Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
She sighs. She knows.
“Somewhere along the line I fell in love,” I say. “And not because you succumbed to me eventually.”
“Then why?”
I chuckle. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve asked myself that question? And the only answer I’ve come up with is that love isn’t always rational.”
“So loving me is irrational? That’s not really a compliment, Braden.”
“That’s not what I mean. You’re smart, and you’re beautiful. You’re talented. And God, you’re a challenge. I once told you that you’re my Everest. You are. Even after you gave up all your control to me, you’re still a challenge. I just didn’t expect…”
“What?”
“To fall in love.” I pause a moment. “Usually, after I conquer something, I go on to the next thing.”
“And you feel you’ve conquered me?”
“No. That’s not what I’m saying.”
“What exactly are you saying, then?”
When I respond, I’m honest. I bare myself to her. “Whether I conquer you is no longer the issue. The issue is that I’m in love with you, and I have no desire to go on to the next thing.” I sigh. “Never in my life have I had a desire for vanilla sex. But damn it, Skye, I want to make love to you. I want to touch you, and I want you to touch me. I don’t want to take away any of your senses. I don’t want to deprive you of an orgasm or punish you. I don’t want to tie you up this time. I just want to lie next to you, as your equal, and make love to you.”
Again, I pause. She opens her mouth, but I gesture her not to talk yet.
“And Skye?”
“Yes?”
“I’m fucking…”
“What, Braden? What?”
I’m ready to admit something to her—something I’ve only recently admitted to myself. It’s daunting. It’s dangerous. But it’s so very real and true. I’m vulnerable. I’m vulnerable to her. I fear I’m not ready for it.
“I’m scared, Skye. Fucking scared, and I’ve never been scared of anything in my adult life.”
She melts into my arms.
“It’s okay,” she says against my chest.
“It’s not,” I say. “I don’t like this feeling.”
She pulls back.
“I don’t mean the love I feel for you. I just mean… I’m not sure I can put it into words.”
She nods. “I think I can. Vulnerability means you’re not in control. I went through this same thing a few weeks ago when we began. It’s difficult, but it’s not insurmountable.”
“I feel like I’m not myself.”
She laughs. “Boy, do I know where you’re coming from.”
I kiss the top of her head. “I don’t want to talk anymore. I want to take you to bed and make love to you.”
She smiles. “Okay.”
I lead her to the bed. I don’t command her to undress or to undress me. We undress each other. Slowly. Methodically. Relishing each new inch of flesh we expose on the other, until we both stand naked. Naked and vulnerable.
I take her hand and place it on my shoulder. “Touch me, Skye. Please.”
It’s frightening how much I yearn for her touch. Usually she’s bound, her motion restricted.
As she reaches out to me, her hand trembles.
She trails her fingers over my shoulder and down my upper arm all the way to my hand, where she entwines her fingers with mine.
I close my eyes. “I ache for your touch, Skye. I fucking ache for it.”
“Why do you bind me, then? Why do you make it so I can’t touch you except on your terms?”
My eyes still closed, I sigh. It’s a valid question. How do I answer? “I ache for that, too. I’ve always wanted women that way. But it’s different with you. I want the darkness, but I also want the light.”
“And that frightens you,” she says.
I nod. She knows me better than she realizes. “Please. Touch all of me.”
She leans into me and kisses my chest.
She’s kissed my lips before, sucked my dick, but I’ve never allowed her to touch me all over. Every part of me.
My cock is hard, but she resists it and does as I ask. She touches me. Simply touches me, all ten of her fingers sliding over my flesh. I shudder at her caress.
She shakes her head in amazement. Is she amazed at how her touch affects me?
Perhaps, and so am I.
When she flicks over one nipple, it hardens beneath her finger. She moves downward, over my abs to the triangle of black hair. She entwines her fingers through it, avoiding my cock.
Part of me longs to push her to her knees and force it into her mouth.
But I hold myself in check.
I want to experience this. The vanilla side. The sweet side of love.
The light.
She moves around my waist to my back, caresses the cheeks of my ass, and then presses into me as she glides around my back to my shoulders once more. She brushes her lips over my chest, and another slight shudder racks through me.