Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72959 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72959 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
The dichotomy draws a shiver to the surface of my skin, and a fine tremor races over me. I’m protected, cherished. No one can hurt me while Dane is holding me in his strong arms. They shelter me as though I’m a precious, fragile treasure that he’s shielding from harm.
I release a soft cry of loss when he tears his mouth from mine, but his lips are immediately on my heated flesh once again. He kisses his way down the column of my throat, featherlight brushes like a butterfly’s wings. My fingers spear through his dark hair, tugging him closer, inviting him to mark me with his teeth.
But he remains achingly gentle with me.
I take a deep breath and inhale his spicy cedarwood scent. It reminds me that this is Dane. I can be good for him. His tender care touches something deep in my heart, even if it does little to incite arousal at my core.
Taking another calming breath, I force my fingers to loosen in his hair. This seduction will be slow and sweet, and I refuse to allow my perversions to darken the intimacy between us.
He keeps one hand cradling my nape as the other skims up my thigh, slowly pushing the hem of my dress up to expose my bare legs. He doesn’t pause to ask for permission, but his movements are slow. I could stop him with nothing more than a word of refusal at any time.
And even though I’m barely aroused physically, I don’t want to refuse this connection.
His fingertips brush over my pale pink, cotton panties, and I sigh into his mouth when he resumes our deeper kiss. I make little humming noises as he rubs my clit through my underwear in a confident but gentle rhythm, coaxing out my pleasure.
My inner muscles give a weak flutter because this is Dane. My white knight. My gorgeous protector.
But it’s not enough to make me wet. I’m not throbbing for him, and the soft sounds I’m making are meant for his benefit rather than giving voice to my own passion.
I encourage him to continue with hungry flicks of my tongue against his, urging him on.
He releases a low hum that rumbles through me, and my clit pulses once in response to the primal sound.
More than anything, I want to please him. I want him to want me.
One thick finger slips past the band at the edge of my panties, finding my heated folds. He strokes my clit directly, and I gasp into his mouth at a soft burst of pleasure. It dances through me like dandelion seeds on the wind, gentle and calming rather than sweeping me up in a tempest of churning lust.
He slowly penetrates me, but I’m not wet enough to ease his entry. My inner walls close, clamping down on the intrusion of his finger and refusing to accommodate him. Pain lances my core, and I can’t quite manage to swallow my whimper.
He breaks our kiss. His heavy brows are drawn together, and his mouth is tight with restraint. “Did I hurt you?”
“Don’t stop,” I plead, crushing my lips to his so that he won’t be able to see the fine lines of discomfort around my eyes.
He kisses me like he wants to consume me, and I manage to pass off my sounds of pain as desire while his tongue is deep in my mouth. The tension in my fingers can be interpreted as fierce passion, and my fingernails bite into his upper arms as I desperately hold him to me.
I can’t bear for him to pull away and leave me alone.
I only want you, Abigail.
I cling to his promise, playing the words over in my mind like a mantra as I will my body to accept his finger. How will I be able to accommodate his cock if I can’t even manage this smaller intrusion?
My fingers flex with determination, and I focus on the gentle pleasure of his thumb on my clit while he crooks his finger inside me.
Sweat slicks my skin, and I’m panting as I attempt to breathe through the pain.
When I can’t keep up the pretense any longer, I intentionally clench my inner muscles and sharply cry out into his mouth.
His lips firm around mine, a grim pinch before he recoils from me.
“Did you just fake an orgasm?” The angry shadow flutters at his strong jaw, and this time, the rage is directed at me.
My stomach drops to the floor. Cold rushes over me, and I suddenly feel awfully exposed. He’s not touching me at all anymore.
I close my legs and quickly tug my dress down to cover myself.
“No!” I say, reaching for his hand.
He jerks back, and his lips curl as though he’s tasted something disgusting.
“I warned you not to lie to me, Abigail.”
A pang lances my heart, and my chest tightens around it in a protective cage. I barely find the breath to protest, “I want you, Dane.”