“I’ll protect you,” I whispered, and he clutched me to him hard.
Dane watched me through dinner, as if he was waiting for me to punish him for being vulnerable. Afterward, without even clearing the dishes, which was unusual for him, he took my hand and led me to his bedroom.
I’d only been in here once, when I borrowed his clothes to go to the gym. The white walls were bare and the only furniture was a dresser, the bed, and a side table with a glass of water and a few books on it.
“Your room looks like a cell—”
He caught my mouth in a kiss. This one wasn’t gentle. It was passionate and needy and everything I’d wanted from him since the moment we met. I’d wanted to see him lose control.
I moaned into his mouth and tugged at his shoulders, trying to get closer. With a dark sound in the back of his throat, Dane lifted me up and dropped me onto his bed, straddling me, eyes flashing and muscles bulging.
“Kiss me,” I said, and he was on me like lightning. He was massive, and the feel of his solid weight on top of me made me wild with the need to touch every inch of him. He slid his hands under my back and began kissing my neck, wrapping me up in him, and heat flushed through me like my neck was directly connected to my cock, and every kiss, lick, and bite set me shaking with lust.
I scrabbled to get at Dane’s skin, rucking up his T-shirt so I could feel the hot expanse of his back, but I couldn’t get it off with him feasting on my neck. He, on the other hand, stripped me in five seconds flat, and I found myself naked and moaning on his bed with him looming over me. I felt so vulnerable like this, and I wanted him so fucking much.
“I wanna see you,” I panted, pawing at his shirt. He hesitated, jaw tight, then pulled his shirt off.
He was glorious. His torso was thickly muscled, like a suit of armor. He wasn’t cut like a bodybuilder, but brutal and powerful like a warrior. I ran my hands over his chest in awe, then down his stomach. In the dim light I could just make out markings there, and I sat up to look.
As I did, Dane wrapped his arms around his stomach and sat back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just didn’t know I’d end up with my shirt off,” he said. “Or else I wouldn’t’ve…” He shook his head.
I put a hand gently on his arm.
“Let me see?”
Dane shivered and let his arms fall back by his sides, baring himself to me. On his stomach were the faded traces of what looked like permanent marker. I couldn’t make out what they said. But the freshest was still legible, though backward, as if to be read in the mirror: Seek discipline and find your liberty.
I traced the letters with my fingertips. When I looked up at Dane, his eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow, massive rib cage expanding and contracting too quickly.
“Baby,” I said. “Are you okay?”
Those sharp blue eyes opened and he blinked at me.
“No one’s ever called me that.”
“Baby?”
He nodded, jaw tight.
“Is it…okay?”
“Say it again,” he whispered.
“Baby,” I said, infusing all the care and desire I felt for him in my voice, hoping he could hear it. “Come here.”
I drew him down on top of me and kissed him. He made a needy sound and shuddered, pressing hard against me. He was still wearing jeans, and the friction against my erection was delicious. I thrust against him and felt how hard he was.
“Take these off?” I tugged at his waistband and he slid his jeans and underwear off. Seeing him fully, gloriously naked for the first time took my breath away.
“Jesus Christ, you’re so fucking hot.”
I put my palm on his belly, over the words, and his cock rose to kiss my hand. His breathing was still shallow, but his eyes focused on mine.
“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” he said, voice so husky it was almost a whisper. Joy rushed through me. Dane’s eyes on me made me feel seen in a way I never had before.
“I want you,” I said.
I took his gorgeous erection in both hands and he gasped and fell to kissing me, our hips grinding together. I felt like there was liquid heat in my belly and my balls and at the base of my cock. Every thrust of Dane’s flesh against mine, every stroke of his tongue, every touch of his rough hands made my head spin with desire.
“Please, please,” I chanted against his lips.
“Fuck, I can’t— Christ when you beg, I—” He reached down and palmed my cock and balls in one huge hand, stilling my hips. I panted into his mouth, lips almost touching. His pupils were blown, eyes wild, jaw clenched. I let my eyelids flutter gently, then whispered, “Please.”