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Tori fought the urge to move. Guy had her body humming but she wasn’t ready for it to end. There was absolutely nothing lacking in his technique and she hadn’t intended to make him think there was with her comment. Unfortunately, she hadn’t thought about how it would sound to him and now she had hurt him. Just before she said it, Tori had been thinking of the night before and wondering if she had the nerve to ask him for something. Focusing her eyes on Guy’s, she easily read the question in his expression. He was honestly afraid of disappointing her. Instantly, Tori realized the only way to fix this was to abandon her cowardice and find the courage to request what she had been thinking about.

“You make me feel so good,” Tori declared. “I never knew it could be like this. I must be pretty special after all to wind up with you showing me how it should be.”

“Tori.” Guy put so many emotions into her name that it was almost overwhelming.

“Sh. I wasn’t done.” She gave him an unguarded smile. “I think I figured out what’s missing.”

“Hmm?” he hummed in full contact with her bud.

“Ooh yeah. That’s good too. Do it again.” Tori let herself get lost in the sensation for a minute. “You make me wish we could stay in bed forever.”

“Me too,” Guy agreed before fluttering his tongue rapidly against her.

“Oh God! Guy! I… Wait… You… Stop!” She instantly regretted her command when he tensed and drew back. “Wait. That’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean stop everything. Just stop a little so I can think long enough to tell you what I came up with.”

“You sure?” Guy asked as he gave her a tentative lick.

“Positive. Get busy, Detective. You want me to forgive you, remember? Making me beg is a very bad idea right now.” Guy grinned and returned to toying with her, carefully avoiding all direct stimulation.

“That’s more like it. Jeez, you gotta learn when to take things literally and when not to. But back to what I was trying to say. Before I get to that I need to make sure you understand how much I love what you’re doing. I do, Guy. If you did any one thing a few seconds longer you’d get all the cream you wanted. Okay?”

“Thank you.”

Tori heard all those emotions again and felt as if she was going to cry. The thought filled her with fear of how Guy would interpret tears at this moment and decided she couldn’t let herself ruin this for either of them. “Good. I’m glad you understand. I’d like to tell you to prove it to yourself now but I don’t want to get sidetracked. Don’t look so disappointed. I’m sure we’ll find ourselves in this position again sometime so you’ll have other opportunities for that.”

“Unlimited opportunities?”

“We’ll see. Oh God,” she moaned when he gave her a quick, hard suck. “Hey! Stop trying to distract me. I only meant we’ll see because there are so many other things we can do together.”

“Many, many things.” He decreased the pressure.

“See? That’s why you can’t always be so literal.”

“Mm hmm.”

“Ah! Damn it, Guy.”

“Sorry. I’ll behave now. Please tell me how to make this better for you.”

“Don’t say that like you think this isn’t already so far beyond incredible.” She held his gaze until his expression softened. “I’ve been lying here, shamelessly enjoying your attention, feeling like the most spoiled girl ever and I realized that you’re being especially sweet with me tonight. That, by the way, is not a complaint. It’s an observation. I thoroughly love your being sweet and I’m looking forward to finding out what other varieties there are.” Her hips bucked when he swirled his tongue around her hard bud, ending with a few rapid flicks. “Oh, wow! I take it that you agree we should explore that extensively.”

“Mm hmm.”

“Guy,” she warned. “Last night, when you were being masterful instead of sweet you showed me things about myself I didn’t know. I loved absolutely every bit of that too.”

“Tori.”

“Listen. Earlier, when I was trying to make you come my hand slipped and I was petrified that I’d screwed up by digging my nails into you. Clearly I was wrong.”

“What do you want?”

“You obviously. To make me come. More specifically, I want you to do that to me. Tongue me. Suck me. Hard until I’m almost coming and then bite me. Show me what you felt.”

Guy responded by manipulating her with his tongue. He backed off at the right time to prevent her from climaxing. After a pause, his lips took over. Tori was writhing wildly, on the verge of exploding when she felt a sharp pain as his teeth nipped her. Everything in her shattered as she experienced an entirely new and intense kind of pleasure. She heard herself screaming incoherently and felt her body bucking uncontrollably as it grew even stronger. The sensation seemed to go on forever before it slowly diminished, leaving Tori whimpering and boneless. For the longest time her mind refused to reengage. When it finally did she discovered that Guy had returned to tasting her cream.

“Oh my God, Guy.” She managed to make her mouth function.

“Good?”

“Oh my God, oh my God.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”

“Oh my God.” Her body shivered and she gasped.

“Don’t fight it, Tor,” he advised when he sensed her resisting the residual pleasure. “Let yourself feel as good as you can.”

Tori was completely out of control in a way she never experienced. “I can’t,” she cried, beginning to panic.

Guy tightened his hold on her hands and pulled her so his shoulders were pressing the back of her legs. “It’s okay. I’m with you. You’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise I’ll take care of you. Let go, Tori. Let yourself go and feel how good we are. Feel good like I did with you.”

“Don’t let go,” she pleaded as the feel of his warm breath renewed the sensations.

“Never,” he promised. “I love you. Christ, I love you so much.”

“No,” she cried, rolling her head from side to side in denial.

“Aw, fuck! Don’t be scared of me. Please. Don’t be afraid of how I feel. I won’t ever hurt you. Never, Tori. I swear I won’t ever hurt you. Or push you for more than you’re ready to give. Just let me love you. I know it’s too soon for you to trust me completely but can’t you trust me even a little bit? Just enough to let me make this even better for you? I can if you let me. I promise to keep you safe.” He kept whispering against her as he began to add in soft kisses on the outside of her slit.

Even though she was panicked and felt as if she was fighting for her life, she understood Guy’s promises were entirely sincere. She also understood she was fighting herself even more than she was fighting him. A very large part of her wanted to push him away and forget that she ever knew him. Her internal struggle raged as her body continued to respond to his nearness. The tiny part of her grew stronger and refused to be ignored. It urged her to give in and accept what he offered. She knew letting go would be equivalent to stepping blindly off a cliff but maybe it was time for her to take that step. She already admitted that she did whatever it took to isolate herself because she was afraid of letting someone get too close. After that, how could she continue to deny the loneliness that isolation caused?

She was almost hyperventilating by the time she made her choice. In the meekest, barely audible voice, she said, “Make me come.” She forced herself to meet his eyes. “Please make me come again, Guy.”

It was Guy’s turn to have trouble breathing. “I’m sorry but I need you to say that one more time. Louder, Tori, so I don’t misunderstand.”

Tori sensed Guy was offering her the chance to change her mind and she almost gave in to the temptation. She knew he wouldn’t hold it against her in any way and would even hide the disappointment it would cause.

“I said,” Tori took a steadying breath, “I need you to make me come again so I can find out how good we are.”

Guy was trembling as he kissed her bare mound. “Thank you,” he whispered softly, kissing her again. Ever-so slowly he kissed his way around her quivering pussy. “I love you,” his voice was even softer as his tongue caressed her outer lips without any attempt to delve inside.

“Don’t tease,” she begged. “Not now. I need…”

Her words stopped when Guy penetrated her with his tongue. His thrusts were slow but steady and deep. Tori’s body begged for more as her hands gripped his unbelievably tighter. Guy followed her lead and began alternating the strokes with an occasional flick over her clit. Each time she felt that, Tori moaned for more and arched against him. Gradually, Guy’s attention shifted until it was focused entirely on her ultra-sensitive bud. He read her body perfectly, adjusting his actions to give her the most pleasure. As he had before, he latched on to her with his lips. With continually increasing pressure Guy extended her flesh as far into his mouth as possible. When Tori’s climax began, he scraped her with his teeth, instantly soothing with his tongue.

Tori knew what to expect but wasn’t at all prepared when Guy provided exactly what she’d asked for. The sensations were even more intense and she honestly questioned if the pleasure could kill her. She was positive she’d die if he didn’t stop touching her. As positive as she was that she’d die if he did. Time was suspended as Guy’s mouth and words drew her orgasm on and on. He knew exactly what her body needed to prolong the experience. He stayed with her even as it faded, ensuring that she knew he was right there with her.

“Guy,” Tori spoke through her tears. She released his hands and held her shaking arms up to him. “Please.”

Guy knew Tori was asking him to hold her. Within seconds, he had her in the middle of the bed with his arms wrapped firmly around her, pulling her securely against his chest. At first she heard him murmuring softly as he had before. Eventually, as her emotions stabilized she realized that Guy’s chest was heaving in time with hers. It dawned on her that he was crying with her, as overwhelmed by the moment as she was.

“It’s okay, Guy,” Tori crooned. “Hold on tight. I’ve got you.”

A short time later Guy sighed and kissed the top of her head. “Some protector I am. I promised to take care of you and I’m the one who needed taking care of.”

Tori squirmed so she could look at him. “Not one more word unless you’re intentionally trying to ruin this.”

“Christ.” He tried to recapture her and failed.

“Don’t. I mean it, Guy. No jokes. No apologies. Nothing. Not now. Not after that. Not when you just gave me the only perfect moment of my life.”

“Can I thank you for giving me the same?”

“If it’s true, yes.”

“Thank you, Tori,” he said seriously.

“You’re very welcome and thank you too,” she replied in the same tone.

Tori knew Guy was still watching her as her body relaxed. She didn’t want the night to end but it was becoming so hard to stay awake.

“Let me up a second, tiger. I have to set the alarm so we don’t oversleep again.”

“Okay.” She snuggled under the covers he pulled over her. “Turn off the lights too. But come back. Hold me.” Tori was almost asleep in the minute it took Guy to return. The last thing she remembered was how wonderful it was to have him kiss her goodnight as he cuddled his warm body around hers.

Chapter Thirteen

In the gray light of early dawn Guy drifted in the hazy state between sleeping and wakefulness. There was still time before the alarm went off for him to savor the absolute peace of holding Tori while she slept. After their emotional lovemaking, she fell asleep clinging to him. Throughout the night her soft sighs and mumblings had woken him. Each time he expected her to draw away but was pleasantly surprised when she continued to cuddle as she shifted.

As happy as Guy was that Tori accepted him in her sleep, he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that it would be entirely different after she woke up. Once the passion-inspired fog lifted, Guy had instantly known he pushed her too hard. He should have let it end with the first earth-shattering orgasm instead of coercing her for the second. Not only did he say things she wasn’t ready to hear, he pressed her to give more than he had any right to ask for so soon. To make matters even worse, he had an emotional meltdown at the time he should have been surrounding her with his strength.

Guy cursed his selfish behavior, bringing his mind fully awake. Tori was facing a day already overloaded with stress. And now he, idiot that he was, foolishly heaped on a whole lot more. He prevented his arms from clutching her in a death grip as his possessive nature demanded and made a decision. No matter what it took he would follow Tori’s lead without any hesitation or comment. He would not create the slightest conflict even if it killed him. If Guy’s instincts were anywhere close, her reaction this morning could easily put him in serious danger of that happening. His imminent demise, however, was not important. No, the only thing important was Tori and Guy had to let her push him away if space was what she needed without letting her see how much it destroyed him. There was a very strong possibility that last night was enough to scare Tori off. He was already on extremely thin ice here and there was no way he would let himself do anything else to alienate her or he’d lose her for sure before he even had her.

Guy knew that Tori was awake by the way her body tensed. He kept his breathing deep and even so she would believe he was still sleeping. As he feared, Tori slowly inched her way out of his arms and tiptoed around the room. He heard her collecting some clothes and escaping to the bathroom. Only after the sounds assured him she was downstairs did he get out of bed. Taking his time and making enough noise to let her know he was up, Guy joined her just before Todd was due to arrive.

“Morning, tiger,” Guy greeted her pleasantly, helping himself to coffee. “Did you eat?”

“No. I’m not really hungry,” Tori answered, barely glancing up from her notebook. “I can make you something.”

“Thanks but I’ll get it so you have time to finish before Todd gets here. I doubt he’ll stay very long.”

Tori nodded and continued writing as Guy made some sandwiches. He was sure Todd had been up most of the night, doing all he could to find Kimmie and Sam without taking any time to eat. A sandwich was something Todd could manage while he drove and Guy knew him well enough to be certain he’d accept them without protest. He was wrapping them up when he heard Todd’s car.