Authors: Nichole Matthews
Tonight she wanted to feel. She wanted to feel loved one last time and he was the only one who could make her feel that way.
She should have kissed him.
Did she
have the nerve? Could she open the door and call to him?
Call him back and give him everything she had left. Give him back the things he helped her to find.
She wanted him to lay her down on her bed and touch her bod
y the
way
only
he could. Kiss her and take away her breath and make her forget the other’s who’d
touched her without permission. She wanted him to surround her, cover her in his warmth and make her feel truly alive.
Persephone rolled to face the door; one
hand pressed against the hard wood
en surface
the other
gripping
the door latch. She wondered if she
had done
something wrong, pr
aying that he would come back.
Her heart beat
too fast to be caged behi
nd her ribs. Her chest felt as if it was
about to explode
,
then t
he sound of heavy footsteps drew
closer and stopped on the other side of her door
and her breathe caught
.
Before he could knock
,
without hesitation
,
she opened the door and smiled
.
Parker
released
a deep breathe full of relief
and lust filled him.
He watche
d
as her shoulders rose
and f
e
ll and knew she wanted
him
as much as he
wanted her
.
A glimmer of hope lightened her heart
and she realized she was smiling
.
H
er breath
ing grew
shallow and her lips parted slightly as his tall, broad frame filled her doorway.
A
shiver raced down her spine.
From the
instant their gazes met and held
she saw desire, p
ure and unconcealed
hunger
,
visible to the naked eye
and the
audible quality of his next, slowly indrawn breath
caused her body to respond
.
Parker
met her stare, saying nothing and
watched the
relieved smile flit ac
ross her
glowing
face
and he broke out with
a wide smile
of his own
revealing a flash of white teeth transforming his face
with a similar glow
.
He pulled
her
forward
into his arms
, against the rock-wall of his chest,
their eyes locked and held, the connection, the
yearning
h
e felt for Persephone, expanded
inside him,
nurturing
his possessive need to plea
se her, to guard her, to kiss
her. He walked
her backwards until he could reach back and close the door
with a
small flick of his wrist
. Then
he
turned and pushed her up against th
at same
door
she had been leaning against only minutes before
and kissed her.
He didn’t as
k.
H
e didn’t gai
n
permission.
H
e just threaded
his fingers through her
hair,
tipp
ed her head back and
covered her soft lips with his own
. Because there was no way that
he could
not.
He pushed her against
the door
,
trapping her against his hard body and the hard surface
.
H
er breath whooshed
from her
lips,
her hands
g
ripped
in one of
his, held high above her head. E
ve
ry inch of her body
molded
to
the hard length of his
from h
ips to breast. H
is erection unmistakable pushing
hot and hard
against her belly and pelvis
and
delicious
warmth filled her
.
His touch ignited a flame deep inside her belly.
He
made her feel feelings she had never felt
before.
She laughed. An unmistakable sound of joy, soft, feminine was music to his ears
and tickled his lips where he
r
breath wafted over his lips
.
She dreamed about
an intimate relationship
with
a man who loved her. Who wanted to give her pleasure and not just take his
own.
Who didn’t need to illicit pain for his own gratification.
Yearned
for it.
Ached for it.
She
agreed
to deceive him for the slightest
chance to be touched by those hard hands again.
Straining against him, she instinctively rose on her toes until their bodies were perfectly
aligned;
the aching
place between her thighs cradled
the rigid bulge behind the fall of his trousers.
Her arms wrapped around his broad shoulders as he lifted her to him. Her breasts pressed against his chest, became swollen and sensitive, desperate for his touch
and she kissed him back.
Slanting his mouth across hers, he kissed her, his tongue caressing her lips
, then sweeping inside to mate with hers
.
Sensations flamed
through her at every
stroke of his tongue
,
hot and wet
.
Her back arched as she went up on tiptoes.
His kiss told her everything she needed to know.
She could feel him check his desire. He was being so careful.
As if she were made from spun glass. She could feel the restraint in his body until she opened for him, letting her tongue slide into his mouth, letting it fence with his, then suddenly his hand fisted in her hair, holding her in place as he ravaged her mouth
and she
tensed
at the hint of pain
.
He stopped
, pushing away from her and she
opened her eyes to see he was studying her face. “Do you want me to stop, Persephone?”
Their heavy breathing
was
loud in the quiet of the night.
She stood a little stunned, then
shook her head.
Parker cupped her face carefully in his two hands and he said against her lips,
“Say the words, Persephone.”
His thumbs stroked her cheeks.
Her heart was hammering like she had just ran up a flight of stai
rs, and the palms of her hands were
damp
. She gazed at him helplessly
.
He does not want to hurt me. He is not that man.
She wet
her lips.
“Persephone?” he murmured
, drawing in a deep breath
. His eyes were
forceful
as if he could see into her soul.
Persephone’s breath caught as she glimpsed something in his eyes that made soft heat curl in her stomach
and her stomach
fluttered all over again.
The intensity in his eyes took her breath away and made it difficult for her to look at him.
She
tamped down her nervousness as best she could and gave him a small smile.
“
Please d
on’t stop
, Parker
.”
With a little sigh of acceptance she relaxed into his body.
He smiled, tipping her chin up to pin her with his blue eyes
and briefly
pressed his lips to
her
s
. “If at any time you want me to stop, I will.”
She nodded.
She found it hard to talk when she could barely think.
His lips were so soft, yet firm, so gentle, yet hard.
She took a deep breath.
“Say the words, Persephone,” he murmured, t
he deep cadence of his voice relaxed her at the same time h
e stroked her cheek
. He
watch
ed
the flicker of firelight play across her face saw the war she was fighting flash in her eyes
.
“I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding on my part.”
He watched as the tension left her jaw, the stiffness departed from her mouth.
“Yes.”
Her answer came out barely a whisper.
“I’ll let you know if it’s too much.”
He raised her hand to his lips, pressed a kiss to her trapped fingers, his eyes harder than stone when he asked,
“Do you trust me to do as I say?” H
is jaw set with iron determination, h
e fought to pull her back into his arms
, but he waited.
She stilled, h
e was giving her
the freedom to choose
, his patience seemed to be immeasurable
and it was exactly what she needed to break down her walls of defense.
He sensed the change in her breathing
,
surprising him when she spread her free hand across his chest,
he heard her sigh as she snuggled into the heat of his body.
Her hands stroked over the
powerful muscles tha
t lay just beneath the surface and tested his checked desire
once again
.
Hard, strong, and very male. It pleased her to know that he would stop at
her command. That she held such
power
.
T
hat the emotions roi
ling through her body were
not
panic, but desire and that his desires were equally as strong.
Parker’s eyes dilated, arousal rushed through him as he watched the pink tip of her tongue
peek out to moisten her lips.
His mouth went dry. How could such an innocent gesture make his whole body react? And still he waited. His thumb rubb
ed
circles over the back of her hand
as he stood silent, anticipating her response
.
Her gaze grew intent and she raised her hand, tenderly tracing his jaw. “
I trust you with all that is mine
.”
Heat flared in
Parker’s
eyes, his
heart jolted in his chest.
“Thank God.”
His voice, a
profound
sweet rumble before he
pulled her close
r, crushing her slight curves
against his hard body and leaned down to kiss her parted lips
.
Tasting her light, sweet innocence
.
She swallowed a
moan when his hand moved to her
breast and kneaded
,
sending a stab of excitement through her body and seemed to awaken
a burning hunger deep inside.
She moaned into his mouth as he
continued with his ex
ploration
a moment before pulling back
leaving her breathless
.
“Persephone,” he murmured
, his hot breath caress
ed
her skin
as his mouth brushed against her cheek, her chin, her neck; his lips were firm, yet smooth
giving h
er goose flesh
.
He took her face between his hands
staring into her eyes before
tilt
ing
her head up
and bringing
his mouth down on hers
yet again
.
He brushed her lips teasingly at first, slow nibbling kisses, a soft brush of his tongue against the seam of her lips, coaxing her into responding.