Page 74 of Sheltered

“Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes focused on mine.

I nodded. “Yes.”

“I’ll go slow, but if you need me to stop, all you have to do is tell me.”

I hesitated briefly, feeling some uneasiness about the pain I expected would come with this. Then I rasped, “O… Okay.”

Blaze sensed my trepidation and must have understood where it was coming from. “Trust me, Harlow. I will not hurt you. Just relax, okay?”

If there was one thing I knew to be true, it was that I could trust Blaze to take care of me. I believed he’d rather step in front of a moving train than to see harm come my way, so I did as he requested and relaxed.

His eyes still entirely focused on mine, he smiled. “Now breathe.”

I breathed.

“That’s it, baby. Keep breathing,” he encouraged me as he pushed forward.

When Blaze had gotten to what I had assumed was about halfway inside, he stopped, pulled back, and assessed me.

“Wow,” I marveled.

I didn’t know what I expected it would be like, but it certainly hadn’t been this. Sure, I’d used toys before, but I’d never experienced penetration. That was something I’d always wanted to experience for the first time with someone.

“Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

I shook my head. “Not at all.”

“We’ll keep going slow until you have all of me and can adjust,” he said, offering more words of reassurance.

As I already knew he would, Blaze kept true to his word and went slowly. He thrust forward again, going only a bit farther than he had the first time before pulling back. Again and again.

Though I could sense the tension in his frame—the result of restraining himself enough to keep this from being painful for me—it didn’t take away from my ability to immerse myself in what was happening. And there wasn’t a single thing about what was happening that I didn’t enjoy.

Maybe it was the pace Blaze kept.

Maybe it was that he hadn’t just shoved himself inside of me.

Maybe it was all the work he’d done beforehand to make sure I was ready.

Or perhaps it was all of that mixed with something else.

Regardless, any of the thoughts that had been lingering about the possibility of this being painful had vanished. The first few thrusts certainly offered some discomfort, but nothing about it was painful.

And once I’d realized I didn’t have a thing to worry about, I was able to focus on other, more pleasant, sensations.

Like the way it felt to have Blaze’s adoring stare on me as he slowly thrust into me, or the way it felt to have his warm skin and strong body against mine as he filled me.

When he had finally thrust completely inside, he stayed there, stared at me, and brushed his knuckles along my cheek. There was a question lingering in his gaze, and I had a feeling I knew what it was.

Needing him to let go of that last bit of tension, I told him what he needed to know and reassured him, “I’m not in pain, Blaze. I feel wonderful. This feels better than I imagined it would, and I don’t doubt it’s because of how you’ve been with me. I’m okay.”

His shoulders relaxed, and a smile formed on his face. After a beat of silence, he said, “You feel beautiful.”

I smiled back. “So do you.”

“Are you going to be okay if I move?” he asked.

I didn’t know how it would be possible for the opposite to be the truth, so I answered honestly. “I think so.”