Page 91 of Fighting for Scarlett

A growl rumbled through him.

There was never a time when he didn't want to touch Scarlett, to bring her pleasure, to watch her face as she fell apart.

But not like this.

What he’d said earlier was still true. Maybe she didn't hate him, but she also wasn’t sure about him either, and he didn't want this between them. It felt too much like taking advantage because she was hardly in a place where she could give anything that could come close to being considered consent.

While she might want him to help ease the pain inside her, she didn't really want him to touch her right now.

“Please,” she whimpered, her hips thrusting forward, seeking anything that would bring her relief.

Another growl tore through him.

It felt like being trapped all over again with no good solution to keep the woman he was falling in love with safe.

“Everybody out,” he ordered.

All six of the guys gave him wary looks, clearly not liking his decision, but he’d like to see what one of them would do if they were in his position and their woman was begging them to bring her some relief from her suffering.

Still, the guys left, and as soon as the door closed his hands framed Scarlett’s face, making sure she was looking at him so he could see the truth in her eyes.

“Tell me this isn’t taking advantage of you,” he pleaded. “Tell me that you want my touch not just because I'm the only man here who you feel comfortable enough with to have touch you when you're like this.”

“Have you ever lied to me?” she asked.

Not the direction that he’d expected her to take this, but it was a question that was easy to answer. “I might not always have told you what I had planned, but the only outright lie I've ever told you was that day at the grocery store when I pretended I didn't know you, and we both knew I was lying.”

“Did you mean what you said before? When you said your world had to have me in it?” There was so much doubt in her eyes that it gutted him. She had never had someone in her life who had put her first. She was always bumped down the list, and it had made her doubt her own worth.

He’d never had anyone put him first either, but together they could find that place to belong that neither of them had had before.

Unconditional love wasn’t the curse he had convinced himself it was, it was beautiful, special, and something to be treasured.

Just like the woman he held on his lap who wanted to trust him with something so personal that he couldn’t not fall harder and faster.

“I meant it. With every fiber of my being, I meant it,” he assured her.

Scarlett’s hands circled his wrists and tugged gently, guiding his hand down between her legs. “I don’t have all the answers right now, and there’s so much we need to talk about, and that I need to figure out. But I know that there isn’t anybody else I trust to do this, it’s not taking advantage. I'm making the choice to have you touch me rather than being sedated.”

Unable to turn her down after that, he nodded, slipping his hand inside her pants and past her panties to find her completely soaked. “Okay, baby, then you keep your eyes on me. You watch who’s touching you and know you're safe. Watch the man who is completely in awe of your strength and resilience, your bravery in not letting your fears control you, of still going after what you crave even though you know you might get hurt in the process.”

A moan tumbled from her lips as he slid a finger inside her. Already he could feel her internal muscles quivering, the drug keeping her so close to an orgasm that it was nothing short of torture.

“There you go, sweetheart,” he murmured, trailing a line of kisses down the slender column of her neck, as he slid another finger inside her, his thumb finding her bud and working it hard and fast. This wasn’t the time to draw things out, to tease her, to bring her to the edge and then back up so he could build her higher and make her release that much better.

Right now, his girl needed him to bring her relief, and Tate wanted Scarlett to know that she could always come to him for anything, and he would find a way to make it happen.

“Watch me, sweetheart. I need you to know that it’s me touching you, that you're safe.”

Her eyes latched onto his as he pumped his fingers in and out, his thumb never letting up on her bundle of nerves.

“Come now, Scarlett. I'm here, you're safe, and I am never going to let anyone—including myself—hurt you ever again.”

The words were the final thing she needed to push her over the edge, and her hands grabbed onto his shoulders as a powerful orgasm ripped through her. It seemed to go on and on, and he kept touching and stroking, drawing it out, hoping it was going to ease her raging need.

When tremors stopped rocking her body, he removed his hand and she slumped down against his chest, tucking her face against his neck. It was damp, with sweat or tears, he wasn’t sure, but he liked that she was snuggling closer rather than pulling away.

More than he deserved considering the mess he kept making with her.

---