Page 46 of The Gilded Lady
She did. He’d sensed that she’d needed to stop before she had regained her equilibrium enough to say the words. “More than anyone.”
His eyes stroked down her face to her lips and back up again. “Then watch my hands.” He put his right hand through the bronze spindles in her headboard, grasping one tight, and then did the same with his left hand. “I promise to keep them here. You can tie them there if it makes you feel better. Do with me what you will. You’re in control. We do only what you want.”
She stared at him in shock. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you can curl up at my side and take a nap, explore until your heart’s content, or climb on. The choice is yours.”
She couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped her lips. Amusement shined from his eyes, but he was still as hard as ever between them. The heat that had languished a bit inside her, flared back to life, and she squirmed on his lap. “Are you certain?”
He nodded. “I want tonight to be good for you, Glory.”
He might live by his gun, but he was the most caring man she’d ever met. How could he be real? But he was real and he was hers. For tonight. She tried not to dwell on the pang of bittersweet uncertainty that shot through her.
She moved slowly, her palms becoming familiar with every dip and swell of his chest. She turned in his lap and straddled his thighs.
His breath came out in a slow exhale as if he’d been holding it. “Thank God. I was afraid you’d choose the nap.”
A laugh bubbled up out of her. Being with him was so easy. He was right. This felt better, like before when they had stood together. She didn’t feel overpowered or overwhelmed by him and the need inside her came flooding back.
Holding onto his shoulders for leverage, she moved forward until his shaft was pressed against her belly. Her swollen sex throbbed as she rocked against his hard length. He groaned deep in his throat and the sound nearly slayed her. She kissed him, his familiar taste drawing her back down into the throes of arousal. She rocked again, loving the sounds he made in response. Who knew that bringing him pleasure would be so addictive? Very soon she wanted more, so she rose up over him, her fingers digging into his shoulders to hold herself steady.
Inch by slow inch she lowered herself over him. She was so slick that the thick head of his manhood pushed right in. He let out a harsh exhale that matched her gasp. The fullness of him inside her felt incredible. She moved to test out the sensation, pulling up to nearly dislodge him before sinking down even farther. His entire body tensed. He kept his word but themuscles of his forearms flexed as he gripped her headboard, and she worried that her bed might not survive him. She did it again and again, working herself onto him until he was fully seated within her. They both let out a cry as he slid home, and she fell against his chest.
He kissed her temple and very gently moved his hips, flexing within her. It was all the encouragement she needed. Wrapping his hair around her fingers, she rose over him, moving slowly at first and then faster as she gained confidence. Flutters of pleasure deep in her belly urged her onward. He felt so good inside her that she forgot everything else but him and what was happening between them. Her entire world narrowed to them, to the way he throbbed inside her.
“So beautiful.” His harsh voice rasped across her skin.
Heat spiraled through her, tightening the coil of pleasure inside her tighter and tighter until the tension exploded within her. She cried out and his voice was husky as he urged her higher, so that she was riding the crest of her pleasure. When she started to come down, he followed her over, his hips pumping upward as he pulsed within her, finding his release.
She was able to watch his face as he came. To see his eyes at the exact moment when he fell apart. He was beautiful. Rough and gentle, hard and soft. Perfect. She held him against her as they both came down, all the while wondering if she’d ever experience a more flawless moment in her life.
Chapter Nineteen
Zane woke up with a start. Disoriented, he tried to sit up, but a warm, soft body in the bed next to him kept him where he was. He smelled roses and everything that had happened a few hours earlier came back to him. He closed his eyes and tightened his arm around her waist. She snuggled back against him, her soft bottom making him start to go rigid.
He cupped her bare breast, gratified when she sighed and relaxed into him with a gentle snore. The sound brought out a yearning in him. There were so many things he wanted to know about her, but he wasn’t certain he’d get the chance. He’d had a dream, a nightmare, actually. They had been together, walking down the street and someone had called out his name. It was almost exactly what had happened with Castillo. He never saw the man who pulled the trigger, but it was someone from his past. Only the bastard hadn’t shot Zane. He’d shot Glory. The hard thud of her slamming against him from the impact is what woke him.
Danger followed him. How could he put her in danger after going through all of this to keep her safe?
Knowing he wouldn’t get back to sleep after that dream, he sat up and looked down at the woman beside him. Being with her had been different than being with any other woman he’d ever known. Their joining hadn’t been only about mutual pleasure. There’d been something more. The only thing that had ever come close was his time with Christine. He didn’t like to think about her, especially not when in bed with Glory, but there she was.
He’d loved Christine. Cared about her like he’d never cared about another person, but even in their brief time together, even with his thoughts of marriage, he’d never imagined the contentment of growing old with her. Theirs had always been a relationship rooted in now. That’s the relationship he and Glory had agreed upon as well, but this morning he saw more. He saw himself waking up with her every morning for years to come. He saw himself on a front porch holding her wrinkled hand as they watched the sunset and going to sleep with her at his side. They’d agreed to not think about the future, but that’s all that he could think about now.
The tread of a boot on the roof overhead brought him back to the present, reminding him that he had more pressing concerns to think about. There’d be no future to consider if he couldn’t figure out Dubose’s plan. He moved to get out of bed, unwilling to wake her with his restless thoughts, but the moment he did she stirred and tightened her arm against his.
“Don’t go,” she whispered. “It’s the middle of the night.”
He hesitated. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to stay, it was more that he knew he’d never want to leave if he did.
She rolled over onto her back to look up at him in the muted light coming in through the window. Light spilled across her shoulder, one breast was partially revealed. The expressionon her face cinched his decision. It was so full of hope and tenderness that he felt himself relaxing back into the bed before he’d even made the conscious decision to stay. It was wrong. There were so many reasons to go, but he wasn’t strong enough to turn away.
She went eagerly into his arms and settled against his chest. He’d planned to hold her until she went back to sleep, but she didn’t seem sleepy anymore. Her finger drew small circles on his chest. He took a deep breath, trying and failing to keep her warmth from seeping into his heart. He realized then that she was far braver than he was. She’d faced her fear, but he couldn’t. He was terrified of loving her.
“I know that you should go back to the sofa soon, but you don’t have to go yet.”
“Oh?” His mind was too busy racing along with his heart to think clearly.
“It makes sense, don’t you think? We don’t want Able to come early in the morning and find you here.” When he didn’t answer right away, she rolled her head to look up at him. His face must have reflected his mounting terror, because she asked, “Are you okay?” She rose up a little to see him better.
