Page 83 of Hard to Love
And in that moment, baring his body to her took on an entirely new meaning. Had he given away too much of himself, too much of his power, his self-containment, by allowing this woman into his more private spaces? Hisinstinct was to leave the bed and cover himself with a barrier more protective than just clothes. But something told him a wall made of bricks wouldn’t keep Greer out of the places inside him if she really wanted to see them.
“And I’m about to know you even better.” She smiled in that way that made him think of a shameless wood nymph and curled against his thigh. Her breath skimmed over his dick, and he automatically reached down to wrap his palm around himself to relieve some of the throbbing tension. But she literally cock-blocked him and pushed his hand away. “Uh-uh. Mine.”
And then she took him in her mouth, sliding her lips slowly over the head, touching the tip with her tongue. Alex’s rock-hard balls contracted even more, and he spread his legs.
Greer took that as an invitation to take more of him. And God, the amazing wet heat of her mouth was the closest place to heaven Alex had ever been. Would probably ever be in his life.
She didn’t hurry, just learned every inch of him with her tongue and lips, occasionally grazing him with her teeth.
Alex dug his heels into the mattress and his fingers into Greer’s tangled hair. But he was careful not to thrust, not to press down on her. This was her show even if he died a thousand deaths in the process.
The combination of her smooth lips, wicked tongue, and perfect suction had him setting his back teeth against the brain-destroying pleasure. Then she increased her tempo by a half-measure and took him to the back of her throat.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.If she kept it up, he wouldn’t survive.
He tugged lightly on her curls. “I…I can’t take any more.”
Her only answer was another slow, sliding deep-throat move, and the beginnings of Alex’s orgasm tingled in his balls.
He pressed—a gentle squeeze of his thumb—against her carotid artery. “Please,” he said, the word a strangled mess on his tongue.
Greer backed off but took her own sweet time about it. When she looked up at him, her pupils were dilated and her lips were shiny from sucking him.
So fucking beautiful it ripped a hole in his chest. “You are so—”
“I love you.” Her words were quiet, the most sincere three syllables he’d ever heard in his life.
And he thought she’d ripped a hole? Hell, she’d just detonated a pipe bomb inside him. “Greer, I—”
She smoothed two fingers over his lips. “Don’t. Don’t say anything you don’t mean. And don’t reject something that’s freely given.”
If she wouldn’t let him articulate his complicated feelings for her, then he’d do his damnedest to show her. Probably kinder anyway since he was leaving regardless of how much he cared for her.
So Alex pulled her up his chest then gently pushed her onto her back so he could settle himself between her thighs. He smoothed the hair out of her face, took his time trailing his fingers over her fragile cheekbones and silken skin.
This. This was the temple where he wanted to worship. The altar he wanted to kneel before.
He leaned in, trailed light kisses along her jaw, down her neck, across her vulnerable collarbone. Her beeswax scent—warm and heady—perfumed her skin. A light reminder of her feminine strength.
She moved restlessly beneath him, a husky “Mmm” vibrating up from her chest. Her hands clutched at his back, urging him to move faster.
But he took his time, exploring the hollow between muscle and bone with his tongue, his lips. And not until he was ready to move on did he turn his attention a few inches down her body.
Greer’s nipple was tight and pink-tipped, and when he circled it with his tongue, she arched beneath him, pressing her breast against his mouth. He backed off and blew warm air over her skin until she sank against the bed again. Then he returned to his work, alternately using his tongue and the scrape of his teeth to drive her arousal higher.
He knew it was working because she tilted her center against him, and her warm wetness skimmed his belly. He forced himself to breathe through the stab of incredible need. He could just shift up a few inches, slide himself inside her welcoming body.
He could make them both whole.
And he would. After he made her lose her mind.
“Alex, please,” she panted.
But he simply moved his attention from her left breast to her right.
Her nails bit into the back of his neck. “I listened when you said please.”
“I’m listening,” he murmured against her skin. “I’m just not answering.”
