Cherished: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella by Lexi Blake

soul would know.
    He nodded and for a moment she thought he was going to turn and walk away. Fear seized her. She shouldn’t have said anything. Her big mouth always got her in trouble. Now it was going to cost her the weeks she could have spent with him.
    “It’s not casual.” He climbed on the bed, spreading her legs wide. “Sweetheart, I can’t promise you forever, but I can tell you that the way I feel right now is not a casual thing.”
    She would take it. It might not last forever, but she could have him now.
    He settled between her legs, the heat of his body flowing over her. She loved the way his weight felt as he lowered his mouth down to cover her own.
    He kissed her as she felt his cock at the entrance of her pussy. “I’ll take care of you, sweetheart. While we’re together, let me take care of you.”
    He kissed her again and she finally decided on a word. She’d been trying to find a word to describe how it felt when he kissed her. Hot. Aroused. They were there, but didn’t even begin to cover it.
    Cherished. When he kissed her, she felt cherished.
    “You feel so good.” He groaned against her mouth.
    He pressed in, his cock invading and stretching her but in the most pleasant way.
    He went up on his elbows, taking some of the weight off her. “Wrap your legs around me. I want to feel you around me.”
    She hooked her legs around his waist and gasped as he gained another inch. His eyes were closed as he worked methodically, gently pressing in and pulling out. He was so careful it was driving her insane.
    And then he was in. His cock filled her to bursting but she wouldn’t change anything. She tilted her hips up, trying to take more.
    “Like I said before, you’re so fucking soft,” he said, looking down at her. “Keep your eyes on me. I want to watch. I couldn’t see you come before.”
    He pushed in, twisting his hips in a way that let his pelvis grind against her clitoris.
    She couldn’t breathe. It was starting again. Orgasms before had been small things. They’d been pleasant when she managed one, but Will’s tongue had taken her to an entirely different level. He seemed intent on proving he could manage the same thing with his cock.
    Over and over he fucked deep inside, his body working hers while he held her eyes. When she started to close them he would remind her, forcing her into an intimacy she’d never known before. Her previous lovers hadn’t cared whether she’d come or not, much less wanted to watch her while she did it.
    He hit some magic spot deep inside and she couldn’t help but moan.
    He grinned, the expression making him look younger, less grim than his normal serious look. “There it is. Yeah, now I’ve got you, sweetheart. Try to hold me off now.”
    She wasn’t trying to do anything except breathe because he pressed in again and her body went off like a bomb. Pure pleasure sparked through her, racing through her veins and making her call out his name over and over. She tightened her legs, wanting the moment to last. She was fairly certain she left claw marks on his back, but he didn’t seem to mind. He picked up the pace, slamming into her and sending her into a second wave.
    His whole body stiffened as he rode out his orgasm, finally falling on top of her.
    The world seemed hazy and she was fairly certain she was drunk on lust or whatever he wanted to call it.
    Affection. He’d said he needed affection. She let her arms wrap around him, holding him close. He didn’t shove off her to go to the bathroom or turn over to go to sleep. He laid his head on her chest, one hand on her breast, and they lay together for the longest time before sleep finally took her.
     

Chapter Six

     
    “You did what?” Serena asked as she patted baby Tristan’s back and paced the floor. Her eyes narrowed as she looked Bridget over. “Tell me you’re joking.”
    They’d traded their margarita lunches for afternoons at either Bridget’s or Chris’s place since Serena had