Page 21 of Taming the Lion
It feels like I can't stand anymore, but he pulls me closer by cupping my ass cheeks and breathing hotly against my skin. Hiseyes hold a hint of hauntedness before they warm and his cocky grin appears, causing me to clutch onto his long hair.
"You're an angel," he murmurs while standing up and lifting me onto his waist. I cling to him, feeling like this is where I belong for the first time ever.
"Just one look from you unleashes something in my heart - something that I've used as a cage to protect myself," he confesses while running his hands over my skin. "But there's no protecting myself from you."
I let out a sigh, my body responding to his touch, afraid of what this could mean between us.
"Yes," I breathe as he teases my skin with his fingers.
"That's my girl, always honest with me," he chuckles before focusing on my breasts. With a crooked grin and dimpled cheeks, he pulls down my bra cups and brings my nipples to life with his tongue.
My body craves more and finally, his hand drifts down to my mound. He slowly slides off my pants until I am nearly naked underneath him.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, laid out for me like this.” His voice is low, reverent, and his eyes devour me as if he’s savoring every inch. His gaze lingers over my lace panties, my thick thighs that touch, the dip of my waist, and then finally back to my eyes. The heat between us feels almost unbearable.
“Do you have a condom?” His fingers thread into my hair, his body pressing against mine as our lips brush, his tongue sliding past the seam of my lips with unhurried ease.
I shake my head, unable to speak, my hands gripping his waist as I tug at his shirt. “No, I haven’t been with anyone, remember?”
He pauses, his hips stilling against mine, and he tips my chin up, locking our gazes. “How could I forget?”
Our eyes stay locked, the silence between us thick with tension. Finally, I manage to nod. “I’m clean, I promise.”
His breath hitches before he presses his forehead to mine, and I can feel his erection firm between us. For a second, I wonder if I’ve ruined everything by telling him. Is this it? Will I never know what it feels like to follow through on this overwhelming need? I’ve never wanted anyone like this before. I want more. So much more.
“I know you’re clean,” he whispers against my lips, then captures them in a slow, deep kiss that makes me forget everything else. “But I need you to understand something. Us...you and me—it’s complicated.”
His words steal the breath from my lungs.
“But from the moment I saw you, Sophia, I knew you were different. Right here, right now, I’d give up my life for you if it came to that. Don’t ever doubt that.” His eyes search mine, waiting for me to understand, to give him something back.
I nod, my throat tight, my voice barely a whisper. “Okay.”
His hand slides down to the back of my neck, his touch sending sparks down my spine. He moves slowly, unclasping my bra, tossing it aside before pulling his own shirt over his head.
When his chiseled torso comes into view, the dim light casting shadows over his abs, my breath catches again. His body is perfection, every muscle carved and defined. I want to trace each ridge with my tongue, memorize the contours of his body until I know him as intimately as my own.
“Alex…” I murmur, his name the only thing running through my mind.
“Jesus, I love the way you say my name,” he groans, his arms wrapping around me as he pulls me against him. The heat between us intensifies as the space between our bodies vanishes, and all the air seems to evaporate. “Tell me what you want.”
“You,” I breathe, almost desperate now. “I want you.”
His grip tightens on my hip as his other hand works his pants down, kicking them to the floor. In one smooth movement, he’s back over me, his cock hard and pressing between my legs. He hooks a finger in the elastic of my panties, eyes flicking up to meet mine with a reckless grin before he tears the fabric apart effortlessly.
The pale pink lace falls to the floor, and his cock slides against my heated skin. My breath hitches, and I bite down on his earlobe, dragging my teeth along the sensitive flesh. He shudders, a deep groan rumbling through his chest as he inches inside me for the first time.
Time seems to stop.
My mind grows hazy, my body completely consumed by his scent and the intoxicating vindication of his touch. This is everything.Heis everything. The feeling is like being high, floating on the edge of something I’ve never felt before.
A low groan escapes his lips as he pushes deeper inside me, the heat between us blazing even hotter when he reaches the barrier that makes me a virgin. My breath catches, fire igniting inside me.
“Once I have you…” His voice is hoarse, ravaged with desire. “I won’t go back.”
His words tear through me, shredding my heart in the best possible way. In that moment, I know—whatever pain this man has carried, it has weighed him down, stopped him from truly living, maybe even from feeling. But not now. Not with me.
“Never,” I whisper, my words barely audible as they brush against the rough stubble on his neck.
