In that look she melted, wanting those very same things. Something changed in his expression then, becoming more focused. His eyebrows drew together, jaw set firmly, fingers dug into her hip, and he set a rhythm she couldn’t refuse. His pelvis slapped against her clit, forcing her pleasure higher and higher, until the only way down was over the edge.
Her chin lifted, and she struggled against wanting to touch him, and yet, somehow the fact that she couldn’t only took her to a deeper euphoria. She arched her back, toes pointing with the strain of her climax. He had to be feeling every contraction of her inner muscles squeezing at him, and she sure as hell experienced every glide of his hard shaft inside her, constantly teasing the perfect spot. The press of his pelvis on her bundle of nerves every time he went deeper only seemed to sharpen her breaths. Her eyes grew watery, the pleasure all but blinding now.
He slid a hand under her bottom, arching her up into him. Her eyes widened as the pleasure crashed into her.
“Yes!” she screamed.
“Fuck,” he groaned.
Then he was looking at her again, and her climax hung suspended in that second where she was trapped by every part of him. She was unafraid. If anything, she felt set free, as he rocked into her. It all became so much, too much, too intense. Her eyes shut, regardless that she wanted to keep watching him.
With a final thrust forward, he shoved his cock inside her right to the hilt, grinding against her clit. The thickness of him was perfection, sending her crashing over the edge of pleasure, drowning in the euphoria.
Many minutes later, after she found the strength to reopen her eyes, she blinked twice, then discovered him straining above her. Almost as if he planned not to miss a moment of her release, he’d stayed perfectly still while she broke apart around him. As controlled as he’d been all along, he withdrew his cock, slid his shaft twice against her sex, then he jerked, shutting his eyes, grunting his pleasure, the warmth of his seed spilling out between them.
Hot and intense, slow and sensual . . . my God, Shep was everything.
* * *
Many quiet minutes went by while Shep had Emma right where he wanted her. She was tucked into his arms, as close as she could get. His face was buried into her neck, and he rested his eyes in those sweet, silent moments after sex. He tried to shut his mind off, but his thoughts kept taking him to one place. He’d questioned a lot in his life, but not her. He’d known from that first time he saw Emma that there was something uniquely special about her.
Taking it down to very simple terms, he wanted her there in his arms whenever he went to sleep. He also wanted to see that beautiful smile of hers when he woke up in the morning. He’d never been the type of man to believe in love at first sight. Truth be told, he thought that was a yearning told by people searching for magic in their lives. For the first time, he realized he could very well be wrong in that regard. Because with Emma there was unexplainable magic.
“Shep.”
“Mmm.” He groaned into her neck, not wanting to interrupt this moment.
“Shep.”
Her soft whisper brushed across him again. He pulled her in closer, hoping that got her to quiet down. He didn’t want to talk. They’d done enough of that already, and most times, it was in the silence where so much was said. Besides, he needed this with her. There was no noise, no financial trouble, no responsibility. Just her, and him, and this growing thing between them, making him want to stay close to her.
The warmth of her body faded a moment when she flipped over, her breath brushing against his mouth. “Shep, are you sleeping?”
“Yes.”
Her silent laughter shook her body before she poked his arm. “Nash texted you.”
“So?” He kept his eyes shut.
“So, shouldn’t you answer it?”
Her mouth was so closed to his, he considered diving in for a kiss, ending this conversation altogether, but that would involve effort on his part. At the moment, he lacked energy. Instead, he replied, “No.”
She paused, then hurriedly said, “He’s inviting us to a bonfire.”
That opened Shep’s eyes, finding her almost nose-to-nose with him, and he chuckled. “We’ve already reached the stage where you’re reading my texts?”
The soft light from the hallway showed her nibbling her lip. “Well, it’s not like I meant to read it, but your text shows on your screen, and you see, the screen is glowing in this room right now so it was impossible not to see, and I grabbed the phone, and saw the message, and I—”
“Emma.” He lifted his head from the pillow, giving her a hard look. “I’m joking. We shouldn’t be together if I feel the need to hide my texts. What did Nash say?”
She gave a cute smile, showing her relief. “Here.” She offered him the phone.
He shook his head, placing his head back onto the pillow. “Read it to me.”
“Okay.” She bounced the mattress when she lifted the phone to her face. The bright white light lit up her face, displaying her excited eyes. “Okay, so he says, ‘Bonfire. You coming?’” She laughed, glancing at Shep. “Not really a guy of many words, huh?”
“Nope.” Shep studied Emma for a moment, a bit conflicted. He wanted to keep her all for himself tonight. They’d taken the turn he’d hoped they take. She finally had her guard down, and he wanted to enjoy this for as long as he could. But . . . “I take it you want to go?”