Free 28 Seconds: A House of Valentine Novella by Elizabeth Blair Page B

shirt and I lifted it off, casting it aside as his mouth began to suckle my breast. As his hands wrapped around my back, pulling me tighter into his mouth, I knew I was fast losing any chance to say no. I knew I needed to stop him, to tell him that I’d never been this far with anyone, but with his mouth on me, it seemed too embarrassing to even consider.
    His fingers slipped to my underwear, following the seam down to the center of my sex. His fingers fought inside the fabric, barely brushing against me, and he withdrew them, already slick with my juices. He let out a satisfied chuckle and rolled me to my back. He was taking off his pants, slipping my underwear from my legs and I knew it was my last chance to tell him. But I couldn’t: the only thing more unbearable than the embarrassment would be if he stopped. I couldn’t bear the thought of his touches ever ending.
    He rolled on a condom and was back over me, rubbing my clit before pushing his fingers inside me. I spread my legs, wanting more, and he continued to thrust until I could hear my juices echoing in the room with his every plunge. His mouth was back on mine, his breath heavy and ragged as his cock edged against my opening. He entered me slow with a long, luxurious stroke as if he was savoring his first moment inside me. I winced as he began to swell, filling and stretching me, but his own moan covered my discomfort. His hands locked over my head and he thrust again, deep and intense.
    I let out the tiniest cry as my body tore open for him. Any hope I had that he wouldn’t notice washed away when his every movement stopped, even his breathing. His hands flew to my face, cupping it firm to keep me from looking away. “Ariana-”
    “No,” I protested, “don’t you dare stop this time. Not now.”
    “Look at me,” he growled. When I finally lifted my eyes to his, I realized...he had had no intention of stopping. He lips dropped to mine, a long drawn kiss full of heat and promise. I could feel him inside me, gentle short pulses that matched my own anxious breaths. One hand released my head and moved to cup my ass. I tensed involuntarily but his instructions were a tender caress against my throat. “Lift up, baby girl, it’ll hurt less.”
    I let him lift me, tilting my body just slightly sideways and he was right...the sharpest of the pain went away. I tried to relax my body into his rhythm, the short, shallow pulses that had to be driving him mad. I closed my eyes, trying to memorize the feel of his cock, swollen and thick, pressing and filling every inch of me. Each tiny thrust stretched me to fit all of him as he seemed to grow even bigger inside me. His spasms came without warning, throbbing hard in my sex. He gave one last painful thrust, long and deep that he seemed unable to control and then locked himself there, deep within me, as he dropped his head onto the pillow beside mine. “Why,” he groaned, “didn’t you tell me?”
    After several minutes of silence, he finally accepted that I wasn’t going to answer. He shifted, his hand slipping to the rim of the condom. “This is going to sting. Just let out a long, deep breath, all right?”
    He kissed my forehead as I nodded and then did as told. I felt him pull out, felt the raw sting of air against my battered flesh but, most vivid, was an overwhelming sudden and inexplicable feeling of loss at the absence of him.
    “I’ll be right back.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
    “Hm, so you are one of those women that get overrun by emotions after sex,” Cole smiled and offered me a glass of whiskey. “I was going to offer wine but you don’t really seem the wine type.”
    “Not my favorite, no.” I wiped my tears away and shuffled to sit against the headboard.
    “Did I hurt you that much?”
    “Discomfort, not pain, Cole. Pain has taken on a whole new meaning these last few days.”
    He frowned and opened his mouth to respond but I stretched up and cut off his words with a