Free Loaded by Cher Carson

stand anymore?”
    She kept her head down but
shook her head again. “No, there was no safe word.”
    Tucker knew the safe word was
the unwritten agreement between a Dom and his submissive. Without that, there
was the opportunity for what had happened between Rachel and her ex: flat-out
abuse.
    “Sweetheart, I don’t want a
submissive. I want a lover.”
    She stole a quick glance at
him before lowering her head again. “I don’t know if I can…”
    He knew she didn’t know how
to have the kind of relationship he wanted, and it broke his heart to think that
some selfish son of a bitch had stolen her innocence and never taught her the
pleasure she could experience making love to a man who was willing to put her
needs first.  
    He took a step closer and she
leaned in to him. He knew she was thinking he was going to ask her to pleasure
him, but that’s not the way he wanted this to go down tonight. He wanted her to
experience what she should have years ago: passion, tenderness, excitement,
arousal, love…
    It unnerved him to realize
how strong his feelings for this woman were becoming. They hadn’t known each
other long, but he felt like he already knew her intimately. She’d already shared
so much of herself with him, as though her burden was too heavy to bear alone
and she was finally willing to let someone help her.
    He tipped her chin, forcing
her to look at him. He could tell her impulse was to look away, and he knew
why. “Look at me. Look me in the eye. I’m not him. I’m nothing like him.” He
caressed her face with the palm of his hand. “I want to help you heal. Do you
think you can let me do that?”
    She bit her bottom lip. “I’m
not sure what you’re asking of me.”
    He reached out to her. “Take
my hand.”
    She did as he asked, and he
helped her to her feet. His eyes scanned her body. She was wearing a black lace
bra and panties, with only the faint scars in between. “You are so beautiful.
So perfect.”
    She closed her eyes as a tear
slipped down her cheek. “No, I’m not perfect, Tucker. The scars are…”
    He dropped to his knees and
pressed open mouth kisses to the old wounds.
    She thrust her hands into his
hair as a sob escaped her lips.
    “Everything about you is
beautiful, everything.” He kissed her gently, reverently. His kisses weren’t
meant to arouse. They were meant to pay homage to a body that had been
brutalized for too long.
    “You’re amazing,” she
whispered, looking down at him.
    He looked up at her. “No,
you’re amazing.” He reached down to unfasten the sexy shoes adorning her feet.
He secretly loved them. Back in the bar, he’d fantasized about fucking her hard
and fast while those heels dug into his back, but that seemed like a lifetime
ago, long before he got to know the woman beneath the porcelain face and centerfold
body.
    Now he understood how this
was supposed to play out. He wasn’t going to fuck her hard and fast; he was
going to love her slowly and gently. He was going to worship her body tonight.
They didn’t need props, just the two of them, a big bed, a few candles, and a long
night to explore each other’s bodies in excruciating detail.
    He helped her out of her
shoes before he stood up and pulled his t-shirt over his head.
    He was a foot taller than her
and twice as wide. He could see his stature intimidated her, but he wanted to
put her at ease. “Feel this.” He grabbed her hand and placed it over his
pounding heart. “I’m more nervous than you are right now.”
    She looked surprised. “Why
are you nervous?”
    Tucker wasn’t the type of man
to hide behind lies or pull punches, and he had no respect for someone who did.
“I’m so afraid of screwing this up.” He held his hand over hers. “The truth is,
I’m falling for you, Rachel, hard.”
    She smiled. “I know how you
feel.”
    “So we’re just gonna take
this slow tonight. You tell me what you need from me.”
    She licked her lips as her
eyes traveled over his chest.