The Dare Collection September 2019. Stefanie London

folds of her delicious little pussy, the friction making me growl in pleasure.

      She shuddered again, bucking her hips against mine, urging me on. ‘Ash, please...’ she panted.

      I’d never managed to resist that throaty plea and I didn’t now, pushing hard and deep inside her. But then I had to pause, the tight clasp and the slick heat blanking my brain entirely. The pleasure was unbelievable and for a good few seconds I simply couldn’t move. I hadn’t been this close to coming prematurely since I’d been an overenthusiastic teenager.

      She was trembling beneath me, her breathing wild and uncontrolled. ‘Oh...’ she moaned, her back flexing and arching as she tried to take me deeper. ‘Oh, God...’

      Fuck. No. She wasn’t going to take control of me that easily. Not tonight. Not after fucking Dumont had taken my victory from me.

      I shoved her hips down flat to the floor, letting my weight slowly rest on her so she was pinned. Then I gave her a couple of shallow thrusts, which was a little of what she wanted, but not everything.

      She gave another moan. ‘Ash...please...’

      I gripped her bound wrists, teasing her with a few more shallow thrusts, while I kept my other hand on one hip to stop her bucking up. She cried out in frustration but I ignored her, teasing myself as much as her with her heat and slickness.

      Pleasure licked up my spine, twining with my rage to become something more intense, something stronger.

      I snarled like an animal and pulled her up on her knees, thrusting hard into her, driving myself into her as deep as I could get. She was panting now, the feel of her beneath me mesmerising, the slap of her flesh against mine more arousing than any aphrodisiac.

      I looked down at her writhing body trying to keep pace and then managing it, synchronising with me, her panting breaths matching the sound of my own. Then we were surging together, neither one of us trying to get the upper hand this time, but moving with one another, perfectly aligned, perfectly in time.

      Travelling together to the same destination.

      The edge of my anger became less raw, less ragged, and something powerful tightened in my chest. She’d come after me, she hadn’t let me frighten her away. No, she’d simply wrapped her arms around my neck and given herself to me as if I weren’t a bitter, angry man. As if I were more than that.

      And for a moment I wanted to believe her. I wanted to be something more, something other than myself. The kid my dad hadn’t wanted. The teenager who’d broken my mother’s trust.

      The man who’d burned a deep friendship on the altar of his pride.

      I didn’t want to be any of those things.

      I wanted to be someone who was worthy of the trust she’d placed in me and who could bring her pleasure.

      So I curled my body over hers, thrusting deeper, reaching around to cup the softness of her tits, pinching her nipples, increasing the speed and rhythm. She began to shudder, writhing up against me, twisting around, her hungry mouth trying to find mine. So I let go of her breasts and grabbed her hair in one fist, tugging her head around so she could kiss me.

      Her mouth was hungry and desperate, and I kissed her back hard, reaching down with my free hand, sliding down across the trembling plane of her stomach to the slick flesh of her pussy. Her clit was swollen and hard and she cried out as I stroked lightly over it, her whole body trembling in response.

      ‘Oh, Ash... I need you...please...please...’

      All my aggression and anger fell away, all my focus on her and what she needed.

      I rumbled my appreciation of her, stroking her clit in time with my thrusts, fighting the unbearable pleasure that was pulling at me, determined that she was going to come before I did. And sure enough, another touch and one deep thrust, and she gave a high, thin scream as the orgasm hit, the convulsion of her pussy around my cock unmistakable, releasing something feral inside me.

      As she trembled and gasped beneath me, I unleashed myself, thrusting wildly and hard, driving myself inside her, until the climax hit me, too, like a bomb going off in the confines of my body, blasting me with pleasure so intense I couldn’t do anything but roar as lights burst behind my eyes.

      It took a long time for me to come back to myself and when I did, I could hear some muffled sobs. A second later, I realised it was Ellie and she was crying.

      My chest went so tight it was painful.

      Jesus, was it something I’d done? Had I hurt her?

      A cold feeling wound through me, the languid heat of the orgasm disappearing.

      Pulling out of her, I dealt with the condom in a nearby and cleverly disguised bin, then bent and gathered her trembling body into my arms. She tried to push against me, turning her face away, but I ignored it, tightening my grip as I took her over to the bed and laid her down on it. Then I stripped off my clothes and climbed in beside her, drawing the thick, soft velvety quilt over us as I held her small body close to mine, using my touch to soothe her.

      She pushed against my chest. ‘Don’t,’ she muttered even as more sobs caught in her throat. ‘I’m fine.’

      ‘You’re not fine.’ I held her tighter, not even sure what I was doing, something deep and instinctive inside me responding to her tears. ‘Did I hurt you? Because if I did—’

      ‘No,’ she said thickly. ‘You didn’t hurt me. It’s just... I don’t know what’s happening. That was just so...amazing. I can’t... I don’t know...’

      I stroked her hair, wanting to give her some reassurance, the strands silky and soft against my palm. ‘What did I say about not minding a fuss? You can cry if you want. Tears don’t bother me.’ Although I was beginning to think that her tears in particular bothered me. As in, I didn’t like them if it meant she was in pain.

      She sighed, some of her resistance receding. ‘It just makes...this seem like a big deal.’

      ‘This being the sex, you mean?’

      Another soft sigh escaped her. ‘Yeah.’

      I looked down at her pink face, the fierce protectiveness that had hit me earlier gripping me again. Her life seemed to be full of her being concerned for other people’s feelings, while no one was ever concerned with hers. Certainly her bloody father hadn’t been and I suspected her brothers weren’t overly involved either.

      Perhaps today, right now, someone could show her that her feelings mattered. That they were important.

      And that someone was going to be me.

      ‘It is a big deal.’ I ignored the warning that went off in my head as I spoke. ‘It’s a fucking huge deal.’

      Her hazel eyes were wide and dark from beneath lashes glittering with moisture. ‘You think so?’

      I stared back, letting her see the truth in my eyes. ‘It certainly doesn’t feel like any sex I’ve ever had before.’

      A wave of colour washed through her skin. ‘But you’ve had a lot, haven’t you? A lot of sex, I mean.’

      ‘Yes, I’ve had a lot. And no, this is not the same. Not in any way.’

      ‘Oh.’ She blinked a couple of times, looking shocked.

      I narrowed my gaze. ‘Just how often have you had sex?’ Obviously it wasn’t going to be much.

      Her chin lifted, but the flush in her skin betrayed her. ‘A couple of times. With my high-school boyfriend. I mean, after Mark...’

      She didn’t finish the sentence, but then she didn’t need to. I knew already. And I could understand. She hadn’t wanted to be with anyone after him. Except me.

      I wouldn’t have been human if that hadn’t satisfied me on some level, while at the same time a small part of me was appalled.