Violet swallowed, tucking away the pain at that proclamation to be dealt with another day. If tonight was all he was offering, she’d take it.
“I understand,” she said, stepping closer to him, setting a hand to his chest. “But I want other things too.”
Twenty-Four
They hadn’t even shut the door to Cain’s apartment before he was reaching for her. His hands gripped low on her hips, tugging her middle against his as his boot kicked the door closed.
His lips trailed along her jaw, his mouth pressing hotly just below her ear, and Violet’s head fell back with a moan as he trailed wet kisses over her throat. He knew just when to nip with his teeth, when to soothe with his tongue…
Breathless, Violet’s hands roamed over his shoulders, his chest, his back, greedily exploring. If she only got the one night, she wanted all of it.
She wanted him.
When feeling him over his T-shirt was no longer enough, her fingers slipped beneath the hem at his waist. He grabbed her wrist. Violet gasped as she found herself pressed against the door, hands pinned on either side of her head as his mouth slammed down over hers in the kind of hard, possessive kiss she’d been waiting her entire life to experience.
Without releasing her mouth, he shifted her hands higher above her head, holding both wrists in one hand as his other slid back down her body, skimming over her side, her hip, then back up.
His hand on her breast was just the right combination of gentle and rough as he explored her shape, his thumb expertly teasing her nipple to attention through her shirt and bra until she ached with the need for more.
“Cain,” she whispered against his mouth. “Please.”
“Again.” His breath was hot and hard against her lips.
“Please,” she repeated.
He shook his head, gripping her hair. “No. My name. Say it.”
“Cain,” she said huskily, tilting her hips against his as she said it.
“Christ. Christ,” Cain muttered as he lost control.
There was a tear of fabric as he tugged off her shirt, and she heard her bra hit the ground, his hands and mouth covering every inch of skin he exposed.
When he released her to tug off his boots, she reached for the beads around her neck, but he shook his head. “Leave them,” he ordered.
Cain reached behind his head, grabbed a fistful of his shirt, and yanked it over his head, seconds before hauling her to him.
He lifted her off the ground, her legs around his waist, his hands on her ass, mouths fused as he carried them both to the bed, then tumbled onto it.
With deft fingers, he unbuttoned her jeans, slid his hand into them. Violet cried out as he touched her, and his face buried in her neck. “God, I want you.”
After a moment, he pulled her jeans down her legs, then sat back for a moment, breathing hard as his gaze skimmed her body. Violet vaguely had the thought that she should feel shy, embarrassed, but she only felt want. Her legs parted slightly in invitation, which Cain gladly accepted, bending his head to her breasts as his hands slid the panties over her hips and to the floor.
Her fingers tangled in his hair, holding him to her. “I’m glad you didn’t cut it,” she whispered. “I’ve dreamed of doing this.”
He stilled for a moment “Have you?”
She nodded, and Cain rubbed his bearded cheek over her nipple, his hand dropping between her legs. “And this?”
She gasped. “And that. All of it. I want all of it.”
His mouth lifted to hers, never breaking the kiss as he opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a condom.
Violet helped him shove his jeans and briefs over his hips and shifted to accommodate him as he settled above her. She closed her eyes as he nudged her opening, but Cain waited, and only when she opened her eyes to meet his did he plunge inside her.
“Fuck,” he said, gasping for breath as his head dipped slightly. “You are so perfect. You are so small…”
“Don’t be gentle,” Violet said, arching as she dug her nails into his back. “Don’t hold back.”
He wasn’t. He didn’t. Once again, her hands were pinned above her head, holding her body at his mercy as he thrust inside her, his gaze not leaving hers until he carried them both to the kind of shattering orgasm that made every previous sexual encounter feel completely irrelevant.
After they’d caught their breath, gotten some water, then done it all over again, Violet lay against his chest, her fingers idly combing through his chest hair, his arm around her shoulder, his fingers detangling her hair from the beads.
After a moment, she propped her chin up on his chest and looked up at him.
“What?” he asked with a wary smile.
“I think you were right.”