InsistentHunger (28 page)

Paige opened her mouth to make some smart-ass remark about
him being a bit of a masochist, but the words stuck in her throat as she looked
at his face. He bit his lip and he was clearly concentrating hard. Given the
bulge in his pants, Paige could guess what he wanted to do. However, he held
himself still as Paige traced a meandering path through the rips and slits in
his shirt. She followed the damage across his chest and stomach. He had so much
strength in his body, and still, it hadn’t been enough against that woman. A
tendril of fear drifted through Paige’s awareness.

“Shhh. Don’t worry about it,” Brady said. He ran his hand up
the center of her stomach until his fingers slipped just under the band of her
bra. He held his hand there for a long time, his breathing ragged. “I’m so
sorry I dragged you into this.”

“The alternative is you up in Psycho’s bed,” Paige pointed
out. The look of disgust on his face made her laugh. She leaned down to kiss
him playfully on the nose, but he tilted his head up at the last second.

Their lips touched and she brushed a chaste kiss across his
lips and then sat up. He watched her with hungry eyes. He didn’t even try to
hide his desire and that was about the sexiest thing in the world. Age and
average genes meant that not many men looked at her the way Brady did. It made
her even more concerned about not hurting him.

Paige rested her hand against his chest, right over a long
scratch. He smiled up at her. “It’s fine,” he vowed. “Stop worrying about me,
Silver.” He had a gruff tone, but he reached up and stroked the back of a
finger across her cheek. “As a man, I like to think I’m invincible.”

“You’re not,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, yeah. Leave me one or two fantasies here, okay?” His
smile sent another shiver through her. He traced the lines on the back of her
hand, his eyes following the path his finger took as he stroked her.

“Brady only liked you.” It was an odd thing to say. For a
moment, Paige could only look at him in confusion. He looked up and gave her a
small smile and again stroked her cheek. “I love you. I love that you came for
me even though I was an idiot. I love that you’ve put up with all this
weirdness. I love your strength and your issues and the way you look about
ready to murder someone when you get really mad.” For a moment he was silent.
When she didn’t have a reply, he pulled his hand back.

Catching his hand in hers, Paige took a deep breath and
struggled to control a rising tide of lust. Well, maybe not control as much as
just slow down. She’d wanted him and he was here and willing. And maybe he was
feeding from her lust, stealing years from the end of her life. She figured she
wasn’t going to be using them. However, she didn’t want to focus on that right
now.

She wanted to focus on other things. More pleasant things.
Sliding her hand up Brady’s thigh, she paused, her fingertips pressing against
the growing bulge in his pants. She could hear his breath growing heavy and
uneven as she moved to massage the soft skin of his inner thigh.

“I love that you’re willing to trust me despite my issues,”
she confessed. It wasn’t a word she used very often, at least not once she’d
left her teen years behind. Brady’s hand stroked her arm before reaching out to
finger the strap of her bra. His silence asked permission and Paige arched her
back and leaned closer. That was all the invitation he needed. Wrapping strong
arms around her, he unhooked her bra. For a moment, he paused with his hand
against her lower back.

With a smile, Paige sat up and pulled the bra off, dropping
it in the same pile with her shirt. Strong fingers caressed her neck and then
stroked through her hair. “You smell good,” he whispered.

Paige turned, angling her body toward him. She also might
have sucked in her stomach just a little. He brought his other hand up to
stroke her cheek and Paige caught his wrist, holding him for a second. He was
so strong. Yet his arm yielded to her pressure. She pressed his hand down until
it rested against her hip. Only then did she reach up and cup his face between
her hands.

“No regrets,” she ordered him in a whisper.

“You’ll be fine. If I thought anything else, I would never—”

She stopped him by leaning close and kissing him. His lips
parted under hers and his body arched up under her. His erection was an unmistakable
swelling between his legs. He wanted her and she only had to push him hard
enough to make his brain short-circuit. God knows he’d made her brain melt last
time. So she just had to push him hard enough that he took what he needed.

Even now, she could feel her fears fade in the face of
growing desire. A strong hand tangled in her hair and Paige shifted closer, her
pussy wet in anticipation. She would blame middle-age hormones, some perverted
early menopause or something, but she only wanted Brady. Only Brady’s touch
turned her skin to fire. Even now, she squirmed to reach the button of her
pants because she was fever-hot.

His hand caressed her, slipping down over her shoulder
before settling at the small of her back.

With a needy moan, Paige pulled back. Brady’s head rose,
seeking to keep their contact, but after an inch, he relented and settled his
head back down on the pillows. His hand, however, explored her curves. A thumb
traced the edge of her hip. His fingers brushed the underside of her breast. She
allowed him a moment to explore. Her back arched in pleasure at even the
simple, gentle touches. However, she needed more. When his fingers brushed over
her hard nipple, Paige captured his wrist and pushed it down toward her crotch.

He yielded to each gesture. His fingers worked at the button
she’d failed to open. Meanwhile, she slid her hands down to open his shirt. He
watched. The shirt was shredded, the ripped edges stained with blood, and she
didn’t want to think about that. She wanted to focus on her Brady.

He was her underdog—her warrior who had fought so hard for
her. He was also a damn good kisser. When his last button finally fell open,
she leaned in for another kiss. His lips moved under hers, his tongue slipping
in to explore. She opened her mouth more and he responded, his kisses growing
hungrier. His strong hands pulled her closer and she caught him by the back of
the neck and shifted to throw one leg over his lap. Release. She found herself
sinking into the pure release of pleasure where she didn’t have to worry about
anything at all.

He made a small cry, either of pain from the weight on his
cock or of need—she didn’t know. She pressed closer, her own body demanding
movement, screaming for it. Brady’s hands left her and he squirmed out of his
shirt and threw it to the side without ending the kiss. Now Paige could run her
hands up his arms and feel the strong muscles just under the smooth skin. There
was a sense of power under her—sheer contained strength between her knees, and
she rocked forward and back, need growing to a point that she was uncomfortably
hot.

She pulled herself away, gasping for air as she got
lightheaded. Brady tugged at her, encouraging her to return. For a moment, she
resisted. Closing her eyes, she wallowed in the pleasure of the heat soaking
into her. Then she leaned closer, still sucking in hungry breaths of air.
Instead of starting another air-robbing kiss, Brady gently placed his lips on
the hollow of her neck and gave her a small kiss before nuzzling her neck.

A shiver went through Paige. A vampire had kissed her neck
and yet she found she trusted him. She hadn’t felt that way about other lovers,
and Brady was so strong—he could hurt her so much if he wanted, and yet his
lips brushed tenderly over her heated skin.

His hands came up to roll a nipple between strong fingers.
She gasped and dug her fingers into his shoulders. She might trust him, but she
was going to kill him if he didn’t start moving a little faster. She rocked her
hips, urging him on. Brady’s hands slipped down over her curves and rested on
the waist of her pants in a silent request for permission.

“Yes,” Paige hissed. She ran her fingers through his thick
hair and leaned forward so he could get her pants off. His fingers were quick
and nimble despite their size. With an enthralled expression, Brady traced one
finger down the center of her spine before following the line down over her
hole and to the sensitive skin hidden between her hole and her pussy. The slow
torture made Paige gasp and her body jerked as the need quickly overrode any
other thought.

Her pussy was so hot and wet that she ached. “Too much?”
Brady asked, his finger hesitating just on the edge of her pussy.

“Not enough,” she growled. “I’m not a fucking china doll you
can break.” Paige didn’t point out that she was going to fucking kill him if he
didn’t get moving. Her body was starving. He gave her another of his boyish
smiles and let his hands reach up to cup her breasts. His expression bordered
on awe as he let his hands caress over her bare skin. His eyes fell half-closed
and then he leaned in to lick tentatively at a nipple, the moisture cooling the
nipple so fast that it hardened almost painfully.

Before he could do the same on the other side, Paige caught
Brady’s chin and tilted it up so she could kiss him again.

His hot mouth tasted of salt and musk. Paige pressed against
his shoulders without ending the kiss. Even though she didn’t have a fraction
of his strength, Brady yielded again. He settled back onto the bed, his hands
at her hips for a moment before they roamed across her bare skin. His slow,
reverent touch made Paige ache even more. Never before had her body been so
hungry for a man’s touch. She could feel this slow build of pure need that
filled her belly.

Pulling back from the kiss, she panted as she struggled to
regain some control over herself. Beneath her, Brady gasped for air and the
heat of each breath skittered across her shoulder. “Naked would be good,” Paige
managed to say. Her heart pounded as though she’d been running and she could
feel her wet pussy cooling in the chilly air. She definitely knew how to fix
that.

“Naked would be great,” Brady corrected her. He arched his
back, lifting her easily so that he could reach the button on his pants. He
fumbled at it for a moment before opening the zipper. Then his hard erection
pressed up, tenting his white underwear.

Brady pressed his palm against her waist and then slid his
hands down. His eyes drifted shut and Paige arched her back in pleasure as his
rough hands stroked her body. Fingers explored her curled bush, teasing at the
very tip of her slit while leaving her clit untouched.

She wanted more.

She wanted him to fill her—stretch her and scratch the itch
that was starting to annoy her. However, she wanted this slow torture to last.
She liked the feel of her whole body hot and tight and aching. She liked
feeling alive. She could feel her whole body awakening, like she’d slept
through the rest of her life. She felt too big for her body, like if she
stretched enough, she might slip out of the cocoon.

Brady’s hand slid down over the round of her ass. Paige
braced her hands on either side of Brady’s head and she stared down at him. His
split lip was whole now. His amber eyes came open and considered her, waiting
for some sign.

Paige leaned closer and his lips parted in an invitation to
kiss. Instead, Paige took his lower lip in her teeth and then pulled back,
carefully pulling at the sensitive skin as she scraped her teeth across it.
Brady cried out and thrust up into the air, throwing Paige off balance so that
she fell on him, her chest pinning his face to the bed. He lay quietly under
her, a soft chuckle vibrating through her.

“Ass,” she complained softly even as he stroked her flanks,
his desperation clear in the way his body twitched under her.

Pushing herself back up, she tried to glare at him, but she
couldn’t. Her lips twitched up into a smile and his fingers pressed into her
sides hard enough to be just a little painful. He wanted to be thrusting into
her and she’d done this to him. She’d taken this careful warrior, this ethical
man, and reduced him to someone who could barely contain his need.

Kicking her legs, she pushed her pants the rest of the way
off and then sat up, her thighs still straddling Brady’s legs. She was hot. Too
hot. But still, she wanted more heat—more touch. Brady’s hands fondled her legs
as she pulled at his jeans. She never would have gotten them off except that he
dug his heels into the bed and lifted both of them easily. Then she slipped the
jeans and underwear down, revealing a hard erection that was already purpling
with need.

With one finger, Paige stroked the cock from the base up to
the thick head. Brady threw his head back and made an inarticulate cry as his
hands flew wide. He fisted the sheets and she could practically taste his need
to grab her. He wanted to. He wanted to so very much, but instead he lay under
her, almost patiently.

Digging his heels into the bed again, he shoved his body up
so that he was farther on the bed and Paige rode the movement. Beneath her,
muscles gathered and strained. It was like riding one of the horses from the
farm—all carefully controlled power and beauty. She wanted to end the torture,
to ride him until they both came hard, their bodies slick with sweat. But at the
same time, she wanted to live inside this moment. Right now, nothing mattered.

She didn’t feel confused or hurt or afraid. Right now she
just felt alive and she wanted to draw this moment out like taffy, to stretch
it until it lasted the rest of her life.

Brady’s hands came back to rest against her thighs and Paige
shifted up so that her wet clit was pressed against the underside of Brady’s
cock. It twitched and Paige could feel her own body strain against the
all-consuming need. Bracing her hands against Brady’s shoulders, Paige lifted
herself up to her knees and then started settling down on his cock. He was
large enough that she could feel her body stretch. Like a good morning stretch,
it woke up muscles and made her body hungry to move.