Chapter Twenty-Seven #3
“To…sleep?” She hoped not. She still wanted to climb him like a tree.
His wicked smile was back. “Afterward, yes.”
“Good. Take me to bed, Ronan. Let’s do some celebrating.”
He took her hand again and led her up the stairs. They wouldn’t fumble on the sofa like a pair of teenagers. This was deliberate, planned.
Agreed upon.
They’d make love in his bed. Or whatever he was comfortable doing.
“Your chest,” she said when they reached his bedroom door.
“Hardly feel it,” he claimed.
“Ronan,” she chided. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’ll let you know if you are. Until I do, don’t worry about it.”
She took him at his word and followed him into his room, where he closed the door in Puff’s face.
“Not tonight, buddy.” He switched on a light, filling the room with a warm glow.
The furniture was all dark wood and clean lines, but the bedspread was cheerfully bright, with little yellow flowers.
“I like your room.”
“Good. I hope you’ll be spending a lot of time here.”
She tugged his sweatshirt over his head. “Same.” She couldn’t control her wince at the bruise that covered most of his chest. “Oh, Ronan.”
He tipped her chin up until she was looking into his eyes. “I’m here, Elle. I’m alive. And I’d do it again to keep you by my side.”
Moved, she lightly kissed one edge of the bruise, then looked her fill at his chest. It was lightly covered with golden hair, lighter than the hair on his head. He was broad and muscular, but not overly so.
She liked that. She liked that he didn’t spend all his time at the gym working on his abs. They were sexy, just as they were. She traced her fingertips over his middle, then drew his head down for another kiss.
He immediately took charge and in seconds the kiss was back to hot and hard and full of the passion she’d been yearning for. He made quick work of the buttons on her shirt, pushing it off her shoulders. His sharp intake of breath made her feel desirable. Powerful.
She liked it.
It was his turn to trace her skin with his fingertips. He ran them along the edge of her bra, then between her breasts. “You do have more freckles,” he said. “I wondered. I like them.”
She hated them, but if he liked them, she’d accept that.
She loosened his pants, shoving them down to the floor in a jingle of keys. And looked her fill again. He was so hard, his erection straining at his boxer briefs. Impulsively she reached beneath his waistband and took him in her hand.
He groaned, the sound sending new shivers skittering down her spine. She began to stroke him, but he put a hand over hers to stop her.
“It’ll be over before we get started.”
Trying not to pout, she released him, then pulled the boxer briefs down. He stepped out of them and kicked them aside.
She laughed when he tossed her to the bed, her legs hanging over the edge of the mattress. She couldn’t deny that that had been seriously hot. She was not a small woman and he’d lifted her like she weighed nothing.
And then she wasn’t laughing anymore because he’d pulled off the rest of her clothes.
“Elle.” He whispered her name. “You’re beautiful.”
She felt beautiful. “So are you. All golden.”
He resettled her so that her head lay on the pillow and joined her, lying atop her with his weight on his forearms.
“You’ll stop me if I do something you don’t like?” he asked.
“I will, but I promise I’ll like it.”
She’d like anything he did. Anything he gave her.
She didn’t like it. She loved it. Loved the way he kissed her skin all over. Loved the way he murmured sweet words.
She loved the way he used his mouth on her. His tongue.
Oh God, his tongue.
She moaned and he chuckled against her.
“Like that, do you?”
“Love that,” she said breathlessly. “Don’t stop.”
He didn’t and too soon she was coming hard, panting and shivering and collapsing back to the mattress in a puddle of sated pleasure.
She loved how he crawled back up her body, pantherlike in his strength and grace. She loved how he never took his eyes off her as he rolled a condom down his length.
How he studied her face as he entered her, watching for what gave her pleasure.
And she loved his expression when he came, his fierce concentration. And then the blissful peace on his face as he rolled to his side, taking her with him.
He was a truly beautiful man.
She brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. “You good?” she asked quietly.
“So damn good.” He groaned. “I don’t want to move, but I have to. I’ll be back in a minute.”
He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to deal with the condom. She heard water running and smelled something lovely.
He appeared in the bathroom doorway, breathtakingly naked. “Let’s take a bath.”
So they did, sliding into his clawfoot tub, groaning as the hot water loosened their sore muscles and melted away the stress of the evening.
The stress would be back, Elle was certain. She’d probably wake up at three a.m., seeing Ashton Dempsey disappearing as if into thin air. But that was a worry for later.
For now she rested her back against Ronan’s chest, loving the way he held her close.
This felt good. It felt right.
It felt like home.