Page 63 of Love Bound

"Yeah. You know. Like strawberry jam but then you could peel off the label, wash them and voila! Instant juice glasses." Sipping, she shivers. "Is this a Shiraz? It’s yummy."

It is a Shiraz. A special bottle I've been saving for something. I hadn’t been sure of what that might be until tonight.

Walking over, I take the glass from her and set it down. She tips her head up and faces me but won’t make eye contact. It doesn't stop me, and I start to unbutton her coat. She pulls against me slightly, but then it opens, and I slide it down around her waist, her arms still trapped inside their sleeves. I slip my arms around her. We kiss again, slow and long, and my cock starts to throb again.

"Take your shirt off," she says, shaking off the rest of the coat.

Stepping back, I peel my wool sweater off. Then my black T-shirt. She steps closer and traces fingers along the top of my belt and I feel my body tense. Keeping one hand on the belt buckle, she walks behind me, kisses my back, and then slides her left hand down the front of my jeans.

But as much as I want her, I want her unbound. I want to see her completely, walls down.

I take her forearms and gently pull her hand away and draw her back around to face me.

"What’s wrong?" she asks.

"Nothing, sweetie."

She lays her head against my chest and, being careful to avoid my right side, she puts her arms around me.

Slowly, my erection begins to dissipate and I clear my voice. "How about I just undress you?"

Pulling out of the embrace, she looks up at me. "What do you mean?"

"How about I just undress you and you say nothing? No instructions? Just enjoy what happens next?"

Chapter Seventeen

Claire

The blood is pounding in my ears. I am so afraid. So afraid he is not going to like my body, how it responds, or me. The idea that he will see me aroused, while he is in full control of his own senses, is scary.

If he's not aroused, he won't like me.

He won't like me. There. I said it.

Finn has me stepping out of my pants now and I'm embarrassed my underwear is so damp. When he kissed me out on the pier and I felt his erection through his pants, I gushed. I know my little panties are wet to the touch. He picks them up and holds them in his hands and I'm mortified. But then he smells them, closing his eyes.

Does he really like my smell?

He drops the panties. Slowly, he unbuttons my shirt and slides it off. Then, though his breathing is controlled, he reaches to the front clasp of my bra and I hear the little snap as it's released. I shiver as he opens me up and I slip out.

"This makes me really uncomfortable," I say, so self-conscious I feel like I might faint.

"I know," he says. "Just lie down on the bed."

"Why?"

"You ask too many questions."

I'm so nervous I'm not aroused anymore. I want to know what is happening, when it’s happening, and where it’s happening.

"Listen," he says as he eases me down onto the mattress on my back, "we're not having sex tonight."

He strokes my face with one hand. The light from the lantern catches the peaks and valleys of the muscles in his chest and abs and as he rises to fetch something from the bathroom, I watch him walk away and my nipples harden.

I am so embarrassed by this. By me.

He returns with something in his hand I can't see. "Don’t worry. I want you to close your eyes. Just close them and trust me. Nothing is happening tonight. Even if you ask."