by Amelia Jade
The events of the night before wouldn’t leave his brain, nor his balls. All day they had ached dully, a reminder that though he’d broken yet another barrier with his mate, he had yet to claim her. Palin wanted her more with each passing breath, and the barrier that held back his desire was growing more ragged every time they locked eyes or touched. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out.
Sandy held the blanket up and he sidled close to her until her legs were draped fully over him and they were pressed tightly together. He rested his right hand on her lower leg, gently stroking it, but his left hand he was forced to leave on the back of the couch. Otherwise it would be awkwardly in his own lap, or resting on her chest. Despite the temptation, he kept his hands to himself.
He felt her gaze upon him. With no television to watch, it was either the fire or each other, and apparently she had chosen him. He continued to watch the red-orange flames dance and cavort wildly for a few minutes, then turned his head to regard her. Sandy was looking up at him, the glow of the fire giving her eyes an added flicker. Neither said a word, the only movement his hand running up and down her blanket-covered shin.
“You’re a persuasive person.”
The sudden break in silence startled him slightly. “Oh?”
“You’ve been in my life for a week and change now. From that time you’ve gone from stranger to a man I’m comfortable enough with to curl up on my couch under the same blanket.”
“I’d just like to point out for the record that you invited me under the blanket. I didn’t persuade you into that.”
She grimaced. “I know. That’s how well you’ve wormed your way into my life.”
“Is that a bad thing?’
There was a pause, long enough that he began to worry.
“I don’t think so,” she said at last, her voice quiet. “But I have my doubts when it comes to my track record of trusting people.”
“It’s cliché as hell, but you can trust me, Sandy.”
“I hope so, Palin. Because I’m thinking about doing something that I really shouldn’t if you’re not to be trusted.”
“Ohh?” It was all he could manage to get out, and even then his voice wavered slightly, thrown off balance by the heat in her voice.
Could this be it? Was Sandy ready to take the next step in their developing relationship? He hoped against wild hope that maybe it was, but he had to let her say so. As she’d said, he was already persuasive; this had to be her decision. Not his.
“How do I know that you can be trusted?”
He shrugged. “You don’t. I can tell you a thousand times over that I will never hurt you and will do whatever it takes to protect you from harm and pain, but in the end, you’ll have to make that decision. I can’t make it for you, nor would I, even if the power to do so lay with me. I think I’ve made it clear that I want you, Sandy, and only you. All I can do is repeat that until you decide to give me a chance.”
She regarded him silently, brown eyes thoughtful and focused, examining his features in detail as she mulled his words over in her mind.
He was about to speak again when she started talking. “And what if I’ve already made a decision?”
His stomach flip-flopped. “Then all you need to do is tell me what it is.”
She nodded. “What if I can’t speak the words?”
Mouth dry, he licked his lips nervously, trying to wet them as best he could given the circumstances. “Then you’ll have to show me.” His voice was the barest ghost of a whisper in the firelight. He gripped the couch tightly and kept stroking her leg to prevent her from catching on to the fact he was trembling ever so slightly.
Who was this woman who had such power over him? Even as his mate, he couldn’t believe the power she held to make him feel like a nervous teen discovering women for the first time all over again. It was intimidating.
Not that Palin was going to back down from the challenge.
Sandy reached out and grabbed his hand from the back of the couch, and with a gentle tug, pulled it toward her. He leaned over her, covering her mouth with his. The moment their lips touched a shock of electricity jumped between them, stinging skin.
He pulled back slightly, both of them giggling. Then, after stroking her face slightly, he kissed her once. Then twice. When he tried to pull back again she locked her arms around his head and kept him pulled tight. Her legs opened slightly on his lap, inviting him to slide his hand farther up. He did.
Things devolved rapidly from there. Unmet need met cautious exploration, and they lost themselves in each other’s world. The fire kept them warm. He fed it as she stripped off her clothes, adding enough logs that it blazed brightly and merrily while they moved to the floor, blankets and rugs the only padding they needed.
Together by the firelight he touched her bare skin for the first time. As he’d suspected it was soft and tender, but not weak. Life on the farm had bred her with some muscle, which showed when she flipped him onto his back and slid down between his legs, her tongue sliding up and down his cock.
The warmth and slow, gentle strokes of both hands combined with her lips and tongue had him on fire. He tried to stop her, to push her away, but Sandy wasn’t having any of it.
“You’re going to lie there and enjoy it,” she ordered, pushing his chest down firmly when he tried to sit up.
“I am enjoying it,” he growled. “A little too much, if you know what I mean.”
She paused, looking up at him and meeting his eye, before sliding her tongue back down to the base of his shaft, all the while maintaining eye contact. “Good,” she mumbled a moment later, her mouth full.
Palin realized she obviously had plans. Maybe she felt she needed to pay him back for earlier? He wanted to tell her that wasn’t how it worked, that he gave to her freely, but too late she cupped his sac and took him deep in her mouth, stroking vigorously with her hand on what she couldn’t fit.
It was too much. His groans became a full-fledged roar as he called out her name, hips bucking as he exploded. His cock pulsed in her grip, but she didn’t stop, working him perfectly until he shook slightly and sagged back to the floor with a sigh that couldn’t begin to convey the pleasure she’d just inflicted on him.
Sandy kept at it, slowing her movements until she sat up. Licking her lips, she smiled up at him, taking in what he knew had to be a dazed, eyes-unfocused face red with bliss. Hopefully she thought it was a good look on him.
“See, now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” she teased.
He growled and pulled her to him, smothering her with kisses that altered between hungry and hard and tender and delicate, always changing it up, never letting her know what was coming next. His hands grabbed her naked ass, squeezing and massaging it gently, much to her delight.
“No, it was pretty good,” he admitted after a few minutes. “But now it’s my turn.”
Chapter Nineteen
Sandy
She didn’t protest when he rolled her onto her back. Why protest what you wanted?
Everything was happening rather quickly, but at no point did it feel awkward or out of place. Even her unusual aggressiveness in pleasuring Palin had felt right by her.
When she’d asked him how to know if she could trust him, he’d told her bluntly that she couldn’t. There was no way she would ever truly know. Instead, she would have to give him the benefit of the doubt. It was that, she realized then, that she’d lost after having her house broken into.
Not the ability to trust, as she’d thought. That was still within her, because she trusted Palin. Was trusting him. No, what she’d done is close herself off to the idea that there were still good people out there. Instead of giving them her trust and waiting until they broke it, she’d demanded that others prove their trustworthiness to her.
That was just flat-out impossible. There was no way anyone could prove that to a degree she would find acceptable.
So it meant she was going to have to believe in someone else. She was go
ing to have to believe in Palin.
“Everything okay in there?” he asked, kissing her cheek.
“What? Yeah, sorry,” she said with a laugh. “Just thinking over what you said, and how much it makes sense. I didn’t mean to get distracted. You can put your mouth back.” She took his head and guided it back to her chest to prove her point. “That feels good.”
He shook his head, a snort of laughter blasting hot air across her skin, making her shiver and bite her lower lip involuntarily. She couldn’t get over how hot he was. The firelight flickered across his back, drawing shadows between the various muscles that bulged and shifted as he worked his way slowly down her body. How the hell had she managed to score someone so hot?
You didn’t. He chose you, something for which you are perfectly okay wi—!!
While she’d been lost in her own mind again Palin had slipped between her legs, pushing them wide. Now his tongue began to work her core over, and if she’d thought his mouth felt good on her neck and nipples, that was nothing compared to what he was doing now.
“Oh fuck,” she gasped, at a loss for anything better to say.
Strong hands wrapped around her thighs, holding her tight even as her body bucked uncontrollably each time he slid his tongue over her clit. Sandy had never before felt so out of control and yet so utterly turned on. She wasn’t tied down, but Palin’s arms kept her lower body so locked in place she may as well have.
The added arousal of knowing he had full control pushed her over the edge and she came hard, shuddering in his grip. Her hands twisted the blankets around, her back lifting slightly before collapsing back with a thunderous explosion of breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Pleasure rolled up her body in one continuous wave before settling in her head.
There was no time to enjoy it however, because Palin was still going, and she was well on her way to another climax. It was too soon, and she tried to protest, to tell him she needed a minute. But every time his tongue touched her she fell silent, until all that filled the room was her cries of wordless ecstasy mixed with the occasional breathless sigh of his name.
All at once he released one leg and slid a finger deep inside of her.
Sandy propped herself up on her elbows, eyes wide as the pressure between her legs built far swifter than she’d expected. Her orgasm arrived with thunderous force, and to her surprise she felt wetness pulse from her, much to Palin’s hungry delight. He stroked her just until she shuddered and lay back, and then he stopped, letting her enjoy being a puddle of boneless mass while he wiped his face clean.
“That was intense.”
“I liked it,” he rumbled, mounting her.
Sandy stared nervously. When she was sucking his cock she’d had a first-hand visual of just how large he was. Part of her wondered if it was all going to fit. Now that he was hard again, it seemed they were going to find out.
“Are you ready?” he asked, gripping his shaft in one hand and placing it against her opening, rubbing gently back and forth. Tantalizing her. Teasing her.
“I trust you,” she said, the words feeling appropriate for the moment.
Palin’s eyes blazed, vibrant and greener than she’d ever seen. They practically glowed in the dark as he gently pushed inside her for the first time. Was she imagining things, just seeing what she wanted to see, or was that actually happening?
There was a brief flare of pain as he entered her, but it was accompanied by the most delicious sensation of fullness that she couldn’t help but enjoy it. “More,” she begged, overwhelmed by the craving at her core. “Please.”
Palin ignored her cries, taking his time, allowing her walls to relax to take his considerable girth. She knew she could handle it now. That buoyed her with added confidence, but a part of her said she’d be happy in the morning that he didn’t just thrust in at once.
She lay back now, staring up at him with unashamed desire, unmasking her eyes to him just as she’d finally unmasked her body. He drank it all in, the passion in his eyes making her nipples hard and her insides pulse. He wanted her. Palin. All six foot five and 260 pounds of muscle. He wanted her, and he was thoroughly aroused as he took her.
Sandy wanted to say something, but the perfection of the moment stole her voice. Palin lowered himself onto his elbows, covering her completely, letting his hips do all the work. They stared at one another, watching every reaction. She saw his jaw tighten and his eyes threaten to close as he pushed deep inside her. They never closed, too focused on her own face, which she knew reflected her own happiness and pleasure.
The intimacy of the act wound itself around the physical pleasure, and Sandy felt yet another orgasm approach. Was every time with Palin going to be like this? Nonstop bliss and climax after climax? The thought that she could have this on the regular if she wanted was overwhelming, and yet enticing beyond anything she had dreamt of.
“Sandy,” he groaned into her ear. “I don’t know how much longer. Too tight,” he gasped, clearly fighting for control. “You’re too hot.”
She bit her lip, a mixture of laughter and pleased embarrassment rushing through her at his words. “Then don’t. Let go,” she whispered. “I want you to go harder, Palin. Fuck me hard.”
He stole a look at her face for confirmation, then propped himself up on his palms. The sight of his body stole her breath. His abs flexed and curved as he thrust faster with his hips. The massive pecs pulsed as they and his steely biceps held him over her.
Glancing down, she watched his cock slide in and out of her. Without thinking she pushed a hand between her legs and started to touch herself. Palin’s pupils grew wide as he watched, but the instant her fingers found her clit she didn’t notice anything but that and the feeling of him thrusting into her over and over and over…
He yelled her name as he swelled slightly. That was too much for her and Sandy cried out, her body writhing violently underneath him as they climaxed together, neither holding back. His hips crashed into hers and she curled in around herself, shaking as blissful agony rocketed out across her body, pounding her nerves into submission as she struggled for breath.
Warmth filled her body, her own mixed with Palin’s. He settled down on top of her as her blood slowed, keeping her warm against the chill. Beside them the fire settled down, the logs he’d added nearly burnt away.
Sandy stared at them in surprise. Had they really been in the lovers’ embrace for that long? It had seemed so…short. Not in a bad way—she couldn’t have taken much more—but not a lot of time had felt like it passed.
“That was incredible,” he murmured into her ear, kissing it softly. Aftershocks of pleasure trickled down her neck and she giggled, leaning into him, feeling safe and at ease in his arms.
This was something she could get used to.
“Palin,” she whispered a few moments later as the room dimmed, the fire fading.
“Yes?”
“You can take me to my bed now.”
She’d meant it as an offer, not a command, and hoped he would take it that way.
“Of course.” He withdrew, wrapping her up in a blanket and heading for the bedroom.
There he pulled back the plush duvet and lowered her into the covers with a gentleness that she still didn’t expect from someone his size. “Sleep tight,” he whispered, kissing her on the forehead.
Clearing her throat, she slipped over to the far side of the bed. “Where do you think you’re going?” she asked playfully, tapping the empty bed.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “There’s no fire in here. I need to stay warm. And…” she hesitated. “And I feel safe with you here.”
Palin got into bed next to her, lying on his side. “If you change your mind, you let me know and I’ll go back to the couch. I don’t want you to feel forced into this.”
“I know. I’m okay though, I promise. This…feels right.”
He brushed his lips against hers. “I know. I feel it too.”
She snuggled
in close to him, enjoying the heat. For long moments they lay silent, neither one talking. There was nothing to say that hadn’t already been said.
Eyelids growing heavy, she smiled and kissed his chest.
“Thank you, Palin.”
Chapter Twenty
Palin
He didn’t want to leave the bed, but the incessant buzzing from the table next to the couch was driving him insane.
Finally he caved and slipped out of the sheets, gently lowering Sandy onto the pillow. She barely registered the change, far too tired to wake up. Palin crept out into the main room, stirred the coals of the fire gently, and then grabbed his phone.
Thirty-seven missed calls.
Sixty-four text messages.
The phone went off again and this time he picked it up. “What the hell do you want?” he hissed, trying to keep his voice down so it wouldn’t disturb Sandy.
“Palin, why haven’t you been answering your phone?” Rowe’s voice was caustic, on the brink of a furious rage. He didn’t like being ignored.
“Oh I don’t know, maybe because I’ve been busy?” That and he didn’t want to take the calls.
It surprised Palin how much he was enjoying working the farm with Sandy. If he’d been asked before meeting her about the possibility of becoming a farmer, he would have scoffed and loudly stated to any who would listen about how that was beneath him and his skills. That it wasn’t worthy of someone like him.
That was before he’d met Sandy, and before he’d realized he had fun working with his hands in ways that didn’t involve killing people, or training to. Now he took great pride in his ability to work in the field, and to learn new skills. He’d spent several hours each night on his phone, learning more about farming, preparing for the spring and how the two of them might go about making the most efficient use of the land and their time.
Not because of the money—it was no longer about that—though Sandy still wasn’t aware. Palin simply wanted to prove to himself that they could do it, that they could make things work and be successful at what they did. That sort of pride had never been something he’d sought outside of his martial skills before, but spending time with Sandy was changing that.