Read Beyond Pain for Free Online

his finger over her lips and slid his free arm around her waist. "Watch the glass."
    Lifting her over it was easy--too easy. She'd been in Sector Four for a couple months now, but she was still too thin. Almost delicate.
    But she was warm. Her breath was warm too, puffing against his finger with every quick breath. Her nipples were hard little buds he could feel through their clothes, clear evidence of her arousal.
    He had to get her out of there before he broke all the careful promises he'd made.
    Her body rubbed against his as he lowered her, and he gritted his teeth until her boots hit the floor. "I'll take you back to your room, if you want."
    She stared at his chest for a tense moment before nodding.
    Her hand was shaking when he wrapped his fingers around hers and pulled her through the crowd and out the side exit. The heavy metal door swung shut behind them, blocking out all the music except for the dull thud of the bass.
    She inhaled deeply as the cool night air enveloped them, but didn't speak. Usually she seemed as comfortable with not talking as he was, but tonight their silence was more tense than companionable. She clutched his hand as they crossed the cracked asphalt, not letting go until they reached the building that held the O'Kanes' living quarters.
    "You can go back to the party if you want," she said abruptly. "I'm okay."
    He kicked open the door and held it for her. "I'm not going to shove you down the hall and run for it. I'm taking you home."
    "I won't get jumped between here and my room," she retorted, rolling her eyes, but there was no heat in the words, and her fingers brushed his. "Hell, no one's jumped me in months except you, during practice. I'm probably getting rusty."
    "Will you just let me do this?"
    She fell silent again.
    Anger had lent his words a brusque edge, and he knew she'd assume he was pissed at her, at the world--anyone but himself. "Sorry."
    Six shrugged uncomfortably. "I'm a pain in the ass."
    He never broke his word. He never lost control . "I promised I wouldn't go there, and I shouldn't have."
    "Wait." She grabbed his wrist and hauled him to a stop. "Go where?"
    "The party." Except that wasn't quite it. "The sex."
    Her brows tugged down in confusion. "What, watching other people have it?"
    He felt worse. "You wouldn't have if I hadn't pushed you to, and now look at us."
    "You didn't do anything." But she released his wrist and took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest in a way that screamed defensiveness. "I'm not some sheltered city girl who's never seen a guy getting sucked off before."
    "But I promised--" And then it hit him, a thunderclap of understanding. She wasn't a city girl, no. But she'd been sheltered, because she had no idea. "You don't know, do you? How close we were?"
    Those dark eyes were so wary. "To what? Fucking?"
    He closed the space between them. He couldn't help it, just like he couldn't help the way his voice roughened. "Fucking. It doesn't start when you get naked, not the way I do it."
    She stiffened, but even with him crowding her space, she didn't shrink away. She didn't look away, either, just stared up at him as her uneven breaths pushed her tits against his chest. "How does it start?"
    "Like this." His hands itched to slide up and cup her flesh so he'd know what kind of noise she made when he pinched her nipples between his fingers. "When we both start thinking about it. When we both want it."
    Her gaze dipped to his mouth, and her tongue darted out, wetting her lower lip. "Maybe that's how it starts, but it shouldn't count until you're trying to get in me. So you didn't do anything wrong, okay?"
    Bren scoffed. He was so hard it hurt, and he'd bet cash money she was so wet he'd have to fight to keep his fingers from slipping on her thighs as he positioned her for that first thrust. Maybe it shouldn't count, but it sure the hell did.
    Didn't it?
    He stepped back, putting a solid two feet of distance between them before meeting her eyes again.