Page 17 of Blade’s Protection

"My turn," I said, pulling my scrub top over my head. His hands immediately found my waist, but I caught his wrists. "No. Let me show you. Let me worship you for once."

I took my time undressing him, kissing every scar I revealed, tracing old wounds with my tongue until he groaned. His chest was a map of survival—bullet wounds, shrapnel scars, burns—and I honored every one.

"You're not broken," I whispered against a puckered scar near his ribs. "You're a survivor. A warrior. Mine."

When I finally freed him from his jeans, he was hard and ready, but I wasn't done exploring. I kissed my way down his abs, feeling them tense under my mouth, until I reached my destination.

"Tiffany—"

I took him in my mouth before he could protest, and his hips bucked off the bed. His hand tangled in my hair, not forcing, just holding on as I showed him with my mouth what my words couldn't convey—that I wanted all of him, darkness included.

"Enough," he growled, pulling me up. "My turn."

He flipped us easily, and then his mouth was everywhere—my neck, my breasts, my stomach. He took his time with my breasts, lavishing attention until I writhed beneath him, needing more. His hands mapped my hips, my thighs, finding every soft spot and showing it appreciation.

"So fucking perfect," he murmured against my inner thigh. "All this softness, these hips made for my hands, this body that drives me insane."

When his mouth found my center, I cried out, back arching off the bed. He worked me with lips and tongue and fingers, building me up slowly, deliberately, until I shattered with his name on my lips.

But he didn't stop. He kept going, pushing me higher, and when he slid two fingers inside while his mouth continued its assault, I came again, harder, seeing stars.

"Please," I gasped, pulling at his shoulders. "I need you inside me. Now."

He moved up my body, settling between my thighs, and when he pushed inside, we both groaned. The stretch was perfect, filling me completely, and when he started to move, slow and deep, I wrapped my legs around his waist to take him deeper.

"Look at me," he commanded, and I opened eyes I hadn't realized I'd closed. The intensity in his expression stole my breath. "You're mine now. No more running. No more pushing away. Mine."

I pulled his head down to whisper in his ear. "And you're mine. My protector. My warrior. Mine to heal, mine to love, mine to keep."

Something in him broke at those words. His control snapped, and he started moving harder, faster, one hand gripping my hip while the other tangled in my hair. The headboard banged against the wall, and I didn't care, too lost in the feeling of finally, finally having him completely.

His thumb found my sensitive bundle of nerves, circling, and combined with the perfect angle of his thrusts, I felt myself climbing again.

"That's it," he encouraged. "Come for me again. Let me feel you."

The third orgasm hit like a tsunami, my entire body convulsing, internal muscles clenching around him. He followed immediately, my name a broken prayer on his lips as he came deep inside me.

We collapsed together, sweaty and sated, still joined. His weight on me felt perfect, grounding, safe.

"No regrets?" he asked against my neck.

"None. Ever." I ran my fingers through his hair. "This is where I belong. Where we both belong."

He pulled back to look at me, and the vulnerability in his expression made my chest tight. "I love you. Fuck, I shouldn't, it's too soon, you're too young, but⁠—"

I kissed him to shut him up. "I love you too. Age doesn't matter. Time doesn't matter. This feeling? This matters."

"You sure you can handle my world? The MC, the violence, the danger?"

"I'm sure I can handle you. Everything else is just details." I traced his jaw. "Besides, someone needs to patch you up when you punch through windows defending my honor."

He laughed, the sound rusty but real. "That's going to be a regular occurrence with you around. Every man in town looks at you like they want a taste."

"Let them look." I pulled him down for another kiss. "I only want you."

We made love again, slower this time, savoring each touch, each sensation. When we finally separated, he pulled me against his chest, my back to his front, arm heavy around my waist.

"Move in with me," he said against my hair. "For real this time. Not for protection, just... because I want you here."