The few times I allowed myself to dream about being with Braxton, I’d imagined it hard and fast, passions overwhelming us as we lost control. So far it was the opposite: tender and gentle. I wasn’t sure if he was savoring our moment or if he was giving me the chance to stop him. But if that’s what he was waiting for, he was going to be very disappointed.
At some point I’d made this decision, and now I was following through no matter what the consequences were. The emotions threatening to burst from my chest were so strong, the attraction and years of love I held for him so overwhelming, nothing could tear me from this moment.
My body arched as he continued closing the distance between us, nipples tightening in anticipation of having them pressed against his delicious body. Something he’d surely noticed in my very thin tank. I ran my eyes across him. There was not a flaw on Braxton, he was broad everywhere important, narrow in the hips, with strong muscled legs. I’d seen him naked enough to know he was as endowed as you’d expect any dragon to be. Freaking huge. It kind of scared me a little – well, except that it also had my insides turning into a quivering mess and my panties wet. Besides that part, it was a little daunting.
I parted my lips in anticipation, my breathing heading toward the panting side, but who could blame me.
Braxton’s face was calm except for the smallest of smiles which crept up and flashed dimple at me. I was such a freaking sucker for those dimples. I swear the boys only had to dimple up and I turned into a simpering mess. I was pretty good at hiding it from them, but they could have gotten anything from me if they just hit me with enough of their smiles. Braxton especially.
He was still staring, the smile fading out to be replaced by a blazing heat. Exactly like a flame: dangerous and tempting.
“You sure?”
My breath stuttered as he spoke. His huskiness scraped down every nerve ending I possessed.
This was the second time he had asked me to be sure about my choice, and somehow I knew it would be the last time. He was giving me one more out. I was not taking it. That ache which had started low last night was something much bigger today. My lower half was a ball of throbbing need.
Braxton was still slowly inching me toward him; it was torturous, but I was loving every second of it. The anticipation was delicious.
When there was about an inch between us, our bodies humming but not touching yet, he took the hand which had been behind my head and slowly drew it from my back and along my collar bone. He didn’t stop there though, his massive hand continued lower, brushing over both of my breasts. My nipples were hard, begging for his attention. He followed the path of my body until his hand rested against my abdomen.
“I can feel your need, your pain…”
I arched up into him again. “Why are you torturing me then?” I was a little pissed that I sounded so breathy, but this was what Braxton did to me and we had barely touched yet. My need was greater than I’d ever felt with any other shifter.
What did this mean? A deep wish I’d held in my heart for a very long time – but had refused to ever seriously consider – flittered through me.
Could Braxton be my mate?
What were the odds that he’d been under my nose the entire time, with me too afraid to risk the friendship.
“I’m not torturing you,” he said, leaning in. My eyelids fluttered closed in anticipation of his lips on mine. “I’m prolonging the moment, I’m giving you a chance to run.” My eyes opened again. Braxton grinned lazily. “You always run.”
He had a point, but that urge was nowhere now. He must have read that in my expression, because his hesitation was replaced with a determination that I was all too familiar with. The moment for doubt was gone and it was time to see what was between us. If we both survived.
His lips hit mine, so full and soft that I sank into him. I’d kissed Braxton a million times before, but nothing like this. This was everything.
The kiss started slow, tantalizingly slow, as his tongue parted my lips and swept inside. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth and I groaned deep from my throat, almost a purr. As the kiss deepened, so did the wild arc of want between us, and just like that … it was no longer slow.
I slammed myself into his body and he caught me with both hands beneath my ass, drawing me into his long length. I could feel his desire pressed against my thigh, resulting in harder, frenzied kisses.
I tore my lips free. “Braxton!” It was a growling warning, he’d better stop teasing and start pleasing or I was going to rip his face off.
He grinned right before he lifted me with one hand – how freaking strong was this guy – and suddenly I was back against the headboard. He settled between my legs, both hands sliding up to cup my breasts. I arched again, and in one smooth movement he tore my tank from my body. As the cool air hit my swollen and sensitive skin, I hissed, before moaning as hot hands replaced the material.