by Karen Foley
She pulled back just enough to stare at him. “Are you kidding?” she asked. “I need for you to make love to me. Right now, what you and I have is the only thing that makes sense in this world. The only thing that’s real.”
He didn’t argue. He simply swept her into his arms before she could utter another word and carried her across the room to the bed. Caroline had never before had a man pick her up so effortlessly, and there was a part of her that thrilled to his masculine strength and the way it made her feel.
Feminine.
Fragile.
He set her on her feet next to the bed and, without giving her a chance to change her mind, cupped her face in his hands and slanted his mouth across hers.
“I could kiss you like this all night,” he murmured. “You have the softest lips.”
Tilting her head back, he worked his way down her throat, planting light kisses and gentle bites against her flesh, until Caroline shivered with need. His fingers unhurriedly worked the buttons of her shirt; she felt cool air waft against her bare skin. She didn’t object when he pushed the shirt from her shoulders, letting the garment drop to the floor until she stood before him in just her bra and pants.
“Let me look at you,” he demanded, his voice husky. Caroline blushed as she realized he wasn’t just looking at her; he was devouring her with his gaze, and the expression in his eyes made her feel both excited and nervous.
She wanted this. She wanted this beautiful man and the promise of pleasure that lurked in his eyes. She’d never felt this kind of gnawing lust for a man before. Her gaze dropped to his lush mouth, and a sharp stab of desire speared through her. His lips were too tempting.
Keeping her eyes locked with his, Caroline reached behind her and unfastened the clasp of her bra. She didn’t miss how Jason swallowed hard in response to that sensuous display. However, instead of immediately relinquishing the undergarment, she held it pressed against her breasts, feeling unaccountably shy. Last night had been amazing, but they’d had the lights off. Now there was no hiding herself from Jason. She felt exposed and oddly vulnerable. The expression in his eyes caused heat to rush through her veins and then pool at her center.
She half expected him to pick her up and toss her onto the bed. Instead, he stroked his hands over her bare skin, his fingers finding the dips and curves of her body with infinite care. He turned his face into the arch of her neck and pressed his mouth against her throat. Then he tugged the bra free from her fingers and let it fall to the floor.
Caroline didn’t have time to feel self-conscious before he covered one breast with his big hand, gently massaging her pliant flesh. She gasped at the sensations his touch created, unfamiliar with the cravings of her own body.
His eyes had darkened with desire, the pupils filling up the pale irises. His face was flushed, and the scar on his cheekbone stood out in stark contrast. His nostrils flared, and Caroline knew he was breathing in her scent.
As he cupped her breast, she pushed her hands beneath the hem of his T-shirt. He reflexively tensed, and her fingers skimmed over the muscles that layered his body. She slid her hands higher, reveling in his warm, hard flesh.
He watched her the entire time, and the only indication that her touch affected him was the way his breathing hitched when her fingertips stroked over the small nubs of his nipples.
“Take this off,” she whispered, and he complied instantly, reaching behind his head to grab a fistful of shirt and drag it upward.
She couldn’t prevent a small indrawn breath. His body was designed for a woman’s touch, and she was helpless to prevent herself from running her hand over his chest. She took note of the small scars and imperfections, wondering how he’d gotten the marks.
She traced a long, thin scar that slashed over his ribs, and then a cluster of small, round burn marks just below his collarbone. “Who did this to you?”
He covered her fingers with his own and pressed her palm flat against his flesh. “It’s old history,” he muttered. “Forget it.”
Caroline understood that these were the injuries he’d sustained as an adolescent, and that he didn’t want to talk about it. But she couldn’t let it go, any more than she could prevent herself from wanting to soothe the boy he’d once been.
“I can’t forget it,” she replied. “I need to know what happened to you.” She framed his jaw in her hands, feeling the roughness of his whiskers beneath her fingertips. “Trust me.”
He stared at her for a long moment, and she could see the wariness in his eyes. Finally, he nodded. “Okay. You should know.”
Carefully removing her hands, he walked away, scrubbing a hand across the back of his neck. He radiated tension, and Caroline sensed how difficult it was for him to tell her what she wanted to know. He stood at the window, and when he spoke, his voice was low and rough.
“You know I grew up in Hunters Point. My mother walked out on us when I was about three years old, and I never saw her again.” His tone was flat and emotionless, but his entire body was tense. “My father couldn’t take care of me on his own, so we moved in with my grandmother.” He paused. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”
Caroline nodded. “Yes.” What she really wanted was to go to him, and surround him with her love and support, but she understood that he needed to keep some distance between them. “Go on, I’m listening.”
“By the time I entered school, my father couldn’t hold a job. He was either too drunk or too high. My grandmother went back to work, which meant she was never around. And all I wanted was to avoid my old man. Because when I didn’t—”
“He took his anger at the world out on you,” Caroline finished.
Jason snorted. “As long he had enough booze or drugs to make him pass out, things were fine. It was when he couldn’t come up with enough cash to buy his next fix that he was dangerous.” He angled his head to give her a sardonic look. “When I was eight years old, I started stealing to get money for his heroin. Believe it or not, it was easier than trying to explain the cuts and bruises to my teachers.”
Caroline had dealt with literally dozens of child neglect and abuse cases in Richmond, but Jason’s story wrenched at her heartstrings. What must it have cost him to deliberately ignore his moral compass, and do something that he knew was wrong?
Dragging the bedsheet around her body, she came to stand just behind him, but restrained herself from touching him. “I’m so sorry.”
“I met Eddie when I was twelve. He taught me things that no kid should ever have to learn.” He turned to look at her. “Do you know how many homes I broke into as a teenager? How many people I robbed?”
Even in the dim light, Caroline could see the self-loathing on his face, and she ached to reassure him. “You were young, and desperate. And you never physically harmed anyone. You did what you had to, in order to survive.”
“I made choices that I knew were wrong, and I didn’t care who got hurt.”
“That’s not true. You did care, or you never would have agreed to my father’s conditions. You wanted to change your life, and you did. And the only reason you made those bad choices was to avoid being hurt.”
Caroline wound her arms around his waist until they were skin to skin, absorbing the feel of him. “I’ll never hurt you,” she promised and pressed a kiss directly onto the marks.
With a rough sound of need, Jason lowered his head and caught her mouth in a kiss so passionate that she felt it all the way to her toes. She didn’t object when he backed her up to the bed and pushed her gently down across the coverlet, following alongside her.
The bedspread was cool against her bare back, but Jason’s skin was hot against her breasts. Breaking the kiss, he worked his way unhurriedly down her throat and over her chest, nuzzling her breasts with his mouth. She watched him, spellbound by the sight of his dark head against her pale skin and feelin
g the rush of heat and moisture between her legs. When he took a nipple into his mouth and drew deeply on the stiffened tip, she gasped and arched upward, clutching at his shoulders.
He tormented first one breast and then the other, ignoring how she twisted beneath him, her hips shifting restlessly against his. He used his mouth to worship her body, moving from her breasts to her stomach, where he teased her navel with his tongue. His fingers moved to the waistband of her pants and released the fastening in one easy flick of his fingers.
“Yes,” she panted as he slowly drew the zipper down. She lifted her torso, helping him to push the garment down over her hips. Jason knelt over her and dragged the pants down the length of her legs until she lay on the bed wearing nothing but her panties.
“Oh, man,” he breathed. “You are so damned pretty.”
Reaching out, Caroline caught him by the waistband of his jeans and tugged until he came over her on all fours, with her fingers still tucked into his pants.
“Take these off,” she urged, needing to see him. “Hurry.”
“I’ll take them off,” Jason said. “But I want to go slow, okay? Last night was amazing, but tonight I want to do things a little differently.”
“Okay,” she agreed, too eager to see him to tell him that she had no intention of going slow. She was past ready for him. Even now, her panties were soaked with desire for him and her sex throbbed. She had no idea if this was how it was for other women, but she found she enjoyed sex. She was still a little tender from the previous night, but even that evaporated beneath the wave of desire that swept over her now.
Leaning back, Jason unfastened the snap on his jeans, and Caroline helped to push them down over his hips. Her breath caught as she saw his erection tenting the material of his cotton boxer shorts. As he stood up to kick his jeans free, she sat up on the edge of the bed. Reaching out, she laid her hand over the hot ridge of flesh beneath the fabric, thrilling at how he quivered beneath her touch.
“I want to see you,” she said and slid her fingers beneath the stretchy waistband to take him in her hand. His breath hissed in through clenched teeth as she curled her fingers around him, and her body pulsed hotly in response.
“You’re so gorgeous.” She sighed, pushing his boxers down to stroke his length. Glancing upward, she saw Jason watching her through half-closed eyes, his face taut. “You know what I want to do.”
“Yeah.” His voice came out on a raspy groan.
Caroline smiled. She’d never felt so sexy or powerful before in her life. This guy was the embodiment of masculine strength and beauty, and yet she literally held him trembling in the palm of her hand. The effect was an aphrodisiac.
She cupped his weight from beneath with one hand as she ran her fingers along the velvety shaft with her other hand. The head of his penis was like a ripe plum, and her mouth watered with the need to taste him again, as she’d done last night. Leaning forward, she ran her tongue lightly over the blunt tip.
“Mmm,” she murmured. “You taste delicious.” Then she took him fully into her mouth.
Jason made a rough sound, a mixture of surprise and arousal. His hands came up to frame her face, his fingers massaging the tender skin behind her ears. Emboldened, Caroline took him deeper, swirling her tongue around him as she used her hand to stroke and caress his length. She pressed her thighs together, squeezing against the sharp throb of desire between them.
“That’s enough,” he gasped and eased her away, his breath coming fast. “Jesus, where did you learn to do that? I won’t last if you keep that up, and I’m not ready for this to be over.”
Reluctantly, she released him and let him push her back onto the mattress. Bending over her, he pressed his mouth against her abdomen. The faint stubble on his jaw abraded the tender skin in a way that made her squirm in delicious anticipation.
“You smell great,” he said and hooked his thumbs into the elastic waistband of her panties, pulling them down in one smooth movement. His lips drifted over the arch of her ribs and over the swell of her breasts until he reached a nipple and drew it into his mouth. Caroline struggled for breath against the erotic sensations of his tongue and teeth, and she threaded her fingers through his hair, urging him closer.
His warm hand skated over her stomach and lower, urging her legs apart so that he could cup her intimately. Caroline’s thighs fell open and she pressed upward against his palm, wanting more of the delicious contact.
“That’s it,” he rasped against her breast and swirled a finger over her slick flesh, parting her folds and finding the small rise of flesh that thrummed with need. “Oh, man, you’re so slippery.”
He circled a finger over her clitoris, but it wasn’t enough. Caroline’s skin went hot and her sex tightened hungrily. Someone moaned and she realized with a sense of shock that it was her. She needed more. Now.
“Soon,” Jason promised as if reading her mind. He moved to the floor and knelt between her splayed knees. He stroked a hand along her inner thigh, urging her legs wider, before he bent down and covered her with his mouth.
She gasped and her hips came off the mattress, but he held her firmly in place as he laved her with his tongue and lips, alternately sucking and licking until she writhed helplessly. When he pressed his tongue against her, tormenting the tiny bud of her clit, she pushed weakly at his shoulders.
“Please,” she finally managed in a strangled voice. “Stop. I can’t take any more.”
Jason laughed softly. He reached down and grabbed his pants from the floor, fishing through the pockets until he produced a small foil packet. He sheathed himself quickly, but Caroline noted that his hands seemed unsteady.
He came over her again, bracing himself with his hands on either side of her. “I’ll try to go slow,” he said.
“You don’t have to go slow,” Caroline whispered and slid her hands along his back to cup his lean buttocks and urge him closer. She felt him nudging against her most private spot, and she opened her legs wider, arching upward to meet him.
“I’m sorry,” he grunted. “I can’t go slowly—”
He thrust forward in one powerful movement, stretching and filling her until he was fully inside her. He didn’t move for a long moment, his head bent to hers.
Caroline squeezed experimentally, the walls of her channel tightening around his flesh. Pleasure lashed through her, along with an incredible sense of fullness and a growing need to press herself against him.
Then he began to move, withdrawing slowly and then sinking back into her in a series of bone-melting thrusts. His heated flesh dragged at hers, creating a delicious friction that made her arch upward to meet him. The muscles in his arms flexed as he dipped his head and covered her mouth with his, feasting sensuously on her lips. Caroline heard herself whimper, and she drew her knees back and hooked her feet around his waist, meeting his thrusts eagerly.
She wanted more.
Jason complied, sliding one arm beneath her to press her more intimately against the hard drive of his body. Caroline shivered and wrenched her mouth from his.
“Oh, God,” she gasped, clutching at his back. “You feel so good.”
“I want you to come.” Jason’s voice was low and rough.
Caroline could feel the start of an orgasm building where he stroked her, but she didn’t want to climax yet.
“Wait,” she panted and pushed at his chest.
He raised himself up just enough to look into her face, his own expression taut. “What is it? Am I hurting you?”
“No.” She struggled to think coherently. “I’m getting close, and I don’t want this to end yet. I want to try something else.”
Jason gave a disbelieving laugh, but his movements slowed and then he began to pull back. Caroline gritted her teeth and her body followed his, reluctant to release him. She was so close, and she sensed that he w
as, too. If they continued, he could take her to heaven in a matter of seconds. But suddenly, she wanted to be the one to take him there—to do things to him that would make him lose control.
She pushed at his shoulders, and, with a bemused smile, he rolled away from her. But Caroline didn’t give him a chance to question her; she covered him swiftly with her own body.
“What? Hey—” He laughed uncertainly, but when she dipped her head and traced the whorl of his ear with her tongue, he moaned and collapsed back against the pillows. She pushed his hands up above his head, and slid her own hands down the undersides of his arms, admiring the impressive bulge of his muscles. Her fingers continued downward, and she scooted backward until she straddled his thighs.
Sitting up, she looked down at him. Her breath caught at the sight he made. He was the embodiment of every fantasy she’d ever had. He lay prone beneath her, but there was nothing remotely relaxed about him. His entire body was rigid and his eyes glittered as he watched her through half-closed lids.
“Now it’s my turn,” she whispered. “I’ve thought about doing this with you for so long....”
She leaned forward until her breasts brushed against his chest. She traced her lips across his. He cupped the back of her head and drew her down for a more thorough, satisfying kiss. Caroline had intended to tease him, to maintain control of their love play until he begged her to release him. But when he smoothed his free hand along her flank and then reached between them to touch her intimately, she knew she was lost.
She gasped into his mouth and settled more fully against him. He used his hands to splay her thighs even wider where she straddled him. Then there he was, hot and thick, moving into her little bit by little bit, until Caroline made an incoherent sound and pushed back, thrusting him fully into her.
“Ah,” he groaned. “That almost feels too good.”
She silently agreed and slowly raised herself up until he was nearly free of her body, before pushing herself down once more, burying him to the hilt. The feeling was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. The hot, throbbing sensation increased as she moved on top of him, gripping him tightly. His hands were on her hips, guiding her, and he watched her face through pleasure-glazed eyes. When he slid his hands upward to cup and knead her breasts, she closed her eyes in mindless bliss.