Burned (Devil's Blaze MC, #2)(55)

“You look worn out,” I whisper to her as I carry her to bed. I start at her feet, taking off her shoes, then her socks, letting my fingers and thumbs massage the soles of her feet.

“Been a long day.”

“No kidding. I’m sorry, sweetness. I should have thought better and demanded that you let me drive.”

“I could do it,” she says. “Besides, it’s not your job to think about my weaknesses, Hunter. I’ll deal. I always deal.”

“It’s not a weakness, Katie. There’s not a f*cking thing about you that’s weak,” I tell her, and that’s the God’s honest truth. Katie might be the strongest person I’ve ever known. I can say that and don’t even know half of the real hell she’s been through.

“Hunter, I know…”

“You know nothing. You know what’s been drilled into you by evil. That’s it. Does your sister think of you as weak, Katie?”

“Hunter…”

“Because I’ve met Beth. She’s an amazingly sweet and loving person, but she has nowhere near the grit you have.”

“Bethie has this ability to see people and… and love…”

“I don’t doubt it a bit, and it’s a wonderful ability,” I tell her, cutting her off. “But you, Katie, you have a will made of iron, grit, and determination that sees you through everything.”

“Grit? Iron? You make me sound so sexy, Hunter. You’re taking my breath away,” she jokes. How many times has she used humor to deflect compliments because she doesn’t believe them? I bet I couldn’t even begin to guess.

I help Katie to stand, then start to unbutton my pants.

“Hunter?”

“Undress, sweetness. Bare yourself to me,” I tell her.

She probably doesn’t know it, but I’m not talking her body. She begins slowly taking her clothes off. Nothing else is said and nothing can be heard in the room but our breathing. Once we’re both naked, I pick her up and walk to the small half-hall that has a small closet to hang clothes and a full-length mirror before moving into the bathroom. I stand her up in front of the mirror, then turn her around so she’s looking in the mirror. I’m standing behind her. I can see her face staring back at me. Her face goes pink with embarrassment.

“Hunter,” she whispers, confused.

I hold her hips and pull her back against my body so that our skin is touching from her back down to her legs. I pull her hair away from her neck and expose it on one side. I run my face against it, letting my beard tease her, and brush the tender skin. My lips find her ear and I place gentle kisses along the shell. My hands find hers and I place mine over them, moving them, palms flat, against the curve of her stomach.

“Look in the mirror. I want you to see what I see,” I tell her, allowing my breath to be just one more thing to tease her.

“I need to lose weight. I gained—”

I bite her shoulder hard, knowing I’ll leave my mark there, but I want her to stop.

“You’re perfect,” I correct her. “Look at how your stomach curves. So sexy. So feminine, it makes me hard just following the lines of your body.” I move our hands up along her ribs. “Until you, Katie, I never realized the way a woman’s ribs are formed that highlight and angle her body to make her fit perfectly against a man.” I continue telling her this while I kiss her neck, letting my tongue follow the path my lips make.

“Hunter…”

“And your breasts,” I go on, bringing our hands to cup them at the same time, slowly, carefully letting our combined touch be just one more thing to excite her. “Fuck me, sweetness, those breasts of yours are magnificent. Feel how soft they are? How they curve out from your body, looking so ripe and ready for the picking?” I bring our hands up so our fingers skate over her hardened nipple. With just the gentle touch, they contract further until they look painfully hard.

“Jesus, Hunter.”

“I’m in love with your breasts, Katie. They’ve ruined me for any other woman. They’re so receptive. The merest touch and they’re begging for more. The sweet pink color of your nipples. The way they crave that tiniest bit of pain…”

As I tell her that, I use her fingers to grasp the large nipples. We roll them between her fingers, then I pull them. I drag my eyes from the reflection of her breasts in the mirror to find her face as her ass pushes against me. Her head leans into my shoulder. Her eyes are heavy as she watches the movement of our hands, her breathing turning erratic. Katie’s face is still shadowed in pink, but now I think it has to do more with being excited than embarrassed, exactly as it should be.

“Oh, f*ck…” she whispers, her voice dripping in need.

I smile. “Keep playing with your tits, sweetness. Don’t stop,” I whisper against the back of her neck.

“I won’t.”

“I love your back too, Katie. I love the delicateness of it. I love the way it’s shaped, the milky-white color that makes me want to see my name inked on it. I love everything about it,” I tell her, letting my hands move along the backs of her shoulders and slowly down until I reach her hips.

“Please, Hunter,” she whispers. I drop down to my knees and place a kiss at the top of her ass. “Keep playing with those beautiful nipples, sweetness.”