. Her climax had left her passage swollen and tight, making it even harder to enter her than it should have been. She was such a tiny little thing compared to him, and even for his build, Max was not a small man. If he entered her now, he could hurt her.
If he didn't enter her now, he would die.
He felt her gaze on him and lowered his head until their eyes met. He knelt poised on the edge of insanity, unwilling to rush forward but unable to pull back. Her gaze moved over him like a caress, searching his expression, and he could only hope that what she read there wouldn't send her bolting in the other direction. If it did, he knew he would have no choice but to follow, to chase her down and claim her despite her fear of him.
Fear, though, wasn't the emotion he saw on her face. To his amazement, her green eyes held only tenderness and acceptance. Her lips curved as he watched, and his heart stopped when he felt her hips shift under his, her pelvis tilting up, ass pressing into the mattress, positioning herself to take him. The movement caused her passage to tighten around his cock and sent a shudder wracking him from head to toe.
"Please," she whispered, and his heart clenched. "Please, Max. I want you inside me. Now."
With a word that was both a curse and a prayer, Max let his head drop until his forehead touched hers. "I don't want to hurt you, kitten. I never want to hurt you."
She smiled and nuzzled against him, her lips clinging for a moment to his. "Sometimes the thing that hurts is the thing that gives the most pleasure." Her whisper touc
hed him like a caress. "It's okay, Max. I want this. I need it. And I trust you."
"God, honey, you're killing me," he groaned.
"I don't mean to. I only want to give you pleasure."
"I want the same."
"Then come inside me," she urged. "I need to feel it. I need to feel you."
Max closed his eyes, unable to face watching the shadow of pain darken her eyes. "I'm so sorry, kitten," he whispered, kissing her as sweetly as he could manage. "I promise I'll make it up to you. I swear it."
"You won't need to."
He hoped she was right.
Dragging in the deepest breath he could manage, Max kissed her again, telling her with his mouth how much he cared for her even as he flexed his hips and slowly, carefully, deepened his invasion.
He'd never felt anything like it. She quivered beneath him, around him, like something small and soft and delicious trapped in the hand of a predator. He didn't smell fear on her skin, though. All he smelled was desire and affection and the rich, sweet scent of Kitty.
Her body closed around him like a fist as he forced himself deeper, forced her to accept him. Two inches. Three. He broke out in a sweat, every muscle in his body trembling with the strain of going slowly. Beneath him, he heard her gasp, felt her pussy tighten almost unbearably, then felt the whisper of air against his cheek as she blew out a long, slow breath and slowly forced her body to relax.
"It's okay," she whispered, her voice unsteady but sincere. "I'm okay." Her brow furrowed and she licked her lips. "More."
She was going to kill him. Even if Kitty could survive this, Max knew he couldn't.
His cock, though, didn't care. All it cared about was the snug, wet haven slowly enveloping it, drawing it reluctantly deeper.
With another curse, he pushed forward. Four inches. Five. Six. Every time he sank deeper, her passage seemed to narrow. He began to wonder if this was even possible. He knew women were built to stretch, and surely Fate wouldn't be so cruel as to send him a mate he couldn't fully claim?
Walk on the Wild Side Page 20
