Captive Bride (The Secret Bride 1)

I need to block out all else and focus on Ember. Focus on giving this poor girl a memory that is good. I don’t want another first to be stolen from her. I don’t know why that is so important to me, but it is. She didn’t get the firsts in life, and now that I get to be part of one, I am determined to make it a good one.

And as we kiss, my body awakens, and I want to be inside of her. But I refuse to rush this.

I run my hand over her breasts with the finest touch. I keep my eyes open as I do, watching her face for any sign of distress. But instead, I see her eyes close, her lips open, and ever so slightly, she arches her back to meet my touch. I then trail my fingertips down her belly, inching my way to the space between her legs. I want to see how far I can go before she panics and asks me to stop.

She never does.

Her body’s hungry. Needy for touch and affection.

I look at the dress and have no idea how to go about removing it. The buttons are on the back.

“Can you help me get you out of this dress?” I lean down and kiss her softly one more time to try to calm any nerves in her body with the idea of getting naked in front of me. “I’ll take my clothes off too.”

I need to remove all the barriers because I know she doesn’t have the experience or confidence to do it herself or even aid me. She watches me with wide eyes as I lift my shirt over my head revealing my bare chest and abs.

I pause before I move to my pants. “Are you okay with this?”

She nods with more enthusiasm than I’ve seen and licks her lips again. I try not to smirk and reveal that her face is easy to read. She’d be an awful poker player.

I unbutton and remove my pants completely and kneel before her on the mattress. Her eyes refuse to look down at my dick, and I consider making her but remember how she believed she was so sinful before for stealing a peek. Instead, I turn her around so that I can begin unbuttoning the line of pearl buttons that run from neck to waist.

“You looked beautiful in this dress,” I say as she holds up her hair so I can see each pearl.

“Thank you,” she says softly.

When the buttons are undone, I lower the fabric slowly off her shoulders and kiss a trail as I do. I haven’t kissed a woman’s shoulders as I undress her ever before.

I’m not a gentle man in bed. In fact, I can be downright aggressive and nearly primal. The women don’t complain, in fact, they can be just as animalistic as me.

But with Ember, I want to be easy and soft.

I want to treat her like the candle of bright light she is, and make sure I don’t put out the flame. The flicker of heat from her skin, connecting with my lips nearly makes me explode with a hunger to claim her as mine.

I don’t want anyone else to touch her. I don’t want anyone to harm her, or scare her, or abuse her in any way. I want to hold her close like fine china to be handled with the utmost care.

Once all our clothes are shed, I lower her back to the bed and place my body over hers. I don’t want to frighten her with too much foreplay and foreign acts that she may not be aware of yet. But I also know she isn’t ready for me to just take her.

“I don’t want this to hurt,” I say as I lower my mouth to her lips and kiss her again. “So, I’m going to get you ready with my fingers. I’m going to touch you in a very intimate way if that’s okay?”

Would I ever say these words to a woman I was dating or hooking up with? Hell no. In fact, it would probably kill the mood. But Ember was different. She needed this. She needed the steps and the instructions, or I was going to scare the living shit out of her.

I reposition my body so I can reach between her legs more comfortably. I plan to really take my time allowing her body to wake up to arousal. When my fingers touch her pussy, I’m surprised to find her wet. Her tiny moan gives me the permission I need to start massaging the delicate flesh.

“I’m going to put my finger inside of you,” I say as I kiss her neck and slightly nibble.

She doesn’t answer but nods as I take notice that her breath is coming out more labored and her body tenses as my fingers stroke and spread her lips wide.