Order of Protection

by Lexi Blake

  He would have to make himself plain. He rolled her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, easy at first. “Your breasts are beautiful, and they feel like heaven in my hands. I can’t wait to see them, but you didn’t say anything dirty. Does my dirty talk bother you?”

  “No. No. I like it,” she admitted. “I think it’s sexy. I wouldn’t have said that before, but coming from you it’s sexy.”

  “Because you know I can back it up and I’m not spouting random filth. I’m going to use my dirty mouth to get you hot and make you forget. It should tell you how much I want you. I’ve been polite so far. I’ve been a gentleman, but that’s done, and now you get the bad boy.”

  She shook her head. “Man. You’re a man, Henry. I should know. I’ve been around far too many boys. You want dirty talk? I’m not good at it, but I can tell you what’s going through my head. I can tell you why I fell this afternoon. I tripped because I was far too busy looking at you to maintain any kind of balance. I took one look at you sitting on that porch, and I wondered if you would take your shirt off and go for a swim. I wanted to see you. I thought maybe if I hid, you would dump the shorts, too, and swim in the nude like the gorgeous sea god you are. That’s what I was thinking.”

  “Sea god?” It was funny, but once he’d known these waters better than anyone. He’d had a skiff he’d learned to sail on, and when he’d been old enough, he would take it around and pretend to be a pirate. “I don’t know about that, but you would have made a good mermaid. I think you should let me take this off you.”

  She went still, and for a moment he was afraid he’d lost her, but finally she let her arms drift up. Henry pulled the shirt over her head, unveiling gorgeous skin. He could see her in the mirror of the dresser. The room was dark, though lightning illuminated it every few moments. He stepped back and lit a candle, wanting to see her better. The candlelight played over her skin.

  How could she ever have thought she was less than perfect? He stared at her for a moment, taking in the graceful lines of her body. “You’re beautiful. Don’t let anyone tell you different. You’re gorgeous, and I’m lucky you said yes to me tonight.”

  Her eyes caught his in the mirror. “It can be hard to feel that way. I hope you’re real, Garrison, and that you don’t turn into something else in the morning.”

  Because she’d likely met a lot of men who did. Hell, he might have been that ass in the past. He moved in behind her, letting his hands find her arms to run up to her shoulders. He eased her long hair to one side, giving himself access to her neck. She smelled like the soap from her shower. It was his soap, but something about it on her skin made it seem feminine to him. “I’m too tired to change on you. The problem you’re going to have in the morning is I might want more.”

  He was already thinking about it.

  She leaned back, bringing their bodies together like neatly fitting pieces of a puzzle he hadn’t thought to solve. “You would change your mind if you understood what my life is like. It’s complicated.”

  Her life was difficult? Somehow he thought he could handle it. “We’re not thinking about that tonight. Stay with me. Be with me.”

  He cupped her breasts again and was satisfied when she said yes.

  * * *

  Win couldn’t breathe, but it was a good thing. She didn’t need to breathe. All that mattered was the feel of Henry’s hands on her body.

  What the hell was happening to her? It wasn’t like she was a virgin. She’d had plenty of sex, some of it meaningful, most of it futile. She’d gone to bed with men for the wrong reasons. She’d looked for love and affection when she should have understood she would get neither if there wasn’t a deep connection.

  Of course, she hadn’t understood how connected she could feel to a person until Henry Garrison had wrapped his arms around her and held her close, whispering truly filthy, beautiful words in her ear.

  Henry kissed the nape of her neck, sending a delicious shiver down her spine.

  Stay with me. Be with me.

  The words he’d said warmed her. She wanted nothing more than to hide away, to be the girl on the beach he’d helped out. As he began a slow worship of her body, she wished the storm would keep up for days.

  Arousal flooded her system as he cupped her breasts again. She wasn’t sure how he managed it, but somehow Henry’s hands on her breasts were more erotic than all the sex she’d had before.

  Because he needed her for something more than an orgasm. Because he was a man and not some lonely boy.

  Because he’d been brutally honest about where he was in life and what he needed. A distraction. Some women might protest, but Win needed one, too. A distraction and some kindness.

  Not honesty. Not from her. He had no idea who she was because he wasn’t the kind of man to watch superficial reality junk TV.

  She shoved the guilt away. There wasn’t a place for it anymore. She wasn’t that girl, and it didn’t matter that her one-night lover didn’t know her every secret. All that mattered was getting through the night, getting the image of that masked face out of her head, the feel of those hands around her throat . . .

  “Stop it,” he said, his voice harsh in her ear. “I don’t know what’s going through your head, but I don’t think I would like it. I can see I’m going to have to try harder.”

  He turned her, and his mouth was on hers again. That was what she needed. She couldn’t think when he was kissing her.

  Her breasts brushed against his chest, the soft cotton of his T-shirt rasping her nipples. Her whole body felt alive as his hands slid down her back and cupped the globes of her ass. He hauled her close, rubbing against her.

  “Tell me you want this,” he demanded before running his tongue over her bottom lip.

  That was an easy command to follow. She wanted this more than she’d wanted anything in a long time. “I want this.”

  But he needed something, too. Something she hadn’t given him. It was weird to talk during sex, but maybe that had been her problem before. Sex had been furtive and silent, something to get through so she would have the solace of another body in bed with her. Henry wanted to connect. One of the ways he was trying was with words.

  He wanted dirty words to get him hot, to ensure they were on the same page.

  “I want your mouth on me.” It wasn’t hard when she stopped thinking about it. What did she honestly want? Past all the niceties. Past what was polite and correct. What did she want right this second? Shouldn’t she be woman enough to ask for it? All her life she’d been taught to be polite and thoughtful and never to ask for anything because she’d been blessed with the material possessions of the world. Damn it. She needed more, and she was done pretending. “I want you to suck on my nipples, Henry. I want you to lick them and play with them.”

  A savage, sexy grin lit his face, and he dropped to his knees in front of her. “That I can do.”

  He leaned forward, and her vision went hazy as he sucked a nipple into the warmth of his mouth. She let her hands sink into his hair. It was a tiny bit on the long side and she loved the way she could tangle her fingers in it, holding him where she needed him to be. While he lavished affection on one nipple with his mouth, he rolled the other, tweaking her slightly. It sent a shiver through her, that bite of pain rushing to her pussy.

  She’d never been so ready in her life. “Henry, let’s go to bed.”

  “When I’m done.” He switched to her other breast, licking and lavishing pleasure on her.

  Her body wound tight. “Can’t you be done now?”

  She’d never begged for a cock before, but then she’d never felt need like she did now.

  He bit her, a gentle but firm lesson. “I’ll be done when I’m ready and not a second more. You said you’ve gone to bed with boys before. Well, I believe it.” One hand trailed down and skimmed over her underwear. “I’m not taking you until you’re
ready, and while this might be nice and slick, it’s still not ready for me. Not until you’re soaking wet and can’t take a second more will I take you. I’m going to make this last all night long. Do I make myself clear?”

  Her nipple throbbed with a pleasant ache that made her whimper. He was in charge. She could handle that. The truth was, she didn’t know what she wanted besides pleasure, and he seemed perfectly capable of giving that to her. “Yes, Henry.”

  “Excellent. Keep saying that. ‘Yes, Henry.’” He licked her aching nipple, a slow drag of his tongue as his eyes remained fastened on hers. “Those words will get you far.”

  “Yes, Henry.” She liked saying them. Oh, she wouldn’t let him take the lead in everything, but he was the expert here.

  The idea of spending weeks in his bed caught in her brain. She had years of work ahead of her. A few weeks of sex might be what she needed before she gave herself over to finally learning how to run the foundation her parents had left her.

  And maybe the business, someday.

  His fingers found the hem of her undies and started to drag them down. She was going to be completely naked in front of him. God, she hadn’t been naked in front of anyone since she’d been in treatment. She knew she wasn’t as thin as she’d been, but there was something about the way he was eating her up with his eyes that made it impossible to find the will to be self-conscious. He didn’t have a problem with her body. He liked it. He thought she was sexy.

  She was healthy, and that was what was important. She was alive. She was alive and with him and in the moment, and that was all she needed for now.

  When he pulled her undies down to the ground, she stepped out of them without hesitation. It didn’t matter that she was naked and he was clothed. There was something sexy about it. He hadn’t been able to wait. He wasn’t attempting to show off his body so she could tell him how hot he was. He was interested in seeing her, touching her, tasting her.

  She nearly screamed when he dropped his head lower and put his mouth on her pussy.

  His hands held her hips. “Hold still.”

  How was she supposed to hold still? She gritted her teeth against the wave of pure sensation that washed over her as he kissed her mound and then ran the tip of his tongue over her clitoris.

  Her body threatened to go off then and there, but she held out. She needed more. He’d been right to hold out. Every slow lick of his tongue brought her closer and closer to the edge of a precipice she’d only thought she understood. This was higher than she’d ever been before, and the fall was going to be all the sweeter for it.

  “Get on the bed. I want you on the edge, feet up and knees wide.” He got to his feet, tugging the shirt he was wearing over his head and tossing it away.

  Oh, her lawyer liked to work out. Damn, that was one perfectly sculpted chest. With lightning flashing behind him and thunder cracking through the room, it wasn’t hard to see him as a fallen angel. He merely lacked the dark wings that would spread out from his shoulders and enfold her.

  She couldn’t help but place a hand on his chest, running it down to his defined abs. “You’re beautiful, too, Henry.”

  He reached for her hand before it could move lower. He gripped it and brought it to his lips with a shake of his head. “Not yet. I have to take care of you first. It’s been a while for me, too. I don’t want this to end too soon. And I need you to wait for a minute. I have to get something.”

  She grinned. “No condoms stashed away in here?”

  A grimace furrowed his brow. “There might be one or two, but they’re remnants of my optimistic youth. Lie down like I told you, or when I get back, I’ll tie you up so I can make sure you stay where I put you.”

  He strode out of the room. Tie her up? The thought didn’t scare her the way it should have. Still, she might not be ready for all of Henry’s kinkiness. Not yet. She climbed on the bed and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

  She looked . . . good. Her hair was messed-up, her body flushed with arousal. She wasn’t a size double zero anymore, but her breasts looked round and pretty.

  They’d taught her more than how to eat again. They’d taught her to look at herself in a different way, to value herself.

  She wasn’t that girl who had gone on TV trying to find a place for herself. She was the girl who made a place for herself through hard work and self-acceptance. She was the woman who could take on a challenge and care about herself even if she failed.

  “Yes, you’re awfully lovely.”

  When she looked up, Henry was standing in the doorway, leaning one broad shoulder against it.

  “I don’t look at myself a lot these days,” she admitted. “I’m trying to value myself for something more than my looks. I’m trying to value myself at all.”

  “And I need to value someone else,” he admitted. “We’re quite the pair. Lie back. Let me take care of you.”

  He stood at the end of the bed, looming over her like a decadent dream. She lay back, willing to let him take control again. It was good now. This wasn’t a choice she’d been backed into because she couldn’t handle it herself. She was stronger now, and giving over to Henry was about pleasure.

  She could use a little more of that in her life.

  Her eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head as he settled in and she felt the long lick of his talented tongue.

  Win gripped the sheets of the bed, holding on for dear life as he took her higher and higher. He didn’t hold back. He did exactly what he’d said he would. He made a meal of her, and it was clear that Henry had been starving for a long time. Win wasn’t sure how long she lasted, lying there and letting the waves crash over her, but before she knew it, she was going over the edge in a way she never had. Her body seized, holding for a single second before releasing. She shook in the wake, and then Henry was moving over her.

  Even as she came down from the orgasm, she watched him shove his sweats off his hips and reach for the condom with trembling hands. He managed to roll it over his cock, and then he was shifting, moving himself between her legs.

  “Tell me it’s okay.” The words sounded tortured coming from his mouth.

  How could he think she would turn him away? Likely because it had happened. Likely because his marriage had screwed him over in so many ways. “Please, Henry. Please, I need you. I need more.”

  She expected the arrogant smirk to hit his face again, but there was nothing there but his own honest need.

  “I need more, too. Take me.” He pressed against her.

  Win wrapped her legs around his lean waist as he filled her inch by inch. She loved the way he stretched her, the connection she could feel. Win watched him as he worked his way in. That magnificent jawline of his was tight, and his hands gripped her hips, holding her down.

  She tilted her pelvis up, and he groaned as she took him. All the way.

  “I’m not going to last.” The low growl of his voice cut through the thunder.

  “You don’t have to.” She was perfectly satisfied. Her body still hummed with the orgasm he’d given her before. She reached up, putting her hands on his arms, completing the circle their bodies formed. Dirty words. He liked dirty words. Somehow he made them not so dirty at all. “Fuck me, Henry. You promised to fuck me hard, and I’m going to hold you to it.”

  “I knew you would be trouble the minute I saw you,” he said with a chuckle. “Well, I wouldn’t want to let a lady down.”

  He pulled back and slammed in. He held her close, finding a rhythm she caught in an instant.

  He fucked her over and over. This was what he’d meant. There was no other word for it, but it wasn’t nasty. It was connection. It was primal and pure.

  She gave up all thought and let instinct take over. She found herself rising again, her body ready and primed for another fall.

  Win didn’t want it to end, but before long sh
e felt the pressure build to a crescendo and she called out his name. Henry’s head fell forward, and he lost that perfect rhythm, fucking her until he held himself tight against her, pumping out the last of his orgasm.

  He fell forward, kissing her neck as he gave her his weight.

  They were quiet for a moment, the rain hitting the roof. Her blood pounded in time, a leisurely languor.

  “Sleep with me.” The words were whispered against her neck, his arms around her.

  “I thought I did.”

  “Sleep with me.”

  Stay with me. That was what he was saying. It was more intimate than the sex. It was comfort he was asking for, and the sweetness of it pierced through her. “Yes.”

  He cuddled against her, and she fell asleep to the sound of the rain, warmth all around her.

  THREE

  Henry woke to warm sunshine on his face.

  And a definite lack of warmth in his bed. He slid a hand over the pillow where Win should have been and frowned. The pillow was cool, the sheets she would have slept under tossed back. Had she disappeared with the storm? He knew they’d talked about getting each other through the night, but that didn’t mean she had to run out on him the minute the sun came up.

  He sat up, listening for the shower running. The door was open and the light off.

  He was surprised at the depth of disappointment he felt at waking up alone. Shouldn’t he be relieved? Old Henry would have been. He didn’t even have to give her a ride home. It would have been a win-win for his old selfish asshole persona. Now he wondered how she’d gotten back and if he would see her again. He didn’t know where she lived, except that it was somewhere on the main island.

  Damn it. Was it even safe for her to walk back to Edgartown? It had rained a lot the night before. Would she think she could wade across? The currents could be deadly.

  He shot out of bed, reaching for his sweats and his cell phone. He glanced at the screen and saw that someone had called. He had a few messages, but he would have to deal with them later. He shoved the phone in the pocket of his sweats. He couldn’t call her because he didn’t have her damn number. How had he not asked for her number?