Timid (Lark Cove Book 2)

Fuck. How was I supposed to resist her?

Never had a woman stared at me the way Willa did. She looked at me like I was a king. The adoration in her eyes had nothing to do with my face or body. She saw straight to my center, and it was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.

“You’re sure?”

A playful smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “I’m sure.”

Planning a special night at a hotel was ancient history now. Thea’s ordeal tonight had scared me enough to abandon those plans. Why hold off the good moments when bad ones were around every corner?

And if Willa wanted me here, in her own bed, then tonight was good enough for me.

I crushed my lips down on hers, swallowing her yelp of surprise. She must have been expecting me to put up more of a fight.

But what she couldn’t know was that I’d been fighting this for weeks. I didn’t have the strength to wait any longer. There was only so much a guy could take and she’d worn my resolve thinner than my threadbare T-shirt—the one she was tugging out of my jeans as my tongue devoured her mouth.

I groaned as she pressed in closer, her stomach pressing against my throbbing dick.

Her hands slipped between us, going right for the button on my jeans. The shyness she’d had with me on our first date had disappeared over the last couple of weeks. She’d grown bolder, more comfortable with my hands on her body.

When she came, she made the hottest damn noises I’d ever heard. She didn’t hold back her moans or stifle her cries. Hell, two nights ago when I’d gone down on her, I’d thought for sure she’d wake up the whole neighborhood.

It had taken every bit of willpower not to sink into her tight, wet heat. Tonight, I wouldn’t have to pull back. I wouldn’t have to walk home with an aching cock just to get myself off in the shower as I imagined how Willa’s pussy felt around me.

Tonight, I’d make this good for the both of us.

She worked the button free on my jeans and went for the zipper, but before she could pull it down, I reached between us and captured her hands, breaking off our kiss.

“What?” she panted. Her eyes were hooded as she looked up at me, confused. “I thought—”

“In a minute.” I dropped my forehead to hers. “I don’t want to rush through it.”

“Oh, okay.” She nodded, her cheeks flushed and her lips a shade darker than their normal pink. She worried the bottom one between her teeth.

Willa may have grown bolder when it came to our physical activities, but perhaps she was getting too deep in unfamiliar waters. I wanted her in control of how fast we took things, and there was no doubt she wanted all of me tonight. But there was also no doubt she was ready for me to take the helm.

“I, um . . .” She trailed off as she walked over to the end table next to her bed. Just the sight of her next to her mattress made me weak.

Don’t fuck this up. Do not fuck this up.

I had one shot to make this experience special for her.

I wasn’t going to fuck it up.

She turned to face me with a shy smile on her mouth. From the nightstand, she lifted out a box of condoms. “I bought these.”

Damn it. I should have told her I’d already taken care of the condoms. Buying them couldn’t have been easy for her. I crossed over into her bedroom and took the box from her hands, tossing it onto the bed behind her.

“I want to talk to you about something.”

Her forehead creased. “What?”

“I want this to feel good for you.” I ran my knuckles over her cheek. “Don’t feel pressured to say yes, but I got tested a couple of weeks ago. I’m clean. And I’ve never not used a condom. So if you’re okay with it, then I don’t want anything between us.”

She nodded fast. “I’m on the pill.”

“I know.” I grinned. “I kind of snooped in your bathroom one night.”

I’d known this would eventually happen and I hadn’t wanted to put her at any risk. So I’d driven up to Kalispell and gotten myself tested right after our first date. I’d also picked up my own box of condoms in case she wasn’t willing to take that chance.

“This is your decision. If you want the added protection, I’m fine with that.”

She dropped her eyes, taking a moment to think it over, then she shook her head and looked back up. “No, I trust you.”

I wasn’t sure why.

I’d messed up for years, not giving her the attention she deserved. Then I’d blown her first kiss. She had to know that before this was over, I’d fuck up at least a dozen more times. But still, she trusted me and it meant the world.

I trusted her too. I’d never gone without a condom, no matter how many times women had begged me to go bare. I’d provided the protection. Always.

Except for now.

Willa was special. She was the exception to all my rules, because with her, there was no need to guard myself against manipulation or deception.

She was the type of woman who did things the right way. In the right order. Date. Engagement. Fancy wedding. Her dad would walk her down the aisle and her mom would cry as they shared their father-daughter dance. After she was married, her husband would buy her a puppy. Then they’d have kids.

Since that guy—whoever he was—would be getting those moments, I was taking this one.

“Jackson?” Willa’s sweet voice snapped me out of my head. “Are you okay?”

I smiled, shaking off the uneasy feeling in my gut. “Never better.”

Dipping low, I gave her a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth, trailing my lips along her cheek to her ear. Her entire body trembled whenever I kissed her ear, so I captured an earlobe between my teeth, tugging at it before letting it go to drag my tongue up the curved shell.

“Gosh,” she breathed.

My arms banded around her back, pulling her flush against my body as I returned to her mouth. I went at her with full force, using every trick I had to leave her breathless.

Our chests were heaving against one another’s when I finally unglued myself from her mouth. When had simple kissing gotten so damn good? Her tongue twisting with mine was enough to get me so worked up I could blow at any second. “God, Willa.”

“Don’t change your mind,” she pleaded, assuming I’d stopped for a different reason.

I grinned. “I won’t.”

Loosening my arms, I slid my hands down her sides and picked her up, laying her down on the bed. Then I swatted the box of condoms away.

She sat up and gripped the hem of her hoodie, but I stopped her. “Let me. Just close your eyes.”

“Okay.” Her hands shook as she dropped her shirt and lay back on the bed.

“It’s all right to be nervous,” I told her as I slid off her flip-flops.

“I’m not.” She lifted her head, locking her gaze with mine. “I’m not nervous. Not with you.”

She had so much faith in me—more than I deserved.

Do not fuck this up.

“Close your eyes.”

She nodded, lying back down on the white quilt with her blond hair spread out to the sides. When her eyes drifted closed, I ran my hands slowly up her legs. The tremors in her body increased as I skated up her thighs toward the waistband of her jeans.

While my fingers undid the button, I swung up on the bed, straddling her knees as I loomed over her. She smiled when my weight hit the bed but kept her eyes closed like I’d ordered.

“God, you’re beautiful.”

She smiled wider, proving my point.

I undid her jeans and peeled them off her lean legs. Then I tossed them on the floor and feasted my eyes on her red lace panties.

Her sexy-as-fuck lingerie had shocked the hell out of me at first. I’d expected to find prim and proper white, cotton briefs under Willa’s sundresses. But my woman was always in lace or silk. Sometimes she wore bikinis and other times a thong. No matter what color her panties were, her bras always matched.

Undressing her was like opening a present.

I didn’t know if the underwear was for me, but I didn’t care. If she did it to make herself feel pretty, I’d gladly be the guy who got to enjoy it too.

“Are you wet for me, babe?” I ran a finger over the gusset of her panties, making her squirm. “You’re wet.”

But she’d need to be wetter for me to fit. I went for the hem of her hoodie, pulling it up her ribs, making sure my knuckles raked across her creamy skin as I pulled it up. I grinned when I got a glimpse of her red bra. It had lace cups, like her panties, and her hard nipples were pink and puckered underneath. I lowered my mouth, sucking one into my mouth, lace and all.

“Jackson,” Willa moaned, her hands coming to my head.

Those sounds she made drove me wild. We’d been getting pretty hot and heavy these last couple of weeks and I’d worked hard to get to know her body.

Our foreplay wasn’t just about putting in my due diligence to get the prize. It was about worshiping her body so she could trust me with it. It was about discovering her tells so I’d know when I hit the right spots.

I abandoned one nipple, moving toward the next, dropping kisses along her sternum as I did. After giving her other nipple some attention, I trailed my mouth down, kissing at the soft swells of her breasts. I kissed at the sensitive skin over her ribs because it made her breath catch. Then I kissed down the softness of her stomach, lingering on her belly button for just a moment because I loved how it made her hum.

Willa’s hips pivoted back and forth, searching as I slowly went lower. I kissed down her mound, then like I’d done with her nipples, I sucked her clit into my mouth through her panties.

“Oh my god,” she cried, nearly bucking off the bed.

I smiled, rubbing her bud with the tip of my nose. She didn’t usually say god. She said gosh or goodness. I’d laughed my ass off when she’d let a golly gee slip once.

She said god when I had my mouth on her.

Wanting to see her bare, I leaned back and tugged at her panties, pulling them down her hips. As soon as I got them to her knees, she kicked them off and sent them shooting to the floor.

“Be patient.” I chuckled.

She shook her head. “You’re killing me here.”

“Well, we can’t have that.” With a firm grip on her knees, I pressed her thighs apart, then dove in. My tongue found her hot and sweet center. I worked up and down her slit, lapping her up, though I avoided her clit to make it last. She was so responsive, especially when I gave her a hard suck. But tonight when she came, it was going to be around me.

Damn, I was glad she’d pushed for this. I needed to sink inside her soon and shred the remaining barrier between us.

As she moaned my name again, I realized she’d been right. We didn’t need anything other than us to make this special.

Taking her to a fancy hotel could have made her uncomfortable. It was better here, in her own bed and her own space. She could be as loud as she wanted. She could cry if it hurt.

Hating the idea of her in pain, I did my best to at least make this part feel good. I feasted on her, savoring her taste on my tongue until she was writhing and breathless. Then I leaned back to take her all in.

Her hoodie was bunched above her breasts. Her knees were splayed open. And her eyes, full of lust and devotion, were aimed at me.

Only me.

I was the only man who’d ever seen that look on her face.

“Sweatshirt and bra off, babe.”

She nodded, scrambling to sit up. While she yanked it over her head and unclasped her bra, I whipped off both my plaid shirt and the T-shirt underneath.

“Pull back the covers,” I ordered. “Get in bed.” I didn’t want to risk getting blood on her grandma’s quilt.

Willa nodded again, obeying my commands without question.

As she scooted under the bedding, I stepped onto the floor and ripped down my jeans while simultaneously toeing off my boots. When I turned, Willa’s eyes were wide and aimed right at my bobbing cock.

“Touch me,” I whispered, stepping up to the bed. Then I took one of her hands and brought it to my dick.

She looked up at me as her palm fitted around my shaft. Her hands were so dainty but damn if she didn’t have a fierce grip. As her fingers closed around me, I fitted my hand on top of hers, just like I’d done when I’d taught her how to jack me off.

We stroked in unison, our eyes locked as our hands moved. A flush of color spread across her bare chest, rising up her neck as her grip tightened.

“Fuck, your hand feels good.” I closed my eyes and dropped my hand, letting her work me for a minute. When her thumb touched the drop at the tip, my eyes opened just in time to see her lick her lips.

Shit, I was going to come if she kept at it. I grabbed her wrist, pulling it away from my cock. Then I planted a knee in the bed and urged her onto her back. I settled into the space between her legs, careful not to crush her with my weight.

“You okay?”

She nodded.

“Tell me, Willa. Tell me you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.” Her hands came to my cheeks. “Promise.”

I leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. “Say the word and we’ll stop.”

“I don’t want to stop.” She angled up her hips, brushing her damp curls against my dick.

“I’ll go slow.” I reached between us, gripping my cock at the base. I used the tip to toy with her clit over and over as I latched my mouth onto hers and kissed her deep.

Her legs began to tremble and her tongue twisted in a frantic rhythm against mine, so I gave her clit one last flick and then positioned at her entrance.

The change made her freeze and her eyes pop open. I broke my mouth from hers and held her gaze as my hips inched me forward.

“Okay?”

She nodded.

The tip slid right through her wet folds, her heat beckoning me further. I balled my fist in the bedding, using every scrap of willpower to take it slow. Inch by inch, out then in, I worked myself deeper until I was seated to the root.

She winced as I planted myself deep and I cringed. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She shook her head. “It’s not that bad. Just give me a sec.”

“Take your time.” I hovered above her, careful not to shift until she was ready. When she opened her eyes and gave me a small smile, I smiled back. “You’re amazing, babe.”

Her shoulders relaxed. “You’re not so bad yourself, Jackson Page.”

“You ready for the good stuff?”

She giggled. “Show me what you’ve got.”

I pressed the base of my cock into her clit, earning a soft purr before pulling out slowly. My strokes began slow and measured, as I wanted to make sure she wasn’t in pain. But when her legs wrapped around my hips, urging me on faster, I lost control.

Thrust after thrust, I pistoned into her until her moans filled the room. When I reached between us for her clit, it barely took two flicks and she was coming apart, squeezing me so damn tight, I nearly blacked out.

“Fuck, Willa!” I roared to the ceiling as her inner walls clenched, milking my own release. I kept my hips moving, my finger on her clit, until the stars cleared from my eyes and I collapsed after the most intense orgasm of my life.

Willa let out a contented sigh as she came down from her high. Her arms wrapped around my back and her legs around my ass.

“I think you killed me, woman,” I murmured into her hair, making her giggle. I took one last drag of her sweet scent and lifted up to see her face. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? That got a little rougher than I’d planned.”

“I’m perfect. You were perfect.”

This woman. She always knew exactly what I needed to hear. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this but thank you. I’m honored you wanted it to be me.”

Willa swallowed and looked to the ceiling, blinking furiously as she tried to keep the tears away.

“Come on.” I kissed the tip of her nose, then pulled out of her slowly, knowing she’d be sore. “Let’s take a shower.”

I stood first, then scooped her up in my arms to carry her into the bathroom. When the water was hot, I helped her under the spray.

It was a tight space for two people, but we made it work. As she stood close, I took my time washing her hair and body, savoring the steam filled with the smell of her coconut-and-vanilla shampoo. When we were both clean, dry and exhausted, I carried her back to bed and tucked us in.

“Good night,” Willa whispered, snuggling her back into my chest.

“Night, babe.” I closed my eyes and relaxed into her down pillows.

My arms pulled her even closer as peace settled over her dark bedroom. Being here, being Willa’s big spoon, was exactly the right place. Things just felt right.

“Jackson?”

“Hmm?”

Her hand slipped under mine. “Thank you.”

“For what? Sex?” I chuckled. “You don’t ever have to thank me for sex.”

“No.” She laughed. “Not for sex. For making a dream come true.”

She’d done it again. She said things that made my heart beat too hard. She said things that made me unable to speak.

So I kissed her hair and held her close as she dozed off.

I was glad I’d been able to give her this dream. Some other man—a man who believed in love—would get her others.

But at least I’d gotten this one.