A Perfect Storm
Page 80
Just when he thought he wouldn’t last a second more, she gave a vibrating moan and treated him to the slight sting of her sharp little teeth. Perfect. He let himself go with a harsh, guttural groan.
Coming was great.
Coming with Arizona was…hell, maybe life-altering. He felt a part of her, connected in an alarming way.
After what seemed an eternity, they both went lax, melting into the mattress with pounding heartbeats and labored breaths. Arizona was a warm, gentle weight on his chest, her scent spicier now, filling his head.
Seconds ticked by.
He didn’t want to move. Ever.
He didn’t want to talk, either. Not yet. Not until he’d reconciled all the ways she leveled him.
Nothing had really changed, and yet it felt as if everything had.
Sluggishly, Arizona pushed up on straightened arms and looked at him. With an amused shake of her head and a groan of near-discomfort, she unbent her legs—and collapsed again.
And even that, feeling her slim but strong limbs around him, her full br**sts and now soft ni**les on his sweat-damp chest…it moved him. A lot.
In myriad ways.
While trying to calm his chaotic thoughts, Spencer idly caressed her dewy skin. He could span the width of her back with one hand, and yet she had more courage than most grown men.
At six feet, five inches tall, he towered over a lot of people. His job as a bounty hunter, his demeanor of grim resolve, gave most reason for pause. But not Arizona. From their very first meeting, she’d gone head to head with him, her pride, her determination and confidence matching his in spades.
She’d been smart enough for wariness; she had a very real understanding of her own limitations. But she’d had no real fear of him.
Mostly because she thought she had little enough to lose. But also because she had real skill. Granted, the skills were limited by her size and strength, but put to the test, she’d do well under pressure or in a situation rife with danger.
He admired her.
And now, knowing she also matched him sexually…it was more than any man should have to deal with.
“Holy smokes, Spence.” She gave him a playful love bite, then rubbed her nose over his chest hair. “I’m almost speechless.”
Relishing all the tantalizing dips and curves of her body, he ran his hands from her shoulders to her ass and back again. She was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.
The most fearless. Most reckless.
And the most endearing.
What the hell was he going to do with her?
Unlike with other women, he couldn’t just decide to enjoy his time with her while it lasted. He squeezed his eyes shut, but he couldn’t shut out the reality of their relationship.
Complicated, difficult and important—to her, to her future and how she accepted life. How she valued herself.
He was the biggest fraud imaginable, because he’d known from the onset that he couldn’t play this game without eventually bedding her. He wasn’t superhuman, and that’s what it’d take to resist a woman like Arizona, especially while getting closer.
So he’d known, and still he’d used the excuse of trying to help her over the hurdles of emotional and physical abuse as a way to get her under him. Because he’d had to have her.
God, that sounded awful, even as it rang true.
And that made him a grade-A bastard.
Arizona would be the first to deny it, but she was by far the most vulnerable woman he’d ever met. She had no understanding of common courtesy, much less genuine kindness. She expected little and told herself she wanted, and deserved, nothing more.
For her, affection was an unfamiliar, even alien concept. As a grown and experienced man, he could decipher what he felt. He could deal with it.
He understood it.
But Arizona didn’t have the advantage of healthy relationships to contrast against this. Her emotional growth had been so badly stunted by traffickers that she might misconstrue sexual satisfaction for something…more.
She deserved all those exciting first discoveries that most girls started building in their late teens. Arizona deserved to have comparisons, to really know what she felt and what she wanted.
She should expect the best, because she deserved it.
“You’ve gotten awfully quiet.”
He cupped a big hand over her backside, palming one cheek. “You wore me out and my brain is sluggish.”
Sounding far too young, she asked with forced insouciance, “Not disappointed?”
Her uncertainty stabbed like a knife. “No, baby.” He kissed her crown, then the bridge of her nose. “I’m as far from disappointed as a man could get.”
“Good.” Relief lightened her tone. “Because I liked it, too.”
That made him smile. “I know.”
“You do?”
“I figured coming twice was a positive sign.”
“Oh. Yeah, I guess.” She propped herself up with her pointy little elbows on his chest. “I’ve never done that before.”
“Come with a man?”
Nodding, she toyed again with his chest hair. “By myself, well, that’s different. But the idea of getting with a man willingly…”
“I understand.” And he was very glad to be the man who shared that with her.
“You surprised me.”
The room was quiet, the gray day intimate, the tumbled sheets comfortable. He ran his fingers through her tangled hair. Everything about her, physical and emotional, fascinated him more than he’d ever thought possible. “Give me an hour or so, and I can surprise you again.”
Coming was great.
Coming with Arizona was…hell, maybe life-altering. He felt a part of her, connected in an alarming way.
After what seemed an eternity, they both went lax, melting into the mattress with pounding heartbeats and labored breaths. Arizona was a warm, gentle weight on his chest, her scent spicier now, filling his head.
Seconds ticked by.
He didn’t want to move. Ever.
He didn’t want to talk, either. Not yet. Not until he’d reconciled all the ways she leveled him.
Nothing had really changed, and yet it felt as if everything had.
Sluggishly, Arizona pushed up on straightened arms and looked at him. With an amused shake of her head and a groan of near-discomfort, she unbent her legs—and collapsed again.
And even that, feeling her slim but strong limbs around him, her full br**sts and now soft ni**les on his sweat-damp chest…it moved him. A lot.
In myriad ways.
While trying to calm his chaotic thoughts, Spencer idly caressed her dewy skin. He could span the width of her back with one hand, and yet she had more courage than most grown men.
At six feet, five inches tall, he towered over a lot of people. His job as a bounty hunter, his demeanor of grim resolve, gave most reason for pause. But not Arizona. From their very first meeting, she’d gone head to head with him, her pride, her determination and confidence matching his in spades.
She’d been smart enough for wariness; she had a very real understanding of her own limitations. But she’d had no real fear of him.
Mostly because she thought she had little enough to lose. But also because she had real skill. Granted, the skills were limited by her size and strength, but put to the test, she’d do well under pressure or in a situation rife with danger.
He admired her.
And now, knowing she also matched him sexually…it was more than any man should have to deal with.
“Holy smokes, Spence.” She gave him a playful love bite, then rubbed her nose over his chest hair. “I’m almost speechless.”
Relishing all the tantalizing dips and curves of her body, he ran his hands from her shoulders to her ass and back again. She was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.
The most fearless. Most reckless.
And the most endearing.
What the hell was he going to do with her?
Unlike with other women, he couldn’t just decide to enjoy his time with her while it lasted. He squeezed his eyes shut, but he couldn’t shut out the reality of their relationship.
Complicated, difficult and important—to her, to her future and how she accepted life. How she valued herself.
He was the biggest fraud imaginable, because he’d known from the onset that he couldn’t play this game without eventually bedding her. He wasn’t superhuman, and that’s what it’d take to resist a woman like Arizona, especially while getting closer.
So he’d known, and still he’d used the excuse of trying to help her over the hurdles of emotional and physical abuse as a way to get her under him. Because he’d had to have her.
God, that sounded awful, even as it rang true.
And that made him a grade-A bastard.
Arizona would be the first to deny it, but she was by far the most vulnerable woman he’d ever met. She had no understanding of common courtesy, much less genuine kindness. She expected little and told herself she wanted, and deserved, nothing more.
For her, affection was an unfamiliar, even alien concept. As a grown and experienced man, he could decipher what he felt. He could deal with it.
He understood it.
But Arizona didn’t have the advantage of healthy relationships to contrast against this. Her emotional growth had been so badly stunted by traffickers that she might misconstrue sexual satisfaction for something…more.
She deserved all those exciting first discoveries that most girls started building in their late teens. Arizona deserved to have comparisons, to really know what she felt and what she wanted.
She should expect the best, because she deserved it.
“You’ve gotten awfully quiet.”
He cupped a big hand over her backside, palming one cheek. “You wore me out and my brain is sluggish.”
Sounding far too young, she asked with forced insouciance, “Not disappointed?”
Her uncertainty stabbed like a knife. “No, baby.” He kissed her crown, then the bridge of her nose. “I’m as far from disappointed as a man could get.”
“Good.” Relief lightened her tone. “Because I liked it, too.”
That made him smile. “I know.”
“You do?”
“I figured coming twice was a positive sign.”
“Oh. Yeah, I guess.” She propped herself up with her pointy little elbows on his chest. “I’ve never done that before.”
“Come with a man?”
Nodding, she toyed again with his chest hair. “By myself, well, that’s different. But the idea of getting with a man willingly…”
“I understand.” And he was very glad to be the man who shared that with her.
“You surprised me.”
The room was quiet, the gray day intimate, the tumbled sheets comfortable. He ran his fingers through her tangled hair. Everything about her, physical and emotional, fascinated him more than he’d ever thought possible. “Give me an hour or so, and I can surprise you again.”
