Page 68 of An Improper Deal (Elliot & Annabelle 1)
She blinks, and her eyes finally focus. “Elliot?”
“Yes. You’re okay.” Then I quickly add, “Nonny’s fine.”
A huge breath heaves out of her, and she goes limp. “Thank god.”
I rub my thumbs over her cheeks, streaking the tears. She blinks up at me, her eyes wide. It’s as though she didn’t even realize she was crying.
“I couldn’t save them,” she whispers, her voice broken. “I couldn’t do anything.”
“It was just a dream.”
“No. It’s more.”
The wooden flatness of her voice makes my chest ache. I’ve seen her devotion to her sister, and know the sacrifices she’s made to ensure she gives her sister the best life possible. The nightmare must’ve been harrowing to touch on that. She’s so far away, someplace I can’t quite reach. She’s actually slightly clammy to the touch.
A compulsion I don’t quite understand urges me to make it right. Make her feel safe and protected.
“Shhh…” I whisper, kissing her on the forehead. I rub my cheek against hers, offering her comfort that I can’t give with words. I’m not a poetic guy. If it can’t be done with action, I don’t do it at all.
She tilts her head, angling so our mouths touch. I go still. She’s in a vulnerable state, and I don’t want to misinterpret and take advantage.
Her hand grips the back of my neck and pulls me closer. “Please…” Her breath fans against my lips.
I let her lead, unsure of exactly what she needs—and wants—from me. I’ve never dealt with a woman after a particularly nasty nightmare, so I’m actually in uncharted territory here. It’s an odd feeling.
She strokes my mouth with her velvety tongue. I meet her halfway, then more as she drags me deeper into an endless kiss. Her mouth is a treasure—infinitely tender, sweet and seeking. When I kiss her I feel like I’m a sailor lost at sea, storm-tossed and clinging to the only bit of flotsam that can save me. Her scent, her taste and her softness are overwhelming, and yet I wouldn’t change a thing.
I lose all track of time as we kiss. Desire starts to simmer in my blood. She shifts without breaking the kiss. Her delicate hand slips between our bodies and wraps around my swollen dick.
Her pupils are dark and wide, so dilated that I can barely see the green rings around them. She spreads her legs and guides me to her slick heat.
I pull back. It would be so easy to glide into her without the barrier of a condom, but somebody’s got to be responsible. None of us wants to risk pregnancy—something that would jeopardize our plan to end this arrangement after a year.
I reach into the drawer for a packet. And once I’m fully sheathed, I slide slowly into her.
Her chest rises and falls in a sharp inhale and exhale. Her legs wrap around my waist, her heels digging into the upper swell of my ass. I cradle her face with both of my hands while dragging my cock back and forth along her swollen pussy.
The pace I set is slow and easy. I want her warm, the terror gone from her mind. I want her crying out my name when she comes.
Pleasure clouds her eyes. Her nails dig into my back. Her breaths come out in pants that match my rhythm. The urge to race her to orgasm is definitely there, but I pull it back.
“My god…” she whimpers.
“Not god, beautiful. Just me inside you,” I whisper. “You’re safe.”
Something I can’t quite figure out crosses her face. Red flush tints her cheeks, and this time a very different kind of sweat coats her heated skin. “Please…”
For a split second I think she’s about to say my name, but then a climax spirals over her. She squeezes her eyes shut and clenches her teeth. Her back arches, every muscle in her body going rigid.
The tight grip of her pussy around my dick finally tips it for me, sending me crashing over into orgasm. My breath gusts over her, but the usual satisfaction of good sex doesn’t wash through me.
The odd sensation that’s been bugging me since earlier tonight returns with a vengeance. And I finally realize…
She swallowed my name when she came.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Annabelle
