stop. No matter what. You say stop, and it all stops. I swear to you.”
She nodded again then pressed her lips to his. He felt her urgency, her need, and more importantly, the fear that ate her from the inside out. He softened the touch of their lips then slipped his across her face, placing soft caresses over her checks and nose, her eyelids and forehead. He ran his lips along her neck, letting his tongue glide out to taste her as he did. He took his time, and moment by moment, he felt her pulse calm, felt her body relax.
He went back to her lips but let his fingers caress her waist, gently slipping under the edge of her shirt and softly caressing her skin. She tensed again briefly, but relaxed as he continued to kiss her. Every inch he gained was hard won, and by the time he’d managed to lift his fingers, so they grazed the sides of her breasts, her shirt bunched along his wrists, sweat covered his body in a fine sheen. He broke the kiss only long enough to pull her shirt over her head, then he immediately returned to her lips.
He ran his hands over her skin, softly, slowly. He traced the edges of her bra, wanting nothing more than to cup her breast in his hand. To feel the weight and fullness of her. She would fit his palm perfectly. When he glanced down, he could just make out the dusky rose shade of her puckered nipples. They were tight, hard points that he ached to taste with his tongue, to roll between his lips. But he had to remind himself to take things slow and easy.
Daniel finally left her lips to skim over her throat, sliding across her collar bone before dipping lower and scattering kisses over the top of her chest. His hands continued to soothe her while he hoped his mouth built her need. So far, she’d been content to let him touch her but hadn’t lost herself in the desire to touch him, as well.
He slipped his tongue under the lace edge of her bra, sliding it over smooth skin and managing to skim the puckered edge of her areola. She moved then.
“Daniel.” His name was a low moan from her lips as she buried her hands in his hair and urged him closer to the tip.
With a groan, he locked his lips around her nipple, sucking her through the lace. She whimpered and clung, and he wasn’t sure she was aware of the moment he whisked away the fabric and met skin with skin. He sucked with gluttonous pulls, scraping with his teeth before lashing with his tongue.
“I want to taste you everywhere.” He moved his lips over her belly as he tugged at the button of her jeans then eased down the zipper.
She pushed at the denim with him, growling when they caught on her shoes. He dropped to his knees, continuing to run his mouth across her taut belly while he jerked her shoes and socks from her feet. He dropped the jeans and panties into a pile atop her shoes then let his gaze skim up her, stopping at the juncture of her sex where her slick folds were hidden between damp thighs.
Daniel slowly came to his feet, sweeping her up in his arms and laying her on the bed before rising over her, taking her mouth in a searing kiss then working his way back down her body until he was sprawled between her thighs.
It took a moment for him to register the tension in her muscles, the whimpers that weren’t pleasure. Ariel shook beneath him, and now that he had picked up on it, all he felt was her fear. He quickly moved to her side, running his hand gently along her side.
“Shh, baby. It’s okay. I didn’t mean to scare you. Open your eyes, baby. It’s me. It’s only me.”
Another whimper before she opened her eyes, and the fear he saw there nearly unmanned him. He’d put that in her eyes. This time, her fear was because of him.
“I know it’s you. I just… I can’t…” She paused, swallowing and shaking her head.
That’s when it hit him. He’d had her beneath him, pinned her to the bed with his weight. He was a fucking idiot. As he opened his mouth to tell her how sorry he was, he bit back the words. Jesus! Was he determined to make things worse? Instead,