and caress, the body he'd lusted after since he knew how to lust. The idea of having Savannah in his arms, a slave to his touch, feeling everythinghe felt through his hands and mouth… He hadn'twanted to do this—not likethis , at least—but he'd needed it all the same. Too much time had been wasted on the sidelines, watching Savannah but never braving the waters to touch her, to let her know the depth of his feelings, all out of fear of losing her.
Losing her, it seemed, was a risk he had to take. Either he made love to her, or she made love to someone else and drifted into territories where he could not follow. Either he stood still and waited for her to realize she was his equal and they belonged at each other's side, or he declared his feelings and scared her away. He would lose her if he did nothing; action, at least, gave him a fighting chance.
He'd gone into the day with a new attitude, reevaluating his concerns and forcing himself to twist his situation into an opportunity rather than an emotional funeral. It was the chance of a lifetime, not a direct path to certain doom. For the first time in their relationship, she might feel what he felt. The fire in his chest finally had the opportunity to channel and explore her, touch her, and maybe, just maybe, she would feel his love and realize what he'd always known.
And if not… Well, he'd had his shot. At least he could try to move on.
An inward snicker.Not possible . He could never get over Savannah.
That had served as his motivation in coming here. Aside from the practicality in his spoken objective—warming up her body, introducing her to what wonders it could do, and giving something as intangible as sex some form and reality—he'd felt certain she would have to feel him. If he poured out his adoration through the worship of her flesh, her eyes would open, and she would finally realize what he'd realized the second he'd met her.
But she hadn't felt a thing. Not a goddamn thing. Every other word out of her mouth played as a reminder ofher motives. She didn't want him; she wanted a quick fix to her virginity, and as her best bloody chum, he was the ideal solution…and he had been here before. When he touched her, she asked if Paige had liked the same thing, as though Thorn would regard her,Savannah , the same way he regarded his easy lay of an ex. Savannah remained as blind as ever, focused on her objective; she didn't want the burden of virginity any longer, and he had the appropriate parts to relieve her of the inconvenience. There was nothing more to it than that.
It was fucking maddening…
And then she did things likethis and had him redefining everything he thought he knew.
“T-teach you?” Thorn repeated shakily, his hands balling into fists. He had to progress very carefully; the world could shatter with a bat of her gorgeous eyes. “Like…you want…”
“I figure I'll have to do this eventually,” Savannah explained hurriedly, her gaze darting to the floor, a warm blush spreading across her cheeks. “So…umm…I thought…if you want me to…”
He laughed nervously. “Savannah, I—”
“If you don't want me to, I won't,” she amended quickly.
The laughter kept coming. He couldn't switch it off, nor could he keep himself from saying something stupid. “Not want a gorgeous girl to wrap her lips around my prick? You really are new to this, aren't you?”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He'd officially lost control over words. They lived on their own.
Savannah's face fell, hurt replacing nervousness, andChrist , it was his kryptonite.
“Never mind,” she said. “I just thought… You did it for me, so—”
“Kitten—”
Her head whipped up, her eyes blazing brilliantly. “Don't you 'kitten' me, you big…jerk guy!
I don't… I thought you'd want something. I thought… I don't know what I thought, but I wanted to do something for you, and that seemed like