Essential Beginnings (18 page)

That grabbed Henley’s attention. She regarded him for a few seconds before apparently recognizing that he wasn’t playing around. Her fingers slowly slipped into the waistband of her panties and he watched as she pulled them down her legs inch by agonizing inch. His balls were experiencing literal pain at not being able to empty their contents. By the time she’d stepped out of them, he could have easily bent her over the mattress and been buried inside of her before she could say his full name.

“Are you wet?”

“What?” Henley laughed out the word, although the sweet sound faded when she saw he wanted an answer. “You’re so different from the others.”

Mav continued to observe her, pleased with what she’d just stated. It was cute to see it dawn on her that she probably shouldn’t have brought up other men while they were being intimate, so he smiled to relieve her anxiety.

“Bad timing,” Henley said with a shake of her head. She bit her lip, making Mav want to do it. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and waited to kiss her until she’d let go of it. They were both breathless by the time he was through, but that didn’t stop her from answering his previous question. “Yes. I’m very wet and would very much like you to do something about it.”

Mav lifted her up off of the ground and had her deposited in the middle of the bed before her laughter had faded. He didn’t think about what was happening outside of this cabin. He didn’t contemplate what came after this. He focused on the here and now, because truthfully that was all they had. He looked down at her to find that her hair was sprawled out on the pillow as if she wore a halo. She was his angel in this time of uncertainty and he would gladly accept this gift.

“I’ll see what I can do to satisfy your immediate needs, sweetheart,” Mav said, with a promise in his voice that she couldn’t miss. He rested his hands on her knees, separating her legs to reveal another present. She’d shaved completely and there was currently nothing blocking his view from her swollen, very pink clit. “Henley, I don’t think we have enough time to give you all the orgasms you need, but I’ll give it my best effort.”

H
is best effort?
It wasn’t going to take much more than Mav’s mouth touching her throbbing clit to set off her release. Henley was still coming to terms with how different Mav was from the other men she’d been with and she’d immediately regretted her words, since she was well aware of etiquette when it came to mentioning past lovers. In her defense, it had been a damn long time since she’d been in this position. She just wasn’t sure how to respond. Her body was doing that for her though. She hadn’t been prepared to react with such deep and intimate responses and her thoughts were scattered. She was quite sure she wouldn’t be thinking straight for a while.

“Maverick, I need you,” Henley replied honestly while he lowered himself on the bed instead of overtop of her. Couldn’t he see that she couldn’t take much more? She could have wept with pleasure when his fingers separated her folds and his mouth descended onto clit. “Oh, my…”

Mav just hummed his reply, not that she knew what he meant by that. Her mind cleared as her reactions took over and when she tried to bring her knees up higher, it was his hands that prevented her from doing so. He pressed his fingers into her inner thighs and kept her spread wide open for him. The vulnerability this position placed her in, along with whatever he was doing with his tongue, triggered an initial release almost immediately. She cried out his name and arched her back, accepting the waves of pleasure as they rolled through her. Normally she would have been able to lie against the bed to recover, but Mav didn’t give her that chance.

Mav’s tongue caressed her entrance and then moved back over her clit, circling the throbbing tissue until he initiated another climb upward toward an even higher pinnacle than the one she’d just fallen off. He wasn’t in a hurry and he took his time exploring, letting her know that he held her pleasure in the palm of his hand. All she could do was receive his intimate attention and it was freeing in the most fundamental way possible. Every time she thought she couldn’t handle the pleasure and tried to close her legs, Mav was there to make sure she stayed open for him. When she started to pull on his hair he would take her wrists to hold them against her sides. His control was inflexible and she found that she responded more to that than anything else.

Mav was gently, slowly, and torturously building her release until she was afraid to let go for fear of embarrassing herself. He must have known because he used his right hand to spread her farther open to his mouth and then gradually inserted his middle finger into her pussy. She could tell which one it was by the way his index and ring finger tightened on either side of her clit. The pressure exposed the sensitive tissue to the roughness of his tongue and he stroked that sweet spot just right. She was grateful that she had a hold of the pillow underneath her head when she exploded, seeing white lights behind her tightly closed eyelids. Mav didn’t stop to let her catch her breath either, but instead carried her higher and higher until one orgasm led into other multiple orgasms. By the time he brought her down he’d already sheathed his cock with a condom and was holding himself up above her.

“Let go of the pillow and pull your folds apart. Open yourself to me,” Mav said softly, surprising her when he rose up slightly and used one hand to position her lower half so that his cock was at the entrance of her pussy. “I want to see your clit swell again when I enter you.”

Mav’s words alone could have triggered another wrenching orgasm. Henley struggled to get her fingers to do what he wanted and they finally released the goose down pillow. She knew full well that it would forever have the indentions of her grasp. Her hands trembled as she lowered her arms between their bodies, slipping her fingers easily into her folds and revealing her clit to him. He peered down and a guttural moan escaped his chest, vibrating both of them. It was the sexiest sound she’d ever heard a man make.

“Take all of me, sweetheart.”

Mav’s statement sounded so simple and yet Henley knew it wouldn’t be that easy. For one, it had been a very long time since she’d been intimate with anything other than her one adult toy. Two, he wasn’t just average size. His width alone made her wince at the stretching she’d have to do to accommodate him and his length already had her pussy leaking with additional cream. Mav pressed forward, his tip spreading her entrance to accept him.

“Beautiful,” Mav murmured, obviously seeing what he’d expected and wanted. She couldn’t, but there wasn’t a way she could camouflage her reaction to her body accepting him. With each inch came a profound throbbing and a deep ache that she wasn’t so sure could be satisfied. Her clit swelled and continued to do so as he worked his way into her. By the time she’d accepted all of him, she’d had to take her hands away and hold onto his shoulders for support. “Do you feel the bond?”

“God, yes,” Henley replied, almost screaming the words out. Mav wasn’t moving and it was agonizingly pleasurable to the point that she tried to move her hips only to have him stop her. “Maverick, I need to move.”

“No, you don’t.” Henley had no choice but to stop and try to suck in some much needed oxygen. Mav leaned farther down until his elbows were on either side of her head, capturing her exactly where he’d wanted her. Their breaths mingled and time suddenly seemed to slow down, giving this moment to them. They were one, connected by more than just their bodies. From the look in his dark eyes, this was what he wanted her to experience—the intimacy that only they could share. She’d never had this before and it was something she wanted to hold on to. He raised a hand and gently brushed away some strands from her face. “Tell me what you feel.”

“You,” Henley whispered, taking the time given and allowing her body to relax into the insurmountable pleasure he was giving her. She ran her eyes over his face, studying his square jaw and the sensual lines of his cheekbones. His hair fell forward, covering his forehead and brushing the ends against his skin. There was a kindness in his eyes that resonated with her and made her want to protect him, much like he did her. How could she explain that in words? She’d try, but she was afraid she wouldn’t give the truth justice. “Us. We’re no longer separate. I feel comforted, cared for, and safe. You’ve made me a part of you.”

Mav slowly pulled out of her only to gently push back in, giving her time to adjust to his size. Henley wrapped her legs around his waist, relishing in the pace he’d set that allowed them to enjoy one another. He was right about her impatience and she was grateful that he was giving her what she needed rather than what she’d wanted. He loved her leisurely, prolonging both of their releases. He never once looked away from her, their eyes connected the entire time he pleasured her. It was as if he was allowing her to see inside his soul and the purity within him astounded her.

Mav even kissed her, exploring her mouth with his tongue as slowly as his cock was entering her pussy. The climb was excruciatingly slow, but so worth the ascent that she didn’t once try to rush them. Perspiration coated both of them and their bodies slid against one another in a sensual dance. Her clit rubbed slowly over his pelvic bone and with each intimate connection, it carried her further and further toward that abyss.

“Don’t look away from me,” Mav instructed in a low voice that mesmerized her into following his directive. This was also new to her, for she’d never allowed anyone to see her in such a vulnerable state. She’d always closed her eyes at the onslaught of pleasure, but she somehow managed to look at him as they finally reached the point of their descent. “Stunning…”

That was all Henley heard as she soared, unable to stop herself from arching into him all the while not breaking their connection. His brown eyes darkened to an almost pitch black as she witnessed his release, allowing her to see him at his most vulnerable as well. She realized what a gift they’d given each other and the foundation of trust became stronger. An unspoken acceptance emerged as they came down from that high. Mav moved to the side, pulling her with him and tucking her against his body. She’d never felt more safe and cared for than in this moment. Maybe that’s why a sliver of fear moved in to signify that this bubble they’d just created could just as easily be broken. She vowed not to let that happen. She’d finally opened her eyes to the possibility of something more and she didn’t want to return to the life of an unfulfilled hollow woman she’d been before.

Henley pressed her ear to Mav’s warm chest just so that she could hear his heartbeat, reassuring herself that this was real and she wasn’t dreaming. She pushed aside what the morning would bring and tried to focus on one single fact—whatever happened, they had each other now. It was bliss until a gunshot rang out and shattered the silence.

M
av ensured the
bunker was secure by checking the main entrance and the lodge access tunnel for signs of tampering and intrusion before making his way back to the main lodge via the NG Wellhead utility tunnel. The early morning was quite cool and he’d grabbed the Gore-Tex digital parka that he’d saved from his days in the Corps from his Jeep when it had been his turn up in rotation for watch. The sun was just starting to peek over the mountains at this early hour. He didn’t miss the fact that the birds weren’t singing and the crickets hadn’t made an appearance since the other night. Mother Nature had made it known that something catastrophic had occurred and everyone and everything had taken notice. Nothing had overtly changed since last night in their valley, and yet his life had now been set on a different course after finally making love with Henley.

After he and Henley had scrambled out of bed thinking that Ernie had been hurt, or worse, they’d discovered that a brown bear had made its way down into camp. Ernie had fired a shot into the air as a warning, causing the animal to continue on without incident. It was probably looking for a cave to hide in for the duration of what was to come, but it sure as hell wasn’t going to be in their camp. Mav had to excuse himself to clean up after finding out that the animal had been chased off while Henley managed to keep the flush on her face to a minimum. The thing was…Ernie was a hell of a lot sharper than she gave him credit for.