you like it if I did that to your other breast? Let’s see . . .”
He didn’t hear anything that resembled her safe word, so he kissed a path from the hollow of her throat, his lips coasting down velvet skin, all the way down to the hard crest stabbing the air as if silently demanding attention. Gently, he surrounded the nub with his lips, then laved it, his tongue prodding it back and forth over her aroused flesh, just barely there.
“That enough?” he teased.
“No.” She clung to his shoulders. “More. Please. I’m . . . lost.”
Something about the way she begged told him that she’d never done that in her life. Satisfaction and a desire to own her slammed him. Stone wanted to be the only man who ever heard her in true need. He wanted to be the only man who sated it, too.
“Lost?” He gave her a mock frown. “Oh, baby. I’ll help you find exactly where you should be. Lie back.”
Stone worried she would refuse or demur, but after a moment’s hesitation, she nearly melted into the mat, the delicate swells of her breasts pointing toward the sky, the tips calling his name in a siren song he couldn’t resist.
Lily flung one arm over her head. The other she draped across her middle. She looked like a seductive goddess finally waking to the power of her own body and sensuality. “Like this?”
He took her in, the gauzy white giving her fair skin a luminescent quality. She looked like a fucking pearl, all glowing. Stone couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Almost. Now bend your knees.”
With a furrow of confusion wrinkling her brow, Lily planted her feet flat on the ground. Gravity caused the handkerchief hem of the baby doll to slide down her thighs, revealing a creamy length of leg and a hint of lace underneath.
“That’s nice, baby. Really nice. You would look even prettier if you spread your legs for me.” When she hesitated, looking uncertain, Stone backpedaled. “Just a little more. That’s all. Get comfortable.”
She swallowed. “You won’t hurt me?”
As aroused as he was, Stone stopped everything and caressed her cheek. When she peered up at him, fear and uncertainty creeping back into her expression, he murmured a soothing sound. “Never. Whatever happens between us, I’ll never do anything but protect and pleasure you.” He caressed his way down to her breast and filled his palm with it, his thumb taking a slow slide over the sensitive tip again. “Ever. Do you have any idea how good I want to make you feel?”
Exactly as he’d hoped, that turned Lily’s thoughts away from whatever disturbed her and turned her back toward bliss.
Lily arched into his touch, her eyes drifting shut for the barest of moments as she groaned. And she spread her legs wider.
When he bent and took her nipple into his mouth and fondled the other, her eyes flew open wide. “Stone!”
“You like that?”
“Yes,” she panted. “It’s . . . I ache everywhere. It’s too big. Can’t fight it.”
“Don’t try. I ache, too, baby. I’m absolutely dying to see you give in to pleasure. Do you want that? Do you want to come?”
As he continued to lick and pinch her nipples, he stared, his gaze delving into hers until she scratched at the mats and nodded feverishly. “I don’t know what’s happening.”
“Just pleasure. Follow me and I’ll make sure you get to orgasm. Do that for me, baby. We both want you to reach it.”
She panted, her face softening with need. Her voice thinned with desperation. “How?”
“Let me touch your pussy.”
Chapter Nine
TOUCH her . . . there? Lily had never used the word Stone had just uttered in her life. Truthfully, only Axel had ever touched between her legs. Somewhere in the back of her head, she’d never been able to forget that he had done it to be helpful, out of far more pity than desire.
But the sexual heat in Stone’s eyes, the flush of red slashing down his cheeks, the seduction of his words—they all promised that sympathy was the last thing he felt for her. He’d been so patient, so encouraging. With him, she felt free and sexy. Not like a burden but a woman.
She’d been desperate to feel this way for the past three years.
“If you want me to touch you and make you feel even better, all you have to do is relax and let me slip my hand under those lacy panties,” he muttered gruffly. His edge of impatience turned her on. “I’ll do the rest.”
The pull of his mouth on her nipple again electrified her. She wanted to feel him everywhere, wanted to know just how much pleasure he could give her. But as badly as she ached, the flashes of the past simply wouldn’t be banished. Horrific images of Erin’s last hour on this earth pelted her, those moments Canton had ripped away her jeans and her innocence with a terrible glee before he ended her life. She still heard the screams, still smelled the blood . . .
“I-I can’t,” Lily sobbed as she tried to push him away, shoving at his hands and clamping her legs together again. “It’s too much. I don’t—”
“Shh. Okay.” Stone shifted all his attention from her body back to her face. Their gazes connected. He stroked her hair so gently, she almost cried. “It’s all right. Do you need your safe word? Or can I keep kissing you? Touching your breasts?”
He wasn’t angry or impatient? He wasn’t annoyed that despite the slow way he’d prepared her body, she was freaking out?
Those damn tears she’d never been able to shed welled in her eyes again. Just a few moments without his touch and already she was missing it. Maybe . . . Could it really hurt to let him continue a little? Yeah, she’d never reach orgasm from kisses and caresses to her breasts, but the moments of indulging her sensuality like a normal woman, of feeling wanton and lovely and connected to him? She couldn’t pass that up.
“Please. Yes,” she cried out. “Are you mad at me?”
“Mad?” He sent her a look of such exquisite understanding. It utterly dismissed her anxiety and vowed she’d never have to worry. “Why would I be mad? I’m trying to make you feel good, not uncomfortable or defensive. If you’re comfortable here for now, we’ll stay here.”
His assurances made her want to try more. So did the ache between her legs. She didn’t want to give up without seeing if she could let loose enough to enjoy pleasure with a man who aroused rather than coddled her.
“I don’t want to stop,” she sobbed.
“That’s good.” He tongued his way up the side of her breast and plucked at the nipple with his fingers until a little shudder ran under her skin. “If you’re not ready for me to touch your pussy, you’ll have to do it. I’ll help by talking you through it, Lily. Can you do that?”
Talk her through it? That sounded shocking, sensual, and intimate all at once. “Can I keep my panties on?”
“If you need to.”
Lily nodded. Removing them would make her feel too vulnerable and reveal too much of her body. Not that Stone wasn’t perfectly capable of ripping them off himself if he wanted to take advantage of her. She took comfort in knowing that if he did, the line to detach his balls from his body would form behind Axel, and it would be long. “What should I do?”
“Don’t tense up, baby,” he coaxed. “This is the good stuff. All you have to do is slide your hand between your legs and look at me.”
That might be all she had to do in his mind but since she’d never really masturbated successfully, much less in front of a man, it seemed like a tall order. Still, she wanted to share pleasure with Stone so badly—and wanted him to be pleased, too. Heck, she wanted him enough to push past her discomfort and try.
Dragging in a steadying breath, she slid her hand down her stomach, under the elastic of her waistband, over the smooth mound Axel had instructed her to keep bare, and between the plump folds. Problem was, she didn’t know what to do next. Lily choked back a cry of frustration. What grown woman knew so little about the way her body worked?
One who’d been afraid of sex since age sixteen.
“Where are your fingers, baby?”
?
??On my vagina.”
He flicked his tongue across her nipple. “‘Vagina’ is something you say when you visit the gynecologist. That’s your pussy. Are your fingers on it, playing with your clit? If not, that’s where they should be.”
Right. She knew where to find that. Axel had introduced her to that part of her anatomy.
When she touched the bundle of nerves between her legs, she yelped, shocked by its surprising sensitivity. Every so often, Axel touched her there. She didn’t feel much at first. The sensations took time to build. Then again, they’d never been to bed with passion in mind. Apparently that made everything different.
“You can feel that, huh?” He smiled. “Do it again—drag your finger right over the top. Then make sure it’s wet before you rub it in small circles.”
Lily shoved her self-conscious thoughts aside and pursued the sharp jolt of pleasure she’d felt just moments ago. Stone seemed to know how a woman’s body worked. She disregarded the jealousy that stung her. The fact that he had clearly had a mountain of sexual experience worked in her favor right now. Since he didn’t mind sharing his knowledge, she intended to savor how juicy these moments felt.
She slid her finger between her folds and drew more moisture up to her aching button. When she touched it, pleasure jabbed her again, bright and shocking. Almost against her will, she gasped and arched, jerking her gaze to Stone. She fixed there, blinking, panting.
“Yeah, you can feel that. I see it on your face, baby. Hmm, I can’t even tell you how sexy it is to watch you the first time you learn how much pleasure you can give yourself. It’s, like, the biggest deposit in my spank bank ever.”
Despite the edge of need gouging her, Lily couldn’t help but laugh. The worries that had been building in the back of her head evaporated, leaving behind a comforting warmth to go with the heat permeating her entire body. This man totally got to her.
She tsked at him. “Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. You know you’re sexy, right?”
Lily had never truly felt sexy before today. But Stone changed everything with an ease that surprised her. “I like that you think I am.”
“Believe it, baby.” He cupped her breast, thumb teasing, as he bent to whisper in her ear. “When I came into this room tonight, I already wanted you like mad, but now that I’ve seen just how damn much you turn me on, I’m going to be after you morning, noon, and night. You’re free to say no and I’ll listen. But I’m not giving up. Now get busy and come for me.”
He made it sound so easy, as if it was perfectly natural for her to engage in self-pleasure. And that, of course, he would watch. How badly she wanted to be normal. How much she wanted to please him. How desperately she needed this climax.
She spread her legs a bit wider and set her fingers over her slippery clit, then started rubbing gently. Electric tingles slid through her body. The ache turned so vicious she could feel the walls of her sex tighten and clamp down. Once they did, she felt so empty, as if she needed someone—Stone—to fill her.
With her free hand, she reached out to him. He took it in his own. His dark, focused stare pinned her, slammed down her spine, the impact making her suck in a rough breath and clutch him harder.
As she rubbed the nubbin a little slower, with a bit more brush and tease, the need surged again. The muscles of her thighs tensed. Her sex clenched. A hot flush rolled through her body. Then suddenly, her heartbeat roared in her ears. Lily swore she could hear her blood pumping.
This was big and thick and encompassing. Whatever sensation gathered wasn’t like the orgasms she’d had in the past. When all this pent-up fire burst, it would burn her alive.
“Stone,” she keened.
“Oh, fuck. You’re so beautiful. You need this now, don’t you? Yeah,” he agreed when she nodded frantically. “Let it take you under. Let me hear you scream.”
Lily couldn’t think of anything she wanted more. As she circled her hyperaware nerve endings again, her body jerked. Desire surged. When Stone bent to take her nipple in his mouth, she clasped the back of his head and anchored him to her. Not that he’d do anything except help her drown. But this time nothing would be sweeter.
He dragged a hand up to her other nipple and tangled his fingers with her own. Together, they manipulated the tip of that breast while he sucked the other hard bud and scraped the very tip with his teeth.
Sensations mounted again. She felt like a vessel filling up with blood, with need, with an imminent explosion. It was right there . . .
Her legs shook. Her hips jerked. She whimpered, strained for it. She tasted need.
But she couldn’t seem to fall over the sweetly sharp edge.
Lily pressed harder against her clit, narrowing her circles, focusing on just how good this was going to be. The seconds ticked off in her head, slowly becoming minutes. The exquisite need was its own form of hell, and she couldn’t seem to escape.
The torture dragged on, and she saw no way out. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling defeat begin to creep in.
Stone sprang into action, popping her nipple from between his lips and grazing her ear with his lips. “You got this, baby. Focus on my voice and close your eyes. Yeah, I know that’s hard, but I’ve got you.”
Oddly, she already believed that.
“Picture yourself naked and me standing over you, stroking my cock. You know I’m going to tell you how sexy you are and how much I want you. Imagine that I’d fall to my knees between those pretty thighs. When you hold your arms open to me, I’ll go right into them. Then I’m going to kiss you, touch every lush, tingling curve of your body, and when you’re begging, that’s when I’ll slide inside you. Deep. That’s when I’ll stroke you slowly and thoroughly and make you claw my back as you come.”
As he spoke, her desire and racing blood clashed, merged. Everything inside her roared to a screaming crescendo. The wall she’d been slamming into, preventing her from falling over, disintegrated. She envisioned exactly what Stone told her to picture. She saw herself being not just perfectly able but eager to lie back and welcome him inside her as he gave her mind-blowing pleasure and she surrendered herself completely.
With a guttural scream, she careened into a thick thrall of pleasure, her fingers still working with a gentle firmness that prolonged the agony for seemingly endless moments. The climax didn’t merely embrace her but sent her soaring into a breathtaking realm of dizzying euphoria. The rapture she’d been avoiding? Amazing. Knowing her body was capable of all this? Astonishing.
As she crested, the crush of sensations was suddenly cushioned in a lovely velvet embrace. The tight grip of climax loosened with a sigh. Everything once sharp now felt golden, meant to be. Perfect.
No wonder people enjoy orgasm so much.
The grip of pleasure finally began to release its hold. Of its own volition, her body shuddered and twitched with the last vestiges of bliss.
Then she sighed and melted into the mat.
“Lily, baby . . .” Stone groaned above her.
Lazy and sated, she cracked her eyes open to find him staring at her with both pride and reverence. He wasn’t smiling as if he was relieved that, after dredging up his patience, he’d managed to do his good deed for the day. Axel would be horrified if he ever figured out that she’d read him so clearly. Instead, Stone was proud of her for taking steps forward and taking charge of her sexuality. He looked at her as if only she alone existed for him. Nothing and no one else mattered.
“You just tilted my world on its axis,” he murmured.
It took her a few moments to process his words. She frowned. “I think that’s what I’m supposed to say to you since you worked so hard to help me.”
“You always had the ability inside you. I just nudged until you saw it. You’re a whole, normal woman, Lily. You were a kid when Canton did something appalling that terrified the hell out of you and bruised your psyche. He bent you but he didn’t break you. I needed you to see that. And you did. It’s your job well done.”
She knew she could never have given herself such an experience if he hadn’t been right there, helping her along. But the point wasn’t worth disputing. In fact, she didn’t feel like arguing about anything just now.
Instead, she gave him a heavy-eyed smile. “I’m still patting you on the back.”
“I was hoping for something a little lower.” He winked her way.
Lily froze. She’d managed to find ecstasy, sure. And she’d left him in blue-ball hell. “Okay. I-I should warn you though. I’m not sure what to do—”
“I’m teasing, baby.”
“I can . . .” What? The few times she and Axel had progressed