Loving an Ugly Beast (8 page)

The truth was Byron’s glibness never appealed to her the same way Benton’s quiet strength and strong presence did.

Nissa placed gentle hands on either side of his face and turned it towards her own. “Benton,” she said, voice low but firm. “Look at me. Don’t turn me away now.”

He didn’t take his head out of her hold, but his eyes would not meet hers. “I’m sorry.”

The
wrongness
of the words hit her hard. She blinked several times, trying to process them, but they still made no sense. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m sorry I took him away from you, and now it’s just me.”

The words were a sucker punch, leaving her reeling, unable to breathe as his features took on a cast of shame and sorrow. “Do you hear what you are saying? You’re
apologizing
for giving up this gift in order to save me? Benton, you gave me my life last night. I owe you everything.”

He shook his head, the movement not hard or fast enough to dislodge her hands. “You owe nothing. I would give anything for you.”

“Why? Because I’m your friend?” He still wouldn’t look at her, but he did not move away from her either.

A friend? Yes, he was her friend, but this went beyond friendship. This went beyond anything she had ever dared hope. Nissa continued. “No, that’s not it. You courted me as Byron. You could have had any woman in the village, or better yet, you could have traveled and explored and met a new woman in every port. But you stayed by my side.”

And finally he looked at her. Those amazing eyes were so soft, so clear. He was bare to her, open to her as he’d never been before. “That was all I wanted.”

Her heart beat so fast it was a miracle it didn’t punch through her chest. The man she had loved, the man she
lusted
over, committed everything he was to her. Her, not a beauty and not in any way special. He loved her for her.

Just the way she loved him, how she always loved him. She loved him because he was scarred, and because he was anti-social, and because he was the most honorable man with a core of integrity nothing could break. What was a pretty face compared to those?

And this man chose her.

She wanted to giggle. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to dance around the cabin and throw flowers through the air in celebration.

Benton’s chest expanded on an inhale, the muscles bunching in quick movement, and desire hit her hard, curling itself through her stomach and wrapping around her lungs and heart, slowing them both as desire flowed through her veins.

But more than anything, Nissa wanted this man. She wanted him now, inside her. She wanted his strength used not to protect her but to pleasure her. And she wanted him for the rest of her life.

Nissa leaned closer, her mouth inches away from his ear and blowing hot air against the sensitive skin. “What was your wish, Benton?”

His eyes half closed and a small shudder ran through him at the sensation, his voice a hoarse and broken thing as he answered her. “I wished the beast away. I thought that was the way to get you to love me.”

She smiled and leaned her head against him, forehead against the side of his head, breathing in his scent, another reminder he was back. He was an idiot. She was an idiot. All the time wasted. “Why didn’t you ask me how I felt about Benton before you changed yourself to Byron?”

But why talk anymore? It was preventing her from getting him naked, and that needed to happen now. Before he could answer she ducked her head so her mouth followed the line of his throat and employed little tugs and nibbles at the rough skin. There was the movement of his Adam’s apple under her teeth, and then his voice, low and growly, came forth. “Didn’t think there was a need.”

This was heaven. This was completion. Time for her tongue to come out and play again, dipping into the hollow of his throat. “You thought wrong, Benton. I’ve been lusting after you for months. That last day we were together, when you came to get me, all bare-chested and glistening with sweat? I nearly knocked you over and attacked you right then. I was shaking I wanted so badly to be in your bed.”

He groaned then, either because of her words or her tongue, and grabbed her face with his hands. He brought her mouth to his and thrust his tongue into her mouth, the action like everything Benton did, strong and sure and without hesitation. He took her over, overpowering any objections. His tongue slid along hers as his hands wrapped in her hair, using the leverage to adjust her enough that he could deepen the kiss.

There was no gentle flare of responding heat. Her body went to an instant conflagration, desire and want pooling into every square inch.

His fingernails scraped over her scalp and down her neck, the small pain making her growl and press her mouth harder against his. He moaned into their kiss, and she thrust her tongue into his mouth in a deliberate attempt to mimic what she wanted him to do with her body. His uneven groan told her he understood.

Clothes needed to start coming off. No matter what they were doing now, Benton would not touch her, not after last night. She needed to take the lead on this one.

His clothing first. After months of dreaming, damned if she was going to wait any longer to see those legs or that fine ass.

His shirt was only half-buttoned, and she pulled the shirt down his arms. She paused when he was exposed to her once again. She might have seen this before, but this time she could touch, could lick, could suck – and she was going to do all that and more. He was hers.

Placing her palms on his chest, she memorized the feel of him, her strokes firm enough to not tickle but light enough to keep a teasing edge. His breathing was rapid, gasps and groans, as she finally explored him the way she’d desired for so long.

She leaned forward, her tongue sliding along the indent in the middle of his stomach. His muscles bunched under her wandering mouth, involuntary jumps that told her how much she was affecting him.

“Nissa,” he said. He was panting, his breaths short and sharp.

“Shh, Benton. I’ve wanted to play like this so long. You wouldn’t deny me, would you?” She looked up and locked eyes with him, and with a small smile she hoped was more than a bit devilish, she ran the flat of her tongue over his covered cock.

Evidently he
would
deny her, because almost the second she finished he hauled her up and pressed her hard against his body as his mouth attacked hers again.

She pulled back. “I’m still wearing my blouse. Should I remedy that?”

His eyes brightened at her words, but he held his body still. “Are you sure? I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

Nissa caressed his lower lip with the tip of her finger. “If you hadn’t disappeared those weeks ago I’d have already been under you. I’ve waited long enough.” With that she stepped back and in a swift, sure move pulled her top free, leaving her bare.

Once naked uncertainty slammed into her. He was seeing her in all her glorious imperfection.

But the reverent light in his eyes soothed away her doubt. “You are perfect,” he said, his hands cupping the slight weight of her breasts. His hands squeezed, the rough palms scraping over her sensitive nipples. Desire clawed through her insides and a breathy moan tore from her throat. “You are so responsive, and you feel so good. I couldn’t imagine anyone more perfect.”

Others might find his eyes frightening, but right now they were the most beloved sight in her world, filled with love, caring, and sincerity as they were, and all of it directed at her. She stretched up to kiss the scars lining his face. He took a half-step back before he stilled and leaned closer, allowing her mouth to ghost over the matrix of scar tissue.

Her movements were slow and controlled and she didn’t leave a speck of skin unkissed. “Does that mean when I say you’re perfect for me, you won’t argue anymore?”

The corner of Benton’s mouth tilted up. “We’re two perfect people.”

“Damned straight.” She bit her bottom lip, rubbing her pelvis against the hard bulge in his pants. “I don’t think anything could be more perfect than that.”

Chapter Eight

“Nissaaa,” he ground out, taking his hands away from the sweet weight of her breasts and using them instead to anchor her hips. “Move like that again and you’ll have a mess.”

Those damned teeth nibbled at her lip the way he was tempted to do. “I like messy. I thought you knew that about me.”

He shook his head, not able to match her levity, not when one more brush of her hand would bring him to his knees. “I’m too close.”

With that, a big grin spread over her face. “Maybe you should let me finish playing and get this first one out of the way.” Her hands reached out to cup his balls and squeeze through the material of his pants, and the reality was far better than any fantasy he’d ever had.

He rocked into her hand even as he forced the words out. “Don’t want to come without you.”

Nissa pressed her chest against his, bare skin to bare skin. She leaned down to kiss his chest. “Seems to me you’re going to come first no matter what,” she said, slowly making her way down with both her breasts and her mouth firm against his skin. “If you do it now, then later, when you are finally inside me—” and here she nipped the skin right above his pants, “-you’ll be able to hold on until I’m satisfied.”

He was panting while he watched her fingers undo his fastenings and start to pull the trousers over his hips. “That sounds wise.”

“I’m so glad you see things my way.” The fabric pulled free, and his cock, hard and proud, sprung up.

The look on her face was something between amusement and amazement. “If I knew this was what you were hiding, I would have seduced you months ago.” But the amusement faded slightly and her eyebrows furrowed. She looked up at him. “Would I have been welcomed?”

He stroked her face, marveling at the softness of her skin. “Yes.”

“Since when have you started fantasizing about us?”

His eyes followed the line of his finger, which currently traced over the bump in her nose. “Since our second reading lesson.”

“That long?” Shock colored her voice. He didn’t speak, but she must have seen the small nod he gave because humor laced her voice once again. “Of course you did. You do seem like the type to have a naughty teacher fantasy.”

Laughter escaped him, unexpected considering what they were doing, but welcome. This was normal, her teasing and him loving her. This was right.

Her hand wrapped around him, turning laughter into a groan. Her voice took on a note of authority. “Benton, you haven’t been studying hard enough. I think I need to motivate you in a different way.” And her mouth engulfed him.

He had to lock his knees so as not to fall at the feel of the wet warmth surrounding him. Nissa’s movements were awkward and stilted, her unfamiliarity evident in how she handled him. But while her skills were lacking, her joy in the act was evident. She looked at him, her gaze curious, searching as though she was trying to discover what pleased him.

That enthusiasm hardened him quicker than any practiced movement, and soon his balls were drawing tight, ready to unleash. “Nissa, let go.”

She did, a question and a small hurt in her beautiful eyes, but he was too close to explain. Taking himself in hand it took only a few short strokes. He aimed at her chest, marking her with his cum, his groans bouncing off the walls.

He collapsed, his knees too wobbly to continue to support his weight. Nissa reached out to run her hands through his hair, bringing her mouth against his in a long, languid kiss. “Did you enjoy that?”

He nodded. “Amazing.” Stroking a strand of hair behind her ear, he said, “I didn’t want to surprise you.”

She glanced down to the drying fluid still marking her. With slow movements, she rubbed her finger through the mess, spreading it over more of her body before bringing her finger to her mouth and tasting it. The movements were so sensual Benton was getting hard far sooner than he should have been able.

“Salty and a little bitter, but not horrible like some women have described.”

He nuzzled her neck. “You talk about this?”

“How else are we supposed to learn? Don’t men talk about this stuff?”

“No. They hire prostitutes.”

She stilled while she considered his words, then burst out laughing. “I’m not going to a prostitute for any tips, so you have to resign yourself to me using you for practice until I master giving blowjobs.”

“I’ll suffer.”

Nissa pressed a kiss to his temple. “Sorry to break the mood, but can I clean this off me now?”

“Stay here.” He left for only a moment, coming back with a damp towel. She stood and he cleaned her with quick movements, drying her just as fast. Once that was done, his hands went to her skirt. He looked to her for confirmation.

She smiled at him, and with that permission he removed the last of her clothing, baring her to his gaze.

Perfect. Just perfect.

“You going to just look all night, or are you going to do something about it?”

“I’ll show you what I’ll do.” With no warning he lifted her up and hauled her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Nissa squealed as he settled her, then smacked his ass. “Benton, put me down.” The words were out of her mouth when she was dropped onto the soft down mattress. “Benton!”

He followed her down, stretching over her and fitting skin against skin. “You said to drop you.”

“Not quite.” She poked him in the rib, but he grabbed her hand and brought her finger to his mouth, nibbling on the tender skin.

Her eyes glazed over as he worked from her finger down to her palm, swiping his tongue against the pulse point in her wrist. “That’s what I heard.” He continued to her inside elbow, alternating between nibbling and sucking the sensitive skin.

“Umm,” she tried, but once he arrived at the juncture where her neck and shoulder met she gave up on the conversation, moaning as she threw her head back instead.

He explored her breast, playing with the sensitive nipples. Her breasts might be small, but they were responsive. Her hips arched if he so much as brushed them.