N. Walters - Finding Chrissten

Hank was close to coming but he grabbed the sheets to anchor him, wanting to prolong the moment, even though he knew it wouldn’t last nearly long enough. His need for Chrissten went beyond civilized boundaries and crossed over into the dark possessive side of his nature. With every breath he took he inhaled the sweet womanly smell of Chrissten. It was no longer tainted with the dark spices of Brian. She was well and truly free of the bastard.

His instinct was to claim her. Now. Before some other male did.

He fought the compulsion. She deserved much better than that. She deserved to choose her mate. Or to remain single if she wished. She’d already had too many choices taken from her.

She looked so incredibly beautiful sitting on him, her long golden hair flowing down her back, her eyes slightly glazed with passion. The bandages on her wrists and several pale scars were the only physical reminders of her ordeal. The mental scars were another thing altogether. They tended to go deeper, to fester. He didn’t want that for her.

Her hands rested on his chest as she rose and fell on his cock. Every time he squeezed back inside her slick pussy he thought he would come. She surrounded him like slick, warm honey, gripping and releasing him in a rhythmic dance of pleasure.

Her breasts swayed as she moved and the red-tipped mounds hypnotized him. She had beautiful breasts, full without being too large. And her nipples, which were normally like velvet, were puckered into raspberry-red nubs, beckoning him to taste.

He pushed himself up onto his hands and took one of the delectable nipples into his mouth. Chrissten gasped and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him closer. She continued to ride him, slowly circling her hips, moving an inch or two up or down at any given time.

Her wetness surrounded him, her body a feast for his senses. Her sweet perfume coated him, her sighs and moans were music to his ears and her skin was spicy and warm against his tongue. He kept his eyes wide open. He could watch her forever. She was so graceful, so incredibly beautiful.

He wanted her flat on her back. He longed to taste her now that her scent was free from Brian’s taint. But this wasn’t about him. Not this time. This was about Chrissten. She needed to understand that she could trust him. No way did he want to do anything that might frighten her. She was still so fragile.

He wrapped his hands around her ribcage to anchor himself. She was still too thin. Whether she knew it or not, Chrissten needed time to recover. She was on the right road but she wasn’t there yet. He’d seen signs of the intelligent, independent woman she was and knew she would be a force to be reckoned with when she was one hundred percent. He couldn’t wait to see her that way.

The sound of their ragged breathing filled the room. Beyond it were the sounds of the city coming awake. Hank heard footsteps in the outer hallway. They didn’t stop outside his apartment door.

He didn’t care who was up and about as long as they stayed out of his place and far away from this room. He released her nipple and kissed his way over to the other, giving it the same treatment. He licked and sucked, nibbled and tasted.

“Hank.” His name was little more than a breathy sigh. He loved the sound of it on her lips.

“Hmm,” he replied. He didn’t want to release the sweet nub he was sucking on to answer her. It tasted better than candy.

“More.”

He gave her nipple one final pull with his lips and let her go. He dropped his head back to the pillow, gripped her hips and began to thrust. He pulled her down to meet him with each arch of his hips.

She was whimpering now, making soft, sexy sounds that had his balls pulling up tight against his body. “Come for me,” he commanded. She had to come soon. He couldn’t last beyond one or two more strokes.

Chrissten closed her eyes, threw her head back and moaned. Her inner muscles gripped him hard, spasming around his cock as she found her release. He came immediately, spurting deep into her core. She milked him until he had nothing left to give her.

When she swayed and began to fall, he caught her and lowered her onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She was his life and his heart, and he had no idea if she was going to stay with him or walk away.

He closed his eyes, breathed in her unique scent and held on to her.

An hour later, Chrissten sat at a small table down in the bar with her brothers. They’d asked to talk with her as soon as she’d come downstairs. Hank was upstairs in the shower. She’d taken her shower first, needing time to herself to assimilate everything that had happened. When Hank headed to the bathroom to clean up, she’d quickly dressed and sneaked downstairs, not quite ready to have the conversation she knew they’d have to have.

Right now she wanted to savor the sense of well being filling her. She was finally free. Everyone involved with her abduction was dead. She was no longer mated. Her life was her own.

Not only that, but she’d also made love to Hank. That was definitely something to smile about. She knew she couldn’t hide from the truth forever, knew they had to discuss the direction of their relationship to see if they were both on the same wavelength. She was afraid that Hank felt a sense of responsibility for her along with a deep sexual need. It could be the basis of a relationship, but Chrissten was quickly learning she wanted more.

“Are you even listening to me?” Quinn’s sharp question brought her back to the conversation at hand.

“Yes. Sorry about that.” She was doubly glad she’d showered and changed before coming downstairs. Quinn would have smelled Hank all over her if she hadn’t. As it was, any lingering smell could be explained away by the fact they’d slept in the same bed.

Just thinking about it made her skin tingle.

“Chrissten?” Impatience tinged Quinn’s voice.

“What?” she snapped back.

“We need to make some plans.” He glanced at the bar and Michael, who was currently counting liquor bottles and jotting notations on a clipboard.

“What kind of plans?” She knew what was coming and it made her stomach ache to even think about it.

“Where we want to live? What we’re going to do?”

Chrissten rubbed her finger over a nonexistent spot marring the tabletop. She didn’t want to leave Hank, but she also had to be realistic. This wasn’t her home. It wasn’t Quinn’s or Craig’s home either. “Do you have any ideas?” Quinn always had ideas.

Quinn glanced at Craig, who took up the reins of the conversation. Once again, she was struck by how much older her younger brother appeared. He was no longer a teenager. His wire-rimmed glasses made him appear studious, but he was more than bookish. Beneath his baggy clothing was a man beginning to fill out with muscle. He’d grown up so much while she was gone.

She blinked back useless tears and forced herself to listen to him. “We have money, so that’s not a problem.”

She frowned, not understanding. “How? I mean, I certainly haven’t contributed to the family funds in almost two years, you’re only two years out of high school and Quinn’s spent the past eighteen months running with paranormal bounty hunters. They don’t exactly pay wages. From what Quinn told me, they pay expenses and little more.”

Craig removed his glasses, polished them and shoved them back on. “I kinda invested the money mom left us.”

“What?” Their mother had left a small ten-thousand-dollar nest egg for them when she’d died. Her insurance policy had covered her funeral, outstanding bills and left them with the small inheritance. They’d vowed to keep it strictly for emergencies.

Craig shrugged. “I started small. I couldn’t exactly get a high-paying job with nothing more than a high-school education. Plus, I spent a lot of time working on stuff to help Quinn find you.”