“Wait.” I was breathless in my need for him.
“I did not mean to presume that we would be intimate. Forgive me.” He bowed his head and moved to leave.
“No. I only wanted you to wait so you would take your pants off. No need to get off the bed twice. Remove them and come here.” I held onto one arm so that he wouldn’t disappear on me.
He smiled as if I’d just answered all his prayers and removed his pants. He stood there for an eternity just staring at me lying on his bed like a feast. My mouth dropped open as I gazed at his perfect body. I started to shiver slightly in fear as well as anticipation as he was huge. There was no way we were doing this without it hurting a little.
I pulled him to me and took his mouth with mine again. His hands explored my body, gently sliding up my arm and down my side. He stopped at the underside of my breast and smiled when I whimpered. He took my breasts in his large hands and swept his thumbs across my nipples. I was putty. He released my mouth to nurse at one breast and I came right then.
His right hand continued to play on the one breast as he licked and suckled the other. His left went exploring for my moist, heated center. He found the nub and I came again. No man had ever been able to play my body so well. I writhed and moaned on his bed, helplessly crying out for more. I needed him at that moment, more than I needed to take my next breath. I tried to reach down between us to touch him, but he moved. He placed his finger inside me and felt the effect he had on me.
He moaned and thrust his finger faster, adding a second. I was close again, begging him to join me. I desperately wanted to hold him if he wasn’t going to enter me, just so he could feel the same release I was going to feel in a moment. My helpless whimpers caused him to smile with my nipple still sheathed in his mouth. He bit down as he continued to thrust with his fingers.
I could feel his member against my thigh as I met every thrust of his hand. Just as I started my climax, he pulled his fingers out and sheathed himself into me. I barely registered his size entering me as I screamed in ecstasy. He stayed still, letting me come down and breathe for a second before he started moving. My body was still reeling from the aftershocks and every slow thrust brought another small wave of excitement through me.
He looked intensely into my brown eyes with his teal ones and I knew he wasn’t going to last long. He was so large that he rubbed every spot I didn’t know I had. His slow thrusts were taking me higher than I’d ever thought possible. He kissed me and that seemed to be the conclusion to our joining. I exploded from the inside out. I felt every part of my body release to the universe in sheer bliss.
I saw images of my lonely life of responsibility intermingled with his. We shared more than the intimacy of making love. Our souls left our bodies to join each other and return as a fractured whole. They soared in ecstasy, in the knowledge that we’d finally come together. When my soul soared back into my body, I realized that Raif had passed out on top of me. The last thought I had before I blacked out was that he was a very heavy man.
Natasha? Love, are you all right?” Raif asked, his deep voice thick with concern and contentment.
I felt him snuggled behind me, rubbing a hand slowly up and down my arm. I was cradled protectively in his arms, facing the wall. I felt sore, and more at peace than I had any right to be. I was home for the first time in my life, and while I knew that thought should’ve terrified me, I was comforted by it. I turned in his embrace and looked at him. His face held an expression of peace that I subconsciously knew no one else had ever seen. I knew this was the man that held my heart. The man he’d been in front of the Council had been a façade to protect himself from the betrayal and politics of his life. I treasured being able to know the real Raif that he kept hidden from the rest of the world.
“That was amazing. If it’s always like that we’re likely to solve the problem of my destruction without the king’s interference. I’ve never felt this content before.” I smiled and kissed him slowly.
We enjoyed lazily exploring each other’s mouths. Our hands slowly traced paths down backs and up arms. It was a simple enjoyment of touch more intimate than anything else I’d ever experienced. I knew deep into the recesses of my being that I loved this man with my entire heart. I pulled away and looked at him. He’d felt my necklace on my back and pulled it forward. At its sight, he stiffened in my arms.
“Where did you get this?” His voice trembled.
“I was sitting on the beach looking out at the ocean when I realized I was holding it. I’d thought I was sifting through shells at the time. I just thought it was beautiful and unique.” My tone was a little defensive. For the first time since finding the stone, I felt uncomfortable wearing it. I
