The Chief Read online

  The knowledge of how much she wanted this did something to him. Something that went beyond masculine satisfaction or pride. It filled him with a heavy warmth that reached down deep inside him and tugged. At that moment, nothing had ever felt more important than giving her pleasure.

  But not yet. The only thing he wanted more than release was to make it last. He teased the moment out, feeling her body quiver as he caressed the baby-soft skin near her core with a feathery circle of his fingertips, drawing near, then pulling back. Accustoming her not only to his touch, but to her own desire. He wanted her to recognize what her body wanted. What it needed.

  He mimicked the movements of his finger with his tongue on her breast. Flicking out to brush against her, then pausing, allowing the warmth of his breath to blow over the damp, sensitive tip.

  She moaned and whimpered, each sound making it harder and harder for him to concentrate as blood pounded in every inch of his body.

  Her skin was hot. He knew that if he could see her face, her cheeks would be flushed with pleasure, her wide, sensual lips parted erotically.

  She was so damned aroused. Her body shook with it. God, she was going to come apart the first time he touched her. His cock pulsed, beading with anticipation. It took every ounce of his restraint not to wrap her legs around his hips and thrust up high inside her, letting the hot, tight fist of her body milk him to oblivion.

  Every muscle flexed as he fought for control, his own release hovering too damned close to the edge. “Tell me what you want,” he said through clenched teeth, his finger caressing achingly close to her heat.

  “I don’t know,” she moaned.

  “Is it this?” he said, sliding his finger along her damp crease. Her body jerked as pleasure rippled through her.

  “Yes,” she breathed. “Please.”

  “I’m going to make you come, Christina.”

  Christina didn’t know what he meant, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was for this restless, gnawing feeling to go away. Her entire body flooded with desire that kept building and building with nowhere to go, until the pressure felt too intense to handle. She felt poised on the edge of something cataclysmic.

  How could she feel so good and yet so agitated? Every stroke, every caress of his hands on her body was torture and heaven at the same time.

  All of her thoughts, all of her energy, seemed focused between her legs, concentrated. With each teasing sweep of his finger, the agony increased. She was warm and wet, the muscles coiled tight with need, clenching and pulsing in frustrated ignorance. Instinctively, she knew she needed something but didn’t know how to get it. He teased her until she couldn’t take it anymore. Until she thought she was going to explode.

  She could never have imagined such a light, gentle touch from these big, strong hands that wielded a sword with deadly force.

  But she wanted to feel their strength, their power, inside her.

  And then she did. His mouth sucked her nipple deep into his warm, wet mouth right at the moment his finger plunged inside her, circling and stroking, pressing. Her body cried out in relief at the pressure she’d craved that was so long denied. Sensations collided inside her—the sucking of his mouth on her breast, the stroke of his finger, the friction of the heel of his hand cupping her. They all came together, intensifying, and then tensing for one long heartbeat, until they broke apart, splintering in thousands of directions.

  She cried out as wave after wave of sensation shuddered through her, as the spasms of pleasure released their tight hold.

  She felt as if she’d died and gone to heaven. All she could see was light and beauty, like a sea of shimmering stars stretched out before her in a rolling wave. Her senses heightened, her body soaring free. She had never imagined anything could feel this incredible.

  It was too much. Tor lost whatever rein he had on his control, watching her body tense, then come apart, hearing the erotic cries of her release. It was more than he could take.

  He’d never felt desire like this. Desire that went beyond the lust pooling in his groin and stiffened cock. It reached inside him, pulling and not letting go.

  Being inside her. Making her come again. That was all that mattered.

  He moved over her, positioning himself between her legs.

  Teasing the last spasms of her release from her with his finger, he ground out, “I need to be inside you.”

  She sighed dreamily, compliantly, and he was glad for the darkness. Glad that he couldn’t see the half-lidded gaze and soft pink blush of ecstasy on her face. Because he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop from touching his mouth to hers. And then she would be different.

  Gently, he lifted her hips, spreading her legs wide to accommodate him. He planted his hands on either side of her shoulders, holding the weight of his chest off of her.

  Sweat beaded from his forehead as he fought to go slow. But it wasn’t easy.

  He slid the plump, sensitive tip of his cock along her entry until he was slick with dampness—hers and his.

  She gasped when he nudged inside. Her body tightened reflexively.

  “Relax,” he soothed, every muscle straining against the primal urge.

  “But you’re too big,” she blurted.

  And you’re too incredibly tight. “Shhh,” he whispered. “Let your body grow accustomed to me.” His finger found the sensitive spot high in her core and caressed her until she softened. Slowly, she loosened, her body relaxing as pleasure washed over her again.

  The urge to thrust was almost overwhelming. But he took his time, easing into her inch by blessed inch—full hilt.

  When at last he was deep inside her, he almost couldn’t breathe, the effort to hold back taking all his concentration. He needed to come. Needed it so much it hurt. “How does that feel?” he managed tightly.

  It took her a moment to answer. “Full,” she whispered huskily. “Wonderfully so.”

  It was the perfect answer—and all the encouragement he needed. His hips started to move, driving in and out, slowly at first, then faster, her body jarring under him.

  She gasped with each thrust, the erotic little sounds driving him wild.

  His muscles burned with the strain of holding himself off her. The pressure built and built. He’d never felt like this. Ever. His entire body was consumed by the sensations coursing through him. Her body held him, milking him with every long drag.

  He couldn’t hold back much longer.

  “Oh…God,” she moaned.

  That was it. The moment he’d been waiting for. He dug in. Faster. Harder. Finding the perfect rhythm for her to—

  She cried out and he let go, sinking deep inside her one more time and throwing back his head with a primal cry of pleasure. Blood roared in his ears as the force of his release exploded in a torrential storm of sensation, pulsing and pulsing until every ounce of pleasure was squeezed from him. For a moment he blacked out, the ecstasy too powerful.

  When the last ripple had ebbed from his body, he collapsed beside her, utterly drained. He’d never felt so spent in his life. He struggled to find his breath. He felt weak; his limbs had turned to jelly.

  What had she done to him?

  Apparently, he wasn’t alone in his dazed lethargy. Christina’s breathing was as hard and uneven as his. He was grateful for the silence. For the first time in his life, Tor didn’t know what to say or what to think.

  The confusion rattled him.

  He stared into the darkness, telling himself it was nothing.

  He’d just finished convincing himself that he was overreacting, exaggerating what had happened in his mind, when she curled her body to his, snuggling against him. He stilled at the contact, his chest tightening to a burn. For a moment he hesitated, instinct warring with the knowledge that he should keep his distance.

  For the moment, instinct won. This one time wouldn’t hurt. He wrapped his arm around her and tried to not think about how good she felt against him. All that soft, warm skin melting against him. The sil