CHAPTER 29 #3
She grasped one end of his dangling bow tie and slid it slowly off his neck, then started on the shirt, still fisting the strip of black silk.
She flicked open the stud just below his open collar, her heart rate increasing as she removed each one.
The pleated white fabric felt like silk, and so did he when the two sides parted, and she finally touched his smooth, warm skin.
Leaning in, she pressed her face into his chest, inhaling deeply.
The studs clinked in her hand. She slipped them with the bow tie into his pocket, her fingertips lingering there, stroking his thigh.
“You’re going to drive me crazy.”
She kissed his pec. “That’s the idea.”
He inhaled sharply. And suddenly, she couldn’t get enough, raining kisses over his chest, down to his abs, then back up again, tracing her lips over where his heart beat, strong and sure.
“God,” she whispered.
“I know.” Beneath her lips, his chest rose and fell in labored breaths.
She caught one wrist, then another, undoing his cuff links, then moved to stand behind him, pulling off his shirt, keeping her fingertips on him as the fabric slid slowly down his muscled back.
He started to turn, but she gripped his hips.
“No.”
She tossed his shirt aside, pulled her dress over her head, tossed that too, then pressed her body against his, her hands gliding around his middle to caress his chest.
His pecs tensed beneath her seeking fingers. She dragged her tongue along his spine. He shuddered. She softly kissed between his shoulder blades, then reached around his waistband, quickly flicking open the single button, pressing her face to his back.
She paused. Under her cheek, she could feel the rise and fall as his breath labored.
“Penny …”
She smiled against his skin. “Mm-hmm?”
“What are you doing to me?”
“What I dreamed of all day.” She ran her nail down his zipper, then over his rigid length.
He hissed in a breath. “Dream faster next time, please.”
A low, sultry laugh escaped her, and she unzipped his fly in one swift pull. She hooked her fingers around both waistbands, sending his trousers and boxers to the floor. Still facing the window, he toed off his shoes and kicked the pants and shorts aside, quickly peeling off his socks.
She took him in, his broad shoulders, his muscled back that tapered to narrow hips, his muscular backside, and powerful legs.
Dear God but he was beautiful. “Turn around.”
Slowly, he turned. “Look what you do to me.” He held his palm underneath himself as if in offering.
She looked. How could he be so perfect? And not only his body; that simply served to showcase everything beautiful he was inside.
Claire raised her gaze, and in his eyes, she read so much emotion that her eyelids stung.
She started to sink down.
He gripped her shoulders. “Claire ...”
The next second, she was at his feet.
“You don’t have to—”
“I want to,” she said.
She was throbbing, a slow, hot pulse that told her where she needed him. She’d done so much with and to him but never had she knelt like this before him. She didn’t know why, but she felt an overwhelming need to pleasure him this way tonight.
And take him to completion.
She had done everything but that. Too much. Too intimate. But now …
Claire closed her eyes, trembling a little, trying to regain control of her emotions.
He gently gripped her chin. “Look at me.”
She did. Slowly.
This was a reversal of that time in front of this window, and paradoxically, she felt powerful even as she knelt there, looking up at him, his hard length so close to her cheek that all she had to do was turn her head to taste him.
He reached to grasp a handful of her hair, letting it fall to sweep across her shoulders. “My kryptonite,” he murmured. “Tell me this isn’t just another dream of you.”
“I think I’m dreaming too.” Her head spun, and she could barely breathe. Crazed with arousal, she undid the front clasp of her bra, letting her breasts spill free.
“Jesus.” He shook his head as if in disbelief. “You are so goddamned beautiful.”
“You,” she told him. “You are beautiful. All of you.” She’d kept that thought in oh-so-many times, but now she had to let him know.
She reached for him. He tensed for a beat but then allowed her to take over. She squeezed him and leaned forward, dragging his smooth, beautiful tip over her lips.
He shuddered. “Only if you want to, Penny.”
She answered by opening her mouth and reaching to grasp his backside, slowly easing him in.
“Fuck,” he said through clenched teeth.
Her lips wrapped around him, and she began a gentle rhythm, in, then out, setting a languid pace.
“Oh, yeah.” His voice was raspy. “Just ...” Thrust. “Like ...” Thrust. “That.”
She knew he liked it slow and deep and fought to keep from going wild on him, pacing herself, relishing the smooth, velvety feel of him as he slid in and out, using her tongue to heighten his pleasure, her excitement increasing as he threaded his fingers in her hair and guided her with gentle movements.
Lost in a fog of lust, she licked and sucked and teased, seeking to recall and do everything she’d learned he liked. His pleasure was hers, and Claire never wanted to stop giving it to him.
She hadn’t thought this could be better than she remembered, but it was.
It was.
“I’m close.”
Oh, she knew how close he was. She could feel it, taste it. She’d always had him pull out about now, but not this time. No, not this time. Claire squeezed his backside, nails digging in, drawing him even closer.
His fingers tightened over the top of her head. She heard him pant as his thrusts shortened, grew erratic, and he hardened in her mouth.
“Gonna come,” he warned in a hoarse whisper.
She drew in a quick breath through her nose and pulled him closer. “Mm-hmm.”
The next second, his fingers spasmed on her head, and she felt and tasted his hot release, her hammering heart swelling with something she couldn’t name as he went on and on and on, ending with that loud grunt that she’d heard in her fantasies a thousand times.
She swallowed. For a few beats, neither of them moved, and then he exhaled sharply, gently stroking her hair. At last, he drew away a bit, and she released him, daring to open her eyes and look up.
Ian leaned against the glass, his beautiful chest rising and falling, gazing down at her with an expression she couldn’t define.
Because this time, the postorgasmic, bewildered euphoria she knew so well was laced with something so profound, it pierced her very soul.