Something soft and shaky slipped from her lips, like a fairy’s laugh, the light sound filling him with an almost visceral satisfaction. “Oh, God. Honestly, Aiden. I’d have to be out of my mind not to want you. You know that’s not it.”
He cupped her jaw with his right hand, pressing his thumb into her lower lip. “Good.”
“But that doesn’t mean that I can be reckless and just do whatever I want.”
“Wrong, Liv,” he argued, swiping his thumb along the inside edge of her lip, feeling the damp heat of her mouth. “You’re a grown woman. You can do whatever you want.”
“But it’s a mistake.”
He snorted, shaking his head. “Welcome to the club, honey. People make mistakes every day of their lives. Might as well be one that we can enjoy.”
She stared so deeply into his eyes that he fought not to squirm. “Is it really that simple to you? Don’t you ever worry about getting hurt?”
“I told you before, I won’t hurt you.”
“Aiden,” she said unsteadily, her mouth trembling, “you’ll do it without even trying.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw, no doubt betraying how wound up he was inside. “You’re just going to have to take that risk.”
“Risks aren’t smart.” A soft, breathless whisper that made him want to roar with frustration.
“Screw smart. Go with instinct for once in your life, Liv. Be selfish and look at it as using me for pleasure, just like I told you to do this morning. You can settle for your boring little slice of normal later on. But right now you should—”
“Aiden,” she murmured, cutting him off as she pressed her hands to the burning heat of his chest, “I—”
He didn’t wait to hear what she had to say, too afraid it was going to be another rejection. Instead, he grabbed her cool, slender hand…and flattened it against his cock. “Damn it, Liv. I need to get you under me.” He ground out the words, his breath hissing through his teeth as her fingers curled around him in a tight, greedy hold. “And it needs to happen now.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE WORDS WEREN’T SHOUTED, but Olivia could feel Aiden’s control slipping. See the raw desire shaking him apart inside. She didn’t understand why he wanted her physically, considering he could have any woman he chose. It didn’t make any logical sense for him to want her, the sexually inept kindergarten teacher who had never really been wanted by anyone. At least not like this, as if she were actually something worth wanting. But she could feel his need pulsing against her hand, hard and hot and urgent. See it glowing in his eyes, the smoldering amber reminding her of how he’d looked that morning, when he’d had his fingers buried inside her body, urging her to come for him.
She was acutely aware of the fact that this was the moment she would normally have shied away from such mouthwatering temptation and shut herself down, falling back on old habits that were hard to give up. But she turned away from them, slamming a metaphorical door in their startled faces. And with that uncharacteristic act of defiance came a sharp, electrifying surge of anticipation. One that grew, swelling, until it was something she could feel pulsing inside her, like a living thing.
Now, for the first time in what felt like forever, she chose to give free rein to her emotions and simply enjoy the moment. Enjoy everything she could from the complicated Watchman, for as long as it lasted. She could shut down again later, when it was time to slink away and lick her wounds. But for now she wanted to feel the fire. The heat and the burn and the blistering passion. She wanted to feel Aiden. All of him. Everything.
Which was kind of convenient, seeing as how her hand was fisted around his vein-ridden cock, the suede-soft skin a sensual contrast to the raw, primal power pulsing beneath its surface. She tightened her grip, squeezing as much of him as she could, though her fingers didn’t even fit all the way around. He grunted, thrusting against her in a hard, reflexive move, pushing the broad shaft through her fingers. His tall frame shuddered, every stark, powerful muscle rigid beneath the tight stretch of his dark, silk-textured skin.
Loving the wild, I’m-going-to-do-things-to-you-that-you-can’t-even-imagine look in his eyes, Olivia squeezed him again, this time in a long, slow pull that ripped some kind of thick animal sound up from his chest.
And she liked that sound so much that she did it again.
Then she watched breathlessly as a feral glow flashed in his gaze, almost as if something else was staring back at her. Something predatory and savage and dangerous. Something that was Aiden…but different. Other.
One second he was shuddering against her, and in the next his lips pulled back over his teeth…and he ripped her hand away. “No more,” he growled between deep, ragged pulls of air. Taking hold of her hands, he lifted them both above her head and pressed them against the wall, trapping them there. “I’m too on edge. You’re about to make me come.”
Olivia wet her lips, her breath quickening as need-drenched desire spilled through her system in a warm, succulent wave. It sent her head spinning, her body all but melting against him, readying itself for whatever he wanted to do to her. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Not yet.” Each word was formed with hard, guttural precision. “Not until I’ve made you come first.” He got close, right in her face, his breath warm and sweet and tempting. “You’re small, Liv. And I’m built like a bloody horse. The more times I can get you off, the easier it’s gonna be for you to take me.”
“That’s hardly fair, Aiden. I want to be able to touch you—”
“You will,” he broke in, cutting her off. “But right now I just need you to trust me on this, okay? That’s all I’m asking.”
She shivered as his thumbs found the damp hollows of her palms, stroking the sensitive skin. Chills raced after prickles of heat, her own hunger twisting inside her like a sinuous animal thing that was starved for pleasure. “One of the first things you said to me last night,” she whispered, “was that you didn’t care if I trusted you.”
“Yeah, well.” A crooked, boyish smile flirted at the corner of his mouth, his eyes still flickering with that sharp, feral glow. “I’ve been known to lie a time or two.”
Her own smile was wry. “Make a mental note, Aiden. You should never admit to being a liar when asking for a woman’s trust. Kinda defeats the purpose.”
His chest vibrated with a deep, sexy bark of laughter, and he grasped her waist, lifting her effortlessly off the floor. He pinned her against the wall, his heavy-lidded stare never leaving her face as he guided her legs around his hips, his cock lodged heavily against the sensitive core of her body. “Seriously, Liv. You can trust me.” A low, solemn tone, like a vow. “And I swear nothing’s gonna happen here that you don’t want to happen.”
“That could, um, actually be a problem,” she groaned, dropping her head back against the wall.
Catching the teasing note in her voice, he arched one golden, arrogant brow. “Why’s it a problem?”
“Because you make me feel greedy,” she whispered. “I have a feeling I’m going to want it all.”
His grin was downright wicked, wreaking all kinds of havoc inside her body. Heat. Nerves. Rushing pulse and churning, almost painful anticipation. “Saying things like that is gonna get you into trouble, Liv.”
“Not to point out the obvious,” she murmured, unable to stop the needy roll of her hips that pressed her tighter against his erection, his low growl and the tightening grasp of his hands telling her how much he liked it. “But I have a feeling I’m already in trouble.”
With another sexy rumble of laughter, Aiden lowered his head. The thick silk of his hair fell forward, brushing against her face as he ran the damp heat of his mouth along the edge of her jaw. “You might be right, honey.”
“I know I’m right.” A soft, breathless rush of words, while her hands stayed busy exploring the hard, mouthwatering muscles in his shoulders and arms, his skin hot and slick to the touch, as if he were burning with fever. “And seeing as how I’m no
t very good at this, maybe you should tell me what’s going to happen first. You know…so I can be p-prepared.”
She could hear the smile in his voice as he kissed his way down the side of her throat. “You know in that book of yours where the duke ties the chick up to the bed and licks her from head to toe?”
Olivia nearly choked on a shy, shocked burst of giggles. “We d-don’t have time for that. Jamie might need me.” Not to mention the fact that she’d die of embarrassment if Aiden tried to do something like that to her less-than-perfect body. In her mind, she was thinking more of sliding beneath the covers, under a comforting shadow of darkness, so that the differences between them wouldn’t be quite so obvious.
“If you won’t let me tie you up,” he rasped within the sensitive hollow of her ear, handling her weight with ridiculous ease as he held her against him, carrying her toward the bed, “then I guess I’ll just have to improvise and hold you down instead.”
The next thing Olivia knew, he was tossing her onto the soft, Aiden-scented sheets. He stood there for a moment, just staring down at her, the most provocative look she’d ever seen on any man’s face carved into the rugged lines of his expression, the sexy creases beside his eyes only adding to his devastating good looks. Then he crawled over her, his parted lips hovering just above hers as he slid one hand between her legs. He palmed her sex through her jeans, holding it as if he owned it, or wanted to, and her heart flipped over in her chest, reminding her that she was playing a dangerous game, fooling around with a man who wanted her only for sex.
A man she’d only known for little more than a day, though it felt as if she’d been wanting him, craving him forever. For a lifetime.
“Touching you this morning was incredible, but I need…I need this in my mouth, Liv.” He rubbed the heel of his palm against the top of her cleft, making her tremble. “Need to feel you against my tongue.”
She covered her hot face with her hands as he suddenly stood up again and practically ripped off her jeans. His hands were hot against her knees as he pushed them apart, the tiny pair of white cotton panties that she’d put on that morning the only thing shielding that most private part of her from his gaze. Desire pulsed its way through her body, potent and sharp—but there was fear there, as well. Fear that she wouldn’t please him. Fear that she’d lock up, close down and end up lying there like a dead fish, boring the hell out of him. She couldn’t help the burning twinges of self-consciousness and doubt, when he was standing there looking like a freaking god, his body nothing short of luscious perfection, with muscles poured over muscles, and a face that any man would die to possess. “Aiden. I, um, I know I said I wanted it all. But I…I don’t know if I can do this. I mean, maybe we should skip the…um, oral part, and just get to the other stuff.”
“Stop worrying, Liv. All you have to do is lie there and come.” Aiden worked to keep his voice soothing, which wasn’t easy, considering all he wanted to do was growl and snarl and roar like a bloody madman, his beast so worked up it was a miracle he was managing to speak at all.
Just calm down, damn it. Or you’re going to scare her off. And there’ll be no one to blame but yourself.
The tiger chuffed with frustration, tossing its head, then went back to prowling the confines of his body, lurking just beneath the surface of his skin, seething with hunger.
Taking a deep breath, Aiden slid his hands up her legs, gripped her thighs and pinned them against the mattress. He crawled back onto the bed and leaned forward, his mouth watering as he pressed his nose against the damp panel of her panties. She groaned, sounding embarrassed and aroused all at once, and he had to fight the primal urge to rip the cotton away with his teeth, so that he could get to the sweetness that lay shielded beneath. Her thighs strained against his hold as she reflexively tried to pull them closed, the arch in her back the most sensual thing he’d ever seen, her nipples hard and thick beneath the soft cotton of her sweater. He wanted to remove every stitch of her clothing, but didn’t trust himself. Knew the sight of her flushed, feminine little body would push him over the edge, shattering his control.
And God only knew he would need every ounce of control that he had if he was going to keep it together long enough to make this work. It was the given truth that oral sex had never been his thing, after his years at Mueller’s, but he had no doubt that he was going to enjoy going down on Liv.
Probably even love it, he thought, rubbing his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Become addicted to it, if she tasted even half as good as she smelled. His instincts were purring for this. For her.
And Aiden had always been a man who trusted his instincts.
Touching his open mouth to the pale, tender skin of her hip, he rubbed his fingers against the drenched cotton. “I’m going to put my tongue right here,” he told her, slipping his finger beneath the elastic leg band and stroking the small, tender opening. “Push it inside you. Lick you until you come in my mouth, all hot and slick and sweet.”
Bracing himself on his left arm, Aiden thrust two thick fingers up inside her, and watched as her hands fell away from her face, to her sides, clutching handfuls of the sheets as if she needed to anchor herself. Thick, savage satisfaction spilled through his veins at the dazed look of lust darkening her violet eyes as she stared back at him, her lips parted for the shallow, jagged rhythm of her breathing. She was thinking about it, imagining what he’d described, and he could scent the rise of her need, that provocative perfume seeping into him, making him drunk with craving.
“This is, um, a little embarrassing,” she whispered, flicking her tongue against her lower lip. Damp ringlets curled at her temples, one fiery strand draped across her warm cheek. “I mean, I’m not really comfortable doing this kind of thing with the l-lights on.”
Choking back a low growl, Aiden nuzzled the hem of her sweater above her navel, then buried his face against the gentle swell of her belly. No way was he going to let her hide from him. “You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about, Liv.” He pulled his fingers back, then shoved them deep again, nearly dying as her lush sheath clasped him in a tight, greedy hold. “You’re perfect. We’re talking the blow my mind, make me dizzy kind of perfect.”
He licked the soft patch of skin just beneath her navel, slowly working his way toward the edge of her panties. He could feel how shy she was, but it didn’t turn him off. If anything, Liv’s shyness just turned him on. A lot. Hell, he even got off on the way she breathed. The way she blinked. She could probably recite the bloody alphabet and make him hard as nails. The woman was just too tempting to resist.
“Can’t wait any longer,” he growled, pulling his fingers from the soft, liquid clutch of her body. She gave a shocked cry as he fisted his hand in the front of her panties, ripping the cotton with ridiculous ease, then tossed them over the side of the bed. Leaning forward, he wedged his shoulders between her legs, forcing them to part a little wider for him. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, but the words were all jammed up in his throat, his head thick with hunger and craving as he rubbed his thumbs along the silken inner surface of her thighs. His gaze locked with a visceral force of need on the exquisite flesh nestled there between her legs, his eyes burning as he stared at that tender, private part of her.
Private.
Until that moment, Aiden had never really thought there was anything particularly private about a woman’s sex. The females he normally took to bed weren’t innocent or shy. They tended to strip easily, lie back, spread their legs and show him what they knew he was after. He didn’t think badly of them for it. In fact, he’d always appreciated the fact that they understood what he wanted from them, as callous as that sounded, and didn’t waste his time making him work for it.
But there was something wonderfully intimate about coaxing Olivia to spread her legs wider for him, so that he could open her up like a gift, revealing all the pink, slippery details. He exerted gentle pressure with his hands as he pressed his nose against the silky, strawberry curls
that lay in a soft patch against the top of her mound.
“The light,” she gasped, shivering beneath his mouth.
“I’m not turning it out,” he muttered, the guttural edge of the animal’s voice bleeding through the human words. Unable to wait any longer, Aiden used his strength to position her legs the way he wanted them, pushing them out high and wide. “I want it bright. Need to be able to see every part of you.”
She stiffened, reaching down to cover herself, but he stopped her with a single word. “Don’t,” he growled, making her jump. “Sorry, just…don’t cover yourself, Liv. Don’t move.” He took a deep breath, forced out a gritty, desperate “Please.” Then nearly cried with relief when she shifted her hands to his hair, soothing him with tender strokes of her fingers, as if she were gentling some wild, out-of-control creature. It made him feel raw. Exposed. Though he’d have cut his own tongue out before telling her to stop, the touch of her hands against his hair too blissful and sweet.
Using his thumbs, Aiden spread her open until he could see all the slick, tender bits that lay inside. He was mesmerized, dazed by the sheer perfection of her. Smooth, pale thighs, and then that blushing, candy-pink center, all vivid and wet and pretty. It was like opening the lid of a treasure chest to find the jewels hidden inside. Like discovering an exotic hothouse flower, its succulent scent like no other in the world.
That was how it felt with her. He might have had more than any man’s fair share of women, but staring down at Olivia with rapt fascination, he knew he’d never seen anything like her. Nothing this perfect. This sweet. This…private. In that moment, Aiden finally understood the deeper meaning of that word. One that burned in his chest, hot and vital and violently strong. Yes, that was how he felt. This was private. Something that no one should ever have the right to see but him. That no one else should ever be allowed to touch. Or taste.
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