My Man Michael

by Lori Foster

  That wasn’t quite right, and he shook his head. “That is, I’ve gone slow, but only to tease, because that’s what we both wanted. Not because the lady needed time to adjust …” He sounded like an ass, telling her about other women. Damn. “Look, Kayli, this is new for me, too. I’m trying to be really considerate—”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t.” Warm and a little dazed with unfamiliar need, she slipped her fingers over his collarbone, then down into his chest hair. Her gaze flickered up to his. “Deny yourself, I mean.”

  God, she looked so ready.

  His heart started thumping double-time. His dick twitched with encouragement. Mallet had to remind himself that Kayli didn’t know what she was saying, that sexual desire was new to her.

  He had to be the strong one, and damn it, when it came to sex, he usually just gave in.

  He stopped her hand from the sensual exploration and kissed her palm. “Not right now, honey. Not tonight. Not like this.”

  “But …” Her lashes fluttered; heat poured off her. “I don’t want to stop.”

  Futuristic chicks were into torture, he understood that now. His smile hurt, but he managed it anyway. “I know how it is, Kayli. I know what you’re feeling, believe me. The problem is that lust distorts things, and makes us forget our priorities.”

  Offended, she drew back a little.

  He pulled her close again, determined to make her understand. He would be considerate damn it, even if it killed him.

  “But before this, before now, you’ve made it clear how you feel. Your colony has some pretty strict moral codes about showing … affection.” What a crock. Affection? He was dying for her. “If I did to you what I want to do to you, it’d definitely cross a line. And later, when you had time to think about it, you’d regret it, and then you’d be pissed at me.”

  Maybe. He looked at her, at her warmed eyes and trembling shoulders and thought, But maybe not?

  Then he shook himself.

  No. Damn it, he would be noble. Kayli deserved that much.

  She deserved everything he could give her.

  Her hands flattened on his chest. In a small but daring voice, she tested her newfound feminine wiles. “What is it that you want to do to me?”

  Mallet couldn’t believe it. Despite his hesitation, she felt comfortable enough to tease him? He’d call that definite progress.

  Fighting a triumphant smile, he said, “You little temptress.”

  “Am I?”

  Now she sounded pleased with herself. “Oh yeah. You’re sure as hell tempting me.” He searched her face in the moon shadows. “We’re both naked, Kayli. We’re alone. And we haven’t done the whole union thing yet. But you’re not worried or afraid?”

  “I was,” she admitted, her eyes dark and her voice breathless. “Now I’m just … warm and shaky and my stomach feels … tingly.”

  Oh God. He needed to drown himself. “Good.” He sounded like a dying man. “Those are all signs that you want me.”

  Somehow, she snuggled closer without seeming to move. “I want something. I’m just not sure what.”

  It hurt, but he said, “You’re a smart girl. Try guessing.”

  Challenged, she said, “Okay.” She looked at his mouth with scorching intensity. “I want more kisses.”

  “Not a problem. On that score, I’m happy to oblige.” He started to do just that, but she put her fingers to his mouth.

  Her sigh, ripe with frustration, warmed his skin. “Somehow, I know that kissing won’t be nearly enough.”

  It was a dangerous game, heightening his own need as much as hers, but Mallet couldn’t call it quits. Not while she was being so daring, and not when it might work to his advantage in the long run, getting him closer to her.

  “No? Then what else do you want?”

  “I want you closer.” As she spoke, she moved, almost without thought, driven by basic desire to brush her body into his.

  To still those tantalizing movements, Mallet hugged her close, as near as two people could get without making love.

  Her fingertips pressed into the muscles of his chest and her forehead rested against his sternum. Voice broken with need, she whispered, “Closer than that, even.”

  Tilting his head back, Mallet stared up at the glowing moon. He could feel Kayli’s heartbeat, the tremors that shivered through her. Knowing this was probably the first time she’d felt the overwhelming swell of sexual desire, he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her unfulfilled.

  His plan to ease her into things had backfired in a big way, mostly because he’d underestimated how innately sensual she was.

  Not that long ago, it had felt like his entire world had crashed in on him. Now, here with Kayli, Mallet knew he wouldn’t change a single thing, because all that had happened had brought him here, to this moment.

  Knowing how badly she needed him tempered his burning lust with an even hotter tenderness. The feeling was new to him, but then, everything with Kayli was new. And wonderful. And fun.

  Using fresh insight and an altered plan, Mallet tangled his fingers in her fair hair and tipped back her head.

  A pulse beat wildly in her throat. She looked hot and ripe. “I can help you if you’ll let me.”

  Her fingers continued a deep caress on his pectorals, but she seemed unaware of it. “Help me how?”

  Anticipation swelled inside him. “I can make you feel better, honey. Much better. More relaxed.” He brushed his mouth over that telltale pulse in her throat, touched with his tongue, teased with his teeth.

  “I am … tense.” Her eyelids drooped, her lips parted. “It’s the strangest thing, Michael. The way I feel, I mean.”

  “Tell me.” As he said it, he began easing them toward the shoreline where large rocks offered stability for what he intended to do next. To her. For her.

  His heart swelled with his purpose. He’d have his fingers on her, in her, stroking her until she came, and it didn’t matter if it was selfish or altruistic.

  The end result was a lot of eagerness on his part.

  Her tongue slicked out slowly over that killer mouth of hers. “I feel … jittery inside, but also warm and thick and …”

  “And?” he prompted, wanting her to continue.

  A little embarrassed, she whispered, “Wet.”

  Hell yeah. Not kissing her wasn’t an option. He ravaged her mouth, and she loved it, pressing hard against him until he started moving again. “You should be wet, you know. That’s what makes it all easier for a woman.”

  “How so?”

  “I’ll show you.” Not the way he wanted, but it’d have to do for now.

  He found a large, flat rock half out of the water, hidden in deepest shadows. After sitting on the very edge, which kept his lower half submerged, he coaxed Kayli closer. She didn’t resist, and in fact seemed eager to his sex-starved libido, so he brought her up onto his lap and guided her legs around him.

  As he cupped her waist, keeping her away from his erection, her breathing came faster, harder.

  Mallet heard an odd sound, like the rustle of weeds, and lifted his head to listen.

  Hauk said, “Just the wind.”

  Mallet jumped at the sudden intrusion. Cursing, he scowled at the air around him.

  “No reason to worry,” Hauk assured him. “Carry on.”

  Some things in the future were more difficult to adapt to than others. He liked Hauk well enough. For a high-tech, state-of-the-art, futuristic computer, he wasn’t too arrogant.

  But right now, he wished Hauk was more than a mere voice so he could punch him. “Do you have to hover over us, Hauk? It’s like having a damned voyeur around.”

  “I do not hover,” Hauk told him. “But Kayli is my responsibility, so I’m not going anywhere.”

  Kayli chuckled in a teasing, flirting way as she leaned into Mallet and kissed his chin. “Usually he makes me nuts, too, but Michael, he’s just a computer.”

  “Just?” Hauk harrumphed. “You don’t think that wh
en I’m—”

  “Hauk!” Mallet glared some more. “Could you please just ensure our privacy without the running commentary?”

  “Fine.”

  When it stayed silent, Mallet took a deep breath, forced himself to relax, and smiled at Kayli. “Now, where was I?”

  With incredible timing, a breeze moved the tree limbs overhead, allowing through a shaft of moonlight that highlighted all of Kayli’s best features.

  Her mouth, her eyes.

  Her proud shoulders.

  Her breasts and belly.

  “Ah, damn.” He held her shoulders and looked his fill, and it almost did him in. “Trust me,” he said in a raspy, unrecognizable voice. “You really have no reason for modesty.”

  She turned her head shyly. “I’m not as rounded as most women.”

  True enough, but not a reason for inhibition. “Forget other women. None of them matter.” He swallowed, and said, “Let me tell you, woman, there are a lot of places that I’d like to kiss you.”

  She didn’t say anything, so Mallet lifted her hand. “You enjoyed my mouth on yours.”

  “Yes.” She stopped hiding and turned back to watch him.

  “And on your throat?” As he spoke, he pressed a warm, damp kiss to the center of her palm.

  She nodded. “It was … wonderful.”

  He almost groaned. Instead, he teased the tip of his tongue between her middle and ring finger. “Your ear?”

  “It was odd, but I felt it everywhere. It made my insides tighten.”

  He lightly bit her palm, her finger—and then he drew the tip of one finger into his mouth and sucked.

  Her thighs tightened around him. “Oh.”

  Forcing himself to be patient, Mallet kissed each finger, licked and sucked and slowly closed his other hand over her left breast.

  She jumped the tiniest bit.

  “Easy.” She was small, firm, silky. He cuddled her, caressed, moved his thumb over her taut nipple. “This,” he said, sucking at her finger, “will feel even better when my mouth is”—he lightly plucked her nipple—“here.”

  Groaning, she put her head back, which also offered up her breasts for his attentions.

  But not just yet, Mallet thought, wanting her on the very edge of exploding—like him.

  He held both breasts, teased both nipples while kissing her throat again. It wasn’t easy, not when he wanted to devour her, but he took care not to mark her. He could just imagine her embarrassment if she had to explain a hickey.

  As he teased at both nipples, her breath caught, her short nails curled into his shoulders. She breathed, “Michael, please.”

  He loved her reactions, so honest and hot. “You want my mouth on you?” He carefully caught both nipples, squeezed just enough to send sensation through her. “Here?”

  “Yes.”

  New heat sizzled inside him. “All right.” He captured her wrists and held them behind her, arching her back more. “No, don’t fight me, babe.” When her thighs remained tense, he added, “Don’t think of it as restraint or control. It’s just the two of us, and we’re partners, remember? You want this. Yeah, that’s it, perfect. Just relax and let me taste you.”

  Building the anticipation, he kissed her shoulder, her collarbone, the upper swells of her breasts, around her nipple, and when she held her breath—he sucked her deep.

  She cried out and almost came off his lap. Mallet didn’t release her; he tightened his hold to feast on her. Her frantic movements scooted her closer to his lap until she came into stark contact with his erection.

  She didn’t mind, and in fact pressed against him, seeking, hungry.

  Locking his free arm around her waist to keep her where he wanted her, he moved to the other breast. He licked first, gave a wet suck, and then caught her in his teeth.

  She groaned again, groaned more when he tugged while stroking with the rough, wet tip of his tongue.

  “Oh God, Michael,” she whispered, her voice raw and breathless.

  “Just trust me now, babe.” He didn’t wait for an answer. She was too far gone to carry on a conversation. He slid his hand down her back to her bottom, pausing to appreciate that rounded part of her anatomy.

  He couldn’t help but growl, “You have a very fine ass, woman.” Keeping her situated, he moved them farther back on the rock until they were out of the water and he could see her, all of her, in the scant moonlight.

  To quiet her soft moans and muffle his groans, he kissed her mouth—and slipped his other hand back around front, down over her belly, and between her widely spread legs.

  She lurched back, but he kept kissing her even as his fingers moved over her. So wet. So sleek. Hot. And … so fucking tight.

  Damn, but she was smaller than he’d imagined. He tried to work one finger into her, but he met incredible resistance.

  The fantasy of taking a virgin wasn’t nearly as complicated as the reality.

  With his hand now cupped lovingly, protectively, over her, he lifted his mouth. While trying to figure out how to proceed, he gave her a one-armed, tender hug.

  This was a mega first for him, and he couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her.

  “Michael?” She sought his mouth for a deep kiss, and he obliged. Beneath his palm, he felt the heat of her, her wetness. Her hips shifted, moving against him, seeking relief before shyness made her still again.

  He wouldn’t enter her, couldn’t finger her the way he wanted to. But it didn’t matter. With new awareness and heightened emotion, he searched over her sensitive flesh, over swollen lips, and up to her turgid clitoris.

  She was wet enough to slick the way, and with the very tips of his fingers he teased her. Given the wide spread of her thighs over his lap, she was nicely open and available, unable to shy away from him, unable to flinch away.

  And he loved it.

  At the first bold touch, she cried out. To keep her quiet and their rendezvous private, Mallet took her mouth again and continued in his slow, concentrated rhythm.

  Kayli, he found, was easy to follow, easier to please.

  In no time at all, he felt the small spasms building in her, the way her muscles tightened, her fingertips digging into his shoulders and the heat that emanated off her in waves.

  Lifting his head to see her as she came, he encouraged softly, “That’s it.” Her pleasure became his, and he felt caught up in it with her. She couldn’t stay still. Her hips rolled with the pace he set, riding against him, her thighs hugging him, her scent filling his head with every deep breath he dragged in.

  She squeezed her eyes shut. As she strained toward release, her head went back and she gulped air.

  Through a burning haze, Mallet looked at her nipples, at the frantic pounding of her heartbeat.

  Her teeth came together, her face constricted in an honest, raw show of pleasure—and then she lurched against him, groaning long and low, her thighs tensed and her belly hollowed tight.

  The sounds she made nearly pushed Mallet into his oblivion.

  Awed by her and her natural, carnal response, he steadied her, keeping up the rhythm until she moaned, caught his wrist with a plea.

  She went boneless, so soft and female that he easily repositioned her across his thighs so he could cradle her in his arms. With a soft sound, she curled closer, and smiled like a female well satisfied.

  He felt like a conquering warrior.

  He felt like the savior her colony wanted him to be.

  He felt more like a man than he ever had in his entire life.

  So overwhelmed with emotion, Mallet found speaking wasn’t easy. He kissed Kayli’s crown, nuzzled her ear, and inhaled her intensified scent. “Better?” he asked in a broken voice.

  “Mmmm. Much.” She smoothed a hand over his chest and shoulder. “That was … amazing.”

  Could it be her first climax? Was she so inhibited by her colony’s strictures that she’d never even pleasured herself? “So this was all new to you?”

  Her smile teased
into a grin. “Definitely not something covered in the instructions.”

  Mallet couldn’t stop kissing her, her hair, her ear, her cheek, and the tip of her nose. “Instructions?”

  “What you would call sex education.” She put a soft kiss on his pectoral muscle and her golden eyes, warm and accepting, gazed up at him. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

  “My pleasure.”

  “How can that be?” she asked, her brows pinching a little in confusion. “You’re still hard.”

  Was that supposed to be news to him? He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m okay. It’ll go away …” He almost choked. “Eventually.”

  Her eyes glittered up at him. “Maybe I could—”

  At that inconvenient moment, Hauk intruded. “Kayli, your sister approaches.”

  Well, an onslaught of family ought to help get rid of his boner.

  Kayli went rigid. “Idola is looking for me?” She scrambled out of Mallet’s arms so fast that she tangled her legs with his and fell back into the water with a loud splash.

  Mallet reached down and hauled her out. “Calm down, Kayli.”

  But she twisted away from him. “If Idola knows what we’ve done—”

  “So I was right? Now you’re ashamed?”

  “No! But—”

  “Actually,” Hauk interrupted, “it is Mesha, and she’s, ah, looking for Mallet, not Kayli.”

  Kayli stopped splashing. “What?” She turned big, suspicious eyes on him. “Why?”

  “Don’t look at me like that. I have no idea what the girl wants.” He ran a hand over his head. “How much time do we have, Hauk?”

  “Close to two minutes before she’ll be able to hear you. Voices carry on the water, you know. Perhaps six minutes before she is close enough to spot you in the lake.”

  “Shit.” He caught Kayli’s arm and together they thrashed through the water until they were on the shore. That she already regretted their time together bothered him more than he wanted to admit, but he was a gentleman—most of the time—so he wanted to salvage her pride for her if he could.