Page 54 of Defenseless
He opened his mouth to say something else, though what it might have been, he didn’t know. Thankfully, Sabina finally spoke.
“I heard you come in,” she said.
He nodded. What else was he supposed to say?
“I…” Her gaze drifted to the small scratch on his arm then dropped to the one on his thigh.
The flash of vulnerability in her eyes woke all his senses. And it wasn’t a subtle awakening, either. Every part of him—body, mind, heart—roared to life, and desire poured through him.
Without further thought, he dropped his towel and walked to her. Grasping her face between his palms, he dipped his head and slanted his mouth over hers.
Tasting her for the first time.
Their lips and tongues danced and mated. As the seconds ticked by, every ounce of restraint he’d shown over the past two years slid away, leaving him starving for her. For her touch, for her body, for the sounds she’d make when he finally buried himself inside her. For her surrender. Not to him, but tothem.
She was on the same page, and her legs wrapped around his waist as he picked her up. Without breaking their kiss, he carried her into his room, the heat between them chasing away any chill. Not wanting to deprive himself of her touch for even a moment, he lowered them both to the bed, keeping her tight against him, then shifted to the side as he came down over her.
Coasting his hand over her rib cage to the dip in her waist, he snagged the hem of her shorts and managed to remove them without his lips leaving hers. Wanting to imprint the feel of her skin against his, his fingertips caressed her body. From the curve of her hip down to the indent of her knee, then back up again along the softness of her inner thigh. She sighed at his touch, and her own hands traced lines down his spine and over his backside.
Shifting from her side to over her, he slipped a hand under her shirt then cupped her breast. Pulling his lips from hers, he trailed kisses down her neck as he reveled in the feel of her in his hand.
A gentle bite at the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder, timed with a firm pinch of his fingers, had her legs wrapping him as she arched up.
“Get this shirt off me,” she managed to say.
He raised his head and grinned down at her, but as commanded, he shifted away. Her heels dug into his thighs as she yanked her top off. And then they were both naked. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Taking his time, he skimmed his fingers from her collarbone, down between her breasts, over her belly, then to her waist. Her skin was fair, much fairer than his, but at the moment, it was also flushed.
He was lost. As he’d known he would be if they ever managed to get to where they were. There was not a single doubt in his mind that he wanted everything from the woman who now lay under him. He wanted her trust, her wit, her humor, her intelligence, her body. Her heart. He even wanted all her quirks. The road might not always be smooth for them—it never was for any couple—but he could still see it stretching far ahead.
She lifted a hand, and her fingers traced his jaw. His eyes met hers, and they stared at each other for a long moment, their chests rising and falling with each breath.
She raised her other hand and cupped his cheeks, much as he had in the bathroom. “Come to me,” she said. “Please.”
She tried to pull him down into another kiss, but he resisted. “Are you sure?” he asked. She was. He knew she was. But he needed to hear the words.
She knew why he’d asked and why he needed a clear answer. And as that memory slipped into the moment, a look of pain flashed in her eyes.
“I’m sor—”
“Don’t,” he said, cutting off her apology by placing a finger across her lips. This bed, this time between them, didn’t need to be marred by his past. Regardless of what had happened to him all those years ago, consent was important. But what was even more important to him was not just her consent, but her willingness, her desire, and her need.
“Are you sure you want this?” he asked again. And to be sure she understood the full import of his question, he added, “And I don’t mean this, tonight. I mean everything. I need to know you are sure about me. About us.”
Her hands were still cupping his cheeks, and her thumb brushed along his cheekbone. Her eyes never left his as she spoke. “Before you, I never let myself dream about thiseverythingyou’re talking about. It was always out of reach, something I could never have, so why bother thinking about it? But then you walked into my life.”
Her thumb traced another gentle path along his jaw. “I remember every detail about the first time I saw you. It was your first day at HICC. You were in a conference room with Hunter, and he handed his son to you. He doesn’t do that with just anyone, and it caught my attention. You probably never even noticed I was there, but I stopped to watch. You took Mateo without batting an eye, like you were used to handling precious things. Precious people. I didn’t know who you were, but I envied Mateo that day, to be held by hands so sure and so gentle.
“Something came to life in me in that moment. I both craved and hated the thoughts and dreams I wove around you. Around the possibility of us. I told myself I couldn’t have those dreams, but I couldn’t give them up, either. It hurt to fall in love with you and it hurt to push you away. I hated myself for it. I hated myself for hurting you as much as I hated myself for not being able to move on and let you go.”
She paused and let out a soft sigh, her breath brushing against his cheek as her fingers slid into his hair. “But by some miracle, we’re here. Together. I’mnotgoing to let it slip away, and I will fight for it. So, to answer your question, Chad Warwick: yes, I’m sure. About you, about me, about this. Abouteverything.”
He held her gaze as her words settled deep inside him. Then slowly, like a seed taking root and unfurling, a smile emerged from within him. “I intend to fight for it, too. I want you to know that.”
She smiled back at him. “I know. You’ve been fighting for it for two years. I’m not going to let you stop now. Not when I’m finally alongside you.”
He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. “Good.”
