And Ronan is more than a man. He’s an animal who is ready to take what he’s found in the woods. Me.
“Oh, Bella,” he groans in my mouth, my ear, against my skin. “You’re a fucking dream.”
“Is this all make-believe?” I ask, not wanting it to be. But knowing that if all he offers is a kiss, I’ll relive it for the rest of my life.
“No, baby. This is a fucking dream come true.”
He lifts the hem of my sweater, pulling it over my head. His eyes rake over my skin, my sheer bra barely containing my breasts. He unclasps the back, letting the bra fall to the side and he cups my breasts in his large hands, pulling them together and pressing his lips to them.
It sends a shiver of longing up my spine. For the first time in forever, I realize that longing is not going to go unanswered.
Tonight, I will have what I have been waiting for my entire life.
I arch my back as he touches me, loving the way I feel in his hands. Small and precious and wanted.
“I’ve never done this,” I admit. “I’m a virgin. But I want it, Ronan. With you. Now.”
He looks into my eyes, so deeply he penetrates my soul. It’s the most reverent look I’ve witnessed in my life. “I’m glad you told me,” he says gruffly. “That way I can take my time with you, Bella.”
I close my eyes as he unbuttons my pants, forcing them down past my curvy hips. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted—to be taken in such an unexpected way. That book where the princess was taken by the monster was just a fairy tale. But this? This is my ultimate fantasy.
A man who’s unable to resist me. A man wanting me the way I want him. Knowing nothing but the other’s name, but unable to deny the electricity surging around them.
I’m on fire thinking about it. I open my eyes, watching as Ronan hooks his fingers into the waistband of my panties, about to see all the parts of me I’ve saved. I want to see the look in his eyes as he takes me in.
He drops to his knees. “Oh, god,” he growls as he presses his mouth to my pussy. He inhales, his beard tickling me, his need clearly mounting because his hands are suddenly on my butt. He pulls me toward him, kissing my body as if it is a treasure.
It’s all too much. It’s everything and I haven’t even seen him.
But oh, how I need him.
“I know you said you wanted to take your time,” I whisper, my hands threading through Ronan’s thick hair. “But I need you in a way I’ve never known. It’s like my body is on fire and I don’t know how to tame the roaring flame.”
He kisses my belly, my torso, and my breasts as he raises himself back up to standing. “I love how you tell me exactly how you feel. It’s so fucking hot how you don’t hold back. I don’t have that gift.” He pushes his hands through my hair and kisses me again. His hands are on my neck and his hips are pressing against my body. I feel how hard he is and I ache to see and touch and taste him.
“Why do you hold back?” I ask as he steps away, pulling off his shirt, stepping out of his pants. I try to focus on his answer, but I’m distracted. His body is like a piece of art; like he has been chiseled from stone. A masterpiece just for me.
He’s made of strong lines and fierce muscles. Ronan is all man as he stands before me, and it’s as if he is willing to offer me the world.
“I’ve made bad choices, Bella. Didn’t always understand what mattered most. I don’t want to make the same mistake twice.”
His eyes are dark and I know the beast within, the one that he can’t reconcile, torments him.
All I want to do is ease his pain.
“Tonight,” I tell him. “We can both live in the moment.”
“And that live-in-the-moment attitude, that’s what led you to cross a mountain pass in the middle of a snowstorm?” he asks, his finger on my chin, bringing my eyes to his.
“It is. Foolish, maybe, but it’s also...” I pause, swallowing because the words bubbling up inside of me seem insane. The last thing I want to do is scare this mountain man; this man who is going to take my virginity.
“It’s also meant to be. Like a fairy tale, right?” He says the words I was too scared to utter, and I drop my head back, knowing that whatever is happening, is the fates colliding.
The snowstorm, which led me here. His wounded heart, along with my body that longs for his touch, it’s all so perfect. With the strum of his fingers against my bare skin and his capable hands taking care of my unmet needs. It’s so much more than I dreamed.