Within These Walls (Within These Walls #1)(68)

“You need to stop looking at me like that,” he warned, his expression hooded.

“Like what?”

“Like you want to eat me.”

“I kind of do,” I admitted, my hands snaking up his chiseled torso.

“Jesus, Lailah,” he growled as he hovered above me on his knees. “You’re going to kill me.”

Fingers danced along the edge of my shirt, lifting it slightly, and he bent down to kiss the exposed skin. His hands slid underneath the fabric and skimmed up the sides of my body with the shirt. I helped, lifting slightly, so he could remove it the rest of the way.

“I need to see all of you,” he said as his eyes hungrily took in my simple cotton bra.

There was no staring at the large red scar running down my chest before disappearing into my bra. There were no gasps or dodgy eyes. He looked at me like I was a woman. I wasn’t broken and weak in his eyes. I was beautiful, sexy, and sensual.

He removed my shorts, sliding them down my legs, as he placed greedy kisses along my thighs and calves. His eyes wandered up my body, and he watched me as I reached behind and unhooked my bra.

“You’re exquisite,” he whispered. Leaning forward, he ran his hands over my thighs, teasing the sensitive flesh, then over my hip bones, and across my rib cage until he was palming my br**sts. When he pinched my nipple, I moaned, squeezing my thighs together to prolong the pleasure.

He gave me a wicked grin, hooking his fingers into the waistband of my panties, and he slowly dragged them down, removing the last piece of clothing from my body. They fell onto the floor, and his hands drew a lazy path up the inside of my thighs, parting my legs, so he could move in between.

“I don’t want to hurt you, so we’re going to go slow,” he said.

His lips closed over the tight bud of my nipple. His tongue made circles over my rosy flesh, and I gasped out loud when his fingers skimmed my sensitive core.

“Oh God!” I cried as his thumb rubbed my clit.

“Shit, touching isn’t enough. I need to taste you again,” he growled against me.

He crawled down my body, kissing a wet path as he went. The second his tongue touched my slick folds, I instinctively pushed against him, needing more.

“That’s it, angel. Take what you need.”

I heard him groan as his mouth licked and sucked at my core, and I writhed and moved against him. Tightening in my belly and tingling up my spine like I’d never experienced before intensified until I was pawing at the sheets and crying out his name. His hands clamped down on my thighs, making me helpless, and then he sucked down hard on my clit. I saw stars, and I might have traveled to another universe.

He crawled up my body and tenderly brushed the hair from my face, and then he bent down to kiss me. “Ideally, I’d love to do that about two more times to make sure you’re really ready, but I’m afraid that might kill you in the process,” he said with a small grin.

“I’m ready,” I answered.

His grin disappeared, and he became more serious as he stared into my eyes. “What’s your number one?” he asked as his hand drew shapes down my arm.

“You’ve already fulfilled it,” I answered, evading the question.

“What is it, Lailah?”

“To fall in love,” I finally answered, looking up at his eyes with a questioning expression.

Wordlessly, his lips crashed down onto mine, branding me with his kiss. I felt his body lift as he shed his clothes. My hands curled around the curve of his butt and pulled him back down. Skin on skin, his soft green gaze sliced through me, and I knew the depth of his love even without the declaration.

He loves me.

I felt him hard and ready against me, and my heart raced in anticipation.

“I need you to tell me if I’m hurting you. If you feel weak or—”

“Jude,” I said, gripping his arm, “I’m not going to break. Please, make love to me.”

His eyes softened and warmed. “Always,” he vowed.

Reaching into the drawer by the bed, he grabbed one of the condoms he’d bought as a precaution. I had a birth control implant in my arm for years, but considering pregnancy was basically a death sentence for me, he wasn’t taking any chances. I watched as he broke the wrapper open with his teeth and pulled the condom out. The whole process kind of fascinated me. I couldn’t help myself from reaching out to help him, and I started to put it on. His strangled gasp startled me, and I quickly pulled away.

“Having you touch me is like tugging on a pin of a grenade. I’m about to explode,” he said, taking my hand back to his cock.

I wrapped my small fingers around his large girth and watched as his eyes closed, and his head fell back.

“Stroke it,” he commanded.

I moved my fisted hand up his bare shaft and back down again. He groaned, and his eyes flew open.

“I need to be inside you.” Taking over, he quickly finished sheathing himself with the condom and pushed me back onto the mattress.

Our eyes collided as I felt the tip of him hit my wet core.

“Say it, Lailah. I want to hear the words.”

He pushed in slightly, and I felt my body tighten around him.

“I love you,” I said.

He moved slowly, inch by inch. “Again,” he demanded.

I felt him enter me completely. There was a slight pain, but when he pulled back, slowly moving inside me, it quickly changed from pain to pleasure.