Beauty in Autumn (Beauty #3)(11)

"Like this?" He drags the pad of one finger over my clit and I nearly come off the bed. I cry out, my body jolting with a surge of intense pleasure, and the hand on my belly reaches up and grabs a fistful of my hair, anchoring me down. "I've got you, pretty Willow," he murmurs close to my ear, the beastlike growl in his throat making his words that much more erotic. "Are you going to come all over my fingers? Soak my hand with your juices?" He continues to tell me all sorts of filthy things as he rubs me just as I've demanded, until I'm sobbing my need and I splinter apart in his arms.

As I come, I feel him lean down and his forehead presses against mine, against the blindfold.

Panting with my release, I reach up and touch his hair. It's soft and thick, tangled and long enough to brush his shoulders. "Are you all right?" I murmur.

"I...just need a moment," he tells me. He lifts his head and steps away. Ruari inhales deeply and then groans. There's a faint sound of licking. "Your taste is incredible."

I squirm with pleasure and embarrassment both as I hear that. He's tasting me? "What does it taste like?"

"The sweetest thing ever."

I bite my lip, wishing I could see it. Damn, I hate this stupid blindfold. I want to see everything and all I get are sounds. It's so unfair. "Did you come?" I ask, curious. Maybe he did and I didn't realize it because I didn't feel it hit my arm this time.

He's silent, and I take that as a no.

"Can...can I touch you?" I ask, all breathless at the thought.

"You want to touch me?"

"Of course." My answer sounds a little too pat, even for my own ears, so I add, "I'd love to. If you don't mind, that is."

He laughs, that same broken, raspy laugh that sounds like it's coming from too many teeth. "As if I would turn away the touch of a lovely woman?"

"Well, you might," I say meekly. "But I'd be disappointed if you did."

"You can touch me, but I cannot guarantee you will like it." He hesitates for a long moment and grabs my hand when I reach out. "I am...a beast in all ways."

I shake my head. "You're just a man to me," I tell him. And I slowly reach forward and put a hand on his chest. I'm not entirely surprised to find it bare - maybe beasts don't wear a lot of clothing - nor am I surprised to find that his chest is hard and smooth and muscular, with just a hint of chest hair. It doesn't feel beastly at all.

I can feel just how tense he is under my touch, though. He truly expects me to reject him, and my heart breaks for Ruari. I move to the edge of the bed, putting both of my hands on his chest. "I see nothing wrong with the way you feel," I say softly. "You feel warm and strong to me." I trail a hand down one muscular arm. Maybe this is part of his curse - maybe he looks beastly on the outside but feels human. Maybe he doesn't even realize this himself.

Or maybe it's the blindfold that allows me to see what's truly here instead of the curse? Who can say.

All I know is that it's incredibly pleasurable to touch him, and I want to explore all of his body. "Ruari," I whisper. "I'm glad I'm here with you." It seems like we're in this together, and I feel incredibly bonded to him right now. We're drawn together in this curse, and in our mutual pleasure. It's fascinating and it makes me hungry for more and more.

Three days won't be enough to explore all of this.

But since it's what I've got, that's why I'm moving so fast. Maybe the Willow that has lived, sheltered and lonely on her parents' farm at the edge of Windybrook wouldn't be hungry for a stranger's body. Maybe that Willow would be too shy to blatantly grab at his arms and squeeze the hard muscles, or to run her fingers down his abdomen, learning his body by touch. That Willow might never cup his sac to feel its gentle weight, or skim her fingers along the long, veined length of his cock. The Willow of the curse, however, will take everything she can grab with both her hands, and more. She's going to get all of her living in if three days is all she has.

Ruari's breath hitches when I touch his cock. He doesn't move as I learn his length with my hands, or when I discover the drops of wetness at the tip and bring them to my mouth to taste them. It's a strong flavor, but not an unpleasant one. "Ruari," I whisper again, because I like to hear his name on my lips...and I love the shuddering response it brings.

"I want to see your face, Willow. All of it. I want you to see me."

And to my horror, I feel him reach for the blindfold.

I shriek, flinging myself backward. The blindfold fabric has worked its way into my hair and snarls on several strands of my hair, hanging barely over my eyes. I squeeze them tightly shut and curl myself into a protective ball, shielding my face. "Don't! You can't do that!"

The beast snarls. "Why? Tell me why!"

I can't. "I won't!"

"Do you mock me, Willow? Is that what this is? Some game of yours?" His rage is terrible to hear. "Shall I rip it off your face and end this charade for myself?"

"Do that, and you lose me forever," I whisper. You lose everything.

"I only have you for one more day anyhow," he says, and his voice is so, so bitter. "What does it matter?"

"It matters to me." And because I can't trust him, I pull the covers back over my entire body, ducking my head underneath like a child, until none of me is visible to him. "Leave me, please. Don't come back. I can't trust you."