Chapter 33

Nyx tried to relax. She knew Case was uptight about her nervousness, but, well she was an overachiever and she liked to do everything well. It was difficult to be good at something she'd never done before.

Case kept their kiss slow and easy, not trying to deepen it. His hands remained chastely on her back. She appreciated his care—really, she did—it signified that she meant something to him. Since she'd fallen in love with him, she needed to know he felt something beyond lust for her.

Everything he said, everything he did since they got to their hotel room showed her that he did have feelings for her.

She ran her hands over his chest and hit his holster. "Case? Lose the pistol, okay?"

"Good idea." He stepped away from her to remove it and carefully placed it on one of the nightstands. It told her he would be the one sleeping closest to the door.

As he returned to her, Nyx admired the way he moved. Case had an athletic grace that she never got tired of watching, and as sexy as he was in camo gear, he was a hundred times sexier in jeans and a T-shirt.

He stopped in front of her, not taking her into his arms. "Are we still good?"

Honestly, if he wasn't so sweet, and she didn't love him so much, she'd scream. "Absolutely still good." She closed the gap he'd left, wound her arms around his neck, and pressed her breasts into his chest. "I need you to go faster, let the arousal take me over. You're giving me too much time to overthink."

"I want you to have time to think. I want you to have time to be sure."

"Have you ever known me to not speak my mind with you?" She waited until he shook his head. "Then trust me to be assertive now. If you do something I don't like or if I change my mind, I will let you know it even if I have to pinch your ass to get your attention. Until that happens, overwhelm me. Let me feel how much you want me."

"Oh, I want you, Nyx. More than I've ever wanted anyone in my life." His hands went to her hips, and he tugged her tightly against him. Case hesitated. "I don't want to scare you."

Nyx pulled his head down, her forehead resting against his, as she murmured, "You have never scared me, not from the first minute we met." She pressed her lips to his again, but this time she opened her mouth, inviting him to deepen the kiss.

He did, but it was a slow brush of his tongue against hers, a nibble of her lower lip. The man was going to drive her out of her head and not in a good way. "Case, please don't force me to be the aggressor. I don't want that role my first time. But if you don't pick up the pace, I'm going to toss you on the bed and fall on top of you."

He pulled back and looked at her as if she'd grown a second nose. Then it must have registered that she was echoing something he said earlier, and Case threw his head back and laughed. "I got so lost in the fact you're a virgin, that I forgot you're my Fireball."

This kiss wasn't a slow, gentle tease. It was all fire and need and taking what he wanted while inviting her to take what she wanted, too. Nyx clung to Case, devouring him and letting him devour her. This was what she needed.

No overthinking. No control. Only Case.

Pulling his T-shirt out of his jeans, Nyx traced the hard muscles of his back. His skin was warm. Smooth. Perfect.

"Shirt. Off." She dropped the words between kisses.

Case released her long enough to comply with her order. He flung the tee in the general direction of a chair and dove back for another deep exploration of her mouth. His hands remained at her waist. He was still partly being oh-so-careful, but his kiss was wild.

Without the shirt in her way, Nyx ran her hands over his shoulders. She got tangled in the chain he wore and followed it with her fingers. Down from his neck, across his pecs, until she reached the pendant at the bottom. She ran her finger back and forth below the chain a few times before she worked up her courage to go lower.

There was enough distance between them that she was able to trace his navel before picking up the line of hair beneath it. The hair that disappeared into his jeans.

He caught her hand as soon as she dipped a finger beneath his waistband. "Slow down, Fireball."

"Why?" She smiled. Nyx hoped it was seductive, but she doubted she pulled it off.

"You might be in a hurry, but I want to savor you." He moved her hand to his chest.

"I have a lot of years to make up for and I'm leaving Trujillo tomorrow. Can't you savor me when we're worn out?"

That earned her another of his rare grins. "You are a handful and I love the hell out of that." He waited until she was looking him in the eyes. "Nyx, I want you to know something."

"What?"

"This isn't some hookup. It's more than that. A lot more."

"Good. I'm making love with you because I can't imagine anyone else being my first. It's never been about cashing in my V-card, Case." She wrapped her arms around his neck again. "It's always been about us."

Pulling his head down to hers, Nyx kissed him with all the love she felt for him.

Case was lost.

He wanted to go slow. He wanted to make sure Nyx knew only pleasure, and he was afraid his intensity would scare her. But she kept pushing. With her words, the way she looked at him, the way she touched him, her tone of voice when she said his name. This woman? She was his home. The one person he was safe with. The one person with whom he could be completely himself.

When he was able to break the kiss, he said, "I'm taking the brakes off. If I do anything that concerns you, you damn well better speak up. Understood?"

"Understood, but Case? You're not going to scare me. I'm not a bit of dandelion fluff."

"I know. You're one-hundred-and-ten percent Fireball. I fucking love how strong you are." He kissed her before he told her he just plain fucking loved her. "You have more clothes on than me," he complained.

"So do something about it."

Nyx had him grinning again. He couldn't remember ever smiling so much during a sexual encounter before, but everything was different with her. Absolutely everything.

Tugging the white polo she wore out of her khakis, Case said, "Lift your arms." She did with a sexy little smile that made heat course through his veins. Her bra was plain, no-nonsense, exactly what he expected Nyx to choose. He didn't need her in sexy lingerie. She was sexy enough on her own.

He was continuing to admire the view when she reached out, unsnapped his jeans, and started working the zipper down. Case moved her hands aside. He was hard, and she was a novice. "I'll get my jeans off. You take care of your own pants."

His Fireball kicked out of her sneakers and then she teased him. She wiggled, she bent over as she lowered her khakis, she gave him a look that clearly dared him. Dared him to what? He didn't know, because they were already moving faster than he planned. Her panties were cotton and nearly as plain as the bra.

"You're behind. Move it."

"Yes, ma'am." He finished unzipping his jeans and bent over to get rid of his boots. Nyx stroked his ass. His cock jerked. "Slow down," he ordered, voice thick.

"No, I don't think so."

Her tone was pure bravado. If Case didn't know her as well as he did, he might have bought it. Taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he said, "I know you. You're nervous and trying to hide it, but I see it. Don't play pretend with me. Be real. Be you."

"I'm worried that if you see my nerves you'll think it's something you did. Or worse yet, you'll stop and I'll have to convince you again that I want you."

"There's clearly one solution." He reached for the hooks on the back of her bra and opened it. "I'll have to get you so worked up that you forget to be nervous."

He swept the straps down her arms but didn't completely free them, because he didn't want her covering herself. "Beautiful," he assured her and bent forward to take a nipple in his mouth. He teased it with his tongue before moving to the other. She was clutching his hair, holding him to her. Before he was finished, the bra was on the floor. Forgotten.

Walking her backward to the bed, he yanked down the covers and then kissed his way from her breasts to her bellybutton. Slowly, hoping she would be too distracted to notice, he inched her panties down. "Lift your leg," he said softly and snuck a peek at her face.

No uneasiness. Just dazed pleasure.

"Now the other leg." Tossing the panties aside, he kissed Nyx on the inside of her knee, teased her a little, and moved up her thigh. Slowly. A fraction of an inch at a time.

It was a victory when her strength gave out and she sat on the edge of the mattress, legs spread to give him enough room to continue his path. He took his time, teasing little gasps and moans from her, but refusing her urges to hurry up.

He finally kissed her where she wanted. "So wet, Fireball."

"Case."

"I know. It's going to be so good. Trust me."

"Do trust you."

He tasted her, taking the time to enjoy her. She was writhing by the time he lifted his head. "You want to come on my mouth or my cock?"

"Cock," Nyx said without hesitation.

"Get on the bed and move over so I have room."

As she followed orders, Case shed his briefs and went over to the dresser to grab a condom. He was sheathed and ready by the time he reached the bed.

Bracing himself on one elbow, Case leaned over and studied her. Nyx's eyes remained glazed with passion and her breathing was erratic. He kissed her, trying to tell her without words that she was special. That she was his.

Cupping her, he slipped a couple of fingers inside. Nyx was wet, and she took them easily. Case moved between her thighs, lined himself up, and entered her slowly. Watching her face every millimeter he advanced. When he was about halfway, he paused. "How are you doing, Fireball?" His voice was thick and guttural. He was hanging on by a thread.

"Good. Don't stop." She arched her hips, taking him deeper.

Before he realized what she was up to, Nyx did it again and he was nearly completely inside her. "Impatient," he whispered, and since she smiled, he slid all the way home.

Case paused for what felt like an eternity but was probably only seconds. He wanted Nyx to get used to him before he asked her for more. Then he tried a light thrust. She moved with him, not perfectly, but close enough to make him swallow a groan.

Using his hand to guide her, Case helped Nyx find the rhythm. She clung to him and he stroked into her, driving her arousal to a fever pitch.

He wanted to prolong it, to make it last, but the little noises she made propelled him past the point of no return.

Letting go of her hip, he moved his hand between them and found the center of her pleasure. He stroked her, teased her, and until with a serrated moan, she arched hard into him and froze, riding out the orgasm.

Case kept moving, kept her coming until he lost the reins of self-control. Then he joined her, coming harder than he ever had before in his life.