Dom X - The Complete Box Set: Alpha Male Romance (28 page)

M
y heart was beating so
hard against my chest that I knew Nori could feel it against her palm. Part of it was the intense desire I'd been feeling from the moment I laid down on the couch with her, knowing that only my towel and her robe separated the two of us, but I'd have been lying if I didn't admit that an equal amount of it was anxiety.

I hadn't let anyone touch my scars like this. In my head and my heart, I knew that she'd never freak out or anything like that, but that dark fear that'd been a part of me from the moment I woke up kept telling me that Nori was going to reject me. That the feel of the scar tissue would turn her off, would break whatever this spell was between us and send us hurtling back to reality. That she would tell me this was a mistake.

Except she didn't do any of that. What she did do was lean forward and kiss the place where my tattoo once was.

I felt like I was burning again, but this time, it wasn't pain but pleasure I was feeling. Not physically, since I couldn't feel much where the scar tissue was concerned, but rather the rush that came with knowing that she hadn't pushed me away.

I still had a chance.

Taking it slow would be the smartest thing to do. Lay here with her in my arms, let myself appreciate what it felt like to have someone trust me so implicitly. But then her hand was sliding up my chest to my neck, all along the left side of my body. The side I never thought anyone would touch again. Not without revulsion.

She wasn't repulsed though. Her expression held so much tenderness that it made my heart ache.

This was why I loved her. I couldn't just use the word
care
anymore. It wasn't enough. What I felt for Nori went beyond anything I'd felt for anyone ever. I would do whatever it took to be whatever, whoever, she needed. My own happiness, my own life even, didn't matter. She was it.

So I kissed her.

It started gently as I held myself back. I didn't want to push too hard or too fast, didn't want to risk scaring her away, but then she was kissing me back, her hand on my neck as she parted her lips. A groan escaped as my tongue touched hers, and I put my hand on her waist, desperate to feel the skin beneath the robe. I kept myself in check though, focusing on enjoying her lips moving with mine, on the wet heat as I explored her mouth.

This was about what she needed, not me.

I moved away from her mouth and kissed up her jaw to her ear. “You can touch me, if you want,” I whispered.

Her body stiffened, and when she turned her head toward me, her eyes were wide, myriad emotions flickering across her teal-colored irises. I waited, letting her process. I knew she'd had so much to think about, and I wanted to take her away from that, even if only for tonight, but it had to be her choice.

Her gaze dropped, and she began to run her fingers along my scars. Starting with the collarbone and working her way across my shoulder, my arm, then over to my chest.

“What was the rest of the tattoo?” she asked softly. “The one that ended over your heart.”

“ARH and MAH,” I answered. The pain was still there, but not as agonizing as it had been. Nori's presence helped ease it. “Abigail Renee Hammond and Madison Alexandria Hammond.”

“Your mom and your sister?” she guessed.

I nodded and then sucked in a breath as she leaned forward and kissed the spot. But she didn't stop there. She began to kiss and lick her way across every inch of scar tissue she could reach, missing only the parts where the skin was still tender.

When her hand reached for the towel, however, I reached down and grabbed her wrist. She raised her head, desire evident in her eyes, on her face. She hid nothing from me, and that meant more than even her touch.

“I'm going to take care of you,” I promised as I raised her hand and kissed her palm. She shivered, and something deep and primal inside me reared its head.

“I want to touch you,” she said, her voice breathless.

“Later,” I promised. And I meant it. Outside this apartment, I still had all of my issues about people seeing me, but for her, I would give everything, even if it was more than I thought I could. I would do whatever it took to earn her trust, to make this work.

“Then will you touch me?”

I swore softly. Apparently, taking it slow wasn't going to be on the menu for the day. I let go of her wrist. “Hands off the towel.”

She nodded obediently.

I reached down between us for the belt of her robe but kept my eyes on hers as I tugged it free. Only when I raised my hand to touch her did I look down. I took my time, fingers barely grazing her skin as I parted the folds of her robe. First, I bared the valley between her breasts and teased my way down to her stomach. When I uncovered her breasts, I couldn't stop myself from tasting. I'd intended only to touch, but her dusky pink nipples started to harden, and I had to take one into my mouth.

She cried out the moment my lips touched her, and I wanted to hear more. I wanted to hear her call my name, beg for me to stop, beg for more. I wanted to hear her moan and scream and make all of those wonderful noises that meant I was pleasing her. Because that's what I wanted, what I needed. The control part of being a Dom was some of it, but I also needed to know that I could make the woman I loved forget everything but the way her body responded to my touch.

My fingers began to tease her other nipple as my tongue worked around and over the one in my mouth. I listened to every change in breathing, felt every shift in her muscles, keeping note of what she liked. The way every bit of her tensed when my teeth came into play, and how she grabbed onto my hair and cursed when I sucked harder.

“X,” she gasped. “Please. More. Please.” Each word was punctuated by a whimper as she squirmed beneath me.

I didn't raise my head as I dropped my hand down between her legs. The dark curls were soft against my fingers, and she arched up into me, as eager to be touched as I was to touch. She was slick and hot, her body jerking as I ran the tip of one finger over her clit. Knowing that I was responsible for how wonderfully wet she was brought out that primitive side of me I'd never acknowledged before. She was mine, and even if she chose to walk away in the morning, I would protect her.

“X.” She gave my hair a painful tug and I lifted my face to look at her. “Need you.”

“Come for me,” I said. I slid a finger into her and watched as her eyes rolled back. I slid my finger in and out a couple times before adding a second one.

“Fuck,” she groaned.

“Not yet,” I said with a chuckle. Damn, I could watch her all day. I loved seeing her come apart, lose herself. One day, I promised myself, I'd have her touch herself while I watched, but not tonight.

I lowered my head again and began to tease her clit with my tongue. I'd always been a thorough lover, but I'd never enjoyed going down on a woman until her. If I had my way, no other man was going to get this privilege. I curled my fingers, searching for that spot inside her. I'd found it before, and it didn't take me long to find it again. Then she was coming, her cries muffled by the sleeve of her robe.

Right, neighbors.

I hadn't even given anyone else a second thought.

I slid my hand from between her legs and propped myself up on my arm. I was hard, the soft cotton even too rough against my sensitive skin, but I would deal with it.

Her eyes opened, pupils so wide that only a thin circle of color remained. “What are you waiting for?”

I raised an eyebrow. “We don't have to–”

“Do you want me?” she asked.

I cupped the side of her face. “More than anything.”

She shifted, sliding the robe off until she was completely bare. “Then take me.”

I started to move, then realized something. “Shit. I don't have–”

“It's okay,” she said. Her smile was soft, but the light in her eyes was anything but. “I'm good if you're good.”

I didn't need any more encouragement than that. I needed to be inside her too badly. I rolled over her, catching myself so that my weight wasn't fully on her. She spread her legs, then hooked them around my hips, her heels resting just under my ass. She wriggled against me.

“Still got something in the way here.”

I reached down and yanked the towel off, tossing it onto the floor. My hand tangled in her hair, holding her in place as I drove into her with a single hard thrust. She bit her bottom lip, her head tilting back. I pressed my mouth to her throat, sucking and biting at the skin there even as I moved inside her. I could feel her muscles tensing and knew that she was still wound tight.

My mouth went to her ear. “I want to hear you scream.”

“The neighbors,” she protested.

I rolled my hips and she made a whining sound that went straight to my cock. My entire body was thrumming, throbbing, desperate for release.

“I don't give a damn about the neighbors,” I practically growled the words. “You need to let go, Nori. Completely.” I used her hair to make her face me. “At least, trust me in this. I've got you.”

Her eyes locked with mine, widened as I pushed myself deep inside her. She nodded, her eyes closing. Part of me wanted to tell her to look at me so I could see everything when she came again, but I knew that her closing her eyes meant she trusted me to give her what she needed.

“Scream for me, sweetheart.” I grabbed her breast with one hand, thumb and forefinger pinching just hard enough to make everything else she was feeling even more intense. She made a soft keening sound.

Not quite there yet.

I pushed myself up onto my knees and grabbed her legs. I pulled them up against my chest, stretching them until her ankles were on my shoulders. When I leaned forward this time, she cried out without any attempt to mask the sound.

“Good girl.”

Every thrust brought a new cry, each one louder than the last, until, finally, her entire body clenched down and she screamed.

My name.

I'd already been close, but that sound was enough to force my own climax. I stayed buried inside her, each squeeze of her pussy matching a pulse from my cock. A shudder ran through me, and I had to force myself to keep my eyes open. I watched everything she was feeling play across her face, felt the pleasure rippling through her body.

Gently, I lowered her legs, then eased from between them. I reached down for my towel and used it to clean us both up as best I could. I didn't want to leave her, not even long enough to get a washcloth. She rolled onto her side, and I settled back down behind her. Her eyes were closed, but she smiled when I brushed my hand over her face. I pulled the blanket over us and wrapped my arms around her. I didn't care that she could feel my scar tissue against her bare skin. She saw me more than anyone other than Father O'Toole ever had.

“Mine,” I whispered as I kissed her shoulder. “You're mine and I'm yours.”

She didn't say anything, her breathing slow and even. I pulled her closer, tucking her against me.

“Whatever you need.” I made the vow out loud even though I doubted she could hear me. “We'll work everything out so we can go back home together when everything's taken care of here. Whatever it takes.”

No matter what I faced out there, I could do it, as long as I had her.

S
o
, that happened. Again.

The couch wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but I managed to sleep better than I had since...well, since the last time we had sex. Part of it was exhaustion, but I knew that most of it had to do with how safe I felt. I'd told X that trust was going to be an issue, but he'd gone quite a way toward convincing me last night.

My body was sore when I woke up, only partially from the uncomfortable couch. X had taken me hard, and I was pretty sure I had a nice set of bruises on my neck from his mouth. I wasn't going to complain though. This was a part of what I'd been craving, the edge that Tanner hadn't been able to give me. X hadn't completely let himself go last night, but the fact that I'd been able to tell that he'd been holding back meant that he had something to restrain.

And I really wanted to be there when he let it go.

I opened my eyes and found myself alone on the couch. My stomach clenched, and everything good I'd been feeling began to drain away.

Until I realized that I smelled toast.

I sat up, catching the blanket against my chest almost automatically. I was still naked, my robe beneath me, but I wasn't really paying attention to that. I was too busy staring at the man standing in my mother's kitchen.

He was dressed. Sort of. The last time I'd woken up after the two of us had slept together, he'd come out of the bathroom in jeans and a hoodie. Right now, he was wearing a pair of shorts. And that was it.

Damn.

I'd seen this much of him, and more, but the sight of him took my breath away. Maybe it was because I knew now I could touch him, and that made all the difference. I'd been on the verge of sleep last night, but I heard what he said.

You're mine and I'm yours
.

My heart gave an unsteady thump.

Mine.

I'd never been a possessive person, and I'd never gotten into that whole macho-man thing of a guy saying I was his. But when X said it, something inside me shifted. It'd been that, more than anything else that had made me feel like I could go to sleep.

A burst of pride went through me as I looked at him. He was mine. I didn't care about the scars, other than the story they told of his bravery. They didn't take away from the beauty that was him, because it wasn't about his physical appearance. I knew what he thought of himself, but I also knew the truth that Father O'Toole had seen, the truth that I was pretty sure his fellow soldiers had seen as well.

“See something you like?”

I gave a yelp of surprise when X spoke. He turned around and grinned at me, a genuine, real smile...that turned into a leer when his gaze dropped.

I looked down and realized that I'd dropped the blanket. I jerked it back up and glared at X who just shrugged.

“You didn't answer my question.”

“What?” I couldn't get over how different this was than the last time we woke up together. He wasn't hiding, wasn't sniping. The change that had seemed so miraculous last night was still going on now.

“I asked if you saw something you liked.”

I dropped the blanket again, distracting him as I reached beneath me to pull on my robe. When I stood, he was still watching me. I winked at him as I pulled the robe closed, then walked over to where he stood next to the toaster. I looked up at him, moving slowly in case he wanted to take a step back, and slid my arms around his waist. He tensed but didn't pull away. Instead, his arms went around me.

“You're okay with this?” I asked quietly. “With me touching you?”

His expression sobered a bit, but I didn't see any of the prior darkness in his eyes. “I trust you,” he said simply.

Tears burned my eyes and I leaned my head against his chest so he couldn't see them. I could feel the differences in his skin against my cheek, but all I cared about was the heartbeat I heard.

We probably would've stood there for a lot longer if my stomach hadn't chosen that moment to growl. I laughed when X's did the same, and he joined me.

“Yeah, I think we should get something to eat.” He slid his arm around my waist and spun us so that we were both facing the counter. “I couldn't really find much in the way of breakfast food, so we're stuck with toast and jam.”

I shrugged. “Mom usually sticks with coffee for breakfast.”

“That explains the six cans I found in that cabinet.” X pointed.

I smiled and picked up one of the plates. He joined me at the table, getting up only to get us both cups of coffee once it was ready. Neither one of us talked, and I appreciated the silence. My brain had finally managed to start calming down from its recent overload, and it was nice not to have to think about anything other than eating.

When we were both finished, I leaned back in my chair. “The doctors said my parents would be able to be released today.”

X nodded. “That's good.”

“I don't know what time, and I need to talk over some logistics with them, so I need to go in a bit.”

“We.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You said that you need to go in a bit,” he said. “But it's we, not I.”

Even as he said it, I could see the tension on his face. He'd been okay when it was just us here, but now we were talking about going out in public. Not just anywhere in public either. We were in the city where he'd been hurt, heading for the hospital where he’d woken in pain and to a life much different than he’d planned for himself. This wouldn't be easy for him.

“You don't have to go,” I said. I reached over and put my hand on his, hoping he understood that it wasn't that I didn't want him there, but that I wanted him to be okay. Last night, he'd said it was about me, but this needed to be about him. “I can do this alone.”

“But you shouldn't have to,” he insisted. “I told you that I'd be here for you. Whatever it takes.”

I picked up his hand and kissed his knuckles. “You don't have to do this.”

“I know,” he said. “But I'm going to.”

He leaned over and kissed me, his mouth soft.

Damn. All I wanted to do now was drag him back to the couch for another mind-blowing round of sex.

“I need a shower,” I said with a sigh. “Unless you want one first.”

“Already took one,” he said. “Before you woke up.”

I raised an eyebrow as I glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was barely eight thirty now. “How early did you get up?”

The smile he gave me was tight and didn't quite reach his eyes. “Early enough.”

I knew he wasn't telling me everything, but I was pretty sure I could guess what he was hiding. “How bad were the nightmares?”

Surprisingly, his face relaxed a bit. “I didn't have any. Damn spring in my back woke me up about six o'clock.”

I gave him a skeptical look.

“And then I couldn't get back to sleep.” His fingers tightened around mine. “Too many memories.”

“Which is exactly why you don't have to come with me,” I said. “Going back to the hospital will just bring back more.”

“But it will also remind me of the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said. He leaned forward again, this time making the kiss linger. “Not all of my memories from Texas are bad.”

“Okay.” I stood. “I'm going to go shower, then we can go.”

“Want some company?”

Damn, did I ever.

“Didn't you happen to notice how small that shower was?” I asked.

His hand slid under my robe, and I moaned as his fingers skimmed my sensitive skin. When his hand moved around to my ass, he gave me a squeeze that wasn't quite gentle but still sent a bolt of desire through me.

“You better get in that shower,” he said. “Because if you don't, I'll have to strip that robe off of you, and spend the rest of the day seeing if I can get you to scream louder than you did last night.”

Heat immediately flooded my body, most of which was arousal, but some was embarrassment. I didn't even want to think about what the neighbors must've thought about what was going on here.

He was right though. I needed to walk away if I wanted to get to the hospital at a decent time. It was harder than I thought.

I considered making the shower cold but settled for lukewarm instead. I didn't take my time, but I didn't rush either. I changed into a pair of nice shorts and t-shirt. Simple, comfortable. Definitely not sexy.

But the moment I stepped into the living room, the look on X's face said he thought otherwise.

I agreed. About him, obviously. He was wearing the same shorts he was wearing before, and a t-shirt that showed off his broad shoulders and muscled torso.

And he looked insanely uncomfortable. As I came closer, I saw that it wasn't just discomfort, but anxiety. A lot of it.

“I mean it, X, you don't have to do this.”

“No,” he said firmly. “I'm going to do this. I'm going to be there for you.”

I could've talked him down, calmed him in an appropriately professional manner.

But I said I was going to quit, and that gave me an idea.

“I have to tell you something,” I said as I stepped into his personal space. “I quit.”

“What?” He looked stunned.

I didn't leave him twisting in the wind. Instead, I went to my knees and then looked up at him. “It wouldn't be appropriate for me to do this if I was working for you.” I reached for the button on his shorts. “And I really want to do this.”

I tugged his shorts down to his hips, taking his underwear with them. He was still soft, but the moment I wrapped my hand around him, I felt him twitch in response. He swore as I leaned forward and flicked my tongue across the head of his cock.

“How about I help you relax before we go?”

I didn't give him the chance to respond. Aside from the fact that I needed to make this quick, I'd also been wanting to taste him for what seemed like forever. I took him all in my mouth, using my hand to caress his balls. His hand came down on my head, softly cursing as I worked my tongue around his soft skin. He swelled in my mouth as I began to suck on him, moving my head as he became too big to fit.

“Nori,” he groaned, his fingers tangling in my hair. “Baby, please.”

I looked up at him, letting him slip from between my lips. My hand kept up firm, steady strokes. “Let go, X. This time, I want
you
to come for
me
.”

I had a feeling he was going to argue, so I took him again, my hand and mouth working together until his hips started to jerk, and I knew he was close. I took a slow breath and let him slide across my tongue to the back of my throat. Tanner had taught me how to do this, and he and X weren't too far off in the size department, but it still wasn't comfortable, or something I could keep up for long. I didn't need long though.

As soon as he realized what I was doing, he started saying my name, and then he was coming. I drew back even as his cock pulsed in my mouth, letting him spill down my throat and across my tongue. I swallowed every drop, licking him clean even as he pulled on my hair hard enough to hurt.

“Babe,” he groaned.

“I've got you,” I murmured as I tucked him back into his pants. I looked up at him, his eyes dark. He held out his hand, helping me to my feet.

“That was...” his words were hoarse. “Nori.” His free hand went around the back of my neck and he yanked me to him for a scorching kiss.

I was going to take that as a thank you.