Hardwired (The Hardwired Series 1)(35)

“I do,” I said.

My hand slid over his shirt to feel his heart beating a slow and steady rhythm. I knew nothing about his heart but something inside of me wanted to deserve it then. What would it be like to have his desire, and his love? Suddenly my feelings for Blake began to overwhelm the painful the memories he’d coaxed out of me moments earlier.

He lifted my hand and brushed his lips softly over my fingertips. Inch by inch, he caressed me, claiming every expanse of bare skin with a quiet tenderness I’d never known, healing me with his hands and lips. The pain and the numbness gave way to relief, and then, to a familiar warmth that simmered below the surface.

I tugged at his hair and tipped his head back for an urgent kiss. Somehow, he’d broken through, overwhelming my senses with the pressing need to be possessed. His smell, his taste, and his primal hunger—I craved them all. I explored the depths of his mouth with my tongue, tangling with his, ravenous for him. He met me with equal intensity. He shifted me so I straddled him, crushing our bodies together so they were flush. A soft cry escaped my lips at the sudden contact and the fervency of his movements. Then he stopped, fisting his hands to his sides.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m wound too tight, Erica.” His head fell back on the couch and he swallowed, the notch in his throat moving with the action.

I wanted to kiss him there, but I needed to figure out where his head was first. “So what?”

He squeezed his eyes shut and his body tensed beneath my touch.

“Touch me,” I begged. I fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, unable to wait any longer for his skin on mine. Running my fingers over his chest, I leaned in to taste his throat, relishing his scent and the saltiness of his skin.

“Wait,” he said through clenched teeth.

I pulled back obediently. “Why?”

My heart sank and the sadness crept back as the silence grew between us. After everything I’d shared with him tonight, I’d been foolish to think that we could go on like nothing had happened.

I searched his eyes. A flicker of emotion passed over his features before he looked away. Was it fear?

“I want you, Blake.” God, did I ever. I shifted, unable to ignore the uncomfortable ache between my thighs.

“I want you too. I’ll probably lose my mind if I can’t be inside you tonight.” He exhaled a shaky breath. “I just don’t want to…freak you out.”

“I’m not a china doll. I promise you won’t hurt me.”

He closed his eyes again, his hands unmoving on either side of us, as if he could block out the temptation to touch me that way.

Appreciating every hard ripple of his abdomen, I trailed my fingers down his chest, following the soft hairs along that disappeared under the band of his pants. I reached for the clasp, but before I could release him, Blake caught my wrists, holding them steady while he breathed hard.

“I want to feel you lose control, Blake.” My body pulsed, my self-control hanging on by a thread. I wanted nothing more than for him to take me the way he wanted to, the way I needed him to.

He caught me by the waist and stood, lifting me effortlessly. I wrapped my legs around him as he walked us to his bedroom, which was dimly lit by two wall sconces, the near darkness enveloping me like the warmth of his body.

He shut the door behind us and pinned me to it with a growl. I took in a sharp breath when my back hit the hard wood of the door. I bit my lip and tightened around him, wanting everything he could give me. The thin straps of my dress fell down my shoulders, a welcome invitation for Blake to release my breasts one by one, taunting each peak with his tongue and then his teeth. The sharp edge of the sensation cut through me. I whimpered his name, begging for more.

He lowered my feet to the floor and freed me from the dress, leaving me bare and shameless as he kneeled before me, trailing hot wanton kisses from my ankle to the folds of my wet sex now clenching in anticipation. He draped my leg over his shoulder, opening me to him. The friction from his stubble on my inner thigh almost unraveled me on the spot.

I ran my fingers through his hair and tightened my hold when he took me in his mouth. A fire began to grow in my belly after only a few expert strokes. God, his mouth had talent all its own. He centered his focus on the tiny bundle of nerves that had my whole body tensing, climbing to the edge of release. His strokes came harder and he sucked my clit with a fervor that took my breath away.

My vision went white as I went over the edge, a free fall into a shuddering climax that had me nearly collapsing in his arms.

Before my knees could give out, Blake caught me, my soft body yielding to the hard lines of his. He kissed me, slow deep kisses that quelled the tremors of my recent orgasm. My hands splayed over his exposed chest and pushed off his shirt, greedy at the chance to touch him freely, the way I’d wanted to for days. His skin was on fire, stretched tight over every taut muscle that seemed to struggle with impressive restraint. I ached to have him completely. Unrestrained. Raw.

“Blake, if you don’t f*ck me soon, I’m going to lose it, I swear.”

His lips curved under mine and he brought us to the bed. He undressed quickly, his muscles flexing with each effort, each motion a promise of the power he could wield. I waited, not so patiently, as he retrieved a condom from his pants and slid it onto his admirable length. I cursed myself for making us wait, for keeping us from this place where we both fiercely wanted to be.