Free Break Me Slowly by Joya Ryan

left.”
    He ran his thumb along my chin. He gently pushed, causing my mouth to open slightly. Without warning, he thrust his tongue inside. I moaned at the carnal way he devoured my mouth. He tasted like fresh mint and crisp wine. He kicked the door shut with his foot. The action rushed another dose of wetness between my legs. He was slow, but intense. There was a methodical intent behind his passion. I wasn’t sure what side I’d get, but I was so ready for anything he would give me.
    He pulled back just enough to look at my face. Without saying anything, he trailed his palms up my sides, to my shoulde rs and neck. He cupped my face in both hands. I stared, dazed. My whole body felt like smoldering Jell-O.
    “ I like that you trust me,” he said.
    It didn ’t make sense, but my body seemed to recognize him. My mind definitely registered that he was dangerous, but in a way very different from anything I’d ever encountered. Somewhere, deep down, I was calmer when his hands were on me than when they weren’t.
    I craved him, wanted him, but at the same time, I didn’t like what was happening to me. The vulnerability was creeping up. I stood, literally in his hands, to do with as he wanted. I didn’t fight it. Emotions were firing and I let them. Let myself fall hard and fast and everything in my body was screaming to keep going.
    Damn the consequences and damn tomorrow.
    “ I hear your mind working,” he murmured against my mouth. I grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him with all the force I had.
    I debated telling him that I was a virgin, but decided against it. This wasn ’t a conquest or a way to guilt him or myself into something it wasn’t. This was going to be sex. Functional. A means to an end. I could do this and come out on the other end just fine. Then this hurdle in my life would have been conquered and hopefully I would be able to handle these kinds of feelings with more control.
    Good. The plan was good and had a purpose. But this couldn ’t be sweet and gentle because the moment I slowed down, I started thinking too much—thinking about how I’d feel once Adam left. How I’d handle it if—when—he disappeared completely from my life. He was not the kind of man who could be contained in a long-term relationship. The numerous photos of him with random women were a blatant indicator of that.
    I had chosen Adam, but clinging to him more than I already was? Not smart.
    I was tired of holding back. I f I wanted to be treated like a woman, I needed to act like one. Besides, he had been clear at the restaurant. Despite my feelings or how I had come to want him over this last week, I needed to remember what Adam had said.
    The man wanted to fuck?
    Then that ’s what he’d get.
    I gripped his crisp shirt in my fists and ripped it open. Buttons went flying and Adam growled.
    “ That’s how you want to play this, Katelyn?” He pushed me backward. The backs of my knees hit the edge of the mattress and I fell back on the bed. I smiled. This was more like it. No more gentle. No more emotion.
    He remove the rest of his shirt. Good Lord, the man was a god. Lean, hard muscle roped from his chest to his abdomen. My eyes followed the small trail of dark hair that started just below his belly button. I wanted to lick the entire length of him.
    His blue eyes burned bright against the darkness and when he un clasped his belt, those chiseled stomach muscles flexed even more.
    “ You’re staring, Katelyn.” He removed his pants and finally, he stood, gloriously naked in all his masculine perfection.
    A flare of alarm skated through me. He was big. I knew this. I’d had an up-close encounter with his cock at his office, but seeing him like this, all hard and naked, that erection jutting past his navel, demanding attention—I groaned at the sight.
    He reached forward and his hands dove beneath my dress and snagged my panties. He yanked them down and off. Hold ing my black thong in his fist, he peered down