Chapter 24
Libby left the door ajar and slipped out of her bedroom, thanking all the stars in heaven that Karim had fallen asleep right away.
Dan was in the kitchen on her laptop.
“Any news?” she asked.
“None that matters right now.” He closed the computer and gave her one of his devouring glances. “This can all wait.” He pulled her onto his lap, and his rock-hard erection pressed into her thigh.
Oh, man, this was really happening.
She slipped out of his arms.
“Where are you going?”
“I want to give you an early Christmas present.”
“Is it you?” he said, following her. “Because I’ve been itching to unwrap this dress all night.”
“Not quite.” Giggling, she swiped his hand away, went to her bag, then slid the box of condoms across the kitchen counter.
Dan grinned and reached into his back pocket.
The foil wrapper he’d pulled out glinted under the light.
“Great minds think alike,” he said, dipping his head to give her another one of his long, searing kisses.
She cupped his face and kissed him back hard.
There would be no more interruptions now, and she’d make full use of this man who was offering to help her in every way she desired.
She took his hand and headed toward the couch.
“Nuh-uh. A man needs room if he’s to do his best work.” Dan pulled her in the other direction, and the next thing she registered was his neatly made bed, cast in the pale moonlight beaming through the window. Arousal slammed into her, raw and exhilarating.
“Show me your best work,” she said, keeping her eyes steady on his. “Show me everything.”
Like a champion, his nostrils flared, his jaw clenched. Unspoken challenge accepted, he ripped his T-shirt over his head and stepped out of his shorts.
“Man…” she breathed. She’d gotten used to his scars, but she’d never get used to the glory of his naked, sculpted body.
He was fully aroused, jutting out between his strong, warrior thighs.
Ready for action. Ready for her to touch and explore.
She skimmed her fingers over his tight, velvet skin and wrapped her palm around him.
When she squeezed, he slowly thrust his hips toward her but pulled away almost immediately.
“Careful,” he hissed. “Too much, too soon.”
Libby snickered, giddy with the fact that after feeling so undesirable for so long, here was a man—albeit a friend—who’d gotten into this state because of her.
She let her fingers drift upwards, skimming along the deep contours of his torso, loving how his muscles flickered under her touch in the most satisfying, empowering way.
“Daniel Jones, can I just say, regardless of the scars and regardless of what you might now think, your body is still truly magnificent.”
“Thank you.” He kissed her, and then his mouth drifted along her neck with an exhale of relief that made her think she wasn’t the only person who’d felt undesirable recently.
His firm hands stroked her butt. “And can I just say, Libby Jones, that regardless of what you might think and regardless of how you always dismiss compliments, your body is truly spectacular.” Then he quickly turned her so that they were both staring at their reflections in the long, narrow mirror on his closet.
One of his hands splayed across her breasts, the other on her hip, keeping her pressed against his groin.
“Oh…” Libby’s breath caught. Dan’s hand slid between her thighs. “Oh…”
“Interesting.” He kissed her neck again. “You seem lost for words.”
“I… Oh… Ah…” His fingers parted and played, as if he’d always known where to find those sweet, private spots that made her come. “This is…”
“Just what you needed help with?”
“Oh, yes. Definitely.” She melted against his hardness, his own obvious need put to the side to see to hers. Gliding and sliding, his fingers drove her higher and higher, and… She covered his hand with hers to stop him. “I’m—”
“I got you.” Holding her tight, he circled the tip of his finger over her wet, pulsing clitoris. “Let yourself go.”
This had always been her fantasy!
She raised her arms, pulled him down for a kiss, and powerless against his hands—one on her breast, gently pinching her nipple in the most exquisite way, and the other, oh…oh—she came hard in his arms, his name catching on her breath.
“Now, that’s what I call magnificent.”
At Dan’s raspy voice, her eyes flew open, and all she could see was their hot, R-rated reflection in the mirror. “You were watching me the whole time.”
“God, yeah.” His steel-like arousal pressed into her back.
Libby turned, her breasts brushing against his chest sending shivers through them both. “I think it’s time you wore one of your Christmas presents,” she said and stretched out on his bed while he tore the foil wrapper.
Slowly, teasingly, he took his thick penis in his hands and rolled on the condom.
“I’m so glad it fits. I didn’t keep the receipt.”
With a chuckle, Dan came to lie next to her, a sculpted iron Adonis, huge—in more ways than one—and prepared for action.
Just like he’d promised. She settled beneath him as he propped his head in his hand and gazed down at her, his eyes full of words he didn’t speak.
Words that probably went something like, What the heck are we doing, and why does it feel so damn good?
The same words that were hovering around in her head amidst the steam and haze.
And then he kissed her. For several minutes, everything went blank—everything except his mouth, his hands, and the way his teeth grazed her nipple that made her back arch.
Rolling over, he pulled her on top.
“This is where we got to last night on the sofa,” he said when Libby had shifted to straddle him.
Hot hands on her hips, he guided her along his hard ridge and practically made her purr.
“I’ve been thinking about you riding me ever since.
Aw, yeah,” he breathed when she rubbed herself against his plump tip, building her own climax as much as his.
“That’s…ah…” Slowly, she took him in, inch by glorious inch. “Ah-mazing.”
Dan’s groans were empowering. She was a goddess riding her stallion.
“Libby…” He gripped her hips.
She rode faster. His hands gripped tighter, but then something in her brain told her he was no longer guiding her. He was stopping her.
Mortified, she halted. Dan was a friend, but he was still a man with sexual preferences, likes and dislikes. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Fuck, no. How could you think that? It’s me. I’m too turned on. I need a moment.” Dan was taking deep breaths now, taut and rigid like he might shatter at the slightest movement. “I have high performance standards, and there’s no way I’m coming inside you in less than a minute.”
“Good thing, then, that my Christmas present to you gives you twelve attempts to prove your endurance.” Libby swallowed back a smile. “I didn’t last longer than five seconds myself just now.”
“That’s different.”
She couldn’t see how. Not really. But she was enjoying her position, both physically and emotionally. Dan felt so good inside her, and his reaction to her body jet-propelled her self-esteem.
“So, um…” Teasing him, she drummed her fingers on his abs like she were waiting for a call to connect. “Still need a moment, Cranky?”
“Yep.”
“All right. What should we talk about?”
“Anything.”
Her gaze drifted to the book on his nightstand. When Love is Betrayed. “You’re still reading this?” She reached over for it, pressing herself against him—maybe on purpose.
He hissed between clenched teeth. “That’s not helping.”
“Oops, sorry,” she said, not sorry at all. Dan had emboldened her. The feeling was intoxicating. She waved the battered novel in front of him. “You read slowly.”
“I like to take my time and enjoy things.” He cupped her breasts again. “I like to savor.”
“I can tell.” Her breath caught as he gently squeezed her nipples. “Have you gotten to any juicy bits yet?”
“Oh, yeah.” He shifted his hands and traced the V between her legs.
“I meant in the book.”
“Well, so far, they’ve…ah…done it against the ship’s mast, on the captain’s chair, and on…on the hard deck under the stars.”
“Sounds delightful.”
Dan sucked in a breath, his voice jagged. “In one scene, the guy had a hand on her breast, a hand behind her head, and another hand behind her back.”
“A three-handed man?” Libby snort-laughed. “What more can a woman ask for?”
Dan thrust his hips, and her breath caught at his hard-as-steel reminder.
“Can I carry on now?” she asked.
“You may.” His hands shifted to her ass, holding her firm against his desire and igniting hers again.
She moved herself slowly up, down, and along, chasing her pleasure, responding to his.
So close, she paused—Dan was waiting…why?
Should she wait too? The pressure in her core stopped her breathing, stopped her thinking.
All she knew was this feeling of bliss. Then Dan gripped her hips and moved her again—slowly, so slowly, guiding her, stoking the fire between them and turning their breath ragged.
“Dan, I…”
“Go, Libby. Let yourself go.”
Her orgasm ripped through her—she was too loud, too reckless, and too far gone to care. She could only feel—Dan beneath her, inside her, his hands pressing into her flesh, until slowly, finally, reveling in her comedown, she opened her eyes.
Dan had been watching her again, his body still taut, coiled tight, unreleased.
“I’d forgotten you were there, Cranky,” she lied. Because body and soul, he’d consumed her. “It’s your turn now.” She ground against him, still so hard inside her, and then he jacked his hips and let himself go—an explosion of pure male desire, telling her that she’d consumed him too.