Chapter 25
25
In his younger days, Lachlan had been so thoroughly clueless about girls that he’d found it safer to wait until they made the first move. He was practically guaranteed to say something awkward, after all. Then, at a certain point, he began opting for a more straightforward approach. “I like you. Do you want to watch the bore tide?” Or “see the sea turtles lay their eggs?” Or “check out the snowy owl nesting in the sign at the hair salon?”
Surprisingly, this approach worked more often than not. Either that was because girls liked directness, or because he’d finally grown into his gawky frame and outsized ears and other features. Bit by bit, date by date, he’d grown much more confident in himself when it came to women.
He’d learned that communication was key, and that it required just as much listening as it did talking—maybe more. He’d gotten really good at it, too, so long as he was genuinely interested in someone. If he wasn’t, he unfortunately had never mastered the art of faking it. The flip side of that flaw was that he would never want anyone else to fake anything, especially in bed.
But with Maura, he felt at sea all over again. Nervous, as if he was that confused, nerdy kid all over again, the one who had assumed everyone was interested in anthills and ladybugs. Why not, after all? They were so fascinating.
Go with what you know , he told himself. Which was—be direct.
She was sitting cross-legged on the couch, holding her hot chocolate in both hands like a child. His heart ached at the thought of everything she’d gone through with that obsessed stalker.
He bought himself some time by messing with the fire, using a poker to shift the logs and send a spray of sparks up the smokestack. Then he rose to his feet and faced her.
“Maura, you must know that I like you,” he said simply. “But I’d never want you to feel uncomfortable.”
“I don’t,” she said quickly. “I never have, with you.”
“Because we’re friends.” He swallowed down his disappointment. Hadn’t he already accepted that reality? Now that he knew the reason for her caginess, it made even more sense. He should be grateful she even wanted a friendship after she’d sworn off men for good.
“No. It’s not that.” She unfurled her legs and set her mug down on his coffee table, though it was hard to find a space for it between all the books and papers. She padded toward him in her bare feet until she was right next to him. “It’s because you’re you.”
Her deep blue eyes captured his in a kind of enchantment that made everything else turn to a blur. All he wanted was to kiss her again. His lips could already feel her, his tongue could already taste her…and then he was doing exactly that. He paused just before their lips made contact, giving her a chance to pull away, to say no.
Thank all the powers in the universe, that didn’t happen, and they surrendered to one of the most delicious forces of all…pure unadulterated desire.
This kiss was nothing like that first one, which had taken them both by surprise. He poured his heart and soul into this kiss. He wanted her to know how much he cared about her, how attracted he was to her, how much he loved her company. It was so much easier to share such things in the form of a kiss.
The smooth inner velvet of her mouth was like a drug. The more he tasted, the more he wanted. He felt her hands on his back, under his sweater, against his skin. He groaned deep in his chest at her touch, which started cool but warmed quickly against his flesh.
“These muscles…” she murmured mischievously. “Who would have thought?”
“Hmmm.” He’d lost his words. Who could blame him, when her hands were eagerly exploring his shoulders, his spine, all the way down to the belt holding up his pants?
His own hands were going on an adventure of their own, not waiting for him to consciously give them permission. Maybe they knew that would take too long, given all his worries about treading carefully with her. Goddamn body parts think they run things , he thought wryly.
“What’s funny?” she muttered through her shivers, as he skimmed his hands along the sensitive skin between her waist and the sides of her breasts. The swell of her flesh made him see stars.
“Just having a little talk with certain parts of my body.”
“I have a few things to say too. Can we make it a general conversation?”
“Sure,” he gritted as she deftly unbuckled his belt. God. This was moving fast. Not long ago, they’d been taking things at a glacial pace. Now it was like jokulhlaup—lots of action all at once.
“Well, I’d just like to say that I’m very into your body parts,” she murmured.
“Are you?”
“Yes. I like the way you touch me.” She leaned against him, shivering, as he lightly circled her breasts with his thumbs, converging on the nipples that stiffened under his touch. His tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, craving the taste of her.
He lifted her layers of shirts to expose her breasts. Her bra was barely containing the swell of her nipples. He eased it away from them and bent down to feast on the rosy peaks.
She let out a low moan and arched her back to make it easier for him. That sound coming from her throat made him lose a bit of his control. He thrust his hips against hers so she could feel how hard he was. Feel that baseball bat in his pants—that was how big and erect it felt.
“Bedroom?” she gasped.
“Come on.” He tugged her across the living room toward his room, which was set off from the rest of the house, an addition that had been added later. As a result, it tended to be colder than the rest of the house, so he’d installed another little woodstove for extra heat.
But he hadn’t taken the time to start a fire in here, so the temperature difference made her gasp.
“I promise I’ll keep you warm,” he told her. “Just get into that bed and leave it to me.”
“Okay then.” She laughed up at him. “I like it when you talk like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I don’t have to do anything.”
And he got it then. He didn’t need to be so cautious. She was tired of being on guard, tired of steering her life like a lifeboat trying to avoid reefs. The ghost of her recent experience didn’t need to ruin their fun. She trusted him. As she should. He had nothing but the best of sexy intentions.
“Stay still for a second,” he told her gruffly.
She stood quietly while he stripped layers off her top—sweater, t-shirt, bra. Pale skin with golden freckles made him wonder what she’d look like without the black hair dye. Making expeditious work of it—since she was now shivering in the cold room—he tugged her leggings off as well. When he reached her underwear, she shook her head, so he left those on.
As she hopped from foot to foot, shivering, he yanked down the two comforters and extra quilt that he often slept under. She crawled under them and he covered her up, laughing as she nearly disappeared under the pile of bedding.
“Are you making me warm things up in here for you?” she protested.
“Yes, that’s my evil master plan. ” He pulled off his own clothes and tossed them on the chair next to his dresser. “I’ve been looking for someone like you. Someone with body heat, you know.”
Clutching the covers around her, she stuck out her tongue at him. Cute, but also it made him think about what that tongue could do to him, specifically to his cock. Which hardened even more. It was almost difficult to get his pants off, that was how hard he was.
She stuck out her hand above the covers and crooked her finger at him. “I see something that would warm me up quite quickly.”
“Do you?” He struck a pose, fists on his hips, strutting his stuff, making her laugh.
“Get in here.” She lifted the covers to welcome him into the bed, and the next thing he knew, smooth skin surrounded him, a leg over his hip, breasts against his chest, a foot against his shin. Paradise.
At first they just clung together. He let the feel of her flesh permeate through him. So silky and warm on the surface, covering angles and planes underneath. Substructure, he thought absently. All that bony architecture protected something even deeper—her beating heart, the wellspring of her life, the core of Maura.
Random weird thoughts while holding the warm body of a woman in bed—such a typical Lachlan McGowan moment. But she didn’t seem to mind. As part of her effort to warm up, she pressed her mound against the hot skin of his erection.
“Body heat,” she moaned. “Bring it on.”
She wrapped her hand around him and he gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to come before they’d even done anything, but the touch of her soft palm was excruciatingly delicious. “Hang on,” he managed in a strangled voice. “Gotta do something first.”
He scooted down her body, toward the warmth that radiated between her legs. The warm darkness under the covers made him wild, as if they could do anything in here and it wouldn’t count. He tugged down her panties and licked her hip, tracing the swoop from hipbone down to her soft nest of curls. He felt her hand come to his head, curling into his hair. That was good. She could let him know what was working for her and what wasn’t. Right now, from the trembling of her fingers, he figured he was on a good track.
He pulled her underwear down even further, then all the way off, with some wriggling assistance from Maura. He couldn’t see more than a shadow down here, but it was enough to locate the sweet dark triangle between her thighs. And that was all he needed to find the pouting swollen packet of nerves where he could bring her to bliss.
Her scent went right to his head. Pheromones. Powerful stuff, he knew. No one’s natural smell was appealing to everyone, it depended on…well, chemistry. Luckily, chemistry was on his and Maura’s side, and he thought he’d never breathed in anything so wonderful in his life.
He lost track of time as he explored her with his tongue and lips. Time didn’t matter. All that mattered was her reaction and her pleasure. That required all his attention, and he gave it, looking for signals from her trembles and the twitch of her hands in his hair. When she came, he felt a moment of sadness that he didn’t get to see her face as she did so.
Next time , he promised himself as she shook under the insistent stroke of his tongue.
“Enough,” she gasped as the tremors shaking her body died down. She tugged at his shoulder to get him to change position. “I can only take so much.”
He stretched out beside her, his erection bobbing against her. He wanted to plunge inside her more than life itself, but he wouldn’t—not yet.
“I have condoms in the bathroom,” he told her.
“But it’s cold out there. Be careful. Don’t let any body parts freeze off.”
He laughed and crawled out of the bed, landing awkwardly on the chilly floor. Dashing through the house with a still-bobbing erection, he couldn’t help laughing at the absurd picture he must present—or would, if there was anyone around to witness.
Except…there was. A woman was peering through the window next to the front door, shading her eyes to see inside.