He took another stride forward, lowering his voice when he questioned, “It’s not an insult if it’s true. Am I wrong?”
“This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come.” She turned, intending to run the rest of the way to the door, but he caught her arm and spun her around.
“You’re fucking brilliant, Adria,” he continued softly, though the harsh word made her flinch. “You’ll make an excellent physic, but I’ve come to the conclusion you’ve got book smarts and very little street smarts. You need a keeper.”
“Perhaps, but he won’t be you. Let me go, Beck.”
“That I won’t do. I’m being honest with you; think about it. You’ve barely set foot off the fucking shuttle, after three months away, as punishment for this same sort of reckless behavior, and, in your first week back, I’ll be damned if you didn’t ditch the guards who are supposed to protect you.”
Out of room, her next step butted her up against the door. “I didn’t ditch them.” No, her guards, and her brother, she’d disobeyed. Mike, she’d ditched. “I think it’s best if I leave now.”
He leaned in, his palms flat against the panel behind her, one on each side of her head, his big body caging her.
“Before you get what you came for? What a shame to have to go home to your lonely bed and toss and turn while thinking of me, or take care of the ache between your thighs all on your own.”
“Why are you acting this way?”
“What way, honest?”
“No, vulgar and coarse.”
He chuckled although he didn’t look amused. “If you think that’s coarse, you don’t know the meaning of the word. I could’ve asked if you came here to fuck.”
“Beck!”
“Did you?” he insisted.
“I came to apologize, which I did, but...”
When he leaned closer, the tips of her breasts grazed his chest with each inhaled breath. Instinctively, her hands came up between them, not to keep him at bay, as if she could, but to keep him from feeling the hardness of her nipples.
“I want the truth, Adria,” he demanded, all patience gone.
“My intent was to beg your pardon, I swear,” she avowed softly, one hand moving up to palm his beard-roughened cheek.
As she gazed into his strikingly handsome face—endearing even in the height of his anger—she didn’t know how she’d survive not seeing it every day for the rest of her life.
When she continued, she willed her sincerity to shine through. “If you want honesty, Beck, I’ll give it to you. Yes, I’d hoped my coming here would lead to more. But even if it didn’t, I wanted to see you, to be with you because, even before I learned you weren’t at fault for my being sent home, I missed you. Every hour of every day. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. After Trask told me it was him, the days couldn’t pass quickly enough. All I could think about was being in your arms again.” Her thumb gently traced his full lips like he often did with her then she breathed. “And your kisses. This didn’t turn out like I thought it would. You haven’t forgiven me. I was cruel, my words unguarded, and I never meant to hurt or embarrass you. I understand you’ve changed your mind about me, and that makes me sad. I’ll go home now and will try to stay out of your way, but this is a small town.”
“It is, and you’ll find it impossible to stay away from me because I won’t let you,” he growled as he caught her wrists and pressed them to the door. “For the last eighty-seven interminable days, I’ve ached for you, too. But for me, it’s more than that. I also missed your smile, your laugh, your wit, teaching you how to play pool, and getting to watch your round ass wiggle each time you bent over to line up a shot.”
“I did not wiggle!”
“Trust me, you did, and that got me hard, like now.” He moved in, bending his knees to align their hips, and pressed the hard length of his arousal against her softness. “I want to make your first time so amazing you scream my name when you come apart in my arms, but once won’t be enough. I’ll need a helluva lot more.”
She took a shuddering breath. “I want a helluva lot more.”
His lips curved upward, and his eyes flashed with amusement, but only briefly because his head descended toward hers and he kissed her.
“Beck.” His name a muffled plea beneath his smothering lips, she opened for his insistent tongue, and it swept inside. His kisses were as warm, wet, and wonderful as she remembered, maybe better.
“You’re wearing too many clothes.”
He had her tunic off before she knew what he’d planned. This left her in the half-sheath she wore under the bulky sweater to protect her skin. His thumbs slipped beneath the wide straps at her shoulders, but the neckline was too tight when he tried to pull it down. His grunt of frustration filled her mouth.
“It ties in the back,” she offered.
The next thing she knew, her cheek was to the door. After an impatient tug, the strings came loose, and he whisked her sheath over her head leaving her bare above the waist. He swept her hair to one side. As his lips moved up her neck in a hot, wet, glide, his big hands slid around in front and cupped her breasts, boldly claiming what he’d set free.
Instinctively, her body arched, reveling in his touch after so long. This thrust her backside against the rigid length in his thin pants.
“While I’d love nothing more than to take you right here,” he whispered against her kiss-dampened skin. “It’s your first time and should happen in my bed.”
“Can’t we do both? First here then there?” Her husky question turned to a low moan as he raked up her skirt and ran a hand over her outthrust cheeks. She cursed the weather that had forced her to wear undergarments; otherwise, he’d be stroking bare skin. Even with her covered, his touch stirred long-suppressed desires and sent shivers coursing through her, especially when his fingers slipped between her thighs, and stroked her through the damp fabric.
“We’ll do both,” he promised in a low growl, “but not today. And not before I give you something else first.”
“Now?” she asked, when he stepped back. With his hands no longer in the way, her skirts fell into place. They were both bare from the waist up, which to Adria felt naughty and exciting. Not Beck, evidently, who had something else on his mind. He caught her wrist and moved them farther into his office.
“This cannot wait,” he growled as he spun his desk chair in a half circle and took a seat.
Adria gasped when he yanked her facedown across his lap. It became a startled yelp when his open palm landed hard on one upturned fully clothed cheek. It didn’t hurt through the layers, but despite his warning all those weeks ago, it came as a shock.
“No more, Adria,” he stated firmly as three hard swats punctuated his words.
“Okay,” she answered automatically then dared to follow it with, “No more what?”
“No more running around at night on your own.” His demand accompanied three more smacks on the opposite side. “No more ditching your guards,” he continued, both lecturing and spanking simultaneously.
“But I did so to come see you!” she protested.
“Ah, so you admit it.”
“No, I didn’t!”
Beck ignored that bald-faced lie, however. He also stopped, but she knew it wasn’t over when his hand moved to her hem. “I know you felt the need to clear the air, but it wasn’t something that couldn’t have waited until morning. And it doesn’t excuse all the times you did so in the past that went unpunished—until now.”
When her skirt came up, she tensed, eyes squinching tight as she anticipated spanks falling on bare skin going forward. Several seconds ticked by while she waited, then waited some more.
She was an instant away from asking if he’d changed his mind when she felt his palm smooth over her bottom.
“Darlin’, what on earth are you wearing?”
Despite her predicament, the endearment warmed her from the inside out and made her smile. She’d really missed hearing him call her that. His fingers roamin
g lightly over the thick material covering her backside reminded her of his question.
“Do you mean the long johns? I know they look funny, but it’s really cold out.”
“Good girl,” he praised, a slight tinge of wonder in his husky tone. “Despite the lack of a hat, boots, and gloves, I’m glad you had the foresight to dress appropriately underneath. Although, I’d have bet money nothing like this existed in your year-round perfect-weather world.”
“Lana had them made for me.”
“Hm,” he grunted. “That makes more sense.”
The brushed cotton glided softly over her as he peeled the snug fitting garment down to her knees. This time, warm skin met warmer skin when his hand returned to rub her bare behind.
“I’ve got bad news for you. We’re starting this punishment over,” he announced.
Had she heard right? She twisted her head around. When she saw his look of determination, she had her answer. “Why? What did I do?”
“Just now—nothing—but I’m concerned I didn’t get my point across through all these layers.”
“You did!” she insisted. “Believe me. This is something I won’t forget.”
He raised one tawny brow, apparently unconvinced. With her track record of being found by him, alone, after dark, it was no wonder.
“Let’s make certain and drive the lesson home.” He repeated the single smacks to each cheek, the loud crack and sting most likely what he’d intended to begin with. “Since we’re having a do-over, I repeat, your safety comes first, Adria. Always.”
A volley of swats, alternating from side to side, accompanied his lecture.
“That means running around without your guards, day or night, ends now. If you need to speak to me, I’ve got my communicator with me at all times.”
He paused to rub in wide circles over her warm, tingling cheeks.
“If it’s important, and only face to face will do, call me and I’ll come to you.” Another swat fell, and another. “Whether for a midnight munchie run or because of a nightmare,” he continued, landing several crisp spanks on the lower curves near her thighs, “or out of a burning desire to stargaze as you contemplate the cosmos.” A flurry followed, so fast and long she lost count. “I don’t care what it is. You don’t take off on your own. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Beck, I got it,” she gasped, the heat on her backside rising to near-inferno levels.
He resumed rubbing. “And, while I’ve got your undivided attention, no more running from me. If you’ve got something to say, come right out and say it. If you’re pissed over something I’ve done or didn’t do, I’d rather you call me on it so we can discuss it, instead of letting it simmer until it boils over. Is that clear?”
“Perfectly. I say it, we discuss it, even if I’m angry. I promise,” she whispered, enjoying his soothing caresses on her hot skin.
Both the rubbing and the spanking ended then, and she was upright, seated on his thigh. He held her face between both palms as he met her gaze. “I care about you, Adria, a lot, and I don’t want anything to happen to you. If you wound up like Betsy, that would crush me.”
“I don’t want that either, Beck,” she said in a husky whisper. “And I believe you care. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
Her hands slid up his chest and wound around his neck just as his lips swooped down to claim hers again. The kiss that followed was a swirling mix of tongues, hungry lips, ragged breathing, and explosive passion.
When he raised his mouth and spread kisses over her jaw in a hot path to her throat, Adria gasped, “Now, I have a request.”
“What’s that?” he inquired without ceasing what he was doing.
“No more lectures, please. At least not until you’re done making my first time so amazing I scream your name while coming apart in your arms.”
Having his sensual promise echoed back to him brought his head up, and the smile in his eyes made heat flood her face at her boldness. It didn’t keep her from admitting in a brazen whisper, “The last eighty-seven days have been interminable for me, too. I’m looking forward to amazing, and the last part sounds especially so.”
He chuckled, the husky rumble surrounding her as he stood with her in his arms. Instinctively, she wrapped herself around him and held on, but with his splayed hands cupping her bottom, easily supporting her weight, she needn’t have worried. Once in his bedroom, he set her on her feet and took care of the dress, which was still bunched at her waist, and the underwear now in a twist around one ankle. Then, he lifted her again, and laid her in the center of his bed.
He left her only for the time it took him to get naked, too. Already bare from the waist up, when his shorts came down, he revealed long, muscular legs with the same golden-brown hair as on his chest. Following them upward, she took in strong thighs, lean hips, and the hard, perfectly proportioned length in between.
As though sculpted by an artist’s hand, Beck was the epitome of masculine beauty—everywhere—and Adria couldn’t look away. She saw him retrieve something from a bedside drawer. Before she could inquire about it, he joined her in bed, stretching out full length on top of her. The air in her lungs got trapped, not from the weight of his body pressing her down, but because his heat, strength, and all that extraordinary muscle encompassed her.
With his forearms propping his upper body, he brushed the hair from her face with his thumbs and stared down at her. “I’ll go slow,” he promised. “I want to make this first time good for you.”
“Not too slow I hope,” she sighed boldly.
He grinned, shaking his head. “And people think Primarian females are docile.”
True to his vow, Beck started things off with soft, tender, nibbling kisses. They quickly set fire to her blood and she moved restlessly beneath him, her hands stroking up his back to his neck and into his short hair. There wasn’t enough length to grab hold of, but the soft bristles made her palms and fingertips tingle much like his mouth did when it moved down her throat and licked her pulse point.
A whimper rushed from her throat as he kissed his way to the valley between her breasts. They couldn’t begin to fill his big hands but swelled with her arousal, the tips turning to hard peaks as they ached for the feel of his mouth, lips, and tongue. That didn’t happen quite yet; instead, he palmed each one, watching with avid interest as his thumbs caressed her nipples, unhurriedly, as though he had all the time in the world and wasn’t driving her mad with need.
“Beck,” she urged, breathlessly.
Burning vivid blue like the hottest of flames, his eyes rose and fixed on hers. Without breaking contact, he lowered his head, and swept his tongue over the nearest hard point.
A low throaty sound slipped out—one she’d never made before.
“So beautiful,” he murmured as he repeated the caress. The warm rush of his breath brushed her damp skin and the sound vibrated straight through her to the needy place between her legs.
“Please,” she cried, unsure whether she was asking for more or begging for the torture to end.
He took the decision away by sipping one nipple between his lips and rendering her breathless. It was only the beginning, however, because when he moved to claim her other breast, his hand slid down her belly and over her sex.
Twenty-three years was a long time to wait for this moment, and her body wasn’t capable of enduring a second more. A toe-curling wave of pleasure shot through her, and she arched off the bed. Her hands, still curved around his head, pulled him closer as she quivered helplessly. Once it dissipated, she melted beneath him.
Leaving her breast with one more hot lick, Beck moved up her body. He dotted kisses on her chin, her nose, her cheekbones and eyelids then the corners of her mouth before sealing his lips to hers for another smoldering kiss.
He raised his head a moment later and asked, “Everything all right, darlin’?”
“Mmhmm,” a hum all she could muster just yet.
“You sure?”
“Oh, ye
ah,” she managed to whisper. “Never better.”
“That’s good to know because there’s more,” he replied with a low chuckle, though it sounded a bit strained. When she opened her eyes and saw the fire burning in his, it reignited her just-spent desire.
She laid her hand on his cheek. “I’m happy to hear that, Beck, because I’d like more.”
This got her a genuine laugh before his lips swooped down to claim hers once again. While he kissed her, he nudged her legs apart and moved between them. His hands brushed her inner thighs and she felt something warmer and broader than his fingers glide through the folds of her sex.
“I’ll go easy, but if you’re like a human female, there might be an unavoidable pinch of pain.”
“We are much the same. I’m ready.”
“Still, let me know if it’s too much, and I’ll stop.”
From the tension in his handsome face, she could tell he fought to keep his passion in check—holding back for her sake. She appreciated his tender care but, at the same time, wanted him to let go.
With his mouth over hers, gentling her with warm, ardent-yet-controlled kisses, he positioned himself at her entrance, gliding the smooth head through her slick folds before pressing into her. As promised, he advanced in slow increments, penetrating an inch, withdrawing, and then sinking in further. Adria felt the stretch. It wasn’t uncomfortable, and she knew her muscles would give to accommodate him, but he was big. After he stroked in slowly and eased himself out only to return and fill her more with each controlled thrust, she had to wonder how much more of him was left to take.
Moving restively beneath him she parted her legs, bent her knees and hooked her feet behind his thighs. This changed the angle of penetration on his next forward glide. The feeling of fullness became more intense and her breath caught in her throat.
“So good,” he growled. “Wet and incredibly tight.”
“Beck,” she breathed as a tremor of awareness rippled through her.
“I dreamed of how you would feel, but it was nothing like this.”
He pumped his hips again, penetrating even deeper. She stiffened when she felt the pinch he’d mentioned, but it wasn’t more than that and eased off quickly. Beck stilled, holding her near with their bodies joined as one while his lips gently moved over her cheek, her jaw, and the side of her neck, as close as two people could be.
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