CHAPTER 23 #2
His mouth hovered over hers, but before he kissed her, she said, “I brought leftovers. They’re in the fridge if you’re hungry.” A dizzy thrill of nerves unintentionally made her scatterbrained.
His simmering gaze broke. He blinked. “What I’m starving for is right here,” he grinned, then touched her lips with his.
Though they hadn’t seen each other in nearly a month, his kiss was familiar.
Without any awkwardness, she savored the sensation of his tongue, the feel of his hands on her body.
It was no longer unexplored territory, and they moved seamlessly, as if they’d done this numerous times before.
They’d become lovers in every sense of the word.
It was comfortable, her mind at ease, yet she still wanted to devour him right then and there.
She caressed the back of his head, his hair slick and still wet. His lips moved down her neck, and his hand slid underneath the satin camisole. He cupped her breast right before his mouth made contact with her nipple. Feeling his hot breath through the thin fabric sent a zing of heat below.
He trailed his attention back up to her mouth. She found the opening in his towel and wrapped her fingers around him. He exhaled a groan low in his chest.
She began stroking him, enticing him and wanting him. She realized she’d been depriving herself of this satisfaction for far too long. “I want you,” she whispered before nibbling his earlobe as his licked her neck.
He sat up, loosening the towel from his waist and threw it to the floor. She gawked at him. His lean aesthetic fascinated her. He was pure male, attractive and hers to do with as she pleased.
He hooked his thumbs around her lace panties and pulled them off with one fluid motion. He licked his thumb and massaged her delicate nub with precision, making her hips immediately quake.
She gasped for air trying to hold it together. She pulled his hand away from her crease and up to her mouth. She licked his middle finger. Inserting it between her lips and swirling her tongue around it, making it as wet as possible.
She kept eye contact when she guided his hand back to her inner thighs.
His hazel eyes filled with adoration and need.
He slowly worked his finger into her, taking his time massaging her opening until he found a steady cadence her moans approved of.
“Is that what you want?” he asked, stifling her next sound with a kiss.
She reached for him again, letting him know exactly which part of him she really wanted. He appeased her desire and opened the nightstand to retrieve a condom. He tore the package and slid it on. He positioned himself between her legs, teasing her slit by caressing his tip against it.
He claimed her mouth again then pushed slowly inside her. When she thought she’d accepted all of him, he drove even more of himself into her until he reached the hilt.
He followed his primal instincts, finding a natural, satisfying rhythm. She reveled in the weight of him, the hard-muscled power moving against and with her body.
She encased her legs around him, prompting him to drive harder and faster into her. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and her heels into his lower back as her whimpers grew into wails. It was too much and felt too good. The dam within her broke, and she convulsed involuntarily below him.
“That’s it, baby,” he encouraged, thrusting into her even more rapidly, smacking the bed against the wall.
Shattered and limp beneath him, riding out the aftershocks of her climax, he reached his own release. With one final push into her, she heard a guttural sound escape his throat.
He collapsed beside her, out of breath. She turned her head and watched the rise and fall of his chest, taking pleasure in the fact she’d done that to him.
He caught her grinning. “Woman,” he said between breaths, “you’re something else.”
She liked how he called her Woman. “Does this mean I can stay the night?” she asked teasing.
“You can move in for all I care,” he said, chuckling, catching his breath.
She turned and giggled into the pillow.
“God, I missed you,” he sighed.
She propped up on her elbow and with a feather like touch, traced her finger over the peaks and valleys of his chest. “I missed you too.” Her voice was soft. “And...” she stopped herself.
He made eye contact. “And what?” he asked in almost a whisper.
“And I’ve fallen ...” she exhaled. She wasn’t ready to say it without knowing if he felt the same. “I’ve ... fallen ... for you. I need to know if you’re staying or going?”
He took a big breath, shifting his eyes up at the ceiling. She’d put him on the spot at the most vulnerable moment possible. But she needed to know if he was going to break her heart.
He got off the bed, leaving her touch, and walked out of the room. She heard the faucet turn on in the bathroom. Oh, no. Had she pissed him off with the question? Had she crossed a line?
Her stomach sank, and she wanted to bury her head in the pillow and cry right then and there.
She was on the verge of getting up to get dressed and leave when he walked back in.
His naked body sank back into the bed beside her.
She froze, readying herself to be asked to leave or not to bring the subject up again.
“I,” he began, “I haven’t made any moves one way or the other, but I can’t leave ... you.” He exhaled. “I have a three-week break starting the second week of December, and that’s when I’ll get my affairs in order.”
“So ...” she swallowed. “You’re staying then? You’re not taking the post in Arizona?”
He slid his arm beneath her and pulled her against him. “No woman,” he nuzzled and kissed the side of her cheek, “you’re stuck with me, if you want me?”
Relief from his words and his warm, spooning embrace washed over her. She smiled, “I do.”