Sheer Luck (15 page)

Her hands fell to my shoulders, kneading. “I
haven’t been with anyone since meeting you.” Pink infused her
cheeks.

“Ditto. So that takes care of safety,
but...” Yeah, pregnancy. Much as the vision of her belly round with
my child sent a premature happy thump in my chest, it was way too
soon and residual fear lingered. That would take time to quell. I
still had a hard time getting past all the things that could go
wrong. Right now, warning bells were trying to chime louder than
lust.

“I’m on the pill.” She nuzzled her nose with
mine. “To regulate—“

Lust for the win.

I crushed my mouth to hers and wrapped my
arms around her. Lifting her to keep her against me, I backed her
toward the hallway, her toes skimming the floor. Her mouth never
left mine, the kiss urgent and needy. While trying to step out of
my shoes, we teetered. I smacked my hand to the wall, dislodging a
picture, and righted us by turning into my bedroom, shoes in the
hallway.

Mouths still fused, we stopped by the bed,
hands groping, tongues clashing. I opened my eyes and pulled back,
wanting to take my time, to look at her. The room was dark,
illuminated only by the moonlight streaming through the window. I
leaned over to turn on a lamp and, when I had my arms around her
again, she was trembling. Hard.

“Are you nervous?” I ran my hands up and
down her arms, attempting to warm her. At her nod, my brain did a
quick calculation. “Me, too. Was your husband the only person
you’ve been with?” Another nod. “I won’t hurt you.” In fact, I
planned to eradicate every awful memory of that bastard from her
head.

“I know.” She breathed a ragged laugh. “I’m
just out of practice and I don’t think I was very good at this when
I was with him.”

My muscles tensed and I took several pulls
of air in order not to sound angry before I responded. My
irritation was not directed at her and I wasn’t sure she’d
understand. “Look at me. Just feel. That’s all you have to do
tonight. Feel.”

She was still trembling when I pulled her
shirt over her head, my gaze dropping to her full breasts behind
black lace. I groaned and skimmed my fingertips across the top of
the cups, sending her tremors into quaking. Destructive, horrifying
images of the way her husband treated her ran rampant. I had no
idea if his cruelty existed in the bedroom, too, and she wasn’t
calming down.

I stepped back and slowly undressed in the
hopes she’d feel less exposed. When the last of my clothes were
tossed aside, I stood before her, my own anxiety jarring. Her
tentative gaze did a slow perusal, heating every inch of me in the
path. After a few beats, the trepidation in her eyes slid into
interest and then heat.

There.
I kneeled in front of her,
giving her the height advantage, and unsnapped her jeans. I kept my
gaze locked on hers as I slid the zipper down. Holding her hips, I
gave her a moment, and then dipped my fingers into the waistband,
easing her jeans and panties down her thighs. She stepped out of
them and wrapped her arms around herself. I let her cover herself
as I rose to my feet and removed her bra, leaving nothing between
us.

So badly, I wanted to look at her, but I
kept my gaze on her face until I was certain she was all right with
this. Ten years was a long time, and coupled with her only
experience having come from someone who’d not been gentle, I’d wait
as long as it took. Something told me once we touched, once she was
in bed, her initial reservations would dissolve. Hell, I’d spend
the night holding her and nothing else if that’s what she
needed.

I climbed in bed, offering my hand for her
to join me. One beat, two...then she slid in next to me and lay
stiff on her back. Pulling the blankets over us, I turned on my
side, urging her with a hand on her hip to face me. When she
complied, eyes wide and her throat working a hard swallow, her
trembling intensified.

Christ. My sweet fucking angel. What the
hell had that prick done to her?

“Keep your eyes open,
aingeal
.”
Carefully, I slid my arm under her and pulled her on top of me.
Arms at my sides, I looked at her, unmoving, not touching, giving
her all the control. My body vibrated with the desire to claim her,
but she needed me complacent. “Whatever you want.”

Every inch of her warm, soft skin met mine
and my shaft hardened against her belly. Her breasts were crushed
between us, our hips aligned, her hair a curtain around us. She
lifted, held herself above me, hands on either side of my
shoulders. I spread my legs to cradle her and she gasped.

Her gaze trailed over my face, and she shook
her head. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

I cleared my throat, but the lump remained.
“I assure you, whatever you do, I’ll enjoy it.”

She hesitated and then must’ve taken me for
my word, because she dipped her head and kissed me. Her lips
brushed over mine, a caress, and I opened for her. As our tongues
stroked and we explored, the tension knotting her body loosened and
she softened against me.

Carefully, I set my hand low on her back.
She moaned and touched my chest, raking her fingers over my light
dusting of hair and stopping at my nipple. Wrapping one arm around
her, I shoved the other hand in her hair and tilted her head to
deepen the kiss. Her hips jerked in response, and her trembling
ceased.

I dragged my mouth from hers to suck air and
kissed her jaw, her neck, flicking her skin with my tongue.
Breathing uneven, she straddled my hips and wrapped her fingers
around my shaft. With a shout against her throat, I bucked in her
hands, going blind from need.

“Okay?” she asked, face pressed to my
chest.

“Yes.” At my hoarse croak, I felt her smile
against my pec. Breath stalled, I focused on her breasts and lifted
my head, taking one of her pink, puckered nipples into my mouth. A
swirl of my tongue and she cried out, fingers fisting me in a vise.
“Christ,
aingeal
. I’m not going to last.”

In danger of losing it from one touch, I
rolled on top of her and paused to assess her mood. Lids at
half-mast, she smiled and...yeah. We were a go.

I trailed my lips over her collarbone to her
breast and drew her nipple into my mouth again. They were so full,
giving me more than enough to capture, to mold. Kneading the other
one with my hand, I hummed my pleasure when it pebbled under my
palm. Her fingers wove through my hair, holding me to her as her
legs spread to wrap around my back.

Heaven help me, she needed to be ready or
I’d cause pain when I entered her. She’d be so tight as it was,
after not having been with someone in so long. Hell, at this rate,
I’d come before even so much as a thrust.

Moving lower, I licked her belly. I goddamn
loved her curves, her fair skin and the way it flushed at my
attention. She wasn’t all taut muscle and lean edges. Her body was
giving, warm, supple.

She went still under me and I flicked my
gaze to hers. The lip bite and question in her eyes said
everything. She’d never had a man’s mouth on her down here. So much
to make up for.

“Look at me,” I whispered. “Watch me. Feel
me
.”

With my thumbs, I parted her pink, wet folds
and flattened my tongue against her opening. She sucked in a breath
and I held her gaze as I swirled around her clit. Whimpering, her
hips shot off the bed. She white-knuckled the pillow and I grinned.
Her arousal smelled so sweet, the musk filling my nose and proving
to me she was here. I had Sierra in my bed. Finally.

I inserted a finger and, amazed by the
tightness, eased in another. She greedily clutched them with her
walls and I realized she was close. Already. Curling my digits, I
sucked her clit between my teeth and hummed as blood pumped through
my veins at breakneck speed. A careening cry from her lips and she
was quaking around me, clenching my fingers and back bowing. Her
lips parted, wet and swollen from my kisses. Eyes pinched closed,
brows arched, she froze for several beats as she came.

Fucking beautiful.

And I was dying.

I crawled up her body and kissed her hard,
long, deep. When I knew she’d come down enough to open her eyes, I
aligned myself and pressed forward, holding all that blue with my
gaze. Her hot flesh gripped my crown and I shook from the need to
thrust. Slowly, so slowly, I eased inside her, meeting mild
resistance and tight heat.

“Relax,
aingeal
.”

She nodded, holding my jaw in both hands.
“I’m okay.”

Great, because I wasn’t. Sweat beaded down
my back and an earthquake-force shudder wracked my limbs. I’d say
I’d forgotten how good it felt to have a woman wrapped around me
but, for the sake of honesty, I don’t think it had ever been this
good.

When I was completely inside, I set my
forehead on her shoulder and stilled to give her a moment to
adjust. Breaths soughing, I clenched my teeth. Agony. Bliss. My
balls tightened and my spine tingled.

“You’re going to have to forgive me. It’s
been too long.” I opened my mouth over the skin below her ear.
“I’ll make this up to you.” Forearms on either side of her head, I
pulled out and thrust. Hell. Not quite. More like Heaven.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, her
legs around my hips, silently telling me to keep going. When her
pelvis tilted, taking me deeper, I lost it. With short, fast
strokes, I thrust inside her, doing my damnedest to hold out.
Fruitless.

My body rigid, I froze above her. Head back,
I roared through my release, spilling inside her. She held me
tight, fusing her body with mine as I came down. I collapsed by her
side, partly sprawled over her, and forced myself to breathe.

Stroking the ridges on my abs with cool
fingers, she rolled on her side and flung her leg over my ass. Her
hand moved up to my bicep, tracing the contours of muscle I’d
built. Most days, working out had been the only way to erase my
shadows, fill my head with something besides pain. Her cheeks were
flushed, her lips red, her eyes the bluest damn thing I’d ever
seen. Her tender gaze met mine, an endearing smile curving her
mouth.

As the grandfather clock in the living room
chimed midnight, all I could do was say, “I’m so sorry,
aingeal
.”

Her brow worried. “For what? That was
amazing.”

Sadly, considering her history, she would
think that fast ride had been amazing. She didn’t have the foggiest
idea. I would damn well show her the true meaning as soon as I
recovered.

S
ometime later, I
opened my eyes to find it was still dark. Moonlight spilled over
Sierra’s back, her hair, while she curled into me. Her face was
buried in my neck, her warm, even breaths caressing my throat. She
smelled like those almond cookies her and Liam liked to make at
Christmas, and I had to refrain from licking the patch of skin
behind her ear to see if she tasted just as good.

Our first time making love hadn’t been
nearly as thorough as I’d wanted. Too many years had passed since
I’d been intimate, but I’d make it up to her. Before Amy, I’d had a
few partners, knew my way around a woman’s body. Again, it had been
so long ago, though, I was rusty.

A little insecure, I stared at her, hoping
to hell I hadn’t made a mistake last night. She was truly the only
maternal figure Liam had ever known. Besides being my best friend,
she was important to my family. Even Declan’s wife Lily had been
taken by Sierra. They spent a lot of time together.

She hadn’t had the kind of gentleness and
adoration she deserved from her husband, and the thought of me
hurting her seared pain through my midsection. I’d never
intentionally do that, but...damn. The fucking curse. Sierra
believed it was gone. Declan and Lily had proved that, right? Hell,
even Dad had gotten remarried. I wasn’t a huge fan of my new
step-mother, but she seemed okay. Still, what if they were
wrong?

Visions of Amy lying on the hospital bed
shoved into my mind. Her skin draining of color. Her glazed eyes
fixed on the ceiling. The blood...

Shuddering, I rubbed my eyes, the guilt too
much to take.

I moved to roll onto my back and ease out of
bed, but Sierra’s cool fingers skimmed my hip and she inhaled.
Stretched. Nuzzled my throat.

Closing my eyes, I recalled her words from
last night and forced myself to stay in her arms. After a beat, I
lifted my lids to find her watching me. Blue eyes wary, she took in
my expression, unmoving.

“Hi,” she whispered, as if she’d just popped
over for a visit. Like we hadn’t made love or weren’t tangled naked
together in my bed.

My heart thudded. “Hi.”

“Do you want me to go?”

A different kind of panic tripped my pulse,
and I swallowed. Her serene expression belittled the hope shining
in her eyes. I put my arm around her, my hand running up her spine,
and the strangest damn thing happened. A calm settled around me,
wove inside me, and eased the worry and guilt that had been my
constant companions. Her warm, supple skin heated at my touch, her
cheeks flushing.