by London Casey
Nodding faintly, she stared at the stretch of knit across his abs. Below their joined hands, his belt buckle gleamed. Below that, his khakis strained across the prominent bulge of his erection. She tugged at his hold on her and moistened her lips. “I want to touch you.”
“Maybe. You want to stall more.”
Eden shot him a look and pulled from his grasp. Stubbornly, she spaced her feet apart and held his gaze while she reached between her legs to free the snaps. The unavoidable touch to her sensitive, aching flesh made her breath catch. Seth’s eyes narrowed. As soon as the fabric separated, he said, “All the way off.”
Pressing her lips together, she pulled the silk and lace over her head and dropped it on the floor. Pride and a vague sense of annoyance with his bossiness made her stand straight and push her shoulders back. “There. Are you happy now?”
Not answering, he crowded forward and grasped her waist. Eden gasped as her feet left the floor, too stunned to object to being dropped on her bed. He leaned over her, blocking the overhead light. Hard hands touched her thighs, pulled them apart. “Turn on the lamp.”
The loss of equal footing sent her pulse into a spin. She curled her toes against his legs, remembering his earlier promise to open her up. Throat dry, she fumbled for her night stand. A photo of her, Michael and Ryan caught her eye. With a strangled gasp of panic, she knocked the picture face down. Hoping he hadn’t noticed, she tugged the lamp’s chain. The blossom of golden light made her blink. She turned her head away to find Seth staring at the downed photograph. She held her breath until he looked away and met her eyes, then the darkness in them made her shudder. She was coming to recognize that intensity, coming close to giving it a name.
“Seth,” she whispered, reluctant. Jealousy wasn’t something she wanted to discuss while she was naked beneath him.
He closed his eyes and pressed his thumbs into the hollows at the insides of her knees. “Say it louder.”
Clear, deliberate, she repeated herself. “Seth.”
A low, masculine noise rumbled in his chest. He relaxed his grip on her legs. His palms rode high along her thighs, cupped her hips, and without warning, his thumbs skated the line of her labia, dipped between, and parted her folds. The shock of air on her wetness made the soles of her feet arch. She watched his face while he touched her, trying not to tremble too violently.
“I want to know what you’re thinking,” she said shakily.
His eyebrows pinched together. “No you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
The mattress sank as he knelt on the bed between her splayed legs. His touch left her, returned a moment later behind her knees. Eden swallowed, trying to anticipate his desires. She managed to put up only minimal resistance when he repositioned her so that her knees were raised and bent, spread wide between them. The position opened her completely. Closing her eyes, she pushed her head back against the pillow and balled her hands into fists. “I do want to know. Please tell me.”
“I’m arguing with myself over whether this is true or not.” A single fingertip drew a line from the top of her slit to the dip of her entrance.
“Oh, God.” She jolted, her hips lifting of their own accord. She wanted to reassure him, but her ability to focus was spiraling away. “Don’t argue. Will you do that again?”
He stilled, took his touch away. “Look at me.”
Eden forced her eyes open, squinting past the light glowing too close to her head. Seth’s big body dominated the space between her legs. She wanted to be closer to him. Grabbing handfuls of comforter, she scooted her bottom down the bed, her quadriceps straining slightly as she tested the limits of her flexibility. The stretch was worth it when she got close enough to feel his slacks against her inner thighs. And it put her in direct line of his gaze, which she met as he’d requested. Their eyes locked and he touched her again. This time, instead of skimming her entrance, his fingertip dipped past the first clutch of muscle.
Her eyes popped wide. “Oh.”
He pushed deeper, maybe only an inch, and her back arched. The shallow penetration dragged a high moan past her lips. Her nipples beaded to startling tightness. Embarrassed, she gave up her hold on the comforter and covered her breasts.
He focus shifted to her chest, just for a second, and he shook his head slightly. “I want to see your responses.”
“You’re killing me,” she whispered.
“I’m not. Lower your hands.” Pressure between her thighs, the tight, wet slide of his knuckle into her body, stole her interest in denying him. She balled her hands into fists and dropped them back to the bed.
Seth’s gaze roamed down her body, returning to that soaked point of connection. “You don’t masturbate?”
Her breath huffed, a small anxious laugh. “Of course I do.”
“But you don’t finger yourself.”
“I…no.”
Seth didn’t respond. His lips firmed in a thin line and he slid free of her body. Eden opened her mouth to object but the words didn’t make it past her throat because he returned, replacing and adding to the sensation of fullness. She couldn’t help herself, couldn’t hold her eyes open. He could have made all the demands he wanted but the press and stretch of two fingers easing into her vagina shredded her self control. Her hips left the bed, rising into his hand. He caught her beneath her hips, steadied her, and forged deeper.
Eden turned her head aside, groaned into the corner of her pillow. “Seth, please.”
“Please what?” The pad of his thumb skimmed her clit.
“Please hurry up and take off your clothes.”
“Not yet.” The hand at her hip left and the mattress shifted.
Eden felt him come over her even though her eyes were squeezed shut. The knit of his shirt, soft earlier, abraded her nipples. He kissed the underside of her jaw, the hollow at the base of her throat. His fingers thrust gently inside her, an easy back and forth that heated her cheeks and fanned a spark low in her abdomen. Eden forced her hands to relax, her eyes to open. His head bowed over her sternum. The curve of his ear drew her and she traced the arch with her fingernails. Seth’s shudder made her bolder and she kept going, scratching a line down the side of his neck, beneath the collar of his shirt. His skin blazed hot. A pulse-point jumped beneath her fingers. Touching him distracted her from the newness of experience, grounded her. While she couldn’t seem to still her twisting hips, she at least had enough control over herself to lift her head and press a kiss to his temple. He turned his head, caught her lips, filled her mouth with his tongue.
Eden opened her mouth wider, not even trying to pretend skill she didn’t have. Passion led her. She rubbed the tip of her tongue against his when she could catch him, and once succeeded in delving past his teeth before he chased her back. She’d never experienced such an aggressive, consuming kiss before. The deal-sealing kiss in Crystal City hadn’t even come close. This was something unrefined, raw. Seth’s fingers suddenly glided easier, deeper. She groaned into his mouth, stiffened as the pleasure-pain sensation rocked through her body. Above her, he stilled. His tongue gentled, swept the inside of her upper lip, slid away.
Worried he was about to withdraw, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his ear. He loosened his grip on her hair and pushed her hips to the bed while removing his fingers from her wetness.
Eden whimpered, tried to follow him. “No, come back.”
“Wait.” He broke her hold on his neck easily and straightened above her.
Eden started to voice another protest but bit back the words when he crossed his arms, grabbed the hem of his shirt and stripped it over his head. Her mouth went dry. Rising on her elbows, she stared at the ripple of muscle across his stomach. He hadn’t lied about the farmer tan, but he still wasn’t a pale man. A line of dark hair climbed from behind his belt buckle, arrowing a straight path past his navel, past tight brown nipples, finally fanning across the tops of defined pectoral muscles. She shifted her hips back, repositioned her cent
er of balance and sat, gripping his sides. Seth didn’t stop her as she leaned forward further and pressed her open mouth against the spot above his belly button.
He smoothed her hair back from her face and cupped her cheeks, lifting her away from him. “If you want me to stop—”
“I don’t,” she said quickly, meeting his eyes and sinking her short nails into his skin in case he decided to back off. “Seth, I don’t. Don’t stop.”
He withdrew his wallet from his hip pocket and dropped it on the bed between her spread legs. “There’s a condom in there.”
Her breath stuttered, caught up short, and she glanced down at the square of black leather. His hands moved between them, deftly doing away with the constraints of belt, button and zipper. She inhaled sharply, drawing the spicy, musky scent of his arousal into her nostrils. Looking up from his wallet, she watched as he peeled apart the edges of his fly. Navy cotton boxers barely restrained his erection. Eden pressed her lips together and brushed his hands aside. “I want to do it.”
She curled her fingers around the waist of his slacks and underwear and peeled them down. The thin arrow of hair bisecting his stomach widened into a thick, dark triangle. His boxers caught on the jut of his erection. She must have released an impatient sound, for he made a quick move to adjust himself and his cock stood abruptly, eye-wideningly free. His clothes slipped from her grasp, elastic snapping against his sac. Seth breathed a choked sound and she winced.
“I’m sorry.”
A short, strained laugh rasped above her head. “It’s all right.”
Eden jerked a nod and leaned back, staring at the thick length, the broad ruddy head. “God. You’re huge.” She glanced up to find him watching her, strain tightening the corners of his mouth. Hoping to ease his tension and calm the suddenly violent butterflies warring in her stomach, she added, “I am an amazing judge of…character.” A nearly hysterical bubble of laughter rose in her throat. “Hooray me.”
He barked another laugh. “You say the damnedest things.”
His laughter relaxed her. Smiling, she rocked up onto her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. His cock rode high against her stomach, its smooth, unfamiliar heat intimate and arousing. If she hadn’t already been as turned on as she was, the weight of his hardness trapped between them would have done it. “You’re not naked enough.”
“I can fix that.” He lowered his head and teased her mouth with a light, biting kiss that came near and backed off as he shifted with the motions of kicking free of his shoes and climbing out of his slacks. Eden laced her fingers behind his neck and held on, unwilling to let go long enough for him to be efficient.
“Condom,” he reminded. His palms skimmed the sides of her breasts before he clasped her beneath her arms and pulled at her hold.
Eden flushed. “I…do you have to?” Aware of how stupid that question sounded, she added, “You said you were clean. My birth control prescription’s in the medicine cabinet if you need to be sure. I want to be able to feel everything.”
His brows drew together. “It’s good practice.”
“I haven’t been practicing before,” she said, allowing the double meaning to drop between them.
He caught her chin and tilted her face toward him, his expression tight and inscrutable, his eyes boring into hers. Eden swallowed, unsure what he wanted, but didn’t look away. The sound of the air conditioning kicking in and the rasp of his breathing were the only sounds in the room until he swore softly. “Tell me you’re not fucking with me.”
A flip response rolled to the tip of her tongue. She shoved it aside, sensing he didn’t want to laugh. “I’m not fucking with you.”
His nostrils flared and he reached between them. The back of his hand brushed her plumped, waiting sex. She bit her lips hard but failed to stifle the moan. Seth’s wallet thumped on the floor just before he bore her backwards onto the pillows. She spread her legs wide, making room for him. The flared head of his cock nudged her inner thigh. Eden arched toward him eagerly. He kissed her collarbone before nuzzling between her breasts. The faint shadow of beard sweeping his jaw abraded the tender inner swells. His tongue soothed the sting, wet kisses working higher until the warmth of his mouth closed around one taut nipple. She sighed and sifted his hair through her fingers. He hadn’t paid much attention to her breasts before that point and she decided in an instant that she would ask for a thorough treatment sometime soon because the tugging suction did amazing things for her clit. But now, impatience swelled in her chest. She trailed her fingernails over his shoulder, skimmed his abs, and wrapped her hand around his shaft.
Seth jerked. “Eden—”
“I want you inside me now.”
He shook his head, but didn’t tell her no. His hand joined hers, petting between her thighs, widening her slippery flesh. One finger made her gasp. The second spiked her heart rate. And the third—God, the third stretched and stung. She squeezed her eyes shut and tightened her stomach, bearing down on the sting of penetration. Seth’s thumb twirled around her clit and a whimper caught in her throat. She was glad he’d stopped asking questions because she didn’t think she could articulate a response. He seemed to sense her lack of coherency. A hum of reassurance buzzed through the kiss he laid beneath her chin. He pressed with his thumb, compressing her clit and fanning the flames in her belly. The fingers inside spread, renewing the sting that had been subsumed in her enjoyment of his touch.
“Give me your hand,” he demanded. She sucked in a breath. The roughness of his voice was another kind of arousal. Knowing he was aroused, that she aroused him. Fighting the weight of pleasure, she moved one arm to comply.
He lifted his thumb and used his free hand to pull her hand to her mound. He twisted the fingers inside her, pushing in before pulling out slightly. Prelude to the main act.
“Pleasure yourself. I want you to show me what you like. I want to see you come with my fingers inside you.”
She shuddered, heat sweeping through her. Hesitantly, she set her middle finger on the hardened nub. The angle was different from his thumb, pressing downward. He rewarded her by spreading his fingers again, pulling them out slightly so the feeling of fullness increased. So good. It felt so good she wondered why she’d never bought a dildo. She was definitely getting one now. After tonight, she knew she’d want that feeling of penetration again. And he hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff yet.
He nudged her hand, not looking up from where his gaze was fixed between her thighs. She began slowly. With each stroke of her fingers, he pumped his hand into her. The added sensation was distracting enough that it took her longer than she expected to reach the point of no return. He never moved anything but his hand, though sweat beaded at his temples. How could he be so in control when she was losing it?
Thigh muscles shaking, she fought to keep her legs open for him as she neared orgasm. Their harsh breathing was magnified in the quiet room, point and counterpoint. Her back arched and she moaned, reaching for completion. As the first cresting edge broke over her, Seth pushed his fingers deep inside, so deep she could feel the bony scrape of his hand cushioned against her pubic bone. The deep penetration, the stinging edge it added, mixed with the overwhelming pleasure and her body heaved under him. She pressed hard into her clit, not moving her finger as she rode the orgasm and his hand. Finally, shuddering, she collapsed back against the bed, flush with her orgasm but strangely unsated.
Then the fullness of his fingers slid from her. She objected with a wordless noise. He hushed it by replacing his fingers with the head of his cock. His hands braced at either side of her head. She clutched his shoulders, felt his whole body bunch and opened her eyes to meet his as his hips flexed forward.
His penis was not the same as his fingers. Her body responded in different directions, stretching and deepening for the slow, tight slide. Eden took it as long as she could, until his pubic bone connected with hers, then she turned her face into his forearm. Salty, spicy muscle flexed beneath her mou
th. She closed her teeth over his skin and squeezed her eyes shut. Seth cursed above her and withdrew as slowly as he’d entered. His second thrust came harder, surer, and it connected with some deep spot that made her buck beneath him.
With keen deliberation, he pulled out, slid home. His slow, even rhythm made her impatient. She squirmed under him, trying to get him to move faster, harder. God, she wanted everything right now. Right. Now.
Seth controlled her easily, his thighs holding hers open and his hips pressing into hers. The deep internal stroking rekindled her arousal, pushing her back up the slope toward orgasm. If he’d just move a little faster, she was sure she would come just from his thrusts. But, after what seemed like hours, he still didn’t change his rhythm. It was maddening, the steady thrusting enough to arouse her more and more, but not enough to make her come. She started to reach between her thighs to do it herself, but he caught her hands, pinning her wrists beside her head.
“Not yet. I’ve been wanting inside you too badly to rush this. You’ve waited too long for me to rush this.”
“Screw that. Move faster!”
His strained chuckle did nothing to alleviate her desperate need for him to speed up. She twisted her hips, thrusting back at him as hard as she could with her limited range of motion. Still, he didn’t increase his pace. She would have hit him if she could. Instead, she turned her head again and bit his forearm above the wrist.
His curse gave her brief satisfaction, but he retaliated by slowing his thrusts further and pulling back so he rode her more shallowly. His new position allowed him to fasten his lips over her nipple and suck. Oh, the bastard. That felt so damned good.
Her thighs began to shake under him, her orgasm so tantalizingly close. She shifted her hips, tilting them to take him more deeply, sliding down in his grip. He released her nipple and sat back on his heels, pulling her hips up against his, leaving her scrambling for purchase with her torso arched down his thighs and her head resting on the mattress. The position seated him against her cervix and a twinge of pain washed into pleasure at his gratifyingly strangled response. Her thighs splayed open, leaving her vulnerable to his every whim. In this position, she couldn’t do anything. Couldn’t thrust back, couldn’t use her feet, could barely twist her hips. He was in total control, and he knew it. Instead of thrusting now, he ground into her, moving her hips in tiny circles that inched her toward orgasm. God. No one came from penetration their first time. It was a rule or something, wasn’t it?