We want to take what we believe belongs to us. Mark the other as our territory, so everyone can see we are in possession of one another.
“I’m still the only man you respond to this way.” It isn’t a question, but a fact. The way the corner of Asa’s mouth curls up has my stomach clenching.
I know he’s right, but I stubbornly look him in the eye and don’t respond. Asa leans forward and kisses my neck. When I feel his hands cup the back of my head, I expose the column of my neck, and he gently bites on the exposed skin before he soothes the burn with his tongue and mouth.
Just like I knew he would.
“Do you still hate me?” he asks against my neck.
“I hate you with everythin’ inside of me,” I hiss. But my body shakes because he’s right, damnit, I know he’s right.
Asa shakes his head and stares at my body, his eyes lingering on my breasts. “You hate what we are.”
I shake my head, and in retaliation, he, once again, bites my neck. I know tomorrow I’ll have a mark. I know this is one more step in branding me as his.
With a gentle push against his shoulders, Asa stops and looks at me.
I can’t wait any longer. I need him right now. I rise up on my knees. My hands are on Asa’s shoulders for support. Anticipation makes the corner of my mouth lift up as I look into his eyes. For once, he looks away, unable to meet my gaze.
I’m not nervous. I’m not scared. I’m confident and ready. This isn’t my first time with Asa Calhoun.
I wonder if confidence grows with the one you genuinely love. It has to. Because it’s only like this with Asa.
With him, I try less because you know more.
Knowledge is power in this world. Why shouldn’t the same apply to love?
I know everything about this man’s body. I’ve learned what he likes and doesn’t. Blood hums through my veins with anticipation.
For right now, there’s no going slow. It’s been far too long since I’ve been this intimate, this connected with Asa. I slide down his length with ease, and when I’ve taken every inch of him, I move my hips.
Asa hisses and closes his eyes. “God damn,” he barks.
His hands move to my hips, pressing into my skin. Asa tries to control my movements, and the pace, but I intercept his hands and place them on the settee while I slowly move up and down.
“Is this what you want?” A savage gleam in his eyes.
Rather than answering him, I look down at our connected bodies and back to his face. It’s pulled taut as he tries to control himself. The hands he keeps bunched at my waist, hold onto the material of my dress so tightly his veins jut out from beneath his skin.
With my forehead touching his, I whisper, “Tu m’as manqué.”
Asa shifts his head, eyes blazing. When our lips are a hair’s breadth apart, I pull back. My hands find their way inside his shirt. I touch his bare shoulders, knead his muscles, and touch his defined biceps before moving back up to his neck.
“Do you still love me?” he demands.
I hear him. I just refuse to answer such a preposterous question. He’s had a hold of my heart since I was a little girl.
I will never love another person as I love him.
“Do you love me?” I breathe.
His mouth opens. Not a sound comes out. I darkly smirk. Of course not.
I slow my movements, and when I reach the base of his cock, I gyrate my hips. Sweat collects on his temple and his eyes are hooded as he watches me move. “My God, Nathalie. What do you want? I’ll give it to you,” he pants.
I rise up, and smoothly slide down the length of him before I answer. “You know what I want.”
Asa reaches out for me, but I move back. The action taking him deeper into me. “I can’t do that!”
“Can’t or won’t?” I counter.
I sit back in his arms, my hands moving to his face, staring into his eyes, while overwhelming emotions swirl inside of me.
“I need you. I need you so much.”
Asa repeats those words and I’m held captive, only nodding; I am so swollen and desperate for relief, my body tightly clings to him. Every move aches, but I rise to my knees and slide back down. I hold my whimpers to myself, as Asa continues to fight for control. I move faster, knowing I should prolong the torture. I’ve been waiting years to be this close to Asa, and I know the chance for us to ever be together like this again is slim.
As my undulating begins to quicken, Asa abruptly stands, gripping me beneath the buttocks. The action takes me by surprise, but I wrap my legs and arms around him.
He makes his way across the room. What I feel next is the mattress beneath me.
Asa stands, pulling out of me. The absence makes me cry out, but Asa’s only taking the rest of his clothes off. I quickly follow his lead and remove what’s left of my dress. It slides down my legs and lands next to Asa’s pants and shirt. I shed my drawers and garters and begin to work on the laces of my corset. I must not work fast enough for Asa because he kneels beside me and swats my hand away.
“How tight is this?” he mutters.
Between his legs, his cock proudly juts out, still wet from me.
“Stop starin’ at me,” Asa says, his eyes on the corset strings.
“You’re naked,” I say with a grin.
Asa finishes untying the corset. The moment he does, the garment falls back onto the bed. I take a deep breath. And then Asa grabs a fist full of my chemise and rips it in half.
I stare down at the torn material in shock.
“You’re naked,” he says with a wicked grin.
Before I can say a word, he wraps his arms around me. I fall onto the bed. Feeling him, skin to skin, is better than I can describe. He begins to kiss me, and I brush my nipples against his chest, loving the friction. This close to him and I’m hyperaware of every action we make.
Asa lifts his head, eyes slightly glazed. “You can’t do that.”
“Why not?” I whisper as I rub against him. “We already started.”
Asa drops his forehead between my breasts and takes a deep shuddering breath. He rests his weight on one elbow, and I watch as he grabs himself with one hand and smoothly slides back into me.
I’m wet from before, but I still feel unprepared. Breathing deep, I tilt my head back. As Asa moves above me, he grabs my hands and places them above my head.
“I’ve thought about this for years.”
His words and actions elicit a moan from me. I wrap my legs around him and urge him to move faster, because I know I won’t last long; I know I am close to losing control.
I watch as Asa smoothly thrusts in and out of me, and the tension continues to build in me. “Faster,” I pant.
Asa goes at the same pace as though he doesn’t hear me. “Every bird needs a home, a place to sleep at night,” he whispers. His speed begins to increase. I suck in a sharp breath.
“They may not stay there for all the seasons. But in the winter, they need a place to stay warm.”
I try to listen to his words, but the tempo increases and the pressure deep inside me becomes too much. My feet move against the sheets as I frantically move against Asa.
Then, there’s nothing but heat bursting through me. “Asa!” I cry out and grip his shoulders.
He lets free everything he’s been holding back and moves so fast, our skin slaps together. I hold onto him, my body moving with every thrust. And shortly after, Asa squeezes my hands. “Christ!” he roars.