hesitance making his throat dry up.
How had he gotten so lucky to be with her?
“I only have one expectation,” he explained, crossing the bedroom floor to retrieve her since she showed no signs of coming back to him. “I expect I’m going to die any minute now if I don’t touch you more.”
It was a pressing imperative to put his hands on her. Mold her against him. Taste her thoroughly.
“Sounds serious,” she murmured, sliding her glasses down and setting them on the dresser.
“You have no idea.” He stopped inches away and undid the last three buttons on her blouse.
A soft breath hissed between her teeth as he pushed the pink cotton off her shoulders, letting it fall to the carpet.
She was thin and delicately made. The gentle swell of her breasts was perfectly proportioned for the rest of her. Unable to resist another second, he skimmed a hand beneath one pink bra strap and let it fall off her shoulder. The cup rolled forward, stopping just before it revealed anything.
Leaning in, he kissed her there, on the top of that plump rise. He licked her and she shivered, a raw moan bubbling up from her throat while he sought the tight crest of her nipple. Finding it, he suckled hard, drawing her deep in his mouth to make her forget about anything but him. This.
He kept her there, working the tight nub with his tongue so his fingers were free to explore. With one hand, he undid the clasp on her skirt. With the other, he tunneled into her hair beneath the loose knot at the back of her head. This time, he knew where to search for the pins, freeing them to unleash the spill of dark hair.
Releasing her for a moment, he edged back to admire his work. The tousled hair and flushed cheeks. The swollen mouth and taut nipple that peeked over the top of her bra cup. While he watched, her skirt began to slip, and he helped it down her narrow hips. Her lace-and-ribbon pink panties were pretty trappings beneath her conservative clothes.
“So?” She toyed with the bra strap that hadn’t fallen off her shoulder yet. “I’ve satisfied your curiosity about what I look like undressed. I think you owe me the same courtesy.”
“As much as I’m loving the view, I wouldn’t call this undressed.” He traced the top hem of her panties, hardly daring to believe he was going to have her. “There’s a whole lot more I want to see.”
“I expect payment in kind.” She tilted her head in a flirty look and reached for his belt buckle, her fingertips brushing his abs and making him fantasize about her hand wrapped around him. “Shall I do the honors?”
He throbbed in response—a definite affirmative. But he didn’t trust himself. He needed to maintain control if he wanted any shot of making this right for her.
“I can go faster,” he argued, taking over the task. In a blink, his pants and boxers were on the floor and he had the distinct pleasure of watching her eyes widen.
She smiled appreciatively.
“Very nice.” Palming his abs just above the tip of his erection, she leaned close to whisper in his ear. “But I might need a little help getting ready for all that.”
He strained to be inside her. To stroke himself against the tender softness of her thighs. Higher.
Ruthlessly reining himself in, he lifted her off her feet and dropped her gently in the center of the bed.
“My pleasure,” he said roughly, hanging by a thread. He was wound so tight it wouldn’t take much to set him off.
For a moment, he simply let his gaze wander over her. She looked so good everywhere, he didn’t know where to begin. Then, directing his attention to the places where her lingerie still covered her, he started with the front clasp of the pink bra.
Freeing her breasts, he lavished them with kisses, nips, teasing licks. When her back arched for more, he kissed his way down her body, lingering in the narrow depression of her navel. He listened to her breathing grow deeper. Then faster. Then turn to frustrated gasps as she hooked a thumb in her panties and inched them lower.
A beautiful sign she wanted more.
Gently, Kyle caught a bit of the lace in his teeth and dragged the fabric lower. Lower. The candlelight danced warm shadows against her skin as she rocked her hips closer. When he had her naked, he pressed kisses along her inner thigh. Her sweetly urgent sighs drove him on, a reward for his patience. His restraint.
Her legs shifted against him as he reached the apex of her thighs. Her fingers twined in his hair and the orchid scent of her skin made him desperate for a taste of her.
His restraint slipped and he covered her sex with his mouth. He’d meant to tease and tempt her, to build the heat between them. But the need to have her was riding him hard now. The slick sweetness of her almost sent him over the edge. Just knowing she was this hot, this ready, was killing him.
Gripping her thighs, he made more room for himself. She trembled against his tongue, her whole body quivering. He traced the hot core of her, circling round and round while her short nails scratched into the bedspread on either side of her. He tried to spin out the pleasure, staving off her finish while building the heat. But soon, he couldn’t hold back.
Pressing a kiss to her sex, he left her. He wanted to bury himself deep between her legs, but he couldn’t recall getting out a condom and his pants were on the other side of the room. She solved the dilemma by tearing open a foil packet she’d retrieved from somewhere. Bless her.
He closed his eyes when she rolled the condom on him, her soft hand as lethal as a tongue stroke. Capturing her wrist, he pulled her back. Then, with a thrust of his hips, he sought the place he’d wanted to be ever since he laid eyes on Marissa.
Inside her.
MARISSA HAD BRACED HERSELF for the feel of him, but her imaginings paled in comparison to the reality of Kyle. She’d never had sex like this. She’d been with men who moved on the fringes of life—like her. Kyle lived it. Embraced it. Grabbed it with both hands and ran.
And oh, she could feel that in the way he touched and kissed her.
“Are you okay?” He held himself very still after the first easy thrust of his hips.
She knew he was holding back. There was more for her. He’d waited because of her. Because she’d told him she might not be ready for all he had to offer.
But she was so ready now.
Arching her hips, she took all of him. It wasn’t graceful or smooth, but it felt so damn good she wasn’t even the slightest bit sorry she’d taken the initiative. She could tell from his expression—eyes closed, the cords in his neck straining—that he liked the way it felt.
She wrapped her arms around him, savoring every second of having him so close. He was a beautiful, well-made man, his body eye-poppingly masculine. And she had him all to herself. Her body hovered near to fulfillment, her sex humming with frantic nerve endings just waiting for their moment to sing. Yet she didn’t want it to end. She wanted to roll around this bed with Kyle wrapped up in her arms for hours. Days.
Lightly, she bit his shoulder then kissed it. Bit and kiss. Licked the salty path of his skin sheened with a hint of sweat from holding back.
At least, she’d like to think that’s what it was from. Even now, he started an easy rhythm with his hips. Staved off the inevitable completion with a slow stroke in. Out.
His gaze locked on hers in the candlelight and her heart did a flip inside her chest. Men like him had never noticed her. She had no idea why he seemed to. But there was no denying the attraction. They didn’t need to put words to it since it was simply there. All the time.
“I want you all day,” he told her, the sentiment echoing her thoughts. “I hope you can clear your calendar.”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Better make now perfect just in case.”
“Don’t