Break Me Slowly (Shattered 1)

“You’re smiling,” he rasped.

“When you kissed me at the restaurant…later that night I could see it.” I trailed my fingertips over his cheek. “My lips were swollen and my chin tingled from your stubble.” I gathered his face in both my palms and looked at those amazing blue eyes. “I loved feeling you long after you left.”

He ran his thumb along my chin. He gently pushed, causing my mouth to open slightly. Without warning, he thrust his tongue inside. I moaned at the carnal way he devoured my mouth. He tasted like fresh mint and crisp wine. He kicked the door shut with his foot. The action rushed another dose of wetness between my legs. He was slow, but intense. There was a methodical intent behind his passion. I wasn’t sure what side I’d get, but I was so ready for anything he would give me.

He pulled back just enough to look at my face. Without saying anything, he trailed his palms up my sides, to my shoulders and neck. He cupped my face in both hands. I stared, dazed. My whole body felt like smoldering Jell-O.

“I like that you trust me,” he said.

It didn’t make sense, but my body seemed to recognize him. My mind definitely registered that he was dangerous, but in a way very different from anything I’d ever encountered. Somewhere, deep down, I was calmer when his hands were on me than when they weren’t.

I craved him, wanted him, but at the same time, I didn’t like what was happening to me. The vulnerability was creeping up. I stood, literally in his hands, to do with as he wanted. I didn’t fight it. Emotions were firing and I let them. Let myself fall hard and fast and everything in my body was screaming to keep going.

Damn the consequences and damn tomorrow.

“I hear your mind working,” he murmured against my mouth. I grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him with all the force I had.

I debated telling him that I was a virgin, but decided against it. This wasn’t a conquest or a way to guilt him or myself into something it wasn’t. This was going to be sex. Functional. A means to an end. I could do this and come out on the other end just fine. Then this hurdle in my life would have been conquered and hopefully I would be able to handle these kinds of feelings with more control.

Good. The plan was good and had a purpose. But this couldn’t be sweet and gentle because the moment I slowed down, I started thinking too much—thinking about how I’d feel once Adam left. How I’d handle it if—when—he disappeared completely from my life. He was not the kind of man who could be contained in a long-term relationship. The numerous photos of him with random women were a blatant indicator of that.

I had chosen Adam, but clinging to him more than I already was? Not smart.

I was tired of holding back. If I wanted to be treated like a woman, I needed to act like one. Besides, he had been clear at the restaurant. Despite my feelings or how I had come to want him over this last week, I needed to remember what Adam had said.

The man wanted to f**k?

Then that’s what he’d get.

I gripped his crisp shirt in my fists and ripped it open. Buttons went flying and Adam growled.

“That’s how you want to play this, Katelyn?” He pushed me backward. The backs of my knees hit the edge of the mattress and I fell back on the bed. I smiled. This was more like it. No more gentle. No more emotion.

He remove the rest of his shirt. Good Lord, the man was a god. Lean, hard muscle roped from his chest to his abdomen. My eyes followed the small trail of dark hair that started just below his belly button. I wanted to lick the entire length of him.

His blue eyes burned bright against the darkness and when he unclasped his belt, those chiseled stomach muscles flexed even more.

“You’re staring, Katelyn.” He removed his pants and finally, he stood, gloriously naked in all his masculine perfection.

A flare of alarm skated through me. He was big. I knew this. I’d had an up-close encounter with his c**k at his office, but seeing him like this, all hard and naked, that erection jutting past his navel, demanding attention—I groaned at the sight.

He reached forward and his hands dove beneath my dress and snagged my panties. He yanked them down and off. Holding my black thong in his fist, he peered down at me. “Spread those creamy thighs and show me.”

His words hit me hard. Nervousness didn’t begin to grasp what was flowing through me. Heading into territory where I had no idea what I was doing weighed heavily on my confidence. But if I didn’t get a grip, he’d know I was less than experienced. I didn’t want to face that kind of awkward conversation. I would pretend that I had done this several times—with several men. As though I were a healthy, normal twenty-three-year-old woman who’d had lovers, and heartbreaks, and meaningful connections.

“Don’t get shy on me now, Katelyn.” He palmed one knee and jerked it open. My dress gathered at my hips and I was completely exposed from the waist down.

Adam hissed in a breath, and the grip he had on my panties tightened. “Touch yourself. Show me how wet you are.”

I swallowed hard and trailed my hand to my sex. I dipped my middle finger to my opening. Wow, I was damp.

“Make use of your hands now, because soon you won’t be able to.”

I stroked a tentative circle around my clit, then paused.

“Again,” he bit out.

I obeyed, but this time, didn’t stop.

“Good girl.” His gaze was riveted on my movements. “Dip your finger lower, inside.”

My breathing sped up. Adam’s eyes fixed on my face. When I pressed my fingertip inside, my lips parted on a strangled breath. For Adam to watch me masturbate was too much. I was about to come just from his words and his eyes on me.

“All the way in, Katelyn,” he grated. He was running a fist up and down his length. I sat there dazed and awestruck. He was gorgeous. His muscles tightened, his biceps flexed as he stroked himself.

“I want you.” The words left my mouth before I could think better of them.

“Then do as I say.” He lifted his chin. “Sink your finger all the way inside that sweet pu**y of yours.”

I swallowed hard and did as he said.

“Good. Are you ready for me?”

I nodded eagerly.

“Let me see.”

I withdrew my finger and showed him. Adam’s grip on his c**k stilled.

“No. You’re not nearly wet enough.”

He reached forward and gathered my hands in front of me. He took my panties and stretched them around my wrists, binding them together. “Now put them over your head.”