Cassie poured every ounce of the love she felt for Flynn into their kiss.
Pain throbbed just beneath the surface of her skin for all that he’d suffered. For all the guilt he carried inside. For the shame he hadn’t been able to shed as easily as his real name and childhood history.
She wouldn’t hide how deeply she hurt on his behalf in the future. But tonight, what he needed wasn’t a reminder of darkness. He needed light. He needed joy.
And if all those layers of pain, of shame, of guilt, made it impossible tonight for him not only to hear, but to fully believe her when she said I love you, then she would say it to him another way. With her lips on his, and her hands caressing his skin, and her body pressed against his.
All her worries that she wasn’t enough for him, that she wasn’t as pretty as his model girlfriends, now seemed utterly pointless. It was long past time for both of them to know that they were more than enough, not only for each other, but within themselves too.
Her brother and sisters had said she didn’t give herself enough credit. It turned out they were right.
She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
And she wasn’t going to let Flynn do it anymore either.
Deeply certain of how good they were going to be together, even if their road to forever might be riddled with bumps, she smiled against his lips. He must have felt it, because he drew back.
“You make me smile,” she told him. And soon, she hoped to see him smiling again too. “You also make me feel like I’m wearing way too many clothes.”
Holding his gaze, she bunched the bottom of his T-shirt that she was wearing in her hands, then pulled it over her head and tossed it aside. Soon, his sweatpants were lying in a pile at her feet. Leaving her wearing only her sexy bra and panty set that matched her nail color.
Though he simply stood and stared, she knew without a doubt how much he wanted her from the way his eyes had gone dark. From the way he clenched his hands at his sides. And from his heart pounding against her open palm, hard and fast, when she laid her hand on the center of his chest.
“Anything you want,” she said softly, “I want too.” She wouldn’t force anything on him, though. Wouldn’t take away any of his personal power, when so much had already been taken from him. “But if you don’t want to make love to me, I won’t—”
“I do.” He covered her hand with his, barely leashed power radiating from his touch. “I’ve never wanted anything more than I want to make love to you. But I would never forgive myself if I hurt you.”
“You would never hurt me.” It was as much a fundamental truth as the fact that he would never do anything to hurt Ruby.
“You deserve a gentle lover. And I want you too much to be gentle.”
Her lips turned up again as she closed the distance between them, pressing the length of her body against his. “I don’t want gentle. I want you.”
* * *
Flynn had never thought he’d be so close to heaven…or that getting there would put him on the precipice of hell.
Because as she stood, so radiant, in front of him, how could he do anything but reach for her…and tear the red silk and lace clean off her gorgeous skin?
He didn’t realize what he’d done until he looked down and saw the fabric in his hands. Only the sound of her laughter stopped him from begging for her forgiveness.
“I knew sex with you would be amazing.”
He could barely wrap his head around the fact that his sweet candymaker actually liked it when he tore off her clothes. Just as he could hardly believe the vision of beauty before him.
“You’re the one who’s amazing.” His words were hushed. “You’re just as beautiful as I dreamed you’d be.”
Her curves were beyond luscious, her skin the prettiest peaches and cream. There was no way he could have stopped himself from dropping the fabric to the floor and reaching for her soft skin.
He curled his hands around her hips to pull her against him, then lowered his mouth to hers for a lingering kiss. Savoring, relishing the sounds of pleasure she made as he stroked his tongue over hers, the way she moaned softly when he nipped lightly at her lower lip.
He might not be able to give her the perfect forever she dreamed of, no matter her faith in him, but at the very least, he could give her pleasure. Breathlessly intense bliss that he vowed would be beyond anything she’d ever known before.
Lifting her into his arms, he kissed her as he carried her to the couch. He waited until the very last second to lift his lips from hers as he lowered her to the leather, then knelt on the rug between her thighs.
“I want to taste every inch of you.” He pressed his mouth to the crook of her neck. “I want to find out what makes you moan. What makes you gasp. What makes you cry out with pleasure.” He nipped at her ear before adding, “What makes you come apart.”
“Yes. I want all of that too.”
Again and again, it blew his mind that the most wonderful woman in the world—not to mention the sexiest—could want him.
He threaded his hands into her hair and kissed her again, knowing he’d never get enough of her sweet mouth. Slowly, he ran kisses along her jawline, down the sensitive skin of her neck, then over the curve of her shoulder. Feeling her shiver as he dipped his tongue into the hollow of her collarbone, he did it again, loving the way she tightened her grip around his waist as she instinctively pulled him in tighter between her legs.
Her skin was impossibly soft as he stroked, as he caressed, as he worshipped her curves, her hollows, her peaks, her valleys. She arched into his touch without fear or reservation—and with a smile. The smile that had captivated him from the first.
A smile that turned into a gasp as he curved his hands around her full breasts.
She wasn’t the only one losing her breath as he cupped the soft flesh, then slid his thumbs over the taut peaks. Lowering his mouth to one breast, he feathered his breath over one aroused tip, then licked out against her.
A low moan came from her throat as her hands slid into his hair. “Flynn.”
Giving her pleasure was the greatest pleasure he’d ever known. Miles beyond anything he’d ever experienced before. He couldn’t begin to imagine how good it would be when she climaxed.
Just thinking of it had him tightening his lips over her. In response, she pulled him closer to the heat of her body. Every taste he had of her only made him want more—and made him more desperate to give her the ultimate pleasure.
Control spiraled away as he cupped her breasts and feasted on her. Her moans gave way to cries of pleasure, and from the way she was rocking her hips against him, he knew he wasn’t the only one who needed more.
His heart nearly pounded out of his chest in anticipation of more. In anticipation of slick heat and even louder cries of ecstasy.
Forcing himself to go slowly, he ran kisses down from her breasts, over her stomach and hips. “So beautiful,” he murmured against her flushed skin.
She kept her curves mostly hidden beneath loose-fitting clothes and aprons, and though he wanted her to celebrate her beauty, to be totally honest he was glad that there were few other people who knew her the way he did. Cassie was a sexy, hourglass goddess. One who outshone every Hollywood star, every supermodel.
With his mouth barely above her sex, he gripped her hips and lifted her to him. The first taste nearly broke him. By the second, he was completely lost in her, his self-control destroyed.
He couldn’t remember to be gentle as he thrust with his tongue, again and again, deeper and faster, until the first tremors started to run through her.
In a flash, he replaced his mouth with his hand as he moved over her on the couch. He needed to see her face when he brought her over the edge. Needed to know for sure that he had finally brought her some joy.
Her eyes had been closed, her head thrown back, as she undulated against him. But as she reached for him to thread her fingers into his hair, she opened her eyes and stared into his.
“I love you,” she whispered, then brought his mouth down to hers. And as she unabashedly gave him every ounce of her pleasure, the smile on her lips as she kissed him made him smile too.