He gave a deep, approving growl. “You realize you’re the most tempting treat in your shop?”
She rubbed her nose against his. “That’s a nice thing to say.”
“I mean it.” As she had hoped he would, he moved a hand to hold the back of her head and keep her in place. “You drive me crazy, Maisey,” he whispered, and then he pulled her head down to his and kissed her.
The warm sun beat down on them, and his body felt hot against hers through his shirt. When she brought up a hand to touch his cheek, his skin was slightly damp, his hair curling around his ears and the back of his neck. The honey-like smell of the manuka trees rose to wrap around them, and all she could hear was the lap of the waves on the beach far below and the call of the tuis above them.
Joss tasted warm and sweet as the early autumn day, and everything felt lazy and relaxed and unhurried, as if they had weeks to explore each other, as if the world had stopped turning and the sun was going to stay high and hot and humid forever. She tipped her head to change the angle of the kiss, and he murmured his approval and slid his tongue against hers, tasting her, sending all the hairs rising on her arms and the back of her neck.
She could have sat there for hours just kissing him, but his hands dropped to her hips and he shifted beneath her. Before she could prepare herself, he rose to his feet, wrapping her legs around his waist. She gasped and held him tightly, and he laughed and turned to walk through the large glass doors into the house.
She bent her head to kiss him again, and he walked through the living room toward his bedroom. Careful not to hit her head on the beam, he carried her through the door. Maisey loved the room—she’d only seen it once before when he’d first shown them around the house, but she’d thought it was wonderful then. The walls and thick carpet were a light cream, but the bed that faced the sliding glass doors to the deck had a silky duvet the color of melted milk chocolate. Warm sunshine filled the room, and the ceiling fan turned slowly, stirring the air across her skin.
Joss lowered her legs to the floor until she stood before him, and he linked his hands behind her back, keeping her close. His erection pressed against the flat of her stomach, and the fact he so obviously wanted her gave her a warm glow that had nothing to do with the humid afternoon.
“You sure about this?” He kissed her cheek. “Because if you’re certain you want to go ahead, it’s going to be different to the other night.”
“Different?”
He kissed the corner of her mouth, and his tongue stroked her bottom lip before he kissed there. “I feel guilty about before. It was very quick, and not particularly romantic.”
“Did you hear me complain?” She was finding it difficult to breathe. Every sense was heightened, and whenever he touched her, a frisson ran right through her. “I did enjoy it.”
“I know—at least I hope you did. But I don’t want you to get the wrong impression about me.” He kissed her again, moving his hands up to her ribcage, his thumbs brushing beneath the swell of her breasts. “If we make love again, I want to do it properly.”
“Properly?” She swallowed nervously. She’d only had a couple of partners, neither of whom had been particularly skilled in the bedroom. Her experience was limited to fast and frantic, and while she’d suspected there was more to it than that, she had no evidence to support the hypothesis.
Joss lifted his head and studied her. The intense heat in his eyes made her soften and melt inside. “You gave yourself to me so generously last time, and I will always treasure that. But it was like one of those samples you hand to customers at the shop. It wasn’t enough, and all it did was make me long for more.”
“I didn’t know there was any more,” she said, breathless.
“Oh, there’s more, Maisey. I’ve tried to tell myself you’re out of bounds, but it’s not working. I want you, and I can’t deny it any longer.” He brushed his lips against hers again. “Will you give me more? Will you let me have as much of you as I want?”
She was tingling all over by now, confused, aroused, nervous, and yet also desperate to know what he meant. “Yes, um, I think so…”
He stopped her words with a kiss, turning up the heat this time as he crushed her to him. She gasped and then moaned, opening her mouth as he kissed her deeply, hungrily, his body hard against hers.
Pulling back, he moved his hands to her shirt. “First,” he said, “I want to see you naked.”
“Oh. Um…” Her mouth went dry as he began to undo her buttons. “Shouldn’t we…um…close the curtains or something…” The thought of standing there in the bright sunlight with his blue eyes blazing over her gave her goose bumps. Those eyes would turn her to cinders in seconds. She wouldn’t live to tell the tale.
He chuckled and continued to undo her buttons, and when he reached the bottom, he pushed the sides of her shirt apart and over her shoulders.
She let it fall to the floor, relieved she’d worn her white lacy bra. She felt self-conscious as his hot gaze devoured her, but glowed too at his obvious appreciation.
“You have the most fantastic breasts,” he murmured, moving his hands behind her back to her bra strap. “And this is a very attractive bra, but we don’t want any barriers between us today.”
Maisey forced herself to stand still as he flicked open the catch. The elastic gave, and she raised her hands to hold the cups to her breasts. He gently pushed her hands away, drew the straps of the bra down her arms, and tossed it aside.
She bit her lips, her cheeks growing hot from his admiration, but she waited shyly for his gaze to drink its fill.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.” He cupped her breasts. She held her breath and glanced down, watching as he ran his thumbs across her plump, swollen nipples. They tightened like a flower reacting to the sun, and he murmured his approval before lowering his hands to her jeans.
He was going to undress her until she stood before him completely naked. She felt embarrassed and shy and sexy and scared and excited all at once. Her heart pounded as he popped the button, slid down the zipper, and pushed her jeans over her hips. She let them fall and stepped out of them, and stood before him in her tiny white panties.
Joss smiled roguishly, hooked his fingers in the sides of the panties, and drew them down her legs. Maisey closed her eyes and stepped out of them too, and kept her eyes closed until he stood before her again and lifted her chin.
She opened her eyes, flustered, heart hammering. This was so different to doing it hard and fast while fully clothed!
“Happy now?” she said, a little resentful she’d stripped but he’d yet to lose a single item of clothing.
“Very.” He put his hands on her hips and moved her backward to the bed.
“You now?” she asked hopefully.
He shook his head, continuing to push her back until her legs met the bed. She fell onto the mattress, and he gestured for her to scoot up, so she moved until she lay on her back with her head on the pillow. Joss stretched out beside her on his side, facing her, his head propped on a hand.
Maisey looked up at him, into his deep blue eyes. She still felt self-conscious, but also beautifully decadent lying naked in the warm sunshine. The promise of what was about to happen hung in the air between them like the motes of dust sparkling in the rays of sunlight. Her instinct was to shield herself from his gaze, but instead she raised her arms above her head and stretched lazily like a cat.
Joss ran a finger from the dip at the base of her throat down between her breasts to her navel. “I’m going to kiss you now. All over. From your ears to your toes, and everything in between. I want to see how you taste, I want to make you come with my tongue, and then I’m going to make love to you until you’re so worn out you can’t lift a finger. How does that sound?”
She shrugged. “Meh.”
He chuckled, and she reached up and brushed a thumb across his lips.
“I can see why your surname’s Heaven,” she murmured.
“Oh, I’m no angel,” h
e told her with a wicked twinkle in his eye, and lowered his mouth to her breast.
Chapter Twenty
Maisey sighed as Joss covered her nipple with his mouth and sucked. The fan turned slowly above her, matching the beat of her heart, its regular rhythm hypnotic, lulling her into a state of dreamy bliss.
Joss hooked his leg over hers and trailed his hand down her body while his tongue played with her nipple. She closed her eyes, abandoning herself to his ministrations. Resting a hand on his back, she stroked his muscles through the material of his shirt. Was it odd this didn’t feel strange? All the years they’d been friends and she’d wondered what it would be like to go out with someone like him, and now here she was, lying on his bed while he made love to her.
It was only now she realized she’d secretly idolized him for years. She’d hidden it behind a façade of semi-sibling affection, pretending he annoyed her with his boyish pranks. But deep down, it had always been more than that. She could admit it to herself now, as he kissed over to her other breast and proceeded to bring that to a firm peak with his tongue. She would never have said so, but she felt honored he’d agreed to sleep with her, as if he’d given her a beautiful gift.
Then she realized how silly that sounded and opened her eyes, embarrassed. She mustn’t get carried away with girlish romantic dreams. This was physical and nothing else. He’d agreed to sleep with her because she’d practically thrown herself at him. What right-minded male would have said no to free sex? She mustn’t start thinking he’d chosen her in some kind of elaborate mating ritual. This was convenience, first port in a storm, nothing more. Both of them got a kick out of defying Kole, and she supposed it didn’t reflect well on Joss that he’d gone against his best mate’s wishes in seducing his little sister.
As if he could hear her thoughts, Joss lifted his head and looked at her. His gaze searched her face as if trying to read her expression. “You okay?” His fingers continued to trail down her body, along her hip and thigh.
“Yes.” She brushed his cheek. “I was thinking about Kole.”
His lips twisted. “Little tip: guys don’t normally like it if the woman they’re making love to is thinking about her brother.”
She chuckled. “Sorry. I just meant…”
He kissed her nose. “I know.” His hand stopped moving and rested on her thigh, and a frown marred his brow. “I do feel bad. I know this would upset him. I didn’t mean for it to happen either, and for years I’ve made sure it didn’t happen. I tried to convince myself I wasn’t interested in you, and forced myself to look the other way. But I’ve been kidding myself.” His gaze turned intense, hot. “I’ve always wanted you. I’ve watched you grow up and turn into a beautiful, sexy young woman, and it’s become more and more difficult to drag my eyes away. Nothing’s actually changed, but I’ve taken off the blinkers and given myself permission to look. For the first time, I guess, I’ve been honest with myself.”
Maisey stared at him, taken aback. She’d assumed he’d never been interested in her, but that her recent proposition had prompted him to look at her differently. The thought that he’d always found her attractive made her want to cry.
“I’m sorry,” he said, apparently mistaking her silence for recrimination. “I should have had better willpower and controlled myself. Do you want to stop?”
She looked into his eyes. She wanted to yell “No, no, no!” But instead, she smiled and shook her head.
The relief that lit his eyes told her everything he’d said was true. And happiness flooded her as he lowered his lips and kissed her, pulling her hard against him, finally letting the full force of his passion run free.
She moaned and sank her fingers into his hair, hungry for him in a way she hadn’t expected, and Joss plunged his tongue into her mouth and resumed his exploration of her body with his hands. He skimmed down the outside of her thighs, then applied pressure to her knee until she parted her legs for him. He slid his hand slowly up her inner thigh, making her tingle all over, stroked between her legs, then gently sank his fingers into her. The way they slid easily through her folds told her she was already aroused and ready for him. He groaned in response and moved his fingers inside her to collect some of her moisture before returning to arouse her clit.
She sighed, sinking deeper into a state of bliss. His expert touch was hitting the right spot. Her muscles loosened, and a glorious tightening began deep in her abdomen.
He stopped, though, apparently sensing how close she was, and moved to kiss down her body, slowly and sensuously planting his lips across the skin of her neck, her breasts, her stomach, dipping his tongue into her navel and making her shiver. He continued across her hip, down her thigh, and then moved to the end of the bed. Raising her leg, he kissed her knees, her calf, and then ran his tongue around her ankle bone and between her toes, making her wriggle.
He swapped to the other leg and repeated the action there, kissed her calf, and trailed his tongue along her inner thigh.
Maisey stared up at the fan and caught her breath, flustered, embarrassed, and yet desperate for him to kiss her there. He didn’t disappoint. First, he ran his tongue up the smooth skin on either side of the strip of hair, murmuring his approval. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip, fingers tightening on the duvet. And then he slipped his warm tongue into the heart of her, and she gasped out loud. He settled between her thighs, and Maisey sank further into oblivion as he explored her with his mouth. He slid his tongue inside her, flicked it through her folds, and sucked gently on her clit.
She wasn’t going to last long—she could already feel herself reacting, and the sensations were too marvelous to fight against. Her thighs loosened, and she sank a hand into his hair, her whole focus zooming in on the wonderful tightness deep in her belly.
Joss groaned and slid two fingers inside her as he circled with his tongue, and Maisey let herself go. Her body clenched around him, and she gave little moans as her muscles pulsed, filling her with warmth and a delightful sensation of heavenly bliss.
He lifted up, and she opened her eyes to see him smiling with smug satisfaction as he began to unbutton his shirt.
“You look like the cat that got the cream,” she said before she’d thought it through.
“I did,” he said, licked his lips, and smirked.
“Joss!”
He laughed and threw his shirt on the floor, rolled off the bed and quickly unbuttoned his jeans, and ditched them too. Then he hesitated. She could see his mind working furiously as he glanced around the room.
“What is it?” she asked, although she thought she could guess.
“Condoms.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Shit, I haven’t bought any in ages. That one I had in my wallet had been there a while.” He turned and walked off into the bathroom. “Hold on.”
Maisey stretched like the cat she’d been talking about, content and yet also hopeful he’d find a packet because she wanted to feel him inside her again.
“Sorry,” he said, coming back out and throwing a foil packet onto the bed. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had to think about them.”
“That’s okay.” How nice he hadn’t been with anyone for a while.
He pushed down his boxers and kicked them off, then lay on the bed beside her. “Hey,” he said, his voice and eyes warm.
“Hey.” It was the first time she’d seen him totally naked, and the vision blew her mind. She’d thought the glimpse she’d had of him in the gym had been lovely, and of course he’d taken off his top after the party, but this was different. It was light, for one thing, and up close, in person, in the flesh, he was all…manly. His shoulders and arms were tanned and tight with muscle, his chest had just the right of amount of hair, he had a narrow waist, a tight butt, and thighs that looked as if they could squeeze a girl to death, and as for the bit in the middle… Maisey stopped short of fanning herself, but she was genuinely worried she might faint.
“Are you for real?” she asked, running a finger down
his chest.
“No, I’m a figment of your imagination.” He grinned.
“Then I have to say, I have a very creative mind.”
His smirk faded and his eyes grew more intense as her fingers trailed lower, down his ribs, over his taut stomach, and farther down to close around his erection. She stroked him slowly, pleased when he closed his eyes and shuddered, swelling in her hand.
“Fuck,” he said.
“In a minute,” she scolded. “There’s plenty of time.”
He opened his eyes again, and kept his amused gaze fixed on her as he grasped her hand and moved it away. “Any more of that,” he said, “and it’ll be over before we’ve started. I’m only human.”
“And apparently you have very little willpower,” she teased.
“If you only knew.” He laughed and pulled her into his arms, rolling onto his back so she lay on top of him, and his hands skated over her body as he began to kiss her.
Maisey kissed him back, but his words played on her mind. If you only knew. Was it true he’d fancied her for ages? Her heart thudded, her body sliding against his warm skin. This was the happiest she’d felt in a long, long time.
And that was when the first warning bell rang in her head.
But by then it was too late to think about it further. Joss flipped her again so she lay on her back, knelt between her legs, ripped the top off the foil packet, and rolled the condom on. He guided the tip of his erection into her, then leaned over her, looking into her eyes as he slowly sheathed himself inside her.
Maisey gave a long moan at the exquisite sensation of being stretched and filled. He paused, letting her adjust, and she moved her hips and tightened her internal muscles, groaning again as she felt him all the way up, warm and firm.
“Okay?” he murmured.
“Yes,” she said, breathless and touched by his concern. “Very okay.”
Smiling, he began to move with slow, gentle thrusts. He was almost kneeling beneath her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The angle enabled him to penetrate deep inside her, so deep she felt full to the brim.
Treat her Right: A New Zealand Sexy Beach Romance (Treats to Tempt You Book 2) Page 13