by Lori Foster
Her expression turned quizzical. “I felt that before.” She nodded at him. “Hard like that I mean, when you were still in the hospital.”
“Yeah, I remember. You turned me on then, too.” Hell, from the get-go, he’d reacted to her in extreme ways, wanted her like crazy. She’d dragged him out of his near depression just by showing up. “I won’t apologize because I can’t help it. It’s a very natural thing whenever you’re around me, looking so good.”
That brought her attention to his face. “But I’m sweaty.”
“So am I.” He shrugged. “We both worked hard. The difference is that you smell good sweaty. Sort of earthy and warm and—”
Quickly interrupting, she asked, “What will you do. With”—she nodded at his lap again—“that.”
He wished she’d quit talking about his dick like she expected it to perform some amazing trick. Right now, about all he could manage was strained conversation. “I won’t take you tonight, if that’s what you’re wondering.” God, it hurt to make that promise.
“Take me? Where?”
“I meant …” Mallet ran a hand over his face. This was more difficult than he’d ever imagined. “I won’t make love to you.”
“You mean have sex?”
He took another step toward her. “I mean make love, there’s a difference. You’ll have to trust me on that one.”
Her frown reappeared. “Why not?”
“Why not what?”
“Why won’t you make love to me?”
Did she have to sound so put out? It weakened his resolve to do the noble thing and wait. “First off, you’ve been avoiding me. If you’re not comfortable in my company, how the hell can I expect you to be intimate?”
She flushed with guilt. “I’ve been busy.”
He gave her a look to let her know he wasn’t buying that, but he didn’t outright challenge her on it. “Second, we’re not yet joined in this whole union business. I don’t want to do anything that you might later regret.”
Having thought about it a lot, the rehearsed words came easily. “And lastly, I respect you and care for you too much to take advantage.”
“But you’re …” She gestured at his pride and glory. “You know.”
Did he ever. “We could do some other things,” Mallet suggested. Just thinking it made his muscles constrict and sent liquid heat through his veins. His voice dropped as he added, “Things we’d both enjoy that would help you get accustomed to me, but wouldn’t require you to lose your virginity.”
“Really?” The curiosity returned to her bright hazel eyes. “Like what?”
She couldn’t expect him to spell it out. Hell, just saying “virginity” nearly toppled him over the edge. To his knowledge, he’d never had a virgin. Anticipating the moment when he’d get her under him kept him on the ragged edge.
Keeping things vague, he said, “I promise you’ll enjoy it.”
He waited while she pondered it all, seeing one emotion after another cross her beautiful face.
“You know I would never hurt you, don’t you, Kayli?”
“Yes.” Narrowing her eyes, she studied his body. “I know all about sex.”
“Is that right?”
“The basic mechanics I mean. I know that men get erect before they can enter a woman.” Her gaze flashed up. “Right?”
“Yeah.” He sounded like a dying man.
“I also know there’s some preparation that’s necessary to make it enjoyable for a woman, but I’m fuzzy on what that preparation might be.”
“It’s called foreplay, and it’s something men like a lot, too, babe.”
“They do?” When he nodded, she made a face. “So the ‘other stuff’ you mentioned is like the foreplay? I assume that’s kissing and … something more?”
This was worse than the inquisition. “I swear to you, I’ll explain it all once we’re in the water.” Where he could touch her, and show her, and enjoy her.
But she didn’t seem convinced, and continued to over-think things until Mallet said, “Kayli? You’re killing me here, babe. Make a decision, okay?”
If she said no, he’d find a way to accept it. It’d take a nice long soak in the lake, but he wouldn’t pressure her.
She drew a deep breath, bit her bottom lip—and nodded. “All right.”
Damn, but her acquiescence nearly took out his knees. “Yeah?”
Further torturing him, she paused with her slender fingers on the top hook of her shirt and gave him a severe look. “But I want you to go in the water first. And don’t peek.”
Heart pounding, Mallet felt like a kid who had just had his candy taken away. “The thing is, honey, I really want to look at you.” He was dying to see her. All of her. Head to toes and everything in between.
“I don’t think so.” She lowered her head so that her hair half concealed her expression. “I’m sorry, Michael, but no one has seen me without clothes since I was a very young girl.”
“No one male you mean, right?” Surely her mother or her sisters had done the whole shopping-till-you-drop thing with her. Massive shopping sprees weren’t his thing, but he knew Eve, Dean’s wife, could spend an entire day at the mall. Dakota, Simon’s wife, wasn’t all that into fashion, but on occasion she’d gone along just for fun and company.
“No one,” Kayli reiterated. With Mallet still watching her, she folded her arms around herself. “Not even my family.”
“Why not? They don’t have shopping in the future? Do you just zap clothes out of thin air?”
“Of course not. We have shops to obtain the styles we like. But I’ve always been very … private.”
“You have a kickin’ bod, babe. You should be flaunting it, not hiding.”
Her brows beetled down. “I prefer to find my clothes on my own, usually cyber-ordered, without voyeurs.” Her arms tightened and her voice grew impatient. “So are you going to get in the water or not?”
Damn. “It’s a deal breaker?”
Her mouth pinched and she glared at him. “I am not taking off anything as long as you’re standing there looking at me.”
Definitely a deal breaker then. “Okay, okay, I’m going in.” Mallet turned and waded into the dark water until he was knee deep. It lapped gently against his body, cold and crisp—which was a good thing. Maybe it’d help him hang on to his self-control a little longer so he wouldn’t embarrass himself.
A thought occurred to him, and he asked, “There’s nothing deadly in here, is there?”
“No. It’s safe for swimming.”
Trusting her on that, he went a little deeper until the water hid his boner. It felt good—but not as good as Kayli would feel once he finally got her in there with him.
Night came quickly as the sun finished its descent behind the hills, leaving everything in shadows. One by one, stars blinked on across the inky sky, creating ribbons of light on the surface of the lake.
Impatient, burning up, Mallet splashed his face and his sweaty chest. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he called out, “Kayli?”
She popped up in the water in front of him. “I’m here.”
Damn. His heart punched hard at the sight of her.
Her pale hair looked darker slicked back on her head. Water spiked her lush lashes and glistened on her sleek shoulders.
That killer mouth of hers smiled shyly, almost melting his good intentions.
Thanks to bright moonlight, Mallet could just see the upper swells of her small breasts in the water. Her nipples would be hard now, and knowing that was pure torture. He wanted her in his hands, in his mouth.
Since he didn’t want to spook her, he tried not to stare. But it wasn’t easy. He pasted on a strained smile and wrestled his gaze to her face.
She waited, her expression serious and nervous and brave.
Damn, he adored her. “Come here.”
She shook her head—and dipped a little lower in the water until it touched her chin. “It’s shallower where you’re at. I’d be �
� exposed.”
“Yeah. But just a little.” Just enough.
She considered that for too long, then said, “You come to me.”
“A control freak huh? I can dig it.”
She took him seriously. “As head of the defense, I am used to being in control. But then, so are you.” She chewed her bottom lip. “It worries me some, giving up my control to someone. But since I’m unfamiliar with all things sexual, I suppose I have to a little.”
“I’d never hurt you.”
As she continued to consider the logistics of sexual involvement with a take-charge man, she shrugged off his reassurance. “I’d never let you.”
Mallet smiled at that. She had a lot of spunk, and that added to his admiration … which added to his lust. “How do I know you won’t hurt me?”
“I won’t.” She was far too serious, almost making him laugh. Then she added, “Do you think you can compromise and meet me halfway?”
“You’re a diplomat.” Finding no fault with her suggestion, Mallet moved out the few feet to reach her. When he stood right in front of her, the water reached his upper abdomen. He couldn’t get too close, or she’d feel his erection, and that might send her out of the water before he’d gotten a chance to learn her a bit.
She gazed up at him. “Now what?”
Such a loaded question … “What I’d like to do,” he told her, “is kiss you. Just a kiss, nothing more. Not tonight anyway.”
She rolled in her lips, considered things, and nodded. “Okay.”
He lifted his arms from the water and, voice gruff, whispered, “Give me your hands.” When she did, he laced his fingers through her own as insurance that he wouldn’t forget himself and start groping.
Because he’d never dealt with anyone like Kayli before, he didn’t trust himself to use finesse. He was used to women who knew the score, who practically ran the show in bed. More often than not, he’d had women all over him, and he’d reveled in wresting control from them—a playful game they’d both enjoyed.
But Kayli was different. Having a woman shy away from him was a novelty.
“There are all kinds of kisses, Kayli. If I’d realized sooner how innocent you are, I wouldn’t have gone so far, so fast with you.” Hoping she’d understand his sincerity, he said, “I apologize for that.”
Her gaze drifted over his chest. “It’s all right. I didn’t dislike being kissed. I just …”
“Wasn’t used to it, I know.” He was so hot, Mallet wondered that steam didn’t rise off the water. She had a strong grip, but her hands were so small and trusting in his.
He would not blow this.
“Here’s the deal.” He lifted one of her hands to his mouth and kissed her wrist. “This time, you call the shots.”
“How? I don’t know enough—”
“You’ll catch on, trust me. And when you want more, take more.”
Her eyes were huge and dark and so serious. “I don’t understand.”
“You will.” Leaning down by small degrees, he lightly touched his mouth to hers, exploring with a gentleness that was almost as foreign to him as it was to her. Even the girl who’d taken his virginity hadn’t been as unschooled as Kayli—and he loved it.
Knowing that he’d be her first in so many ways, that she would learn everything from him, with him, was more of a turn-on than the most practiced expertise could ever be.
As Mallet teased with small, light touches, her soft lips followed his, parting just a little so that her sighing breaths escaped, tempting him and adding to his tension.
From the moment he’d met her, her mouth had drawn him. She had a mouth that’d drive any man nuts, and now it was his.
When she licked her bottom lip, her tongue touched his lips, too. Just to let her know how much he liked that, he gave a low, measured groan. It encouraged her, and she did it again, more deliberately this time, slowly stroking his bottom lip.
Yeah, he’d figured her for a quick learner—and he wasn’t wrong.
Mallet opened his mouth to match her, greeted her tongue with his own. Her hands gripped his, a telling reaction that thrilled him. She leaned closer and he felt her tight little nipples graze his chest.
Everything masculine in him clenched hard.
She tasted so good and felt so right, it took concentrated effort not to rape her mouth. He breathed deeper, turning his head a little to let her seek a more intimate kiss.
“Michael?”
The whispered, husky way she said his name was as effective as a hot stroke along his dick. Shaking a little from the restraint, he kissed the corner of her mouth, her chin, her bottom lip. “Whatever you want, baby.”
She leaned back the tiniest bit, looked at him, then melted into him again, her mouth full on his, wet and hot, her movements unschooled but hungry.
Damn.
Anxious to advance things a bit, Mallet teased the seam of her mouth with his tongue, and when she opened, he sank in, slow, deep, and hot. Moaning, she squirreled closer to him, letting him feel her naked breasts on his chest, her belly on his abdomen.
No way did she miss his hard-on, considering it was caught between their bodies, getting stroked by her squirming movements.
She tried to free her hands, but he held on, knowing that if she started playing touchy-feely, he’d never get through this as planned.
Against her lips, he said, “I love your mouth, Kayli. I swear, girl, I’ve dreamed about it.”
Before she could try to respond, he kissed her again, letting her feel some of his urgency.
“But there are other places to kiss, too.” As he said that, he trailed small, damp kisses to the corner of her mouth, along her jawline to her neck, then down to her shoulder. “Do you like that?”
Her eyes closed; her head tipped back. “Yes.”
“You’ll like this, too.” He opened his mouth on the sensitive hollow where her neck met her shoulder. Very gently, he let her feel his teeth, then the stroke of his tongue.
She gave a shuddering inhalation, then a throaty purr of building excitement.
“Yes.”
After another gentle love bite that made him want to eat all of her and caused her to shiver, he licked his way back up her throat to her ear. “God Almighty, woman, you taste so damn good.” He touched his tongue to her ear, traced the delicate whorls, and then nipped her earlobe.
A willing participant, Kayli tipped her head to accommodate him, and parted her kiss-swollen lips on increasingly hungry breaths.
Perfect, Mallet thought. Better than perfect. At this rate, she’d be ready for him in no time.
Forcing himself to keep to a slow pace, Mallet moved their locked hands to the small of her back, arching her body into his, hugging her close.
It was a perfect pose for a woman as strong as her, a supplicating pose in direct contrast to all she was used to. Seeing her like that made his lust rage.
Her breasts were fully exposed now, small, but firm, rising and falling with deep breaths. He moved her against him, and the feel of her breasts on his chest was sweet and exciting.
Feeling pretty damned powerful in this role of instructor, he licked her throat again, kissed her temple, and then took her mouth as he wanted, with all the heat and need he felt.
Her response was electric, without an ounce of reserve.
Trying to get closer, Kayli pressed her breasts to his heated skin, rolled her slim hips against his straining cock.
Mallet couldn’t take it. He wasn’t a saint, or a monk, or a eunuch. He felt himself on the verge of snapping.
Before he totally lost sight of his plan, he released her and dipped backward into the chilled water. The dousing did little to cool his lust, but at least it gave him a moment to collect himself.
God knew that with Kayli, he’d need all the help he could get.
CHAPTER 14
WHEN Mallet emerged, he found Kayli still standing where he’d left, waist deep now, her arms wrapped tight around herself. The sight of he
r body drew him, but even more than that was her expression. With only the moon for illumination, he saw her confusion, her hurt—and her desire.
Hoping for inspiration, he shoved his hair back and kept his distance. “I’m sorry.” Man, was he sorry. “We have to stop now.”
She barely moved except for a fine trembling and uneven breaths. After a prolonged stretch of time that felt like the ticking of a bomb, she nodded, but asked, “Why?” And then, even more agonized, she added, “Did I do something wrong?”
She looked so sexy standing there, so small and female and so much his that he barely got the words out. “Oh no, babe, don’t ever think that. You’re … perfect. More than perfect. Truth is, you’ve singed me—and that’s a good thing. It’s just that things aren’t going quite the way I expected.”
“Oh.” She looked away from him, her head lowered, her arms squeezing even tighter around herself. “I didn’t behave as you thought I would. I was … too immodest.”
A jolt went through him.
“What?” The little goof actually thought she’d disappointed him? Not possible.
Mallet came toward her so fast, with so much purpose, Kayli gasped and tried to get out of his way.
She wasn’t quick enough.
He lunged, caused a big splash, and then he had her back in his arms, where she damn well belonged.
Water dripped down her face, off the lashes of her wide eyes. Her mouth opened with a startled gasp.
Opening one hand on the back of her head, the other on the small of her silky back, he pressed her close. “You’re incredible. Don’t ever think otherwise. But I’m only a man, Kayli. Before meeting you, I’d gone through a long stretch of celibacy because of the damn injuries. After meeting you—well, hell, not only have we traveled time, but I don’t want anyone else now, and the fact is, I’m not good at denying myself.”
She stared at him with stark incomprehension. Mallet felt like smacking himself. How could Kayli understand uncontrollable lust when she was a virgin? A woman who’d barely been kissed, much less indulged red-hot need?
“Here’s the thing. We need to go slow, but I’m not a guy known for my patience or my finesse.” He had to kiss her, and he did, quick and hard. “Being a fighter … women throw themselves at me. I’ve never had to go without, and I’ve never had to go slow.”