Page 94 of Reins

I can feel her nod against me, then she takes a shuddering breath.

“It’s all kinds of things,” she stammers. Her fingers work up to trace my Adam’s apple. “I want you…us…to be closer but I keep holding back. Not because I don’t want to—” She rushes out the last part. “—but because I don’t know what to do, so I worry I’m going to mess up.”

Is that why there’s been a moment every time I start to touch her she locks down? Is it indecision and not fear?

She pushes up onto her elbow to look down at me. “Sometimes I like it when you get that growly voice and just tell me. It makes all the confusion disappear.” Her nail works through the whiskers on my jaw, sending a river of fire through my body. “Can it be enough that I choose you?”

She’s trusting me to be her shield. To filter out the noise for her and help her focus.

The weight of that realization shifts something deep inside.

I’ve wanted to show her she can grow but she’s begging for direction.

My fingers thread through her hair to meet her gaze. “You’ll always have a choice, remember that.”

Her lip rolls between her teeth as she nods but I catch the tiny drop in the corner.

Time to step up.

“Kiss me, Ros,” I growl. If she wants me to guide her, I’ll do so gladly.

The smile she rewards me with is an explosion of light before she presses her mouth to mine. Her light touch tickles with her hesitancy.

No more. I want to taste her. Finally lay claim to everything she wants to give.

Gripping the back of her neck, I pull her tight, crushing her to me. My tongue has lived firmly behind my teeth for weeks but no longer.

Her sharp inhale quickly turns to a moan when I push between her lips, invading what I’ve coveted and savoring where I’ve only dreamed.

We’ve played on tenderness for weeks, gentle strokes and clear lines.

Tonight those disappear.

Tangling my hand in the fabric of her shirt, I tug on it and lift it up her torso. “Take it off,” I grunt. “All of it.”

This time there isn’t the flare of panic in the obsidian pools of her pupils while she obediently raises her arms. Just the soft glow of bliss colors her cheeks as her skin begins to bare.

With a flick of my wrist, her bra falls loose.

I catch a glimpse of her doubt as she releases her full breasts with their beaded pink nipples into the air.

They’re one of the few unblemished areas on her luscious body, yet like everything, she’s been hesitant to let me explore.

“Lie on your back and put your hands on the headboard.” I roll closer, using my hand to lend pressure to her hips. “Keep them there. They come off, I stop, understand?” I stare into those big blue eyes, wide with fear and trust, even as she nods.

She needs to know she’s still in control.

“That’s my good girl. Lift that pretty ass off the mattress, baby.” When she obeys, it lures a groan from me when I tug down her leggings and panties, baring her completely to me, wearing only the silver chain around her delicate wrist. “This is how you sleep from now on.” Lying next to her, I lower my mouth to hers and thread my fingers into her hair until I feel her trembling subside. “Can you do that for me? Let me see the woman I love?”

Her arm twitches, like she’s fighting with herself against the promise I’m asking her for. But her touch never strays from the wood.

“Yes.” Her forehead furrows. “You too, though.”

I’ve been careful not to let her see me. Not yet. I didn’t want her to feel pressured before.

Now things will be different.

“No more jeans. I won’t hide how you make me feel anymore.” Pushing onto my knees, I peel off my shirt, unbuckle my belt, and pause with my thumb on the button of my Wranglers. “Do you want to see what you do to me?”