Page 78 of Speechless

“Lovely Luzu shivers

She pants and moans and quivers

She wants none of my laughter

My touch is what she’s after”

The first time we were together he seemed nervous, unsure of himself. But now, he’s playing with me. It’s maddening, and I kind of love it. I reach for him, but he takes hold of both my wrists and knots them above my head. An extremely frustrated sound escapes my lips.

“Relax, Luce. I’ll take care of you. I’ll always take care of you.”

He unties the straps of my dress and tugs until my chest is completely exposed. He takes one nipple in his mouth, then the other, twisting gently with his teeth, as his hand slides between my legs underneath the lace.

“I have another song for you.”

“Henry.” His name comes out as a strangled breath.

His lips move back to my ear and he starts to hum, a melody I faintly recognize. Then his fingers follow the same rhythm, stroking, tapping, adding and releasing pressure. It may just be a game to Jayce, but Iaman instrument right now. And Henry is playing me like the master musician he is. By the time he reaches the bridge, I shatter completely.

I’m not sure if seconds or hours pass before I come back down to earth. When I do, Henry is sliding my dress back into place and dropping chaste kisses along my jaw. That just won’t do.

I press against his shoulder until he’s flat on his back, and I reach for the buckle on his belt. To my frustration, he grabs my hand and pulls it away. He speaks softly, directly onto my skin.

“No. Not now.”

“It’s okay, Henry, the doctor said it’s fine. I’m all healed, I promise.”

He has this tortured look on his face as he starts to trace the outside of my ear with his fingertip. I move my hand lower again but he catches it mid stride.

“Not until I know.”

“Know what? What do you mean?” I’m still trying to maneuver around his belt, but his grip is getting stronger.

“Why you ran, why you’re scared. Not until you’re ready to tell me everything.”

I stare back at him, not knowing what to say. I can’t fault him for this. To say I’ve been giving him mixed messages would be a severe understatement. I can’t help it. I want him—so badly that part of me is willing to suffer the heartbreak just to spend a little more time with him like this.

Luckily he saves me from myself, whispering softly this time. “It’s okay. I know you’re not ready yet, just let me know when you are. I’m not going anywhere.”

He brushes his lips against mine one last time before folding his arms around me and tucking me into him. We lie like that for a while, our breaths harmonizing together. His embrace always relaxes me, but I’m not exactly sleepy.

“Henry?”

“Mm?”

“For next year's convention, let’s not forget our costumes. What should we dress as?”

“Please don’t make me go back to one of those. It was a bit creepy if I’m being honest. If you require me to wear a costume I’ll be happy to do so any time, in our home.”

Our home. I smile at his slip of the tongue.

“Hmm, what about a koala?”

“Am I not cuddly enough for you already?” He tightens his hold on me and nuzzles his face into the crook of my neck. It tickles and I start to squirm. He must mistake my movement for wanting space and pulls away from me. “Sorry.”

I want to correct him, but maybe a little space is good. If he kept holding me like that I’m not sure I’d have been able to keep my hands to myself.

I roll over to face him again. “Actually, you should probably be a giraffe. You’re too tall for anything else; you might look deformed.”

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