Chapter 14 #2
He tugged her against him. “I’m not looking for a few nights of what I know will be incredible sex.
I’m looking for the lifetime’s worth of that.
If you need us to go to dinner, the movies — do actual date stuff before we take it further — then I’ll pop some popcorn, and we’ll plant our asses on the couch.
Watch whatever you want. Let this play out over the next few weeks or months.
” He brushed his mouth softly over hers without actually kissing her. “Or we can jump.”
He took a single step back, still holding her hand. “I’ve already leaped, so… It’s your choice.”
Rowan stared at him, lips slightly parted, breath held until a smile curled the corners of her mouth, a hint of red rising in her cheeks. She moved in close, smoothing some hair off his forehead. “Then, what are you waiting for?” She tiptoed up. “Kiss me, again, tiger, then take me to bed.”
She didn’t wait, just closed the inch of space between them, slanted her mouth over his and dove in.
Held on until spots danced across his closed eyes.
He sucked in a quick breath, took another step, arm extended, fingers still entwined.
Rowan smiled, followed him down the hallway until he stopped halfway, pinning her to the wall while he ravaged her mouth.
She tasted too hot, too damn sweet, and he half-considered stripping them both down right there — taking the edge off with a round against the wall.
Until she whispered his name, those gorgeous blue eyes staring up at him full of promise. A preview of how his life could play out if he did this right — showed her he’d really jumped.
Rowan arched a brow when he retreated, holding his hand as he backed up the last half of the hallway, then into his room. Soft moonlight filtered through the windows and skylight, the distant thunder of helicopter blades sounding in the background, mixing with the constant crash of waves.
He stopped when his legs hit the bed, the left side of her face just visible in the muted light. Her hair hung in lazy waves across her shoulders, still damp from being out in the mist.
She swept her gaze the length of him, her smile a flash of white in the darkness. “Is there something on my face? Because the way you’re looking at me…”
Her reached out, touched her cheek, her skin strikingly soft against his palm. “I just want to memorize this moment. How the light’s shading your face. The way your silhouette fades into the shadows.” He grinned. “Maybe pinch myself to prove this is real.”
She snagged her bottom lip like she had in the kitchen, then stepped into him, fisting the waistband on his jeans. “How about I give you something worth remembering?”
“Rowan, I…”
She stopped him with another fierce kiss as she dragged his shirt over his head, then shoved his pants past his hips. She went to her knees, tugging and pulling until his jeans and boxers hit the floor. Nothing covering his skin but a single bandage on his right thigh.
She frowned, ran her palms up and down his leg. “When I think how close you came to…” She swallowed, dropped a kiss next to his bandage. “That I nearly lost this chance before it began.”
“Still breathing, thanks to you.”
“Pretty sure you’ve saved me, twofold.” She shifted her focus, blew a heated breath across his groin. “So, relax, and let me show you what’s been looping through my head for far too long.”
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to… Christ.”
His head fall back as she ran her closed hand the length of him, pausing to kiss the tip before repeating the caress, taking him from hot to supernova in a heartbeat. Reaching out, he gathered her hair in one hand as he watched her work his length, each pass deeper than the last.
Dots flickered across his vision until he realized he’d been holding his breath.
It rasped free with a ragged curse — just the first syllable or maybe only a grunt.
But she understood. Released him long enough to kiss his injured side before returning, taking him to the brink with the next slow descent.
He closed his eyes, but the image of her on her knees, teasing him until he thought he’d have a stroke, followed him.
Accentuated how her hair felt even softer than before, her mouth, hotter.
Every touch an electric jolt straight to his heart.
She swallowed with him lodged deep, and he damn near exploded.
Bodie snapped his gaze to Rowan, held hostage by the rhythmic motion as she eased back, then plunged down, each stroke cracking more of his resolve.
He tugged on her hair with every intention of telling her to stop until her gaze met his, her obvious pleasure stealing his breath.
She tilted her head, looking as wrecked as he felt.
That did him in. Had him thrusting his hips, doing his best to meter his strokes, but it was hopeless. The heat, the pressure, her needy little moans that echoed through the room — they fried his brain. Had him reacting purely on instinct.
Rowan hummed, the added vibrations sending him over the edge. He tugged on her hair, again, mumbled something unintelligible, then gave in. Heat spiraled down his spine, pushed him over the edge as her name tore from his chest, the room exploding into a wash of white.
Just like the flash bangs, only more.
More heat, more light, more her.
Rowan made a few more passes, finally easing him free as his heart pounded frantically against his ribs, an odd buzzing noise filling his head.
He came back to himself minutes, maybe hours later, one hand still clenched in her hair, the other palming the bed.
What he suspected was the only reason he hadn’t fallen face-first onto the floor, likely landed on her in the process.
The air around him finally settled, the room shifting into view as he pried open his eyes, took stock. Rowan stared up at him, lips slightly swollen, eyes practically glowing. She seemed more than pleased with herself, a smug smile slowly curving her lips.
Bodie released her hair — it took three tries and him physically watching his fingers in order to get them to work — but he managed, lowering his hand onto the small of her back when she stood, moving easily into his embrace.
He held her tight, one hand at her neck, the other her waist until his pulse returned to normal, his chest no longer squeezed tight.
She laughed against his skin. “Now that was definitely worth remembering.”
“It was worth so much more, I…” How did he say he’d never come that hard, that fast, and not let his feelings slip out? Sure, he’d told her he was all-in but now…
All-in didn’t feel like nearly enough.
Bodie cupped her face, pressed his mouth to hers in a lingering kiss. The kind that clearly stated he had no intentions of letting her slip away. Rowan closed her eyes as he rested his forehead on hers, savored the intimacy of the moment.
He breathed in her scent, the hint of winter rain in her hair, then grabbed her shirt, drew it over her head.
A flick followed by some shoving, and her pants dropped to the floor with a light thud.
Rowan lifted her arms and bent forward as he eased her sports bra over her head, then shimmied her panties down her thighs.
Less than a minute, and she was naked. Nothing but soft skin and promise passing beneath his hands.
He smoothed back her hair when they finally parted, dropped a kiss on her sexy mouth, then turned and lowered them both to the bed. Scooting her to the middle, he spread out her hair as he braced his weight on his elbows. “You comfortable?”
She traced her thumb along his jaw. “Perfect.”
“Good, because now that you’ve taken the edge off, we can slow it down. Make love.” He dipped down and kissed her. “Best settle in, sweetheart, this could take the rest of the night.”