by Sybil Bartel
“There’re shades of truth?” He’d said he wanted honesty. There wasn’t room for nuance in that as far as I was concerned.
He smirked like I was missing a private joke. “How old are you?”
“Twenty.” Almost. In a few hours.
“It doesn’t matter how many years you have under you.” He held me in his intense gaze for a breathless moment. “You’re the only woman who’s ever made me pause.”
Hope swirled low in my belly, but I had to ask. “I don’t know what that means.” Except I knew it was significant.
“It means we’re doing this,” he clarified.
A full body shiver spread from my head to my toes, and my smile stretched wide. “You’re gonna be my man?”
He snorted. “You see another Marine standing here?”
I grinned. “Nope. Just a surly bodyguard.”
“You’re fucking trouble, you know that?”
“Yep.” And for some reason, the fact he thought that about me made my pride swell.
He shook his head. “Wipe that grin off your face, woman.”
“Why? Afraid I’ll hysterical-laugh all over you again?”
His expression sobered. “You good?”
Insecurity crept in. “Me?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought we were talking about us,” I admitted.
Cupping my face, he swept his thumb across my bottom lip. And then he did what I was beginning to realize only an impossibly alpha Marine turned bodyguard could do. He both crushed me and impressed me with his insight and honesty.
“I’m not getting down on one knee and begging for bullshit words of forever, princess. I’m telling you I’m here. I’m saying I want this. I showed for you tonight, and I’m promising to be straight with you. I’m also expecting the same.” He held me in his captivating gaze. “This isn’t the destination, woman. This is the beginning.”
Because every little girl is poisoned with fairytales of Prince Charming and perfection that never exists, but sounds perfect nonetheless, a part of me was crushed. A part of me wanted the forever right now. I wanted a proclamation, and the accompanying security of that declaration. I wanted the promise of a ring that would tie him to me and me to him.
But the bigger part, the rational me, the woman that emerged from a shitty sixty day stint of navel-gazing rehab where I was forced to look at my own damn life—that part of me knew I couldn’t have asked for a more prefect beginning.
So I gave him the truth.
“I’m kinda partial to new beginnings now.” Then I did what I did on the side of that highway that felt like a lifetime ago.
I kissed him.
SHE FUCKING KISSED ME.
Same as the first time, she threw herself at me and locked lips. I got off on it, but I didn’t let her take the lead.
Threading my hand through her thick hair, I pulled her from me and gave her fair warning. “You’re not topping me, woman.”
Her eyes hazy, her lips wet, she looked up at me the same way she had in the cabin. “Topping?”
My dick pulsed and my new hardware shifted. I wanted in her mouth, her cunt, and her sweet ass. “When it’s you and me in the bedroom, I’m calling the shots.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “Always?”
I tipped my chin. “Nonnegotiable.” My woman was never going to take the lead behind closed doors. I didn’t give a fuck how controlling or dominant I sounded, it wasn’t going to work any other way for me. I knew who I was, and I’d give her what she needed because she was submissive as hell. But she was still young enough that she might not realize that yet.
“Okay.” A shy smile touched her lips. “I’m good with that.”
Releasing a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, I asked the flip side of the coin. “Hard limits?”
“Don’t shut me out again,” she said without hesitation.
My first reaction was to get pissed, but I caught myself. “We already went over this, woman. I’m not rehashing it.”
She frowned. “I know, but you asked what my hard limits were.”
I couldn’t help it, I fucking smiled. “Not what I was after, sweetheart.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you making fun of me?”
“No.” Grinning, I brought my mouth to her neck. “Maybe.” I sucked the soft skin below her ear and lowered my voice. “Hard limits, woman. Anal play, cuffs, spanking, delayed gratification.” I dragged my tongue over her flesh. “Your clit between my teeth.”
She shivered, and her small hands grasped my biceps. “Shade.”
“Right here, princess, but you need to answer the question. You got a problem with any of it?” I bit her ear, then sucked the sting away.
“Oh my God.” Breathless, she melted into me. “I missed you.”
I chuckled. “You missed my orgasms, woman.”
“No, I missed mine,” she sassed.
“Fucking smart mouth.” I bit her at the base of her neck, then swirled my tongue over her sweet skin. “You knew what I meant.”
“Just clarifying.” She moaned as I licked her. “You know, in the name of transparency and all that.”
Dragging the thin as hell straps of her dress over her shoulders, I unceremoniously shoved them down her arms. “For the record, you’re not wearing this again.” Not in public.
Her back stiffened. “What’s wrong with the dress?”
“It’s not the dress.” I peeled the material off her tits only to find a gold strapless bra underneath. “It’s the way you look in it.” Goddamn she was stacked. And so fucking gorgeous.
Her voice got small. “You don’t like it?”
Fuck me. I grasped the side of her face. “I’m going to say this once, princess, so listen carefully.” I held her blue-eyed gaze. “I don’t share.”
“When you said you wanted to do this, I assumed—”
“I’m not finished,” I warned.
“Sorry.” She dropped her gaze.
“Eyes on me,” I demanded.
Inhaling, she looked back up.
I stroked her soft cheek. “I’m a selfish man. I’m not gonna share you, and that includes having you parade around in a tight as fuck dress that shows every one of your mouth-watering curves to any prick who isn’t blind. I don’t give a damn if it’s a ten grand a plate charity dinner, or if you’re walking your sweet ass into a fast food joint. I don’t want other men feasting their eyes on what’s mine.”
She smiled. Shyly. “You like my curves?”
Dead serious, I gave her the truth. “I love your curves.”
Heat flushed her face. Then she blurted shit out like she was guilty of something. “I gained some weight in rehab.” She glanced down at herself then looked back up at me. “I was self-conscious tonight. The dress was fitted, and I was worried…” She cleared her throat. “Never mind. Thank you for the compliment.”
“It wasn’t a compliment. It was the truth. Fill out that ass with another twenty pounds and I’ll show you exactly how much I love it.” My cock already rock fucking hard pulsed painfully just thinking about taking her sweet ass.
“I… ” She blinked. “Twenty pounds?” She laughed uncomfortably. “Yeah, no one’s ever said that to me.”
“Then you’ve been around the wrong kind of assholes.”
She smiled the smile she’d given me up at the cabin. “And you’re the right kind?”
Leaning down, I lowered my voice. “I’m the only kind for you.”
“I like the sound of that,” she whispered.
“You better, because I’m about to fuck you hard on the kitchen counter before taking you into the bedroom and catching you up on a week’s worth of missed orgasms.”
“There’s a weekly quota?” she asked teasingly, giving me an arched eyebrow.
“There’s a daily quota,” I warned, cupping her. “You all healed up?” I still felt guilty as hell for ripping her.
Sucking in a sharp breath, her voice went quiet. “Yeah.”
> I studied her face. “You hesitated.”
Her cheeks flushed. “I’m fine.”
“Honesty,” I warned, reminding her of our agreement.
She exhaled slowly. “Fine. I was embarrassed I bled all over your floor… and probably you.”
“Woman, I don’t give a shit about blood unless you’re hurting, and that wasn’t your fault.” It was mine. I knew better than to yank my piercings out of a woman without warning, but the first shot hit and I didn’t think. I reacted. “I should’ve been more careful.” A Jacob’s ladder with the size gauges I’d had could fuck a woman up. “That won’t happen again,” I promised.
She let out an ironic, half laugh. “Let’s hope not. I’m kinda done with being shot at.”
Unable to keep my hands off her any longer, I dragged the back of my fingers over the smooth skin just above her tits. “I’m not going to let you get hurt again.”
Her gaze dropped to my hand and her voice went quiet. “That could be a little hard.”
Needing to see her eyes, I tipped her chin. “Why?”
She bit her lip. “You have a lot of piercings.” Her voice went even quieter. “Big ones.”
“Trust me?”
No hesitation, she nodded.
Turning her around, I peeled the rest of her dress over her hips and let it hit the floor. Trailing my fingers up her back, I unhooked her bra, but when I slid my thumbs under her thong, I saw it. “This is where you were shot.” I touched the unmistakable shape of a bullet wound on the lower backside of her hip.
Goosebumps raced up her back and she answered even though it wasn’t a question. “Yeah.” Her hand went to her upper arm. “And a graze wound here.”
I dragged a finger over the scar on her arm. “You’re fucking sexy with scars, woman.”
With insecurity clouding her features, she looked over her shoulder at me.
I kissed the scar on her arm, then I bent and kissed the raised flesh on her hip. “So fucking sexy. You know why?”
Still watching me, she shook her head.
“It means you’re a survivor.” Salivating from the scent of her desire, I slid her thong over her hips. “Nothing sexier than that.” Kissing a trail up her back, I took her wrists and braced her hands on the kitchen counter. Shoving her feet apart, I unzipped my pants and freed my hard as fuck cock. Stroking myself with one hand, I lightly drew my fingers through her cunt with my other. “Fuck yeah, princess.” She was so goddamn wet.
Moaning, she pushed into my hand. “Don’t tease me.”
“Not the game plan tonight, sweetheart.” I was too on edge to delay what both of us wanted.
“Not any night,” she protested.
Rubbing through slickness, I smiled. “No promises on that, but tonight you’re safe.” I lined up the head of my cock with my new, smaller captive ring.
She stiffened.
“Trust, woman,” I reminded her.
Inhaling she nodded. “Okay.”
I circled her clit with my cock. Then I slowly pushed in to her.
Her chest flattened on the counter and she moaned long and deep.
Fucking hell she was tight. “You feel that, principessa?” Goddamn. “Ti senti così bene.”
“English,” she breathed, already pulsing around me.
“You feel fucking amazing, woman.” So goddamn good, I was ready to come simply from sinking inside her. “You feel me?” I drove deep until my shaft was buried all the way inside her.
“Oh my God. Missing,” she panted, shoving her hips back. “Less metal.”
“I took my Jacob’s ladder out.” Leaning over her, I brought my mouth to her ear and my fingers to her clit. Then I gave her my version of an apology. “For you.”
I didn’t believe in saying sorry, but I also didn’t believe in making the same mistakes twice. Those piercings had meant survival when I’d gotten them. But this woman made me realize there wasn’t any damn point in surviving if you had nothing to live for.
She shivered. “But what about what they meant to you?”
“You mean more.”
Her small hand wrapped around my wrist and she squeezed. “You left one. I feel it. It’s different.”
“Smaller captive ring.” Sucking on her neck, fingering her clit, I drove in and out of her in a steady rhythm. “It won’t hurt you, but it’ll still make you feel you.”
“Oh God, it feels so good. You feel so good.” Grabbing my thigh, she dug her nails in. “But its okay? For you? Are you sure?”
I hadn’t fucked without the lower piercings in years. I couldn’t even remember fucking without them. Shit, I couldn’t remember a single woman before this sweet contradiction wrapped her perfect cunt around my cock. Everything about Summer fit. Her sass, her mouth, her body—she was a fucking gift, and I wasn’t letting her go.
Cupping her cheek, I turned her face until our mouths met. “It feels goddamn perfect, because you’re perfect.” I drove my tongue in and kissed her hard.
Groaning into my mouth like I was her salvation, she started to shake and her cunt constricted, locking down on my cock like a vise grip.
My balls tightened, and inhaled sharply. “You go off on me now, principessa, and I’m not gonna be able to hold back.” Fuck, I was close.
“Oh God. I can’t… I can’t wait. I’m going to come.” Soaking my hand and my cock, she slammed back into my next thrust. “Shade!”
She fucking detonated and I was done.
Grabbing her hips with both hands, I drove into her. Hot, slick, and so fucking tight, she pulsed all around me and I lost control. Going deep with three more thrusts, I let go.
Growling, I came inside her.
Then shit went haywire in my head.
My cock buried deep, my seed filling her womb, the thought of her swelling with my kid came out of nowhere and my chest went tight. Physically jolted from the thought, I cursed. “Fuck. Fuck.”
Laying with her tits pressed into my counter, her delicate hands feathered over my thighs. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I stared at her. Her thighs still quivering, her heels still on, she looked spineless and sated and so fucking gorgeous, my head swam. “Fuck.”
Grasping the counter, she pushed up and looked over her shoulder at me. “Shade?”
“It’s not nothing,” I admitted. Wrapping an arm around her waist, I reluctantly eased out of her. “Come on.” I picked her up.
“Wait.” She gasped. “I’ll make a mess all over your tux.”
“Don’t care.” I wanted her in my bed, and I wanted her underneath me.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and I walked us into the master. With a guarded expression, she glanced up at me, but I kept my eyes locked straight ahead.
Setting her down, I issued an order. “Shoes off. Get in.”
She eyed me a moment, then she gracefully stepped out of her heels, walked to the side of the bed and turned the covers back. Hesitating, she glanced at me.
Yanking my shirt off, I kicked off my dress shoes and shoved my pants down. “If I don’t care about my tux, I sure as fuck don’t care about the sheets. Get in bed, woman.” I needed to talk to her. Preferably while I was balls deep.
She climbed in and got under the covers.
Still hard for her, I dropped my boxers and yanked the covers off before crawling over her. Grasping her face, I stared down at her. “Fuck woman. Sei sbalorditiva.”
Staring back at me, she didn’t smile. She didn’t even blink.
“You’re stunning,” I translated.
She cupped my face. “What just happened?”
My cock surged and every goddamn reason why she was perfect for me resonated. But that didn’t mean I was it for her. “I need back inside you.”
No hesitation, she spread her legs.
Fisting myself, I circled her clit once, then sunk inside her.
She moaned, I groaned and her back arched as her eyes fluttered shut.
“Look at me,” I
demanded.
Hooded, but wary, her baby blues met mine.
I gave her the truth. “I want more.”
Her shy smile touched her lips and she teased me. “Already?”
“I’m not playing games,” I warned.
Her smile dropped. “I didn’t think you were.”
I couldn’t be inside her and not move. Thrusting once, twice, I stilled. “I said this was the beginning and I meant it, but I want more.” I paused. Then I gave her the possessive shit eating up my head space because I knew it wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t a fleeting thought. It wasn’t post orgasmic bullshit. I’d never had these thoughts about any woman. This was it, and it was as real as it got. “I want to put a baby in you.”
She inhaled sharply, and her body went stiff.
“One day,” I amended. “You good with that? You want kids?”
She relaxed marginally. “Yes.”
I exhaled, but I didn’t relax. “But?” She was holding back.
“But not today.” She smiled and this time it was the real smile. “Today I just want you all to myself.”
As long as she wanted my kid in her, I could live with that. “Only today?” I challenged.
Her lips twitched with mischief. “Today’s special.”
“Yeah?” I ground my hips against her clit as the storm of emotions in my head ebbed. “Why’s that?”
She shivered, then she glanced at the clock on the nightstand before bringing her gaze back to me. “It’s my birthday.”
“Fuck woman.” Easing back, I slammed into her and held. “Buon compleanno.”
“Thank you.” Biting her lip, she pulsed around me.
“Sei mio,” I growled, possessive as shit.
“You’re mine too,” she whispered.
I grinned. “You learning Italian?”
She wrapped her legs around my waist, and gave me two words I’d already given to her. “For you.”
I kissed the fuck out of her.
Then I did something I’d never done with another woman.
I slow fucked her.
“WHAT DID I TELL YOU?” Shade kicked my legs out. “Keep ’em spread.”