Hot Texas Nights

by Janice Maynard

  She gaped up at him, barely breathing. No other man of her acquaintance would have the confidence to be so boldly alpha, taking charge of the situation and the moment without apology. Perhaps she should have protested his arrogance, but her legs barely supported her, and breathing took all her focus. Her thighs clenched. Damp heat at her core ached.

  “You’re awfully sure of yourself,” she muttered.

  His low laugh made gooseflesh rise on her arms where they clung to his neck. “You asked me to have sex with you, sweet thing. Trust me, I won’t let you be disappointed. Even if it takes all night.” He paused, for the first time seeming mildly disconcerted. “Are we taking this upstairs, or do you want to make use of this very nice sofa?”

  She swallowed, trying in an insufficient instant to decide how best to proceed. That was the problem with spontaneity. No time for logical decisions. No opportunity to plan. “Here is fine,” she croaked. If things went south, she could always buy a new sofa to erase the memories of this night. Letting Ethan into her bed upstairs would signal an intimacy she wasn’t prepared to accept. Tonight was about closure, right?

  Ethan exhaled sharply, as if he was holding himself in check. “Then here it is,” he said gruffly.

  He released her and stepped away, slipping his wallet from his back pocket. When he calmly tossed the small strip of condom packets on the coffee table, Aria fixated on it as if it was a tiny bomb just waiting to explode and send her neatly ordered life into a million pieces.

  “We could build a fire,” she said. “If you’re cold. The wood is already laid out. And I have matches on the mantel.” Too much babbling, Aria. She sucked in a breath and tried to smile. “Unless we’re going to generate enough heat on our own. What do you think?”

  Three

  Ethan winced inwardly. Aria was nervous. Should he put a stop to this before they did something they would both regret? The answer was probably yes, but he couldn’t make himself walk away.

  He burned for her.

  “No fire,” he said. “Not now, anyway. I don’t want to wait.”

  His body ached for hers in a way he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. The uneasy melding of lust and tenderness sounded an alarm in his gut, but he closed his mind to the danger.

  Aria was finally his. At least for this one night.

  He held out a hand. “Come here, beautiful. Let me touch you.”

  Her pupils were dilated, the irises more navy than cornflower in the low light. Only a single small lamp burned, and it was on the far side of the room, near the front door. The drapes were drawn. Their privacy was complete in the hushed silence of the wintry night.

  Aria didn’t obey his request. Instead, she lifted her arms and peeled her soft, fuzzy turtleneck over her head. Tousled blond hair fell around her shoulders. Her barely there bra was the same color as the sweater. The lacy lingerie did little to conceal her dark raspberry nipples.

  Her body was pale and lovely, the skin smooth and white, her slender arms toned and fit. The waistband of her jeans rode low on her hips, exposing a tiny navel that was as sexy to him as her hesitant smile.

  He sucked in a breath and shuddered as his sex went from primed and ready to hard as stone. The rush of arousal eroded his patience. Even so, he kept his distance, curious to see how far she would go.

  Shifting from one foot to the other, he smiled. “Don’t stop now. I’m enjoying the show.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I think I’m ready for you to lend a hand, Ethan. Striptease isn’t really in my repertoire.”

  “Too bad,” he said, the words ragged. He wanted to pounce on her. Devour her. But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Instead, he went to her and folded her in his arms. Perhaps she thought it odd that he simply held her for long, aching moments. If she did, she didn’t say anything.

  He hadn’t anticipated the immediate problem of making love to Aria. For years he had locked down his reactions to her. He’d never once let himself get close to hitting on her, no matter how much he’d wanted to.

  Reversing that protocol now was throwing him off his game.

  He was more accustomed to easy, recreational sex with women who had plenty of experience. Aria had been in relationships. He knew that. He had witnessed several of them, and to his shame he’d been fiercely exultant when each one had ended. Despite that, he’d felt protective of her innocent soul, her innate goodness. Even as kids, he had wanted to keep her from getting hurt. Something about Aria Jensen made him want to be her defender.

  But not tonight.

  A shudder worked its way through his chest. He ran his hands up and down her bare back, tracing the line of her spine. “You’re sure?” he asked hoarsely, his control down to a thread.

  She nipped his collarbone with sharp teeth. “I want you, Ethan. I won’t change my mind, I swear.”

  That final assurance snapped the last of his patience. He slid his hands inside her jeans and palmed her butt. Damn, that firm, curved bottom was fine.

  Aria moaned and pressed against him, the faint scent of her perfume familiar and yet intriguing. He felt like a teenager with his first woman. Out of control. Apprehensive. The delicate female in his arms was important to him. He’d cut off his arm before he would hurt her.

  “I fantasized about this,” he admitted, nudging her head to one side and nibbling her neck.

  He felt her shock.

  “You did?” she said, her tone disbelieving.

  “Of course. You and I have always had this awareness between us. You know it. I know it, too. When I was in college and you were a million miles away on the other side of the country, I used to ask myself why I had let you get away. I hated all those guys who were spending time with you when I couldn’t. It made me nuts.”

  She pulled away from him and wrapped her arms around her waist, her chin going up the slightest bit as if in defiance. “You don’t have to say things like that,” she said. “This is sex. I don’t need pretty words. I’m an adult woman. I know all the reasons men and women climb into bed together. Maybe I haven’t slept around as much as some of my friends, but I’m not naive. I’d rather you not make this something it isn’t.”

  The blunt words didn’t quite disguise her vulnerability. Though he wanted to be angry, he couldn’t. She was trying so hard to protect herself. “I will never lie to you,” he said quietly. “Not now. Not ever.” He reached for her hand and held it against his erection. “You have this effect on me. You always have.”

  Her fingers flexed and curved along the outline of his rigid sex, her gaze downcast, as if she was mesmerized. “I didn’t know. You always treated me like a kid sister.”

  Even through his pants, her touch burned him. He wanted her hands on his naked flesh. The time for rational conversation was rapidly disappearing. “Not anymore, Aria. Not tonight.”

  At last, her body relaxed against his. Trustingly. Completely. She linked her arms around his neck. “I’m glad,” she said simply.

  He scooped her up and carried her the few steps to the sofa. It was long and comfy and perfect for what he had in mind. He laid her down and sat at her hip, wondering where to start. The way she looked up at him with a tiny smile on her face told him she liked the fact that he was wildly aroused.

  “Don’t move,” he said huskily. “And don’t rush me. I’m going to unwrap you like a present.” He took her arms and positioned them over her head. “After all this time, I want to savor the moment.”

  Aria’s chest rose and fell with each shallow, rapid breath. “There’s something to be said for hard and fast.”

  The image her words conjured up blurred his vision. His hands shook as he unfastened the button at the waist of her jeans and lowered her zipper. When he dragged the denim down to her ankles, he sucked in a breath. Her panties matched her bra, but they were smaller still. And just as transparent.

  Her sex was
clean-shaven, all pink and perfect. “Holy hell,” he whispered, gobsmacked by lust and awe and disbelief at the fact that he was about to make Aria Jensen his lover.

  “Ethan...” She moved restlessly, her ankles trapped.

  He looked down and saw that she still wore fuzzy pink bunny slippers. The juxtaposition of her sexy, nearly bare body and the whimsical footwear made him chuckle. “You’re adorable.”

  “Undress me,” she begged. “Hurry.”

  He dispensed with everything but the two items of sheer lace. “I told you not to rush me.”

  Aria raised up on her elbows. “I never agreed to that.” She curled a hand behind his neck and dragged him down for a desperate kiss. “I want you.”

  Ethan’s control snapped. For the first time, it sank in that Aria was a woman who knew her own mind. He wasn’t breaking any taboos.

  The realization freed him. He leaned over her, supporting his weight on one hand as he kissed her mindlessly. It was wild and sweet and incredibly arousing. He was so hard, he ached, but even so, he forced himself to take things slowly. Not for Aria, but for him.

  He’d never thought this would happen. Giving in to the rush of pleasure and exhilaration was elemental...almost animalistic. He buried his face between her breasts and tried to breathe. Air rushed in and out of his lungs in harsh bursts that left him dizzy and weak.

  Aria played with his hair, her fingers massaging his scalp. “I think this is the part where we both get undressed,” she whispered.

  He licked the slope of her breast. “My clothes are the only thing keeping me from taking you like a madman.”

  Perhaps she heard the raw ring of truth in his words. She tugged on his chin, forcing him to look up into her blue eyes. “I love that you want me that much, Ethan. Really I do. Don’t hold back. I want it all.”

  He nodded jerkily, sitting up long enough to unbutton his shirt. Though he couldn’t bear to break the physical connection between them, he stood and shed his clothes completely.

  Aria’s eyes widened. Her face and neck flushed. “Wow...”

  His sex bobbed at his belly. “This first time won’t last long. You’ve got me pretty wired. I’ll make it up to you after that.”

  She licked her lips. “Okay.”

  He grabbed her wrist and drew her to her feet. “You look damned amazing in those undies, but they have to go.” With one flick of his wrist, he unfastened the bra, slid it down her arms, and tossed it aside. The last remaining piece of lingerie was no challenge at all.

  Dragging her slim, soft, naked body against his taller, harder frame immediately short-circuited at least half a million synapses in his brain. “God, you feel amazing.”

  Her cheek rested over his heart. “So do you.” She scraped his butt cheeks with her fingernails, raising gooseflesh all over his body. “You’re an incredibly beautiful man, Ethan Barringer. I’ve always thought so.”

  The unexpected adjective made him wince. “Men aren’t beautiful,” he protested.

  She leaned back in his embrace and ran her hands from his throat, down over his pecs to his waist. “You are,” she said.

  Then she touched him intimately.

  His whole body began to shake. A red haze obscured his vision. Desperately, he tried not to come. “You’re killing me,” he gasped, his forehead beading with sweat.

  “Buck up, cowboy,” she drawled. “I’m just getting started.”

  When she sank to her knees on the plush carpet and took him in her mouth, he cursed. “No. Wait.”

  Aria was not to be dissuaded. She suckled the head of his erection gently, her soft blond tresses brushing his thighs. The erotic position fed into his darkest fantasies.

  He fisted his hands in her hair.

  Her technique was untutored, perhaps even awkward. His body didn’t seem to mind. When she took more of his shaft, he gasped. “Stop,” he pleaded. “Stop.”

  It was too late. He came hard, the force of his climax roaring through his entire body, it seemed.

  Aria was unfazed. When his knees turned to jelly, she left him to collapse on the sofa and returned with a damp cloth. Gently, she cleansed him.

  He was embarrassed and spent and ridiculously stunned. How did a man get to be almost thirty years old and suddenly have the best sex of his life? Hell, he hadn’t even taken her yet.

  Trying to swallow the lump in his throat, he managed a smile. “You’ve grown up.”

  Aria was sitting on the carpet with her legs curled beneath her. She rested her cheek against his arm. “Had to get there sooner or later.”

  He played with her hair, sifting the silk between his fingers. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

  She lifted her head and grinned at him. “I know.”

  Her smug smile amused him. “I always thought you were shy.”

  Aria raised one eyebrow. “Maybe you thought a lot of things that weren’t true.”

  The prospect was both intriguing and alarming. “Can we call what just happened the overture?”

  “A musical reference? I’m impressed. Maybe Houston has been good for you. All that ballet and opera and symphony.”

  “I’m still just a good ol’ boy from Royal.”

  “And the CEO of a huge, influential company. That’s why we’re celebrating, isn’t it?”

  “If I’d known this was in store, I’d have worked twice as hard.” He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “You’re delectable. Do you know that?”

  The pink in her cheeks deepened. “Maybe you’ve been celibate too long. Too much work and no play?”

  He leaned forward and kissed her roughly, his hand curling behind her neck to keep her still. “I’m hard again,” he said. “That’s not abstinence. That’s all you, Aria.”

  She seemed surprised. His sex was as ready as it had been thirty minutes ago. He felt as if he could go forever.

  Aria shrugged. “I won’t quibble over why,” she said softly. “I’m just glad you’re here with me tonight.”

  He reached down and pulled her up on top of him, chuckling when she protested. “You can’t pretend to be shy now,” he drawled.

  “Quit staring,” she whispered, her expression half embarrassed, half intrigued.

  The new position gave him an exquisite view of her body. She was straddling his hips, her knees bent behind her. The few seconds it took him to grab protection and sheathe himself seemed to last forever. He gripped her waist and lifted her. “Take me, Aria. Take me now.”

  Her gaze clung to his. Hesitant. Aroused. “Okay.” Bracing one hand on his chest, she aligned their bodies and slowly sank down on his erection, gloving his sex in tight, wet heat.

  Holy damn. Incredulously, he felt himself race toward the finish line again. No way. No way in hell. Not yet.

  Carefully, he moved in her, flexing his hips, watching her face to see what she liked. Aria’s eyes fluttered shut. A look of intense concentration creased her brow.

  He gritted his teeth, panting. Quickly, before she could protest, he took her arms behind her back and manacled her wrists with one of his hand. “Ride me, darlin’. Get what you want. You’re in control.”

  She sucked in a breath, her nipples tightening until they were tiny, hard nubs. “Ethan...”

  The way she cried out his name raised the hair all over his body. He touched her where their bodies were joined, stroking her lightly, caressing the nerves that controlled her release. “More,” he croaked. “Give us both what we want.”

  His intimate touch lit a flame that consumed them. Aria braced her hands on his shoulders and rode him hard. The fall of her hair blinded him. Just when he thought he was going to come a second time, Aria stilled.

  As she leaned forward, the slight shift in position hit about a dozen different hot spots in his groin.

  “I like this, Ethan. Why did you make us wa
it so long?”

  He grabbed a hank of her hair and reeled her in for a desperate kiss. He wanted her to stop talking. This was no time to analyze why he had finally broken his hands-off policy with Aria. He didn’t want to think about the consequences. They scared him to the core.

  Her lips were soft. He angled her head and took the kiss deeper. When she squeezed his sex with her inner muscles, he groaned.

  It was too much and not enough. If he had been in a bed, he would have rolled and put her under him. The sofa was too confining.

  He gripped her butt and thrust upward with one hard motion. Aria’s gasp energized him. Looking into her eyes was a mistake. What he saw there was everything neither of them had admitted.

  Nothing was hidden—her passion, her yearning, the same deep emotion he felt.

  Shoving the disturbing realization aside, he concentrated on what he knew best. The here and now. Giving Aria everything she deserved.

  He slowed his strokes, clamped one arm around her waist. It was clear she was close. He wanted to make it last, but his body betrayed him.

  As a dark red haze obscured his vision, he went wild, hammering into her again and again until he heard her cry out. Then he allowed himself the sweet, painful pleasure of release.

  It might have been minutes or hours until his breathing slowed to anything resembling normal. Aria was a sweet weight, her body draped over his. He shifted her to one side with his back against the sofa and tucked her in the curve of his arm. In a moment he would get up. When his legs would cooperate.

  Her hair tickled his chin. She reached for his hand and linked her fingers with his. “Will you stay the night?”

  His gut clenched. Everything had been perfect. He’d been mellow, happy. Completely satisfied. Until she uttered the five words that ruined it all.