Page 31 of Under His Watch

“I won’t push you.”

“You already did.” I took hold of his hand and clutched it tightly. “You pushed me out of that nightmare.”

He sighed, looking away as I held his hand. “I did. But I won’t push any further.”

I tugged him closer, wishing he’d look me in the eye. “Then I will. I’ll push myself. Whatever you can give me, Romeo. To help me. You said you’d help me, remember?”

He gazed at me so seriously, I doubted I’d get through to him. “I don’t think you’re ready to be with a man, Tess. Not so soon, not… Not with me.”

Emboldened by the desire he’d stoked in me, I reached for his other hand and guided him to stand as close to the bed as he could. It seemed impulsive and rash, but I wanted to follow this thrill of him grounding me, of showing me, once and for all, that I truly wasn’t alone. Since we’d come here, I’d been sodetermined to stay out of his way. He had calls to handle and things to arrange. He was a busy man, and I hated how it seemed like I was a burden. An obligation.

With that kiss, he showed me that I might have misinterpreted him all along. That just maybe, he wanted me.

“Help me,” I begged. “Help me to forget it all. Keep the nightmares away and stay with me.” In a brave move, I brought his hand to my chest and kept it over where my heart beat so wildly for him. For more of his hard kisses and hungry eyes.

“Tess…” He sighed, exhaling long and hard. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“I do.” I kneeled closer to the edge of the bed, carried away with this frantic need for him. “I’m asking foryou. For your help to forget what they did.”

“I can’t erase what they did,” he said softly as he lifted his other hand to cup my face.

At the firm stroke of his thumb over my cheek, I shivered. “I just want you to help me stop the memories. To show me how to forget about it for a moment. To help me shove it away.”

“How?” he asked, changing his mind as he kissed me. “Tell me what you want.”

I cherished the freedom, the example of having control.

“Can you kiss me again?”

He did, framing my face and urging me to loop my arms around him. After several moments of the heated slide of our lips against each other’s and the addictive taste of his tongue in my mouth, I struggled to stay upright on my knees. I’d been leaning into himto spare putting the weight on the still-healing scrapes, but we still weren’t close enough.

“Can you…” I frowned, pouting as he watched my face.

“What? What do you want?”

I didn’t know how to say it, caught in the strange dilemma of wanting him and feeling aroused but afraid to experience anything more.

“I’m…” I furrowed my brow, wishing he could read my mind. The sensations were too much to handle, and while I wanted to ask him to help me find relief, it was a huge step for me to take.

My pussy throbbed. My nipples felt so hard and achy. Aroused and slick with my juices, I felt… dirty, somehow.

“I was…” I winced. “I was a virgin before those men. And I don’t… I’ve never…”

He kissed me slowly and took my hand. Twisting so I held his fingers, he paused in his kisses long enough to whisper, “Show me. Show me what you want.”

I shivered and let his warm, hungry mouth distract me as I brought his hand to my pussy. Angled with my knees apart, I guided him to put his fingers over the achy spot where I felt so needy.

“You’re sure?” he checked.

“Please. I just want to forget it all.”

He wrapped his arm around me, and in a hug, he followed me down to the bed. Once his muscled form hovered over me, he reared back to pull his shirt off. Nervous, but swept away withthis foreign and needy drug of lust, I arched my back to indicate that I wanted him to remove my shirt too.

“Kiss me,” I urged when he lowered his hands to remove my panties. As long as I had his lips on mine, I would know he wanted me and treasured this moment.

Together, we took each other’s garments off. Once his hot, naked body lay flush to mine, a stubborn intrigue prompted me to be braver yet, to go for whatIwanted with this man who refused to push me into anything.

I tucked my hand between us as we made out, sloppy kisses and needy tongues and all. The second I slid my fingers down his chiseled abs and touched my fingertips to his hard dick, he tensed.

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