It sounded like he had gravel in his throat, and his reference to their earlier phone call shot her temperature up another notch. She’d forgotten about that, but clearly, he hadn’t.
His face was half in shadow, but it made no difference because his eyes were…alive. She wouldn’t have said they glowed, yet there was something about them as they held her captive from behind those crazy-thick frames of dark lashes.
Her mouth went dry, as if suddenly stuffed full of cotton. She tried to moisten her lips with her tongue, only to have his attention zero in on the movement. His eyes darkened. His head closed in, and her lashes fluttered shut for the kiss she knew was a breath away.
Warm lips brushed hers softly, then drew away. Not too far—she could still feel the light caress of his breath, smell the hazelnut from his liberally laced hot chocolate. Without opening her eyes, she leaned into him, palm braced on his chest where his heart beat fast and steady beneath her touch. She slid her hand up to his shoulder, relishing the hard, sinewy muscles beneath the smooth heat of his skin. When she threaded her fingers through his hair, a groan rumbled up from deep in his chest, and his arms closed tight as his lips claimed hers once more.
There was nothing soft about him now. Not his mouth, not his chest, and most definitely not the lap upon which she sat. She eagerly opened to the press of his tongue against her lips, welcoming his deep, greedy exploration. He took everything she offered and demanded more.
One hand rose to cup her cheek, and then he tunneled his fingers through her hair. Her scalp tingled as he lightly fisted the strands, angling her head until his mouth trailed from her lips to her ear. A nip to her earlobe sent a spear of sensation straight to her core. He sucked the lobe into his mouth while sliding his palm down from her hair, along her neck.
She felt him pause at the base of her throat, his thumb pressed against the wild pulse that throbbed with her excitement. His mouth replaced his thumb, his tongue swirling in a circle before his teeth raked against her skin.
At her sharp inhale and low whimper of pleasure, his smile curved against her throat. “Do that again.”
This time, his love bite made her gasp. He kept up the assault until the combination of his lips, tongue, and teeth wrung a moan from her parted lips. Wow. And he hadn’t even touched her below the neck yet.
“That’s what I was looking for.” Satisfaction dripped from his words.
Drowning in sensation, a distant part of her thought this was the last place she’d expected to be tonight. In his arms, on his lap, aching for his mouth on every inch of her body. His skin against hers. Earlier, she’d cursed the weather, now if only he’d slide that wickedly wonderful tongue lower, she’d bow down in worship of Mother Nature.
Unexpectedly, that thought made her pause. Made her think of the past couple hours. She drew in a breath and managed to speak. “Dean…?”
“What?” His warm breath fanned her ear again, then the tip of his tongue traced the shell. Hot shivers of need cascaded up and down her spine.
What was I saying? Oh yeah… “Maybe we…shouldn’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“Because…you…” Good God, his mouth was making it damn hard for her to concentrate. She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to focus. “You were…just in a car accident.”
“Which makes me twice as happy to be here right now.”
“I’m serious,” she protested with a half-hearted push against his chest that did absolutely nothing.
“So am I.”
His hand slipped beneath the hem of her sweater while he kissed her neck. Her stomach quivered beneath his fingers.
“Haven’t you heard about life and death situations making people want to reaffirm life?”
“Yes.” Her eyes popped opened, and she blinked at the log rafters on the shadowed ceiling. “Wait—is that all this is?”
“Hell no.” He pulled back to lock his gaze with hers and his breath caressed her lips again. “After the past week, how can you even ask that question?”
“You’re right. Sorry.”
He kissed away her sheepish smile. “However, there is no one I’d rather reaffirm life with than you. You in?”
His husky tone was like golden honey, warm and sticky, flowing down her spine as he weakened her last bit of concerned resistance.
She laid her palms against his stubble-covered jaw and whispered her approval against his lips. “I’m all in.”
As his kiss threatened to consume her, he leaned her back, shifting her off his lap until he could maneuver to cover her body with his on the couch. Kissing him was amazing, but impatient for his touch, she pushed him back into a kneeling position and sat up to drag her red sweater over her head. By the time she’d tossed it aside, he’d managed to unhook her bra.
She caught the material before it fell away from her breasts. “Had lots of practice with that, have you?” she challenged with a lift of her eyebrows. Anything to distract from the brief worry he would be disappointed that her curves up top weren’t centerfold measurements.
“I’ve always been good with my fingers,” he replied.
“All that typing you do?”
“Exactly.” He traced one finger up her arm, hooked it in the loose strap, and slid it off her shoulder. “Let it go, Gina.”
A thrill shot through her at his low-voiced command. She released the bra and he pulled it from her grasp. Her reward was a kiss that laid her back onto the couch until the light sprinkle of hair on his chest teased her tight, aching nipples. She wanted his weight on her. His hands. His mouth. Desire made her arch up against him as she moaned against his lips.
He threaded his fingers with hers and raised her arms above her head, his grip firm. When he lifted his head, those darkened brown eyes met hers, so full of heat and promise.
“Trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Then I want you to stay just like this. Promise?”
She swallowed in nervous anticipation, but didn’t hesitate to nod her agreement.
That’s when her real torture began. He pushed up and sat back. She watched his gaze as it traced every inch of her exposed flesh. Her breasts moved with each shallow, expectant, self-conscious, aroused breath she took.
“You are amazing,” he murmured. “Perfect.”
She held her breath as he leaned forward. His fingers tugged on the button of her jeans, and she had to keep from huffing in frustration when he didn’t touch her breasts. God, he was killing her here. Once the zipper was down, she lifted so he could pull the denim over her hips before whisking them off, along with her socks.
Lying there with only her red panties on, she’d never felt more vulnerable. Or beautiful. His eyes worshiped her body so thoroughly, all her self-doubts were cast aside, and she could only imagine the sensations when he began touching. If he planned to tonight, she’d really like to know.
“Dean…” She bit her tongue before the please could escape.
“Shh.”
“What are you doing?”
His gaze rose to hers, lit by the flame of a candle on the side table behind her head. “I told you, you were going to pay for what you did on the phone.”
Her heart skipped at the velvet-coated guarantee.
He hooked his fingers in the material of her lacy underwear and pulled them down over her hips. “Do you have any idea how distracted I was the rest of the day?”
She shook her head. He slid first one side of the red fabric down, then the other, agonizingly slow as his attention remained fixed on the auburn curls at the juncture of her thighs. Vulnerability hit again, and she had to grasp the couch cushion to keep her arms where she’d promised they’d stay.
“I got hard in my meeting. That’s never happened to me before.”
A sense of power rippled through her at the thought of her jeans and T-shirt man all hot and bothered while buttoned up in his suit and tie. Damn, that was hot. Even if she’d wanted to, she couldn’t have held back the thrilled little smile that c
urved her lips.
His fingers had been performing a gentle massage from her feet to her calves, but at the sight of her smile, his hands tightened, eyes narrowed. “You don’t even feel sorry for me, do you?”
She lowered her lashes to observe the impressive bulge in his pants that she’d felt throbbing against her backside when she’d sat on his lap. Her smile widened to a grin. “Nope.”
“That’s fine.” The sensual threat in his tone said the opposite. He slid his hands to her knees and spread her legs apart. “Better than fine, because my payback is going to be really fun.”
Her breath seized in her lungs. Spread open before him, every single cell in her body became electrified. Waiting, wanting, anticipating him.
He lowered his head until his warm breath caressed her skin, then the stubble on his jaw abraded the sensitive area of her inner thigh.
Her already pounding heart shifted into a rhythm she’d never imagined possible. Then his mouth finally touched her flesh and every single sensation multiplied ten-fold. He made good on his promise, teasing her—no, torturing her—until time suspended and her world exploded. She might have screamed, or something, she had no idea and didn’t much care.
Aftershocks rippled across her skin as she lay with her eyes closed, once again struggling to catch her breath.
Yes, it had been torture. Of the most exquisite kind—and if he asked, she’d let him do it all over again.
Chapter 22
Dean couldn’t tear his eyes away from the satisfied smile on Gina’s face as she lay on the couch before him. With the firelight flickering over her damp body, she was a goddess, and he’d never seen anything more beautiful. Her complete willingness to trust him had been as arousing as her passionate response to his touch. It humbled and excited him at the same time.
His body ached, demanding he strip his clothes off and bury himself in her heat until she cried his name again. Instead, he slid his splayed fingers up her smooth stomach until finally—because it’d been killing him not to touch her breasts—he cupped both firm mounds in his hands.
Her eyes flew open, then just as fast her lashes fluttered down again.
She didn’t have big breasts, but they were the perfect size handful for him to use his thumbs and forefingers to roll her nipples. Her back arched, and though he wouldn’t have thought it was possible, her gasping moan turned him on even more.
“Dean…I think it’s…my turn…or your turn,” she panted.
“It is,” he agreed just before he sucked the tip of one breast into his mouth.
“Oh, God,” she breathed.
He took his time with each side, laving each one with his tongue, nipping, sucking until he was pretty sure neither one of them could take much more.
“Dean?”
“Hmm?” he hummed against her skin. Her hands were in his hair, fingers clenched as if to pull him away even as she held him closer.
“Just so you know, once I saw you, I didn’t see anyone else.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That night at the club. There was no one else but you.”
He stilled when his brain caught up with her words, then shifted until they were face to face. Her violet eyes held his, so full of trust and warmth and honesty that his heart slammed against his ribs. It took off at double-time as she smiled up at him.
“I don’t think you could’ve picked a better time to fix that,” he told her, leaning down to kiss her moist, swollen lips.
What started as a slow thank you heated up fast when her hands began their own exploration. First it was his shoulders and his back, then her fingers skimmed between their bodies and slid beneath the waistband of his pants. His stomach muscles clenched a second before her hand closed around his aching flesh, making his whole body jerk in reaction.
She stroked down to the base of his erection and back up again to brush her thumb across the tip. Good, God, that felt good.
“Take these off,” she commanded.
He stood to strip off his pants and boxer briefs when it dawned on him he was missing something. Shit.
“Stay here. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
Without waiting for her response, he hurried up the stairs to his bedroom. He was half-way to the nightstand when the cougar stopped him dead. He did a quick spin to take in the transformed room.
Wow. They were coming back up here to christen this sonofabitch later.
Grinning in anticipation, he grabbed what he needed and returned downstairs. “Nice job on the room.”
She propped up on her elbows as he tossed a couple condoms on the table. “You like it?”
“I love it.” Almost as much as he loved her.
The thought caught him off guard, but he had no time to really think about it when she leaned and reached to snag the drawstring of his pants. An insistent tug brought him to the couch. There were times over the past couple weeks he’d glimpsed a hint of shyness in her. But right now, she sat up in front of him and all he saw was a beautiful woman more than confident in going after what she wanted.
She pushed his pants down and he kicked them aside as her fingers encircled his rock-hard erection. Her auburn hair had fallen forward to hide her face, but then she gave him one of her sultry, through-the-lashes glances and leaned forward to take him in her mouth. With both hands, he pushed her hair back and watched. The erotic sight of her tongue flicking out to circle his head made his fingers clench in her hair.
Shit. No. He was going to explode.
He pulled back with an incoherent protest and tried to lay her back on the couch. She resisted and maneuvered him onto his back instead.
“Now it’s my turn.”
The blanket she’d spread over the couch cushions was as warm and soft against his back as she was on his front. Her body covered his as she kissed her way from his lips, down to his navel, and back again. Eyes closed, he savored the fiery sensations that had every nerve in his body alive and screaming.
His erection strained against her, missing the wet warmth of her mouth even though he knew he wouldn’t have managed to last a minute. Hell, probably not even thirty seconds.
She moved, and cool air rushed over his skin. He opened his eyes to see her reaching for a condom.
Yes.
He thought he’d die as she rolled the protection on much too slow for his taste. Then again, watching her concentrate on the task was worth the wait. Once she was done, she moved up and straddled him with one knee on either side of his waist. A tortured groan ripped from his lips as she lowered her body and took his full length inside her.
Tight and wet and hot—she was heaven.
Then she moved, and he about near came apart. Looking up at her, a goddess bathed in the soft glow of the fire with her hair wild about her shoulders, he knew he needed to be in control for this first ride. He surged up and crushed her to him before flipping their positions so he was on top.
“Hey,” she protested.
“Next time,” he muttered against her lips. “Promise.”
His tongue delved deep, claiming her as his own as he began to move inside her. Slow to start, then faster as they both reached for the building crescendo. He fought to hold on as long as he could, muscles so tense his whole body ached. Pushing up on his hands, he changed the angle.
“Oh, God, Dean…God, yes,” she moaned.
Her fingers dug into his forearms. Head thrown back, eyes closed, lips parted…she was close—so close, but…
He grit her name out between clenched teeth and spoke one word to go with each driving thrust. “Gina…now…please.”
His guttural plea triggered her release. As her muscles clenched around him and she cried out his name, he let go and hurtled over the edge with her.
* * *
Dean woke up slowly as details registered on his consciousness. Gina lay curled up against his side, soft and warm and gloriously naked in his new bed. The night had been beyond his wildest dreams and more than wort
h the wait, even though now that he’d slept he could feel the effects of the accident in every aching, stiff joint of his body.
With a press of his lips to her forehead, he softly finger-combed her hair from her face before turning his head toward the windows. On the nightstand, the numbers on his alarm clock blinked the wrong time. The power must’ve come on in the past couple hours because it wasn’t much before dawn that they’d fallen into exhausted slumber. The sun was shining outside, but it was definitely still morning.
Gina made a cute little mewling sound in her sleep, and turned away from him to snuggle into the thick comforter.
He lifted the covers a tiny bit and slid his gaze along the line of her spine, down to the dimples above her sweet ass cheeks. She’d alternately giggled and quivered last night when his tongue had traced that same path. Then he’d flipped her over and licked his way back up. Finally, he’d made good on his promise for her to be on top.
Biting back a groan, he dropped his head back to his pillow. Time to get moving before his growing hard-on demanded attention.
He eased from the bed, showered, shaved, and dressed, all without her moving. He would’ve loved to wake her up, but while he was used to nights of only a few hours of sleep, she probably wasn’t. Not to mention, his sore body protested each movement he made.
Downstairs, he started a pot of coffee and leaned against the counter as one specific memory surfaced in his fully-alert mind.
“I love it.” Almost as much as he loved her.
This morning, the thought didn’t even surprise him. Probably because of the soul deep connection he’d experienced with her last night. His mouth quirked at the corny, sappy notion…and yet, there it was.
He did love her. Couldn’t imagine going a day without her in his life. By his side. In his bed. Maybe someday their bed—she had picked it out, after all. That she was upstairs sleeping in it right now gave him every confidence the future would be theirs, and he smiled.
The gurgle of the pot signaled the brew cycle was done, so he poured a large cup and went straight to his office. Water dripped from the roof in front of the windows, evidence the temperature had warmed up again and the sunshine was making quick work of the ice outside. It was quarter after eight on a Saturday morning, but he had plenty of work to do inside until she woke up. Then he was taking the rest of the day off.
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