Shelter for Elizabeth (Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Book 5) (13 page)

B
eth stood
next to Cade’s bed and shifted nervously. She wasn’t scared of him or of what they were about to do, it’d just been a long time since she’d been naked in front of anyone and a long time since she’d had sex, so it was all just a bit overwhelming.

Sensing her unease, Cade gestured to the bed behind her. “Lay down, sweetheart, relax.”

She went to take off her shirt and Cade caught her hand in his. “Don’t worry about that, just lay back.”

Feeling cowardly, but relieved at the respite, Beth scooted back onto his mattress and waited for him to make the first move. She watched as Cade stripped his T-shirt over his head and she gasped at her first look at him.

Cade had a light dusting of dark hair on his chest, but it did nothing to distract from his body at all. Beth had had her hands on his sides, back, and even his belly, but seeing it all unfettered for the first time made her catch her breath.

He wasn’t perfect, that was the first thing she noticed, but that actually made this easier, because she was far from perfect as well. He wasn’t in his twenties anymore, and along with that came a little extra weight on his sides. He didn’t have eighteen-pack abs either, but he was in no way overweight. The scars he’d told her about were obvious as well, but again, they didn’t take away any of her appreciation of his physique.

His upper body was sculpted and almost perfect though. The lifting of equipment, and apparently people, went a long way toward keeping him in shape. The muscles in his arms bulged as he moved to get into bed next to her. His pectoral muscles rippled as he shifted over her as well. Somehow, even though he didn’t look like a bodybuilder, he oozed testosterone and masculinity all the same.

Cade had left his jeans on, and they sat low on his hips, as if waiting to be unzipped and tugged off. Beth swallowed hard and looked up at him, wondering how this was all going to go. She might not have had sex in a while, but even she knew that they’d both need to remove some more clothes if it was going to work.

“Relax, sweetheart,” Cade told her in a calming tone as he eased himself down next to her.

“I can’t.”

He chuckled and rested one hand lightly on her belly as the other propped up his head. “What’s making you nervous?”

“Uh…everything?”

“Specifically. We’ll work through them one at a time.”

“I know I probably sounded…experienced back at my apartment, but I’ve only done this twice—and you know about one of those times.”

“And you might not believe me, but I’ve done this a lot less times than you’re probably thinking.” At her look of disbelief, he continued, “And guys are easy. You touch us, rub against us, and we’re good to go. It’s women who are scary. You have special places that need to be touched and caressed. We could do it too hard, or too soft, and it won’t work. It’s harder to tell when you’re aroused enough so that we won’t hurt you when we get inside. It takes a lot to hurt me, but women aren’t built the same way. I could easily cause you pain, and that’s the last thing I want to happen. So we’ll learn together what works best for us…okay?” Not waiting for her to answer, he went on. “What else?”

The thought that Cade might not be as self-assured as he looked went a long way toward relaxing Beth—that, and his warm hand caressing her belly as they talked. “I don’t work out. I sit around a lot and work on my computer.”

“And?”

“I don’t look like you. I have a pooch, and then there are my scars.”

Cade took one of Beth’s hands in his and brought it to his side. He held it to him and squeezed the flesh there. “Feel that?” At her nod, he commented with absolutely no self-loathing, “It’s extra skin. Flab. Love handles. My muffin top.”

Beth giggled. “You don’t have a muffin top! Jeez!”

“I do. You can’t imagine the number of side sit-ups I’ve done to try to get rid of it, and it just won’t go.” He brought her hand up to his chest and pressed her fingers to the small scars there. “And I’ve got my own scars, sweetheart. I know we’ve talked about it, but we’ll discuss it again, as much as you need to make you believe me when I say that the scars on your body will make absolutely no difference in how I feel about you. You don’t feel less about me because of mine, do you?”

“Of course not. But Cade, yours are from your job, from doing something good for others.”

Cade didn’t lose eye contact with Beth as he tried to articulate what he was feeling. “The point is that neither of us is perfect. But I can tell you, I’ve never been as attracted to anyone as I am to you.
You
, Beth. Yes, I want to see every inch of your body, but it’s what’s inside you that I love, not the package it comes in.”

Beth stared at Cade wide-eyed as he continued. She had no idea if he knew what he’d just admitted or not, but he didn’t give her a chance to ask.

“You have scars from what someone else did to you, but I don’t see them as scars, more like life medals. Life throws a lot at us. The more scars a person has just means they’ve survived more of what life threw at them. It means that they’re stronger than the average person. Mine are piddly compared to yours. You are the most amazing, strong, pigheaded, controlled, smart,
stubborn
woman I’ve ever met. And I mean all of that in the best way possible. If you weren’t all of those things, you wouldn’t have made it through what you have. You’ve spit in the face of death and come out the other side. I will love your scars because they made you who you are today.”

“Cade…”

“Let me see you?”

Beth could only nod. She didn’t see herself that way—obviously—but it was breathtaking that Cade did. She suddenly wished with all her heart that she
was
that woman. She
wanted
to be that woman for Cade. She didn’t want to ever do anything to make him think otherwise.

Suddenly grateful she’d packed up all her fire paraphernalia—she never wanted him to know how weak she’d been—she made a promise to herself to try to be the woman Cade saw.

She held her breath as Cade slowly pushed her shirt up and over her head. Raising her arms to make it easier for him to get it off, Beth let her breath out in a whoosh as his warm palm spanned her lower belly. She looked down at it, loving the sight of his tanned skin on her pale body. When he didn’t move, she brought her eyes up to his.

He was looking at her face, instead of her body. When he caught her eyes, he murmured, “Okay so far?”

Beth nodded, and, taking the initiative, arched her back and reached under herself to undo the snap of her bra. It was now or never, and baring herself all at once would be easier than doing it by increments. Like pulling off a Band-Aid…she wanted to get it done. She unclasped the two hooks, drew the cups down her arms, and threw the material on the floor.

Cade’s eyes finally moved downward, and she heard him inhale as she exposed herself to him.

His hand finally moved, inching higher and higher, finally covering her naked breast with his palm.

“Perfection,” he breathed as he stroked and caressed her. As though he knew right where Hurst had hurt her, his fingers moved to each scar and lightly traced them. They’d faded over time because of the creams she’d used, but they still seemed to stand out to Beth.

Cade leaned into her and began to kiss each and every mark. It wasn’t sexual, so much as reverent. The cigarette burns on her breasts got the same treatment as the fading slice on her side from the killer’s knife. It was as if his touch could erase what had happened to her. And in some ways, it did just that.

Eventually his caresses changed from tender and healing to erotic and arousing. When he drew one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked gently, Beth swore she felt it down to her toes. She could feel herself getting wet and she shifted under him. His large hand held her breast to his mouth as he feasted on her. Not able to stand it any longer, Beth complained, “Cade…I want to touch you too.”

Cade immediately turned over on his back, bringing her with him. Beth found herself half on top of him, and she propped herself up on her elbows, careful not to dig them into his chest.

“I’m all yours, sweetheart.”

Beth didn’t hesitate, too aroused to worry about what she might look like as she dove toward his nipples. If she liked the feel of his mouth on her, he’d probably like it just as much. She nibbled and bit at his nipple as her hand roamed his body. When her hand wandered too close to his hard length, he turned them until she was under him once again.

“I want you.” His words were blunt and guttural, as if her ministrations had pushed him to the edge.

“Yes.”

Cade kneeled up on the mattress and unsnapped the button on his jeans and lowered the zipper, never losing eye contact with her. He shoved his pants and boxers down together, falling to one hip to remove them, before getting back up on his knees next to her.

Beth’s eyes widened as she visually caressed him. His dick was hard and it bobbed up and down with his movements as if it was waving hello. She reached out a hand and ran a fingertip over the mushroom head, watching in fascination as it jerked at her touch and a bead of pre-come materialized at the tip.

“As I told you earlier, sweetheart, guys are easy. You can tell when we’re aroused, it’s kinda hard to hide. And we’re fairly easy to please. Soft touches, hard ones…we like it all. Does this scare you?” Cade asked, vaguely gesturing to his naked body hovering near hers. He was amazingly nonchalant, considering he was completely bare before her and obviously aroused. His lack of outward urgency went a long way toward reassuring her he wasn’t about to lose it and pounce on her.

She shook her head. “No, I’m not scared of you, Cade.”

“Good. I want to see the rest of you.”

And just like that, Beth wanted the same thing. She wanted to be naked with Cade. Wanted him to see all of her. It’d been so long since she’d made this kind of connection with another human, and suddenly she wanted to be skin-to-skin.

Her hands moved to her waistband and she shoved her sweats down her legs and kicked them off. She wasn’t as talented as he was though, and had to take the time to push her plain pink cotton panties off after the sweats. Finally, she lay back naked as the day she was born.

Cade didn’t make her wait to let her know what he thought.

“Absolutely fucking amazing.” His words were reverent and oozed sincerity.

Beth was ridiculously relieved he still seemed to be as aroused as he was before they’d shed their clothes. He was right in that he couldn’t hide his reaction to her. Beth wrapped one hand around his thigh and with the other she gripped his erection. His breath came in short pants as he leaned over her and nuzzled her belly button.

Without words, they learned each other’s bodies. He stayed kneeling next to her hip as he caressed her upper thighs and legs while she did the same to him. He leaned over, spreading his legs to give her hand room to move on his shaft, and licked her belly, blowing on her wet folds. Beth’s hand rubbed his pre-come over the head of his shaft as she caressed him. He finally moved until he was lying between her legs.

Beth looked down at the amazing man about to learn her body up close and personal. He spread her folds apart gently with his thumbs as he leaned in and licked her.

At her jolt when his tongue touched her, Cade looked up and reassured her. “Ummmmm, I swear to God I’ve never wanted to do this as badly as I want to do it to you. Has anyone eaten you out before, sweetheart?”

Beth shook her head, not able to squeeze words out of her constricted throat.

“Good.” Cade’s voice was possessive and hard. “I get to be first. I love that. Hold on. I might not be an expert, but I think I can make you feel good.”

As Cade got to work, Beth thought she was going to die. Her toes curled and her knees came up as he licked and sucked and…
worshiped
between her legs. It all felt good, but when he shifted upward and started licking her clit, Beth could only groan in ecstasy. She liked his mouth on her, but this was something different.

When his mouth eased away, her hips pressed up, trying to follow him. She needed more, more pressure, more attention on her clit. She knew if he paid just a little more attention to it, she’d be there. She’d had orgasms before, at her own hand, but having Cade be the one to throw her over the edge was almost scary. He had complete control over her pleasure, and she wanted him to be the one to make her explode.

“Harder, Cade. Right on my clit. Please, I’m almost…” Her breath hitched as Cade did just as she begged. He concentrated on the small bundle of nerves, using his thumb to pull the hood out of the way so he had unfettered access to the sensitive bud underneath. He licked her hard and fast, over and over. Her hips bucked up against him, but he didn’t lose her. His hands held her still as he closed his lips over her and sucked at the same time as he lashed at her with his tongue.

Beth balanced on the precipice of a monster orgasm, needing just a bit more to throw her over the edge. When he eased one finger inside her tight sheath and pumped in and out of her as he sucked, that was all it took.

She shuddered in Cade’s grasp as he continued to lick at her. Just when she thought it was over, he flicked her clit once more and she trembled with another mini-orgasm. Finally, after she was weak with pleasure, he lifted his head and she watched as he put the finger that had been inside her into his mouth and licked it clean.

“Delicious.”

“Oh my God. You didn’t just do that.”

Cade scooted up until he was hovering over her sated body, supporting himself on his elbows. Beth could feel his erection, hard and wet against her inner thigh. He was smiling, a broad grin that she’d pay to see on his face all the time. “I did do it. You
are
delicious.”

Beth wrinkled her nose at him and he chuckled. “It must be a guy thing.”

“Must be,” she agreed.

He got serious. “You okay? No bad memories?”

“No!” Beth told him immediately and with heat. “Nothing you did came close to anything that happened that night.”

“Good. And I feel I must warn you, I liked that…a lot.”