Retribution (51 page)

She stared at him with moist eyes, her mouth hanging open. “Why didn't you…”
 

“Don’t.” He closed her mouth with his thumb, cutting her off. “Don't feel guilty. Just hear me out.”

She sighed, but she didn't argue, so he went on. “The pain was very real, but it was necessary, and not just because I wanted you to feel comfortable with your decision to be with me, but because I needed
you to feel comfortable with your body before getting my turn with it. I didn't want to spend our first time worrying about what would or wouldn't make you blush. I didn't want the gratification limited by my fears and your embarrassment. I wanted it to be easy, to be about love and pleasure, not insecurities and concerns. Those ten mildly painful days gave us both time to get to know each other, and they gave me the opportunity to gain your trust while helping you realize how amazing your body is and how good it can feel in the right hands. Because of those ten days, our first time was perfect.”

“I agree with that,” she conceded, “and I see your point on the rest, but I hate that you were in pain. We didn't have to wait so long. My embarrassment would have worked itself out.”

“I have no doubt, but that's not how I wanted it to be with you. I didn't want to feel like a couple of virgins easing into an embarrassing and uncomfortable situation. The discomfort beforehand was completely worth it.”
 

“I would have tried harder if I'd known, Quin.”

He smiled as he ran his fingertips through her disheveled curls. “You mean you would have tried harder to hide the fact that you were embarrassed, which isn't what I wanted. That's why I kept my struggle to myself, because I didn't want you
trying harder
.”

“So you basically lied to me, Quin.”

“I did what was best for both of us, but you can call it lying if you want.” His dimples deepened as he cupped her backside in both hands. “Am I going to get punished for my dishonesty?”

“You’d like that entirely too much, and it wouldn't teach you a thing, so no.”

He shifted her to the side, cradling her in one arm while moving his free hand to her breasts. His forefinger traced one nipple then slid to the other, bringing it erect. “How well do you remember the first time I touched you like this?”

“Very well. Why?”

“Do you remember what it looked like?”

Her nose wrinkled as she pouted. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because my eyes were closed.”

“Why were your eyes closed, love?”

“Because I was embarrassed.”

“Hmm... Yes you were. Your entire body stayed red the whole time.” He paused and took her by the thigh, pulling her leg onto his stomach. “How well do you remember the second time? Four days later, the day you told me you love me.”

“Very well, and I
didn't
keep my eyes closed.”

“No you didn't, but you blushed the entire time, and you weren't comfortable vocalizing yourself. You were aware of every move your body made and every beautiful sound that slipped from your lips. You paid as much attention to the things you were doing as you did the things I was doing.”

She puckered again, and he grinned as he gently nibbled her pout. “Then there was the third time, a week after we met.”

“I didn't blush then.”

“I know.”

“You were the uncomfortable one on that occasion.”

“I know.”

“I let you wash me.”

He slid his hand around the back of her leg, dipping his fingers between her thighs. “I know.”
 

“But you wouldn't let me wash yo...”

Her rebuttal cut off as one of his fingers slipped inside her body, stroking her until she was wet enough to take two fingers. “I know,” he returned. “I was there, remember?”

“Uh huh…”

“And you're also aware I was ready to take you then, just not in the shower.”

“Oh yeah,” she mumbled, twitching around his hand.

He spread her legs further apart, his fingers freely moving in and around her slick opening. “This right here is why I waited, Layla. I love being able to do this knowing you're feeling it instead of worrying about it. Your cheeks are flushed with desire, not embarrassment, and your mind is clouded by pleasure rather than insecurities. You love the way it feels, and you know I love it, too, so you don't have to close your eyes. You can look at me while I touch you. And you don't have to keep your lips sealed. You can tell me how much you love it. It makes my heart soar to know it was my commitment and patience that got you to this point, and the fact that I struggled to do it assures me I deserve this heaven I'm in.”

“
You're
in heaven,” she choked, her expression turning doubtful, but his hand quickly had it melting again.

“Yes, love, and there's nowhere else I'd rather be. So why don't you stop being stubborn and show me how I'm really making you feel? Because I know I'm driving you crazy. Your body's giving you away, no matter how still you try to keep it.”

“Is that right?” she mumbled, curling her fingers into his chest.

“Yes, angel. I can feel it… right...” His fingertips moved to all the right places, adding pressure and magical vibrations. “...here.”

Her eyes rolled back as she moaned and arched, pressing herself against his hand.

“There you go,” he whispered, sliding his mouth to her throat. “That's much better.”

She purred as she gripped his hair, and her other hand reached between her legs, making sure all the right buttons were touched. His lips settled over her pulse as he lifted her with one arm, giving his other hand more freedom, and soon she was jolting and gasping and flooding his fingers with sweet moisture. He laughed at how easy it was, how quickly she found release once she aimed for it. Then he kissed his way to her languid lips.

She was exhausted. He could tell by the way her eyelids would only open halfway, and by how slow her heart was beating...
his
heart... their heart. She tried to curve her lips into a smile, but the corners merely twitched as her lashes fluttered.

He laughed again. Then he rolled her into a ball and tucked her into his chest. “Go back to sleep. I'll wake you up in a couple of hours.”

“No,” she wearily protested. “Just give me a second to find myself. Then I'll be ready to take advantage of you.”

“Okay, love. You do that.”

“Okay... Just
one
... minute...”

He buried his face in her hair and breathed deep, drifting to sleep knowing she was already there.

Rocks shifted beneath Layla’s bare soles, smooth and cold and moist, but as real as it felt, she knew it wasn’t. She was dreaming, walking on a beach with her hand in Quin’s, a tiny King Charles spaniel bounding beside them. The scene felt wonderful and familiar – the puppy, the moonlight, Quin leading her across breathtaking terrain. But she’d never seen this location. She didn’t recognize the stretch of ocean, the beach or the lights of the nearby town. The last time she had this dream, they’d been in Cannon Beach, but Haystack Rock was nowhere around.

Tingles shot across her scalp as fingers slid into her hair, and her dream melted away, her head filling with Quin’s voice.

“Wake up, love. I want to see your eyes.”
 

She smiled and sucked in his whisper, fluttering her eyes open to his gorgeous face. “Wow… you take me places I’ve never been even when I’m sleeping.”

He pulled her closer, touching his forehead to hers while carefully combing his fingers through messy curls. “Where did I take you?”

“A beach, but I don’t know where. It’s the second time I’ve had that dream – first with Cannon Beach, then this one, which I didn’t recognize, but everything else was the same, and it’s crazy how real it all felt. I even had a name for the dog.”

“There’s a dog?”

“Yes, Arabella. I like to call her Belle.”

“That's detailed.”

“I know. Even the sights and smells were detailed, but what’s weird is I knew I was dreaming. As real as everything seemed, I knew it wasn't.”

“What kind of dog was it?”

“A King Charles spaniel. The kind you summoned from the water the first day we spent together. She was tiny in my dream, though, just a puppy.”

“Hmm… Are you sorry I woke you?”

“No. It was a good dream, but this is way better.” Brushing her dreams aside, she moved a hand to his heart. “I'm sorry I fell asleep earlier.”

“Don't be.”

“But you'd just told me how much pain you dealt with waiting around on me. Then I left you hanging.”

“I went to sleep, love. I didn't lie here waiting. Besides, I knew you'd make it up to me.”

She bit her lip as she walked her fingers down his stomach. Then she met his stare while taking his erection in her hand. “I may not be the blushing girl I was two weeks ago, but I’m still an amateur at making you feel good.”

“That feels better than good,” he countered, wrapping his hand around the back of her neck. “And it’s not about how much experience you have. It’s about how much you enjoy doing it.” He pulled her into a kiss. Then he flipped her onto her back and moved between her legs. “But if you’re aiming for experience, we can get to work on that right away.”

He buried his face in her cleavage, playfully biting and licking, and she laughed while running her fingers into his hair. His arm snaked around her waist, and when he rose up, he lifted her with him, flipping her around like a doll then laying her back down.

She scowled at the sheets, but then his lips found the dip between her shoulder blades, and her eyes drifted shut as she shivered. He pulled his arm from around her waist, moving her hair aside as he kissed his way to her ear, and his arousal glided up the back of her thighs, coming to a throbbing halt between her butt cheeks.

Oh… this was new, and it had her blood pumping hot.

His lungs quickened, his steamy breath sweeping over her ear, and a quiet growl echoed in his chest, like it took all his patience not to plow into her. He
liked
it this way.

One of his palms found her backside, squeezing as he bit her ear. Then he let the lobe slide through his teeth before rising to his knees. She lifted herself onto her elbows and tried to look at him, but her arms were pulled out from under her when he grabbed her upper thighs and tugged.

She felt extremely exposed, on her knees with her bare ass in the air, untouched from the waist up, and she suddenly understood why he’d never taken her this way. The position left her vulnerable, and it left him unable to look her in the eyes and reassure her.

Her lungs filled and deflated, and one of his hands found the middle of her back, his touch gentle as his fingers trailed down her spine. She quivered, letting the tender gesture do what his eyes couldn’t, and as soon as her muscles loosened, his palms were on her rear-end, squeezing as his thumbs dipped between her thighs.

She stretched and wiggled, her appetite piqued and craving more.

“Beautiful,” he breathed, sliding his hand from one butt cheek to the other. Then he squeezed and made it shake. “Damn.”

She would have found his infatuation with her ass funny if she weren’t so turned on by him playing with it, and there was nothing funny about the erection teasing the crease between her legs.

“You ready for this?” he asked, poising to part moist flesh.

Oh she was so ready, and she had no problem admitting it. “Yes.”

He opened her with his thumbs while dipping the head of his shaft in. Then he took her by the hips, his fingers digging in as he plunged deep inside.

She screamed, her face buried in the blankets as she clawed at the mattress, her entire body electrified and tingling. She could feel him touching places he’d never touched, reaching deeper than he’d ever reached, and while it spread aching heat through her core, the pleasure far outweighed the pain.

He pulled back, and she gasped, her lungs pumping air as quickly as her heart pumped blood. His hand softly stroked her lower back, and she raised her face from the blanket, too shocked and aroused to claim modesty. “I didn’t know you could go that deep.”

He laughed, his palms spreading goose bumps down her sides before returning to her hips. “It’s the position.”

“Oh.”

He slowly thrust in and out, not going as deep as he did the first time. “Do you like it?”

With her nerve-endings hopping and her lungs stuttering, she struggled to answer. “Yes.”

“Am I hurting you?” he asked, going a little deeper.

She shook her head, her fingers curling around the sheet. “No… It feels good.”

“Yes it does,” he whispered, picking up the pace.

She jolted and groaned, her thighs flexing, her insides a mess of spasms, begging him to go harder and stronger, which he did, turning her moans into squeaks and screams. His fingers delved into flesh as he pounded her over and over again, his hips slapping her backside, his erection relentless in its search for pleasure, both his and hers.

“Oh god,” she breathed, and she absolutely meant him. In that moment, he was god… or at least everything good and holy.