She stilled, staring up at him, eyes not filled with desire as they’d been seconds earlier but a distinct wariness he’d put there.
“Talk to me,” he said, capturing a tear as it dripped down her face by licking it with his tongue.
She smiled a little, something he counted as a win, but she immediately shut down again, her expression closed and tight. “You were about to ask about birth control, right?” she asked.
He nodded.
She met his gaze head on. “I know it’s not like before, but last time you were so furious with me when you did. I guess I flashed back and needed to get away.”
In that instant, viewing the damage he’d done to her young psyche up close and personal, Tyler hated himself. But he couldn’t change the past; he could only fix the future. “I screwed that up badly,” he admitted. “But I need you to focus on the present, not the past. Can you do that?” Did she even still want to?
She blew out a shaky breath. “I can. And I’m still on birth control.”
He knew what that truth cost her to say out loud. “Good.” He brushed her damp face with his thumb. “I don’t screw around all that often, and when I do, I use protection. That and I make sure to have a physical, so yeah. I’m clean. But the choice about a condom is up to you.”
She studied his face as if searching for something. What, he didn’t know, and in the wake of the silence, he heard himself continuing. “I never fuck without one, but I have to admit I want to feel your slick pussy coating my dick without protection. I want you to replace all those bad memories with new, fresh ones so you’ll never doubt yourself again.”
“Tyler.” She said his name on a breathy moan, blinking up at him, those damp eyes suddenly glazing over again with desire. “I want that too,” she admitted. “More than anything.”
And that made him feel like a fucking king. He’d conquered their painful past and her fears. He didn’t kid himself that her trust would last, her issues went too deep for a quick fix, but he’d keep her here in bed, and that’s all he wanted for right now.
“And I promise I’m safe too.”
He never had any doubt. Now he had to bring her back to a state of such extreme need she wouldn’t think anymore, only feel. He leaned down and pulled one nipple into his mouth, swirling the tip around, grazing with his teeth, until she was writhing beneath him. Her hips moved in endless circles, her slick moisture coating his cock.
Her hips jerked, and she grabbed his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin, marking him. Branding him. He wanted nothing more than to thrust up and inside her, and from her frantic moans and the way she thrashed beneath him—from nipple play alone—he had her back where he wanted her.
He leaned back and took his cock in his hand, pumping from base to tip. Pre-come coated his dick and fire raced through his body. Holding on, he rubbed his erection over her clit, tapping hard, his gaze alternating from her pussy to her face, contorted in ecstasy, and she was only partially there. He intended to take her the rest of the way.
“You ready, sweet girl?”
She bent her knees, a low moan escaping her throat.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Keep your eyes on me. I want you to see my face as I take you.”
Pretty hazel eyes locked on his, glazed and eager. That was the look he’d memorize and keep with him when they were apart.
“This is me, wanting you,” he said, easing his cock into her tight sex. “Needing you.” He pushed in farther, careful with her body and even more protective of her heart. “Not regretting a thing,” he said, taking her completely.
Her slick walls clamped around him tightly, cushioning him in heat, pulsing with desire. For him. He forced his gaze to focus and caught the light in her eyes as he slid out and back in, harder and deeper with each thrust.
“Tyler, God. Again.” She bent her knees and locked her legs around his back, pulling him so deep he saw stars. Like a teenager, he wasn’t going to last, and he didn’t give a shit as long as he took her over with him.
She cried out as he pounded into her, and he accepted her cries, swallowing them with his mouth. Breathing her in. Owning her. Changing him forever.
Because sex was easy. Sex, at least until now, didn’t involve a lot of thinking about the other person’s feelings. It was physical and led to mutual pleasure and needed release. This wasn’t sex. With Ella, it was more. He felt it in his gut and in his core.
He slammed home, grinding himself against her sex, over and over, her soft cries growing louder, causing his body to tighten and grow ever harder. His balls drew up, his brain shorted out, but somehow he held off as she clawed at his shoulders and her body convulsed around him. He pulled muscles in his arms and shoulders, waiting not only for her to finish but so he could change positions, shift his hips, and bring her to climax a second time.
Only then did he let go, allowing his orgasm to consume him, burning him from the inside out. He spilled himself inside her, losing himself to her soft body and warm heart.
* * *
Ella could barely catch her breath. She’d never had such fabulous, explosive sex before in her life. She’d never felt as though she were the center of someone’s world before either. If his goal had really been to replace those bad memories, he’d done a damn good job.
She shivered and was grateful when Tyler rolled off her with a satisfied groan, afraid she’d get too used to his big body cushioning hers in all that heat and comfort.