More Than Protect You: A More Than Words Novella Read online

I smile as I spin her around and drop my stare. My mouth goes dry. My palms clutch her. “Which fills my hands perfectly, too. I’m going to love hanging on to this while I’m on top of you, driving you to orgasm.”

  She shudders as I turn her to face me again. “I want that.”

  “I want to make you feel good.” About her choice, her body, and her sexuality. About us.

  Mandy skates her palm up my chest and wraps her arms around my neck. “I want to make you feel good, too. Tell me what you like.”

  “You. Everything about you. Let’s not analyze this, baby. Let’s just let it happen, okay?”

  She nods. “Okay, but you’re overdressed.”

  I’m fully dressed, and that’s by design. If my clothes start coming off now, things will heat up too quickly. Instinct tells me not to rush her. Barclay never appreciated her or savored her. I refuse to make his mistake because I’m too impatient.

  “I’ll get naked when the time is right. Now…” I drop my hands to her hips and start easing her panties down her thighs.

  When they reach her ankles, she steps out and kicks them away. I hear her swallow.

  There’s a thin dusting of light brown hair shielding her naked pussy. I gape at how gorgeous she is everywhere, but here in particular. She’s pink and plump and juicy. Swollen. Aroused, despite the fact I’ve barely touched her.

  “This…” I cup her mound in my hand. “This is where I want my mouth.”

  Her breath catches. “Please.”

  She begs sweetly. That kind of thing has never turned me on before. But now? My blood is firing. I’m itching to get my hands all over her. My mouth is watering for a taste.

  Maybe as time goes on, I really am getting more caveman. Or maybe I’m finally realizing what I’ve wanted all along—someone soft and sweet who sees sex as a celebration of us. And maybe I’m finally admitting who I am now that I’ve found someone who appreciates that I’m all man.

  “Open for me.” I swipe my thumb across her bottom lip.

  Mandy complies as her lashes flutter shut. I dip my head, cover her mouth…and lose myself in her sweetness. She wraps her arms around my neck and presses her body against me, lighting me up even more. Thank god the bed is right behind her, and all I have to do is guide her down to it.

  She tumbles back softly, never breaking our kiss. But I need to make sure she’s fully with me, so I lift my head and brush skeins of her pale hair from her face. “Baby?”

  “I want you.”

  I kiss her throat, her cheeks, her forehead, breathing her in all the while. Then her mouth lures me back, and I cover it with mine, addicted to her honeyed flavor. As I sink into our kiss, she clings tighter. Her breath picks up pace. She arches up, and her legs part beneath me.

  Holy hell.

  “I’m trying to take this slow.”

  “I know and I appreciate it.” She nips at my bottom lip as she wraps one of her thighs around my leg. “But I want you now. I’ve been without you all my life, and I need to make up for lost time.”

  She’s right. That fact hits me between the eyes. Every moment of every day we have is precious, and we’ve both wasted years on dead ends. Our future starts now.

  “Mandy, baby, I’m going to love you…” I tear my shirt over my head and toss it across the room.

  Pressing my bare chest to hers is so electric. The sizzle ripples through my whole body and burns me. Passion grips me by the throat. I seize her mouth, stroking her with my tongue as I let my hands wander her body, worshipping her small waist before gripping her hips and lifting her up against my aching cock.

  She tears her lips free with a groan, tossing her head back with a whimper. “Tanner…”

  As she exposes her throat to me, I claim every inch of her skin with my kiss, then work my way to her collarbones, drift down to the upper swells of her breasts…until I’m hovering over one of her peaked nipples. “I’m going to suck this into my mouth.”

  “Yes.”

  “Hard. I’m going to lick it and prod it and drag it deep.”

  “Please,” she pants.

  “Then I’ll start all over, until you feel the stroke of my mouth all the way through your body.”

  “Hurry.”

  Then her nails are in my shoulders, urging me on. My body keeps taking over, squeezing her hips and pressing my khaki-covered erection against her pussy. In response, she breathes harder—and parts her legs wider.

  Fuck, this is getting hot fast. But she opened the door to our passion, and now I can’t close it. I can’t pretend that I don’t need to light her on fire. I can’t not wish like fuck that I was already inside her.

  Then I do exactly what I spelled out. I dip my head and all but inhale her nipple. It’s taut and gets even harder the moment my lips surround it. My tongue follows, curling, swirling, prodding and licking until her cheeks pinken. Until her breathing sounds choppy. Until she’s undulating beneath me and silently begging for more.

  When I pull back, she gasps in protest and tightens her leg around me. “No!”

  “Shh. Yes,” I insist as I dip my head to her other nipple and draw it into my mouth.

  As I pull deep, Mandy arches. A moan escapes her lips. Then she melts back into the bed. “Yes…”

  I focus on the first nipple again, relishing every sigh, cry, and whimper until her fingertips wander my body, until her hips wriggle restlessly, until I feel her heart beating furiously against mine.

  Then I start making my way down her body, dragging my lips over the plane of her stomach. Her workout efforts are obvious, but so is her softness. The signs pregnancy left on her body somehow arouse me more, maybe because it’s obvious she’s fertile. I can’t deny that the idea of her growing our children inside her does something to me. It’s not purely sexual, though that idea turns me on. But it’s about knowing we’d be tangling our blood, hearts, and lives to create the next generation we would raise on love.

  Fuck, I’m getting awfully philosophical for a man about to get a first taste of his woman’s pussy, but when I lower my shoulders between her thighs and her nails find their way to my scalp, the desire to make that a reality overwhelms me. So I focus on the here and now, loving the way she doesn’t try to hide her need for me. She simply pulls me closer, opens for me more, and gives a long, high-pitched cry as my tongue swipes up her furrow before settling over her clit.

  “Tanner!”

  Everything about her response lights me on fire, especially the way she wants me. I part her with my thumbs and open her, tasting her again, drawing in her hidden sweetness. Then I try to press a pair of fingers inside her, finagling and working the digits into her tight, clenched cunt until she finally lets me in.

  “How long has it been?”

  She opens her eyes enough for me to see the uncertainty. “More than a year and a half.”

  Since she discovered she was pregnant with Oliver.

  I keep sliding my fingers through her tight flesh, stroking, working, softening. “It’s going to be good. I promise.”

  “It already is,” she keens.

  Smiling, I taste her again, lingering, savoring, loving her essence on my tongue and her cries in my ears. Minutes slide by as I lose myself in everything Mandy, bringing her up slowly until she’s tensing, her thighs trembling, her breathing heavy.

  “Tanner…”

  “Baby,” I murmur against her pussy. “You’re so sweet.”

  “Please.”

  The sight of her fist bunched around the blanket and the rosy hue of arousal spreading up her chest tells me she’s close. “What do you feel?”

  “It’s… I can’t…” She gasps when I swirl my tongue around her again. “Oh, my god.”

  I keep licking her, from her entrance to her clit, lingering over the sensitive button, then rub it mercilessly with my thumb. “This pussy is mine.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re mine.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ll give me more whenever I want i
t.”

  “Yes.” She nods emphatically. “I will. I promise.”

  No denying I’ve wanted sex—but I need Mandy. She’s strong enough to take care of herself and her son when she needs to…but soft enough to let me take care of her when I crave it.

  How can I not reward that?

  I drag her clit into my mouth and suck it before lashing it with my tongue again. I don’t relent until she stiffens, clutches me tight, and releases.

  When the pleasure hits, her eyes clench shut. She wails out a strangled cry. Her entire body ripples and shudders with satisfaction. Then a fine sheen of perspiration covers her. A rosy flush consumes her skin. And she flops back to the mattress, boneless, panting…and smiling.

  “Wow.”

  “I need you, Mandy.” She’s the only cure for my fever, and if I don’t get inside her soon, I’ll burn alive.

  As she licks her lips, she nods earnestly—then spreads her legs wider. “I don’t want to wait anymore. I’m here.”

  “You on the pill?” I attack the zipper of my shorts.

  “No.”

  I’m not surprised, just momentarily frustrated that I can’t simply work my way inside her and stroke us both to mutual screaming orgasm. But her not being on the pill now means she’ll get pregnant more quickly once we’ve committed to each other and found an even financial footing.

  With a nod, I withdraw the box of condoms I slipped into the nightstand drawer earlier and tear into it. I stand just long enough to kick my shorts and boxers aside, then roll on the latex. Then I’m back on the bed, scooping her thighs up in my arms and covering her body with my own as I probe her slick, swollen opening.

  She’s tight, but the rest of her is relaxed and open to me as I hold her legs apart. So slowly my teeth grit, she gives way to me an excruciating inch at a time. When she tenses and her breath hitches, I stop, ease back, then slowly inch forward again. Over and over. It seems to take forever to submerge my length inside her, but finally I push my cock deep, all the way to the base.

  It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt, and a long, low groan slips from my throat.

  Mandy lets out a breathy sigh and stares up at me with eyes so blue they seem to glow. “Oh, my god.”

  “You feel so good.” I inch out and glide back in, smooth and easy. “Any pain?”

  “It stings—in a good way. Like you’re stretching me.”

  I press my hips forward, penetrating her even deeper. “Now?”

  She gasps, then wriggles on me with a shake of her head. “No. It’s so good. Do that again. You’re hitting some spot inside me…”

  Yeah, I am. I feel her enveloping me, closing and squeezing me tight. My sensitive head bumps and brushes against something that adds another tingle down my spine.

  It’s great, but I want more.

  Grabbing one of the bed pillows, I settle it under her backside, lifting her hips.

  “What are you doing?” she asks.

  I don’t explain. I just let our bodies do the talking, tipping her hips up even more—then I drive straight down.

  “Oh!” She blinks at me, gaping. When I do it again, she lets out another breathy moan. “Yes. More…”

  “Wrap your legs around me, Mandy.”

  She complies, and with my hands free I slide my palms up her arms until I’m tangling her fingers with my own. I press our foreheads together and close my eyes, stroking her deep and slow.

  Everything about our joining is so intimate. I feel her everywhere—under me, clenching me, hugging me, gripping for dear life. I smell her scent, that hint of flowers that always seems to waft around her. I feel her harsh, steady breaths on my lips. More important, I feel her wonder and her pleasure so deeply I swear I can feel her soul, too.

  “Tanner…”

  “What do you need?”

  Under me, she writhes. “Faster.”

  “Not yet.”

  “But I need… It burns.”

  She’s right; I feel it, too. Just like I feel her tightening around me. “Let it build.”

  “But—”

  I cut off her protest with a kiss, diving every bit as deep into her mouth as I do into her pussy. Then I settle into a slow, driving rhythm, relishing the feel of her clinging all around me and the sounds of her passion rising.

  Soon, her tongue seeks mine as her hips lift to me. Under me, she’s hot, like she’s burning with fever. Her fingers grip my hands even tighter, her nails beginning to dig in. Then her breathing stutters. Her breaths become a mix of pants and whimpers. Her thighs tighten on me.

  Yeah, she’s close again. And thank fuck because I don’t know how much longer I can hold out when she feels this damn good.

  Mandy tears her mouth free. “Tanner, please!”

  “Still burning, baby?”

  She nods emphatically. “I need it. It’s never been… I’ve never felt…oh, this. Yes.”

  “That’s it. Almost there, and it’s going to be so good.”

  I know that because sensations are skittering down my spine. The same burn she’s fighting heats my blood and fires the rest of me. This orgasm is building, steadily, quickly, monumentally. When it comes, it’s going to blow away every notion I’ve ever had of pleasure and leave me wanting only Mandy. I’ll do anything—everything—to have her under me, open to me, and crying out for me for the rest of my life.

  “Tanner. I’m begging. Please!”

  “And god, I love it.” I ease back on the depth and pace of my strokes, holding her orgasm hostage just a bit longer. “Give me more, baby…and I’ll give you more.”

  Her gaze tangles with mine. Desperation lights her eyes. Her body undulates beneath me. Despite the fact she’s biting her lush lower lip, she still can’t hold all her whimpers in. “You can’t leave me like this. I just need…”

  “A little more?”

  “Yes.” Her fingernails dig deeper into my hand. “Yes. Please…”

  I love hearing her plead. Maybe that means I’m messed up or something, but hearing Mandy beg for more of me and my touch does amazing things to my libido. I haven’t felt really wanted in years. Ellie’s sex drive definitely fell off a cliff once she realized there would be no children, and I haven’t let myself be this intimately involved in someone’s pleasure since. Sure, we fucked. But it was nothing like this. What I’m sharing now with Mandy is unlike anything I’ve imagined or felt.

  Sliding my cheek against hers, I press my lips to her ear, then ease deep inside her again. “Fuck, your begging turns me on.”

  “Please…”

  Her next words devolve into whimpers. She tries to wrap her arms around me, but I hold her down. She can’t distract me now. I want her to feel every sensation I’m dying to give her.

  Our stares meet again, and I fuse them together as I stretch our joined hands high above her head and press her into the mattress. Slowly, I withdraw again, this time almost completely.

  “No. No… No! You can’t—” More whimpers ensue and her skin turns rosier.

  She’s right on the edge. I feel her clenching on me tighter than ever. I hear it in her breathing. It’s clear from her keening need.

  I love ramping Mandy up and keeping her on edge. I have a feeling this is something I’ll want to do to her again and again, not only for the sheer mind-fuck, but because I know it’s going to make her orgasm cataclysmic. That’s worth all the suffering on my end, too.

  But I can’t hold out much longer, not when everything about her is undoing me so utterly.

  “I won’t stop,” I assure her with gritted teeth. “You want more? Harder? Now?”

  “Yes!” She grinds up against me. “Yes. Now!”

  “Baby…” I release her hands and clamp them around her hips, moving her with me stroke for stroke as I pick up the pace to something pounding and swift.

  Her eyes widen. Her nails dig into my back. Her pussy tightens. The bed shakes and moans. Then she lets loose a sharp, hoarse cry as her entire body jolts and shudders under me.


  It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever experienced—and there’s no way I can stave off the ecstasy mainlining through my veins and setting every cell and nerve ending ablaze. The orgasm hits next, felling me with a sucker punch of satisfaction that rips away all control and leaves me shaking in the aftermath of something too incredible to name.

  Beneath me, Mandy can’t seem to catch her breath, but she still finds a way to worship me with her soft, sweet lips across my shoulder and up my neck before she’s pressing a soft, exhausted buss against my mouth.

  “Oh, wow…” she pants out. “I’ve never felt anything… I had no idea.”

  “Same.” I manage to prop myself up on unsteady arms, despite feeling totally like a noodle. “That was amazing.”

  “Beyond.”

  I turn to look at the clock on the nightstand. “We’ve got over three hours before we have to pick Oliver up. Should we do that again?”

  Mandy sends me a loopy grin. “Can you?”

  Reluctantly, I pull from the heaven of her pussy and rise to trash my condom. As I turn and head back to the bed, I imagine having her on top of me, being deep, deep inside of her and watching her breasts bounce and jiggle as I wring multiple orgasms from her, then flipping her onto all fours and fucking her from behind until she begs for mercy I don’t have. By the time I reach her, I’m hard as steel again.

  I grab another condom. “I can if you can.”

  Her smile widens as she spreads herself open for me in invitation. “Yes, please.”

  After donning the latex, I plunge inside her again. As she gasps, I roll to my back, taking her with me, and positioning her on top. “You set the pace this time.”

  She does, and it’s slow as molasses. Holy fuck, she’s going to undo me—and I’m going to love it.

  “You feel incredible,” she pants out. “I want to do this with you forever.”

  With a fist in her hair, I urge her down until our faces are inches apart. “That’s the plan, baby.”

  Chapter Ten

  We stayed in bed the entire afternoon, indulging in a third round of lovemaking, before finally forcing ourselves apart with a last, lingering kiss. We showered until the water ran cold, then hustled into our clothes and out the door before heading back to Harlow and Noah’s place.