“Be careful, little girl. You’re playing with fire,” he whispered, his fingers tightening on the inside of her legs.
Her bravo coming out to play, Jollie grinned wickedly and widened her legs, daring him to venture further with his fingers. An audacious act considering how terrified she had been earlier, but something in Rafe’s eyes told her that she could trust this male. When his fingers slipped beneath the edge of the terry towel to the smooth skins below, Jollie could only suck her breath and close her eyes.
“Look at me,” Rafe growled, his fingers stopping. Jollie’s eyes popped open, and Rafe grinned. “I want to see those pretty eyes when you come apart in my hands,” he growled, and then leaned forward and kissed her.
Rafe’s world came apart after the kiss. There was no other word for it, no other description for the soul shattering melding of what it was like to find out his soul was still alive and this tiny woman held it in her hands, had awaken what he had thought lost. For so long he had struggled to make sure his team was safe, the innocent rescued by whatever means at their disposal. He had accepted that leaving what was left of his soul encased in a cold shroud where few could access was a small price to pay for what he and the team accomplished so putting his needs by the wayside to ensure the others of his team were safe and cared for never bothered Rafe.
Kayne was his other half and deserved his mate who was his twin’s life. Rafe never considered there was another human being who could be his mate, a match who could save his mutilated and darkened soul, one who would bring light to a place so dark that it would be a cool breeze to a barren landscape.
He had been wrong - so wrong.
Jollie’s essence filled him, drugging his soul and calling to his spirit in a way that called to a dying man who was in desperate need of water He drank from her lips, his hands gentle on her body as he sank into her skin with care like it was a haven for lost souls only he could find. When he finally came up for air, her hands clutching his hair with strong legs wrapped around his waist Rafe knew his life was changed, forever.
“Please,” she begged, her eyes wide and pleading as Jollie carded her fingers through his short hair, touching anything and everything. Rafe could sense her emotions, the need to feel his skin, craving his touch on her as only a person starved for human contact could know after being denied for so long. Her very cells were screaming out for him as if her very existence depended on Rafe taking her, owning her and he knew no other woman would ever be enough for him from this day forward.
“Baby, are you sure?” Rafe licked full, pouty lips now swollen from his kisses as he pushed his cock into the nest of her thighs. He was still fully clothed in the lounge pants he had changed into while Chayle had sat with Jollie, but they were no barrier to the treasure his body craved. Rafe could smell her need, feel the juices where they spilled from the folds of her tight pussy and slipped to and dampened the knee of his pants wedged between her thighs. In answer, she pulled him back down to her lips.
“Oh yeah,” Jollie groaned, slipping her hand between them to pull the terry towel open and toss it from the bed.
Rafe rose up just enough to allow her to take the towel from over the side of the bed before she looked back at him, her breath hitching at the heated look she saw there. Blazing blue eyes filled with heated need so deep it hurt to watch it. Jollie could no more turn from it than she could breathe. One kiss and she knew this man was something more, more than all human, yet he was hers. He called to an elemental depth of her soul where no man had reached before, this warrior who held himself so solidly in check as he tried to make sure he wouldn’t hurt her. Jollie craved him, ached for his touch like nothing in her life and it terrified her yet called to her. With a trembling smile, Jollie reached up and pulled him down to her.
It was like watching unleashed lightning within his eyes. They turned bright and then darkened as he gathered her to him. His huge hands so achingly gentle as he touched her, but his lips seared Jollie’s skin; they encased her left breast, suckling like a lost babe thirsting for its next meal. His tongue, slightly rough and warm, was like a lightning rod to her womb as he encircled the entire areola and drew it into his mouth. It brought her body off the bed at the ache shooting to her core. Rafe didn’t just lick the nipple’s tip until it was stiff and sensitive, he worshiped. He made sure each one received the same loving attention and care as the other as he slowly and carefully drove Jollie out of her ever-loving mind. When he began to travel down her stomach toward her belly button, she knew there was no way she would last long.
Rafe took his time, continuously watching her face as he worked to ensure he never caused her any discomfort. He wanted her to feel everything, but most of all he wanted to make sure Jollie never experienced fear again and especially not at his hands. He worked slowly and meticulously to taste and lick every inch of her skin as he pulled her unique scent deep into his senses. It called to him like catnip to a feline and Rafe devoured it as if his soul depended on it for his next breath. His body craved her like water to a dying man and there was no way he could deny either of them the fulfillment that would come, but he was determined to draw it out as long as possible and make it as wonderful as he could.
As he worked his way down, Rafe pulled his t-shirt the rest of the way over his head. His minx already pulled it up around his broad shoulders but now he tossed it to the corner, his chest rubbing against Jollie’s thighs. As he moved further down Rafe slid his fingers down to the tie of his cotton pants and pulled, making it easier to slip them off. Skin, he needed to be skin to skin with her now! Jollie’s skin never missed his touch as his hands stroked skin he had been dying to touch.
He kept a gentle grip on her hips as he moved down, skimming over slim legs down to the backs of her knees. Her Latino heritage gave Jollie’s skin tone a honey-gold hue while her muscles were sleek and firm under his fingers. Rafe let his mouth follow his fingers placing soft kisses on the smooth skin behind her knees, over her calves and down to the arch of each foot. Then he worked back up the right foot to the apex of her legs and blew softly on her mound before starting down the left leg and knee all over again. He could smell her need, feel her vibrate under his hands and he wanted to taste her so badly Rafe wasn’t sure he could be gentle if once he started. Spreading her legs wide to accommodate his larger frame, Rafe settled between her thighs and rested, taking a moment to look up into her warm dark eyes.
“Look at me, baby!” Rafe whispered, his warm breath fanning her heated flesh where he lay. When she was able to open her eyes and he knew he had her attention. “Make sure you want this, baby. Once we cross this line I will never be able to let you go, never give you up. You’ll be mine and no one else’s.” He waited, expecting an answer. When none came, he rose on his elbows with a scowl. “Do you understand?
“You really want to discuss this now?” she finally huffed, scowling at him.
“Yes, because if this is not what you wish, I will dress and walk out that door. Now.”
He could see her confusion at first and then total amazement that he actually meant what he said. Rafe would walk out the door even though it would most likely kill him to do so. He waited, praying that Jollie could trust him enough to know what was best for both of them. It surprised him when a cute, devilish smile crept across her lips and she wiggled her hips as much as she could under his strong hold
“You big lug, what makes you think I want you to stop?” Jollie whispered, then arched up to meet his lips. She rolled to a half sitting position, evidence of just how strong her core strength was and bent to kiss him where he lay between her thighs. Then she lay back against the pillows and grinned. “Now, where were you?”
Rafe’s eyes grew wide, then he lost all semblance of control.
The essence of Jollie, sweet, fragrant and warm liquid escaping from her core filled the room and Rafe was lost at the first taste. He was a starving man who wouldn’t last another hour without a touch from this hellion he held in his arms. Hi
s tongue lapped and teased, his teeth gently pulling and spreading those feminine lips to allow his tongue to slip inside of her in a dance as old as time. He watched as Jollie came unglued in his arms, her screams of pleasure filling the room and echoing from the walls as she reached peak after peak time and time again. Once he had Jollie completely weak from so many orgasms, Rafe moved up her body to take her lips, feeding her the taste of her juices from his lips. His cock was steel hard and aching past the point of no return, his nuts drawn up into his body as he tried to hold back, give himself time to take this woman who tempted him beyond redemption He knew he couldn’t hold back his own mounting orgasm any longer. Rising to his knees Rafe pulled her moist opening down to meet his cock and surged into her depths, causing her to scream.
Rafe pushed deep into the soaking mouth of her pussy and groaned at the furnace of the body that could only be Jollie began to suck him into the depths of her very soul, binding his soul to hers. Eyes closed, he soaked in the heat, felt the tightening muscles of her channel hold his cock like a glove as he slowly sank further to bury himself to the root, holding as still as possible to allowed Jollie to become accustomed to his larger than normal length. That she could take him without pain concerned him the most, he clenched his eyes closed and counted backwards, trying not to lose it like a first time youth,
“Oh gods, Rafe,” Jollie screamed again, clutching his forearms with her nails as she pushed into him, pulling him down to her. She tilted her hips and wrapped her strong legs around his hips, and Rafe’s heart nearly stopped.
“Damnit, woman, stay still,” he growled through his teeth, trying hard to hold back the building eruption to ensure Jollie found her pleasure. He could tell Jollie heard none of it as she came apart once more under his hands. He felt her muscles contract and his body took over.
“Look at me,” he demanded.
“Don’t stop,” she begged softly, looking up at him, realizing he was trying to be gentle. Jollie didn’t want gentle right now. She want all that Rafe could give her. The heat, the strength, the man that was this powerful warrior.
Dark eyes collided with cobalt blue as Rafe held her in his arms. With a gentleness born of instinct rather than practice, he pulled almost completely out of her warmth and surged back in slowly, watching her eyes for any hint of discomfort. When there was none, he sped up his thrusts, his body taking over his need. His emotions rolled and suddenly Rafe sensed the link, so tenuous and fragile as it threaded a bridge between them while their bodies took what they needed.
Rafe felt the raging feminine desire flow back on their link, the softness of Jollie combined with the wildness of his were blinding behind his eyes. He fought his need to dominate, instinct gentling his touch, determined to take her to the same heights he felt and bring them both to the other side of the psychic bridge whole and connected. Closing his eyes, he allowed his emotions to flow to someone else other than his team for the first time. They ebbed out along the link and he tasted Jollie’s surprise the instant she realized he was there with her, feeling her, riding her. It was the most glorious thing in his entire being to link with the other half of his soul, to feel her recognize him in that instant, to acknowledge him and to take what he offered.
“Rafe?” Jollie’s eyes opened, searching his face as she became motionless under him held by the power and shock, the true beauty of what the connection created between them. “I feel you, Rafe. I feel you in my mind.” Her gaze locked onto his, probing and demanding while at the same time softening as her arms lifted to pull him down to her.
“Don’t be afraid, baby.” He licked at her plump lips again, demanding entrance then slid between them to taste her essence once more, tasting the sweet heat of her mouth as he tried to hold himself rigid so as not to frighten or harm her.
“I’m not scared, you big lug. But if you don’t start moving I’m going to kill you myself!” He felt Jollie’s nails dig into his back as he reared up, startled by her words.
Rafe’s frown turned to awe and then a grin at the look of pure joy he saw in his woman’s eyes as she opened her body beneath him like a bloom opening in the morning sun. Gone were the shadows and fear he had seen when she had arrived. In its place he felt need and the desire they both rode hard. Their link zinged with her demand as Jollie tightened her thighs around his waist and tilted her hips, taking his shaft even deeper and his cock nudged the mouth of her cervix. He groaned, trying to keep his seed from spilling like a youth.
“Woman, if you don’t be still for just a minute this will be over before it starts,” he whispered, trying to think of anything other than the warm flesh in his arms.
“I thought that was the point?” Jollie replied saucily, licking the dripping moisture from his neck to his ear lobe, his breath finally losing the battle.
He tilted his hips again and spread her thighs wider, locking eyes with her as he thrust deep. The tip of his shaft nudged her cervix again and Rafe lost his mind as Jollie’s screams of ecstasy filled the room. Jollie met each thrust with the same vigor she fought with, her emotions rolling back to mesh with his as Rafe struggled to hold his orgasm in check until she met her total pleasure. He watched her peak and felt the velvet glove of her channel clench around his cock in sweet agony as the tingle of imminent release raced up his spine and back down to his tight balls, pulling them into his body. Rafe’s roar of release came seconds after Jollie’s final screams, her nails sinking into the top of his upper back and her small teeth clamping down into the top of his shoulder as she held on for dear life and marked him as hers for all to see. It was the most erotic thing he had ever seen. Watching Jollie taking her pleasure as he spilled deep inside of her would be his goal in life.
Rafe held her tenderly as she relaxed against him and he thought at first she might have fallen asleep until he felt her small hand rubbing against his nipple, a small hitch of breath brushing his chest.
“What is it, baby?” Rafe whispered against the top of Jollie’s head. His hand unconsciously moved in slow circles along her lower back, something he never did with other lovers. Hell, he was usually a fuckin’-and-leave them type of a guy rather than stay around for any cuddles. He didn’t exactly jump out of bed but it wasn’t normal for him to hang around for cuddles with his hook-ups.
Jollie was so quiet for such a long time he began to wonder if something was wrong so he reached out softly on their now hared mental bond to see if he could seek out what was bothering his new mate. He was shocked to come up again against a very solid brick wall. Rafe pushed her up so he could look directly into her face.
“What is it?” he asked, searching her eyes. At first Jollie refused to look at him until he lifted her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his. “Your mental blocks are stronger than almost anyone I know, love. However, you have nothing and no one to be afraid of around here. Almost all of the team possess some level or another of telepathy but none as strong as Kayne, Gabe or myself. No one will try to invade your thoughts so you have nothing to worry there. You and I should be able to share thoughts freely and I know you can easily block others while talking to me. So what is wrong?”
“I’ve never been in a relationship before,” Jollie said, then licked her lips before trying again. “I never thought I would meet anyone I could share a life with, much less something so extraordinary as what we seem to have. What if it’s -.” She stopped, unable to finish.
“What if it’s - what?” Rafe waited, letting her process her feelings and the flow of love he was sending her that was just as new for him as it had to be for her. “It’s new for both of us, baby. We’ll fuck up, probably fight. However, I promise I’ll let you kick my ass once in a while just to make it look good, if you want!” he teased. She punched his chest and Rafe chuckled, finally seeing a sparkle come back into those chocolate and honey eyes.
“Ass. I want food.” She tried to get up but Rafe pulled her back down into his arms. “I know I’m being strange. Just give me some time, ok?”
&nbs
p; “One - you are not strange.” He licked her chin, watching Jollie’s lips curve into a grin. “Two - you can eat as much as you want even as tiny as you are, because I have no clue where you put all of that damn food. And three - woman, you can have anything you want as long as I’m on the list!”
Rafe let go of her and watched as she jumped from the bed and headed for the en suite bathroom, tossing her dark hair over a slim shoulder. At the door she stopped and looked back, a twinkle in her eyes.
“Well, are you going to be lazy or come wash my back?”
With an invitation like that, Rafe knew he wasn’t going to be feeding her within the next twenty minutes. At least not if he had anything to say about it.
Chapter 28
“What’s going to happen now,” Jollie whispered against the broad chest under her cheek as she teased the taunt nipple next to her lips. They had made love again after their shower and still hadn’t made it down to the kitchen. She was once again sweaty but sated, yet knew there would be a reckoning for their actions that could not be avoided. Jollie felt Rafe tense underneath her and cursed. She had forgotten to lock her thoughts down this time after his request.
“I’m glad you didn’t lock them away, but it’s ok?” he asked, chuckling. She looked up at him, glaring at that all-knowing grin Jollie just knew she was going to come to hate.
“I’m stronger than you think. How do you think I managed to keep those nut jobs out of my head?” Throwing back the light blanket, Jollie hopped out of the bed and reached for the light sweatpants lying on the back of the chair by the dresser and a t-shirt. “I need some food, hot-shot. Are you going to feed me now or keep me locked up here as your love slave all of the time?”
Promises (Blood Brothers #1) Page 16