Page 47 of Radiant Exception
Reaching between us, Lark grabbed for my cock, squeezing it when she found it hard and ready for her. I hissed out a breath and swatted her hand away.
“You know, I could just lie to you to get what I want.” She struggled against me as I pushed her back onto the bed, resting on an elbow as I loomed over her.
I rolled my eyes at the thought of her pretending to give in only to go back on her word. “You and I both know you wouldn’t do that. You also know I’m smart enough to tell the difference if you tried.” I buried my face against her, sucking on a sensitive spot at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Her hips continued to undulate beneath me.
“I’ll wait you out,” I growled. “I’ve got you right where I want you.”
Slipping my hand down her stomach, I listened for her breath to hitch when it reached its destination, and smiled as I was rewarded with the strangled noise a moment later as my fingers dipped into her wet heat.
Her breathy moans filled the room as I stroked, circled, and penetrated her cunt with my fingers in alternating patterns.
“Feels like I’m already getting what I want,” Lark whimpered beneath me, trying to fight back with the assertion that I would gain ground in this war of wills we’d entered.
“Are you?” I stopped abruptly, withdrawing my hand from her panties.
“Vaughn!” She groaned. Lark began to wriggle beneath me to regain the friction she’d lost to continue toward her release, but I pressed my body against hers, stealing her ability to move.
“I hate you,” she hissed, trying to shove me off her for a moment before snaking her hand down to try and finish herself.
“Uh, uh,” I tsked, grabbing her hand and pinning it against the mattress.
She huffed in anger.
“If you beg me, I’ll let you come,” I offered, trailing wet kisses along her collarbone. “Ask nicely.”
She just about choked at the thought. “Get off me,” she ground out.
“Is that really what you want?” I asked sweetly, lessening the pressure of my body atop hers, a silent indication that I was looking for her direction.
Lark huffed again in frustration.
“Say ‘please,’ Trouble,” I whispered against the shell of her ear.
She took a beat, her chest still heaving as she raged. But then I heard her say it softly. “Please.”
“I didn’t quite catch that,” I teased.
“Vaughn! Please!” she snarled.
Without missing a beat, my fingers were back where they belonged. I barely had to touch her before she was gasping through her release.
“You’re such a good girl for me,” I cooed, brushing her hair back from her face and placing a gentle kiss at her temple, while she caught her breath, her hips trembling as her orgasm ebbed.
When I was content she’d come down from her high, I pulled her close, breathing her in. “Let me in, Trouble,” I whispered into her hair. “I promise I’ll do right by you, if you just give me the chance.”
Her breath continued at a slow and shallow pace. I realized she’d already fallen asleep.
As the days passed and Vesta drew ever nearer, my relationship with Lark continued to evolve. Our flirty comm exchanges continued, but at night, I felt her pulling away the more I tried to convince her to give in.
We were at a stalemate, and I was torn about what to do. My brain was screaming at me to let her go and protect what little would remain of my heart.
After joining the military, I’d learned quickly to hold back my emotions and not get attached to people. Unlearning all of that after retiring from service was a slow and agonizing process. Being around Lark, I found myself opening up to her more than I had to most before her. It wasn’t until I started to let her in that I realized how starved I was for connection on a deeper level.
I saw the same patterns in her, but she wasn’t ready yet. And I knew I needed to stop pushing, but my heart wouldn’t let me. I wanted her. I’d made up my mind. Still, I feared I would end up heartbroken.
After I’d gotten her off, I sensed a shift that made me uneasy. I could tell she wanted more, but it was almost as if she feared whatshe would do if she let go…that she’d give in to me without meaning to, perhaps. So things hadn’t gone much further past making out and cuddling, but she still tested me every now and again, working me up and then whispering sweet words of seduction to entice me to fuck her without the commitment I needed to move forward.
I couldn’t understand why she didn’t realize how impossible that was. I was already attached, and frankly, she was too. She was just too persnickety to admit it to herself. It was too late for me, I knew that, but it would be so much worse if we started having sex and she just up and left. I was already so broken, it would shatter me completely.
