Only for a Night (Lick) by Naima Simone Read Free Book Online Page B

the couple fucking for their pleasure, Rion had shattered her.
    And the fear that had been missing when he’d warned her about what to expect, about what he planned to do to her, rushed in like a flood, crashing against her.
    Because she didn’t know if she would ever be able to pick up all those pieces she’d splintered into and reshape herself into something recognizable.
    Still, if it was just the fear, she could recover quickly. Or at least fake it until the unsettling sense of foreboding dissipated. But the shame dogging fear’s heels like a yipping dog refused to be silenced. Guilt’s sibilant hiss filled her ears as it wound an oily, thick path through her veins, coating her heart.
    “Are those second thoughts making a belated appearance?” Rion stood in front of her, and she focused her attention on the wide expanse of his chest, unable to meet his eyes.
    “No.”
    “You were always a horrible liar,” he mocked, shifting closer until she breathed in his dark, delicious scent. “Look at me, Harper.”
    Though soft, the tone brooked no argument or resistance. And she obeyed without hesitation. But this wasn’t the resented acquiescence she’d given Terrance. With Rion, she wanted to surrender, trusting that her safety, her needs, her pleasure was first and foremost for him. She could entrust her body into his care without worry.
    It was her heart that she couldn’t risk.
    It had been broken too many times and even now was held together by emotional duct tape.
    He cocked his head to the side, studied her. “What was our agreement earlier? I don’t use anything we do against you, and you give me what in return?”
    “Honesty,” she murmured.
    “You haven’t held up your end of the bargain, and I’ve let it go. But not now. What’s wrong? This doesn’t go any further until you tell me what you’re thinking.”
    The urge to utter “rosebud,” her safe word, rose within her, hovered on her tongue. She hadn’t used it when he’d hiked her dress up in a room full of people and finger-fucked her. Yet, she was willing to say it because he pushed her to expose secrets she’d never intended for him to discover. Humiliation strangled her.
    Coward .
    Her own insult beat at her. She’d come to Lick to jump-start her life, to find the woman who had dreamed of one day owning a book store and café, who had defied her parents to befriend a boy who moved in the dangerous, murky world of the mob. Uncover the woman she was meant to be. She hadn’t backed down or given up when Rion had first rejected her. But now, at the thought of stripping free of her heart rather than her clothes, she was ready to turn tail and run.
    Closing her eyes, she reached for the courage of that woman. “That—what we just did—it was…dirty.”
    “Yeah, it was.”
    Shocked, she met his hooded gaze.
    “What?” he pressed. “It was dirty, hot, and good as hell. And you enjoyed every minute of it.”
    She shook her head, fighting the guilt, frustration, and burning arousal twisting inside her. His eyes narrowed.
    “Are you going to try and claim you didn’t love it?”
    “No.” Again she shook her head. “No, I did. I’ve never—” Come like that before . She bit the telltale admission off. “Just because I-I liked it doesn’t make me a slut.”
    He recoiled, his head jerking back as if slapped by a phantom palm. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighed. God, she was mucking this explanation up. With a low growl, Rion crowded her, his chest and thighs pressed to hers. Fury had chased away the surprise, and it darkened his eyes, firmed the sensual curves of his lips into a flat, grim line.
    “Hell no, it doesn’t make you a slut. Who said it did?” Before she could reply, he slowly nodded, his lips twisting into a hard smile. “No, let me guess. Terrance. What happened? You asked for something more than missionary?”
    Jesus . Embarrassment crawled over her, prickling her skin. Crossing her arms, she rubbed