She struggled against the hold I had on her arms pinned next to her head, but I tightened my grip. “Onyx, stop this.”
“No. Tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
I stilled, staring into her eyes, her secrets slowly surfacing. It was right there. All I had to do was reach out and touch it—get her to trust me. I sat up, not letting go of her arms. “Your emotional wound. You asked what mine was earlier, yet you wouldn’t tell me yours. What is it?”
“It’s nothing.” She struggled again, but this time I tightened my thighs next to her hips, keeping her in place.
“What is it, Dahlia? Who hurt you? Who made you believe that men only fuck? Use?”
“Stop.”
“Tell me!”
“No!” she yelled. “You don’t know me. You know nothing about me, so stop pretending and just do what we came here to do.”
“And what’s that? Fuck? Did we only come here to fuck like goddamn rabbits and move on like nothing happened?”
She stilled. “Isn’t it?”
I shook my head. “No. Not this time. Someone hurt you. Someone gave you reason to believe all men only used. Well, I’m not that someone, and I sure as fuck won’t be the one who uses you.”
She tilted her head up, raising her chin, a blatant show of defiance. “So, you’re telling me you’ve never used a woman purely for sex before?”
I loosened my grip on her arms just a little. “I have. But the feeling has always been mutual. Those women used me as much as I used them. But you, it’s different with you.”
“How is this different?”
“I don’t know, okay? I don’t fucking know. It just is. And I am not going to be one of those men who hurt you.”
“Oh, my God.” She breathed out. “You were the one who asked me to stay. You practically begged me to. And now you no longer want this?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” I leaned down, my stomach touching hers—heated skin and heated skin. “What I’m saying is you have a choice here. Either you let me do this my way, or you get up and walk out of here. But I’m not going to be one of those men, Dahlia. Whoever it was who hurt you, I’m not going to be him.”
Sad blue eyes searched my face, and I could practically hear all her thoughts, her doubts—feel the way she hesitated, wondering if she could trust me. For those few moments, I remained silent so she could sort through those thoughts and decide for herself.
A slight nod sent relief crashing over every muscle in my body. Truth was, I didn’t want her to leave. And even though I had just given her that choice, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to let her walk out of here if she had chosen to do so.
Now that she had submitted, I didn’t waste a second. My lips found her hard nipple, licking and sucking, lapping against the beaded bud like it was the last thing I’d ever do. Cupping the round flesh, I squeezed, wanting more of her in my mouth. While I still straddled her, I flexed my hips, moving my body up and down yet keeping her in place.
Her nipple popped out of my mouth, and I licked my way from between her breasts, up her throat, all the way to the corner of her mouth. “Has a man ever made you feel good before?”
“Yeah, you did an hour ago in the parking lot.”
I snickered. “I mean, like this. Unrushed, putting your needs above his own.”
I felt her tense beneath me, and I watched her face as her eyes stared up at the ceiling. “I’ve always just been athingto men.”
My heart hiccupped in my chest, and I instantly hated every fucking man who made her feel less than a perfect woman. Less than worthy of more than some quick fucking.
I flexed my hips on top of her. “I want to change that tonight.”
“Why? Why do you care so much?”
“I don’t know. But in my world, a man doesn’t need a reason to care for a woman.” Leaning down, I feathered more kisses along her collarbone, loving the way her body shivered beneath me. “Grab hold of the bed post above your head.”
“What?”