by Lori Whyte
Her eyes darkened at his admission. She leaned in to him and put her hands over his. She guided his hands under her shirt until they were on her soft warm flesh.
"There was nothing innocent about my touching you," she said. "Every time you were close… My hands had a mind of their own. I couldn't control myself. I thought that's why you didn't return after that. I was worried you didn't want to deal with me…"
His caresses trailed up the rounded curve of her belly to the underside of her breasts. So smooth. Would her whole body be so velvety soft?
"You don't have to try to control yourself around me. Not anymore," he whispered as he cupped the ample mounds. "And there will be nothing innocent about my touching you tonight either…"
"I hope not." She arched into his palms, dropping her head to his shoulder.
He teased her tight nipples through her bra and she moaned. He dropped his lips to her neck again, wanting to feel her body vibrate with the pleasure he was giving her. He drew his open mouth along her skin, then followed the same route again with his tongue. The whole time, his thumbs stroked her hardened tips.
Her breath caught, then she writhed against him. The thick layers of denim covering them did little to obscure her heat as she rubbed her ass against his hard cock. He groaned into her skin.
"I… need…more…" she said on panting breaths.
"We have all night," he whispered.
His hands found the hem of her shirt. He pulled it up and off her. She shuddered as the cool air met her heated flesh. Then his fingers worked at the fastenings of her bra. The silky material was a pretty blue color that matched her eyes. Just before he unclasped it, though, he turned her so she was facing the large mirror over the dresser. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"I don't want to look at myself," she whispered as she moved to cover her body.
"You are stunning, Anna."
"I'm…"
"Perfect." He only saw beauty. How could she see anything else?
Then he undid the hooks. With one hand on each shoulder, he leisurely pushed the straps down. The bra slipped to the floor, and her breasts, without the structure of the fabric, dropped a little. Big. Beautiful. Natural.
He groaned. He had to touch her.
He leaned forward until his lips were against her ear again. Then his hands meandered down her body. In the reflection, her gaze was fixed on the dark skin of his tanned hands as they explored her pale white perfection. Then he lifted her breasts. The soft weight spilled over his palms as he squeezed them gently and pinched her ruddy nipples. Her mouth opened slightly and her breathing quickened.
"I'm going to touch you," he whispered into her ear, "and kiss you… and lick you… and suck you… until you scream my name and fall apart in my arms."
Then his hands captured the button on her jeans. With a tug, he had it open. As he pulled the zipper down, he caught sight of her silky blue panties. They matched her bra. Had she hoped this would happen tonight?
"And when I'm done…" He guided the stiff denim over the wide swell of her hips. "You'll know how beautiful you are to me."
After he peeled her jeans from her legs, he admired her in the mirror again. Red marks crisscrossed her flesh from where her clothing had held her tight. And now that those restrictions were gone, he hoped she'd feel free… Free to be herself with him… Free to reveal her innermost desires.
And then she reached for herself. Her hands glided up her body to circle her generous breasts. She watched him as she caressed herself.
"Do you really think I'm pretty?" Her question was barely audible, dripping with insecurity.
"More than pretty," he growled. "The very embodiment of Botticelli's Venus." He dragged his eyes away from where her fingers were massaging her nipples, so he could meet her gaze in the mirror. "You take my breath away."
Never letting her gaze drop from his, she reached down and tucked her thumbs into the elastic of her panties. He wanted to look down, but he didn't. At this moment, he needed to show her he was with her… with his mind and his soul, not just his body. And that meant keeping his eyes on hers.
She pushed her panties down. Then, with a shimmy, they dropped to the floor with the rest of her clothing. She kicked off her shoes and toed off her socks. Then she was completely bared before him.
Now he couldn't keep his eyes away.
He was close to losing control and he had scarcely touched her yet. Hell, he was still fully clothed.
He took in the vision of her beauty, from the dark pink tips of her breasts to the thatch of pale curly hair that covered her sex. Even in his fantasies, of which there had been many, she hadn't been as gorgeous as this reality.
He took her by the hand and led her to the bed. She crawled onto the king-sized mattress.
"Take your clothes off and come here," she said.
"I have a better idea."
He kicked off his shoes, then bent forward. He needed to taste her. His mouth wrapped over one of her toes and she squealed.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting to know you."
Then he drew his tongue over the arch of her foot before circling up to her ankle. He placed a wet, open-mouthed kiss over the fine bone before moving up her leg. As he kissed and licked his way up her body, she squirmed against him. As he neared the apex of her legs, she opened her thighs slightly in invitation. The scent of her arousal intoxicated him.
But he wasn't ready for that yet…
He teased the flesh right up to her swollen sex, but he didn't touch it. She huffed in frustration as he kissed her hip instead.
"Mason…" she moaned, "please."
"Patience, beautiful," he said against her quivering skin.
He followed one of those red creases over her stomach to her belly button. He dipped his tongue in before moving up higher. At the same moment as he took one of her nipples into his mouth, he pushed his hand between her legs. His fingers slipped across her wet swollen sex.
When he nudged her clit, she screamed his name and writhed against him. He drew the pad of his thumb up and down along her hardened pearl of nerves. He sucked harder as his fingers sank into her heat. She rocked against his touch as he slid in and out. With each probing thrust, her sex tightened around him.
She grabbed his hair and held him tightly to her breast. Her grip was almost painful, but he didn't care. He was hers. She could do anything she wanted to him. With one last garbled shout of his name, her release shattered through her. She fell to the mattress, trembling and panting.
The rhythmic pulse of her orgasm around his fingers was a heady sensation. His cock strained against his jeans. He wanted to make her come again when he was deep inside her so he could feel that around him. He let her nipple slip from his mouth, but he didn't remove his hand from between her legs.
Her face was flushed and the musky scent of sex permeated the air. He knew then that he could do this forever and never tire of it. He had wanted this woman for a long time. And now that he was finally in her arms, he was going to do everything he could to make it good for her. Over and over again.
In fact, that was his goal from this moment forward: to keep her as happy and sated as she was right now.
THIRTEEN
Anna stretched beside Mason. She'd never had such a powerful release. He had played her body like an expert. Wasn't the first time with someone supposed to be awkward and vaguely unsatisfying? That's what she'd been prepared for.
Thank God she was wrong.
"We aren't done yet," he promised. He braced himself on his elbow so his face was over hers. Then he twisted the hand that was still between her legs. "I want to pleasure you again."
She closed her eyes on a gasp when he resumed stroking her. In and out. His touch was amazing. But it wasn't enough.
She forced herself to grab his arm to still it. He let her, but deep inside her, his fingers still moved, rubbed, explored... She'd only just climaxed, but he was bringing her close again. Already. That never happ
ened.
"No," she said. Her voice was breathless. "Not like this. I want…" He shifted his hand again and she lost her voice for a moment. "I want to touch you too…" And again. Her legs trembled this time. "And I want you in me." The last of her words she said on a quick exhale before she was rendered completely incoherent.
She stared into his eyes. He looked like he would argue with her, but then he nodded and withdrew his hand from her. He brought it to his mouth and licked her wetness from his skin. Her body fluttered at the eroticism of what he was doing.
"I am going to drink from your body before we're done," he said as he drew his tongue along his finger.
Good lord, he was turning her into a mass of quivering nerves with just his words.
She pushed him onto his back with surprising vigor, considering her limbs still felt like mush. He laughed in surprise at her attack. She straddled him and yanked on his shirt to pull it from his jeans.
"My turn to play first," she said.
Then inch by glorious inch, she exposed him. After she shoved the shirt up his torso and pulled it from his body, she drew her fingernails through the dark hair covering his chest. The tangle of hair wasn't too thick, just enough to tickle her palms as she touched him. She leaned forward for a kiss, rubbing her still taut nipples against him. He hummed in approval.
When she broke the kiss, she braced herself over him to stare into his eyes. Her sex was against his hard length now and she couldn't resist moving against him. Her hair fell around their faces like a veil, heightening the closeness and intimacy between them. It was as if in this moment nothing else existed beyond the two of them.
Slowly she rocked against him.
He grunted and brought his hands to her hips to guide her movement. His grip was tight. She knew desire was making him grab her more roughly than he normally would. She wanted that, wanted him to be so consumed with his need for her that he lost control.
"I'm not going to last much longer," he said with a groan.
She brushed a quick kiss over his mouth, then wiggled until he let go of her. Then she crawled off him to remove the last of his clothing. Before she could touch his belt, he pulled a handful of condoms from his pocket.
"You aren't supposed to carry them in your pocket," she teased.
"They've only been in there for a few hours. I stopped at Hearts and got them out of the bathroom dispenser."
She laughed. She'd never actually heard of anyone buying something like that from a bathroom in a pub before. She thought those machines were for show.
"The stores were closed," he said.
"I'm glad you planned ahead," she said, leaning forward to touch her lips to his again before moving her hands back to unfasten his jeans.
He lifted his hips from the bed as she pulled the denim down and off. Then she stripped off his socks. One by one. She wanted to explore his body like he had done hers, but she was too impatient. Too needy.
She touched his erection, which was pressing against his underwear. So big. So thick. The shape of him under her hands made her ache. He cursed as she molded her fingers around him. His stomach and thigh muscles tightened and strained as he fought for control under her touch.
She couldn't handle too much more play either…
She stripped his underwear away, then kneeled beside him to savor the masculine beauty before her. The sight of him, lying there hard and aching for her, took her breath away. She reached for one of the condoms. As she rolled the latex over him, he murmured loving encouragement to her.
"Come here," he said when she was finished. Then he took her hand and urged her to climb over him again.
This position had always been her least favorite, being on display like this… it made her self-conscious. But under his gaze, she didn't feel any of her usual embarrassment. All she saw on his face was desire and… love?
No. It was too early for love.
She positioned herself over him, then he adjusted his cock so it nudged her entrance. Their gazes locked, and with a breathy moan, she lowered herself onto him. They moaned as his length filled her. She rocked up and down three times before he was fully inside her.
This felt magnificent.
She and Mason.
Together.
And the chemistry was better than she'd ever imagined.
Then they started to move. The rhythmic rocking of their bodies caused the headboard to bang against the wall and she wondered fleetingly if they could break a bed tonight. Then she forgot to think. Everything was lost except the feel of his body moving with hers.
A powerful euphoria spread over her.
They moved together faster. Harder. Everything was so perfect.
Another release built inside her. Then he reached between her legs and nudged her clit.
"Come with me," he commanded roughly.
On one last gasping breath, bliss shattered over her. Mason shouted at the same moment. He held her hips tight, holding her against him as he drove into her in a final thrust. Then she fell forward to his sweaty chest.
Love.
That was all she felt.
She had always known she cared about him. Was attracted to him. But in this moment she knew something had changed.
She loved this man.
And that was the worst thing in the world.
FOURTEEN
Anna stretched as much as she could and smiled in the morning light. Her head rested on one of Mason's arms and his other was snugly cinched around her waist, holding her close to him. Little bubbles of happiness fluttered in her stomach. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to snuggle closer. She didn't want this to end.
She curled into him and he pulled her tight. He dragged his hand down her back to cup her ass, then he drew her leg over his hip. A little hum of approval flowed through him and vibrated against her. A new flush of hot desire rose in her.
"We didn't break the bed," she whispered huskily.
"Then we'll have to keep trying."
Someone cleared their throat.
It was not Mason… and it hadn't been her… so…
Oh, God. Someone was here. In the room with them. Looking at them together in bed. As if coming to the same conclusion at the same time, Mason tensed beside her. The grip he had on her constricted even more.
She squeezed her eyes shut. Although even as she did it, she knew that if the stalker was standing over them—Harry Miller or somebody else—that was a stupid thing to do.
They hadn't even brought the gun in here with them. They had left it in the other room. They had been too distracted to remember things like firearms.
"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Her lover's question was edged with a warning.
She pressed her face into his arm.
Wait. Did he say guys? As in more than one? Crap. That could only be his brothers.
And they were inside the room… She hadn't even thought about shutting the door last night. The inn was old enough that they didn't have those fancy hinges that automatically closed. What did they see? She wiggled. The soft linens rubbed against her skin from her toes to her shoulders. Thank God.
If they'd arrived just a few minutes later, though, the story would have been very different.
And how was she supposed to know the entire Randall clan was arriving this morning? It didn't even sound like Mason had anticipated their arrival at this hour.
"You put out the Mayday call, so we're here. Had to search the whole inn to find you. And then… And then we find you in bed… with Anna." The accusation in Grady's words was crystal clear.
She stiffened. Was he trying to shame her? Shame both of them? No way. She wasn't going to regret this. How could she? She'd been dreaming about this for two decades.
And it'd been freaking amazing.
She would do it all again in a heartbeat. But now that the brothers knew about it, the situation was suddenly complicated.
"Get the hell out of here," Mason said, "we'll be downstairs in a few minutes.
"
Footsteps shuffled away, and then the door clicked closed.
As soon as they had gone, she groaned and pressed her face into his chest. All she wanted to do right now was hide from the world.
"Hey," he said as he rubbed her back. His voice was gravelly, but there was a smile in his tone. "It's not so bad."
How could he smile at a time like this? Men were crazy. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes.
"Good morning, beautiful," he said.
Yep, he was grinning. God. That was the same grin that made her insides turn to mush. And he was damned sexy in the morning. She reached for the dark stubble on his jaw before she even realized what she was doing. After everything they'd done last night, she'd lost all shyness when it came to touching him. The coarse texture of his whiskers scraped her fingers. The sensation fanned the heat she'd been feeling earlier… before they'd been interrupted.
She'd never been so insatiable. Where had this sexual beast inside her come from?
But all she could think about was what that stubble would feel like along her neck… down her stomach… between her legs…
She tightened her leg around his hips and wiggled closer until her heat was against him. His eyes flashed darker. He let loose a low growl. Then in a quick motion, she had her shoulders on the mattress and she was pinned beneath him.
His mouth was hot against her. The kiss was a claiming one. His brothers had found them in bed and he was still showing her he wanted her. She couldn't help but feel she belonged in his arms. She wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
She rocked her hips against him. He moaned against her lips and pulled away.
"Good morning," she whispered.
"If my brothers weren't downstairs…"
Yeah. This wasn't the best time for some morning-after-the-night-before sex… No matter how much she wanted him right now.