We were both quiet as he plucked at my flesh, placing splintered pieces of wood on the towel. Salt was tender, his touch methodical and precise as he mended my wounds.It felt like an out of body experience. I had a man tending to me, caring for me, asking me if I was alright when he knew I was in pain.
Peeking at him, his eyes were set in place as he bandaged up my back and stood up. "There, everything is clean and shouldn"t get infected now."
"Why?"
"Why won"t it get infected?" he asked, angling his head into his shoulder.
"No, why did you do that?"
"That"s not the question you should be asking. You should be asking me why I would want one night with you."
Biting my bottom lip, I flicked my eyes between his. "Why would you want me?"
Bringing his lips in closer, they hovered dangerously over mine. "Your eyes, your lips, your porcelain skin. . ." Exhaling, the tip of his nose brushed mine. "Because you have yet to bloom, my flower."
I could feel his breath as the heat washed across my face, making the hair on my arms stand straight. Placing one thumb on my bottom lip, he drew it back and forth, touching me in a way that no man ever had.
He was gentle, he was kind, he was loving.
Love. A word that I had long forgotten and thought would never return. I knew I loved my family, but that was the only love I ever had the pleasure of feeling. And even that love was short lived.
I never had a boyfriend. I hadn"t experienced true love.
The love a man and woman share together, a kiss that wasn"t built off dirty money and fear of beatings. What it felt like to be held and not demanded, to be stroked and not moved around like a plastic toy.
I wasn"t sure what to do with the feelings that were running rampant through my body. My c.l.i.t had started to throb and pulse, my stomach was swirling with b.u.t.terflies that created a wave of shivers as his body shifted closer.
His face was no more than an inch from mine. I could smell his cologne, the sweetness of caramel mixed with cedar. Taking in a slow, deep breath, I let the aroma fill my lungs. It took me some place else, to a kinder place, a place that wasn"t so dark anymore.
I could feel my body coming alive. The warmth in my belly spread up my chest and down my legs. My fingertips were tingling right down to the very edge. A rush of fire burned across my cheeks, making my face feel so hot.
"What are you doing?" I asked as Salt pressed in even more, our mouths so close to touching I wasn"t sure what to do.
"Shh," he hushed me silent as he shifted his face to rest his cheek against mine. "This isn"t for me, it"s for you." Moving his hands down my face, he pushed his fingers into the hair at the base of my head, softly ma.s.saging my scalp. "All you ever feel is pain, you deserve something good for once."
My eyes closed instantly, head rolling side to side as my body tingled. Moaning lightly, my head fell back naturally as his fingers became more intense, more needy, tugging at my roots.
But it wasn"t harsh, it wasn"t rough. It was the most erotic touch I had ever experienced. Gooseb.u.mps tore their way down over my skin, my nerves exploded, flooding my body with heat that zipped from head to toe.
Pushing the hair away from my face and off my shoulder, Salt kissed my neck, fluttering kiss after kiss up my throat, never missing one inch of exposed skin.
There were no words between us as his hands kept exploring, caressing, finding these little nooks I didn"t know existed. I never could have imagined that a touch could be euphoric, an aphrodisiac to my brain.
But his touch was.
The tips of his fingers worked their way down my ribs, finding the edge of my shirt and pulling it over my head. His lips grew more intense, kissing across my collarbone and my shoulders.
Lowering his hands to the trim of my pants, he pulled them down over my hips, gently lifting one leg at a time to help me out of them. And I let him. I didn"t fight him off, I didn"t tell him no.
I wanted it. I wanted more of it; more touch, more kisses, more of him.
Because this wasn"t about money, it wasn"t about pleasing Virgo or doing what I had to in order to stay above water.
Right then, it felt we were just two people. Two people that crossed paths, two people that were about to find pleasure in a world that was void of it. I shouldn"t have wanted this man, I shouldn"t have wanted to be touched by this man or any man at all.
And yet, I didn"t want to stop him.
I had one night, just one night to not be Ash, to not be that girl bought by s.e.x driven greed. I had one night to be free.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, he looked down on me and smiled, slowly pulling them away. Taking a step back, I watched his eyes as they explored my body, devouring me with just a look.
Curling one hand over my belly, I looked down at the floor, suddenly embarra.s.sed. I wasn"t sure why I felt that way. It came out of nowhere, another feeling I wasn"t used to having.
It was the way he looked at me. His eyes still and feverish, moving up and down, but always coming back to my eyes.
Biting his bottom lip, he pulled my arms away from body, and braided our fingers together. "Don"t hide, you don"t need to. You"re beautiful, too beautiful for this world. You"re like a lost angel that took a wrong turn."
My cheeks blushed as his eyes moved around my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, trailing down my stomach and over my mound. My muscles were shaking, my lungs were struggling to keep steady.
What is this? What"s happening to me?