by Jessica Sims
“I was not begging for anything,” I told him, running my hands along his back. I loved touching him after weeks of imagining how he’d feel.
“Really? Because all I’m hearing is ‘Josh, I need you to lick my breasts,’ ” he told me in a husky voice, kissing lightly along my jaw.
I sucked in a breath, my nipples going hard.
“Liked that, did you?” he said with a chuckle. Then he leaned down and undid the next button of my pajamas with his teeth. I watched, dazed, as his mouth moved to the curve of my breast and began to gently kiss it. “Can I undo the rest of them?”
“You’re asking permission?” I said, unable to stop looking at his mouth on the valley between my breasts.
“I need to know that you want this, too, Marie.” He looked up, and I saw his dark eyes reflecting with the were-cougar side of him. “You’ve got to encourage a man a bit, Marie.”
“What happened to all that talk about foreplay?” I was finding it hard to breathe. It was like all the air had left my lungs at the sight of his dark head over my chest.
He grinned. “Just talk, baby.”
I snorted at that.
He gave me a wounded look. “You’re killing my ego here, Marie.”
“It might need a nice, healthy deflating,” I told him, and then to take the sting out of my words, I ran a finger along his chest. “But I wouldn’t mind if you were shirtless.”
“I’ll go skins if you go skins,” he said with a grin. Josh crawled off me and stood up, then offered me his hand.
I placed mine in it slowly, feeling a little out of my element as he pulled me to my feet. Okay, a lot out of my element. All my expertise in flirting and being sexy was ten years rusty. And here I was in ratty pajamas, with dark circles under my eyes.
Then he tugged his shirt over his head, and my mouth went dry.
Josh was . . . gorgeous. In the future, I needed to see him naked at least once a day. Maybe more. I couldn’t resist reaching out to touch him. Taut, strong shoulders that framed a lean, tapering torso and a flat stomach. He had a sprinkle of hair on his pectorals and a line of it down his belly. Elegant. Delicious. His biceps were hard and strong, and I couldn’t help squeezing them as I ran my hands over him.
He remained perfectly still as I explored him, touching him the way I’d wanted to so many times before. I brushed my fingers over those pectorals, so well defined and hard, and jumped as a low rumble started in his chest under my fingers.
“Sorry,” he said, putting his hand over mine and trapping it against his chest again. “Should have warned you. We purr.”
Sure enough, a deep rumble just like a cat’s purring came from his chest as his hand held mine over his heart. “I didn’t realize your cat was so . . . close to the surface.”
“Don’t worry, I’m house trained.”
“Very cute.” I stared at that delicious skin, entranced, and ran my fingernails down it, raking them over the lean muscle.
He groaned, pulling me against him for another hot, quick kiss. “Your turn.”
I pulled out of his arms and felt my cheeks heating with shyness. Would my inexperience show? I hoped not. I finished unbuttoning the pajama top, keeping the fabric together until the last minute. Then I shrugged my shoulders and let it drop to the floor. I closed my eyes, waiting for his response.
“Beautiful,” he said, his warm hands moving back around my waist and pulling me against him for another hot, openmouthed kiss. We were naked chest to naked chest, and dear God, the sensation was sinful. Especially when his tongue was stroking into my mouth so sensually, like I was something delicious to be enjoyed for hours. One of his big hands stroked down my spine and I whimpered, pressing my breasts closer against his chest. I loved his warmth, his big body. I wanted to feel him all over me.
His hand slid to my ass and tugged me closer as the kiss deepened, became more possessive. My pulse heated, pounding through my body in excitement. His mouth slowly pulled away from mine, and he stared down at me with hot eyes. “You want the bed or right here? Because we should probably go there now.”
“Bed,” I said softly, my fingers twined in the silky hair at his nape.
He picked me up, kissing me as he carried me to my bedroom, then laid me on the bed and crawled on top of me. I wrapped my pajama-clad legs around his waist as he leaned in for another kiss, his chest hair tickling against my nipples.
And then he thrust against the juncture of my thighs, and I moaned. Oh, wow. Even through his jeans, that felt really, really good.
He swallowed my moan with another hot kiss, thrusting again, rocking against my core. My mind went blank with pleasure as he slid his hands to my waist and kissed my neck again, then down my collarbones.
When he leaned over and took the tip of one breast into his mouth, I dug my fingernails into his skin. “Joshua!”
He was purring again, nuzzling against my nipple, and he licked and sucked the sensitive tip, rolling it against his tongue. I felt the purr vibrating through his body, and it was doing crazy things to the way he felt against me. My sex felt hot and slick with need, my thighs clenching around him involuntarily. “Please . . . ”
“Please make love to my other breast?” He blew across my sensitive skin, and my entire body prickled in response. “If you insist.” And his mouth latched onto my other breast. His thumb went to the nipple he’d just abandoned, teasing the peak as he licked and nibbled on the other.
I writhed under him, my back arching. I didn’t want the sweet, intense torture to ever stop. I wanted more, desperately. My fingernails dug into his skin and my hips began to rise instinctively. “Please,” I breathed again, because I loved the consequences and wanted to see what he’d do next.
“Please,” he whispered huskily. “Put my mouth on you?”
I inhaled sharply, and nodded.
His fingers tugged the waistband of my pajamas and slid them down my legs. “I’ve been thinking about how you’d look for weeks. It’s been driving me crazy. I can’t wait to see all of you.”
I held my breath as his gaze moved over my body. His hand followed his gaze, skimming up my leg, then my thigh, the dark curls at the junction of my sex.
“Lovely,” he whispered, and leaned in to press a kiss to my belly.
That simple movement set my body aflame. I reached for him, dragging him back on top of me and kissing. He slid between my thighs and I parted them, letting him rock his weight against me again. His jeans rubbed against my sex in a raw way that sent shivers through my body. His kisses were deep and drugging, and I utterly loved the taste of him. I could kiss him for hours on end.
He slowly pulled away. “I need to take my pants off before they geld me.”
I giggled, and he grinned. “Do you want me to use a condom?” he asked.
“Shouldn’t you automatically do that?”
He shook his head. “Shifters don’t get diseases, and I can only make someone pregnant if she’s in heat.”
I propped up on my elbows, thinking. “What about me? Can you make me pregnant?”
He shook his head. “Not unless you’ve got shifter blood in you. It won’t take.”
I grabbed the front of his jeans, tugging him toward me on the bed. “Then we’re good.”
He grinned and dropped his hands to my hair, smoothing it away from my face. “You gonna do the honors?”
Finish undressing him? The thought was . . . titillating. I looked up at him, feeling a bit anxious, but the hot look in his eyes reassured me. He was into this as much as I was. I carefully undid the button and lowered the zipper, shoving the jeans down his legs and revealing red briefs that left almost nothing to my imagination. “Oh . . . ”
“Pretty impressive, huh?” he said with a teasing grin.
“Actually, it’s smaller than I thought,” I teased back.
“Oh, really?” he said with a challenging tone in his voice. “Then quit staring.”
“I can’t,” I admitted and brushed my fingers o
ver him through the fabric he was tenting.
He groaned, his fingers tangling in my curly hair. “God, Marie. I want your hands on me so badly.”
“I can do that,” I said softly, tugging at the waist of his briefs and pulling them down. He quickly wriggled out of them and then was naked in front of me.
Naked, and gorgeous. And hugely erect. His cock was long and thick, the crown tipped with a bead of moisture. I brushed a finger over that bead and was rewarded with his deep groan in response. My fingers moved hesitantly over the length of him, just testing. Fluttering. That was . . . exciting. I wrapped my hands around his length and bent to take the head into my mouth.
His breath exploded. “Oh, God, Marie. That’s so good.”
Encouraged, I swirled my tongue around the crown, then sucked it again. I wanted to please him, to make him as crazy for me as I was for him. My grip tightened on his cock and I sucked harder.
He thrust into my mouth, then pulled away. “You can put your mouth on me next time,” he whispered, giving me another hot kiss. “Right now I want you pinned under me, screaming my name.”
That visual stole the breath from my lungs.
He raised up over me, staring down at me with incredible tenderness, his hands spreading my hair around my head in a halo. “I always wanted to see you like this. Beautiful and soft.”
“And naked in your arms?” I guessed.
“Naked in my arms,” he agreed, then leaned in and kissed my shoulder. “With your breasts in my face, your nipples calling to my mouth,” he continued, and followed that statement with his lips grazing over the tips of my breasts.
I gave a low, shuddering cry.
“Naked in my arms, with your thighs over my shoulders,” he said softly, moving down my body and lightly running his mouth down my belly. His thumbs moved to my sex, and he ran one down the wet seam.
“Josh,” I moaned, unable to do anything but breathe his name. “Please. I want you inside me.”
He ignored my pleas, parting the lips of my sex and licking me in a long, slow motion that set me to shuddering and whimpering.
“You taste so sweet, Marie,” he whispered, and I felt that wild purr start up again. “Slick and wet and so good. I could spend hours here.”
I moaned at the thought. I wouldn’t be able to survive hours. I’d expire, happy and content and boneless. When he licked again I squirmed under him, feeling that ache deep in my core rising and helpless to do anything about it. My hips rose in response to his next lick, and I cried his name out again.
“Need you,” he breathed. “Next time, I’ll spend hours there.”
“Whatever,” I said, twisting under him, desperate with need. “Please. I need you, Joshua.”
He surged back over me, pushed my quivering legs wide, and settled on top of me, propping his body up on his elbows. Then he leaned in to kiss me again. The man loved kissing more than I’d thought possible.
He lifted one of my legs, anchoring it around his waist. His hand slid between us as he positioned himself, and I felt the head of his cock nudging at my entrance. I tensed a little, anticipating his slow slide into my body.
It had been so long that I wasn’t prepared for his thrust as he sank in to the hilt, and I yelped.
He stiffened, the hot, glazed look in his eyes turning to horror. “Marie . . . baby? You okay?”
I squirmed, digging my fingernails into his flesh. He was so big. “I’m good. Just give me a minute. It’s been a while.”
He stared at me. “How long has it been?”
“A few . . . years. Maybe . . . a decade.”
He swore, trying to pull off me. “Fuck, Marie. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I would have—”
I silenced him with a kiss, wrapping my legs around him. The last thing I wanted was to be treated like some delicate flower. “Shhh. Can we just go on with this?”
He kissed me back, almost grudgingly. “Tell me when you stop hurting.”
I took his lower lip in my mouth and sucked on it, eliciting a groan from him. His hips jerked against mine, resulting in a little dig of his cock buried deep inside me. And it felt . . . good. A little twingey, but I was adjusting. I rocked my hips a little against him. “Oh, yeah. It’s definitely stopped hurting. Give me more, Josh.”
Strain creased his forehead. “I’ll go slow, but you have to tell me if you hurt.” And he very slowly rocked his hips against my own in a smooth, circling motion. I followed his lead, once, twice, and then he began to pump into me slowly, his gaze intent on my face, watching my reactions.
“I’m not a virgin, so you don’t have to be so—” My mouth parted as he stroked into me. “Oh . . . ”
“Good oh or bad oh?” His voice sounded strained, his movements stilling.
My fingers clenched his ass. “Good oh. Keep doing that, Josh.”
He began to pump into me, harder, faster. The twinges of discomfort were soon buried in an onslaught of sensation. I’d never felt anything like this before. Every nerve ending was alive and on fire, and my hips rose to meet his with every thrust, my movements clumsy in comparison to his, but I didn’t care. I needed him, needed this.
Josh whispered against my neck as he rocked deep into me, each thrust jolting my body, his movements becoming rougher, jerkier. My body was tensing but I wasn’t quite there yet, and my fingers dug into him harder as his hips pistoned against my own. “Josh . . . I need . . . ”
“I know,” he gasped, punctuating his words with another thrust. “I’m going to give it to you.”
Watching my face, he slid his hand between us, searching. His fingers parted the lips of my sex and found my clit, and then he thrust again, rubbing against it.
If I thought I was on fire before, I was an inferno now. My entire body jolted like a live wire, and the pleasure I’d been chasing came closer. “Right there!”
He continued to thrust, his fingers teasing the bud with quick, rapid movements. Thrust, stroke, thrust, stroke, and my body kept tensing harder until I thought I would snap in two, my muscles locking so tight.
And then I went over the edge, my entire body clenching around him in a hard, rocking orgasm. I screamed his name as he thrust hard and wild into me. His teeth locked down on my collarbone, biting me as he came in his own quick, violent release.
He rocked over me a moment longer, kissing my mouth one last, slow time, and then rolled over to lie next to me. He exhaled a deep, gusty breath.
I echoed it, my body still quivering. “Damn,” I said softly.
“A decade, huh?”
“Hush up, Josh.”
He kissed my palm. “In all seriousness . . . are you okay?”
“I think I pulled a few muscles—but I’ve never been better.”
• • •
Even exhausted and deliciously sated from lovemaking, I couldn’t sleep. Next to me, his hand curled in my hair, leg thrown over mine, Josh slept, his chest rumbling in a purr. I closed my eyes and tried to will my body to sleep, but after an hour of tossing and turning, I gave up.
I carefully detangled myself without waking him and tiptoed down the hall for a quick shower. Then, after I toweled off, I headed for my puzzle.
Chapter Eleven
I was just putting away the completed puzzle when Josh wandered into the room, yawning and scratching his head. He looked so deliciously disheveled that it made my pulse race.
He moved to my side and glanced at the puzzle box. “Did I sleep for long?”
“Seven hours.” I was envious.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in for a kiss. I went reluctantly, feeling awkward. Wasn’t this the part where he was supposed to tell me he’d call me sometime and then skate out? But he nibbled at my lips, and when I softened against him he began to languidly kiss me, his tongue sliding into my mouth with a slow promise. By the time he released me I was dazed, desire pulsing through my body.
His mouth inches from mine, he chuckled low. “You shouldn’t have let me sl
eep so late. We could have had more time for . . . other things.”
Heat flickered through me, especially when his hands slipped to my ass and began to knead it. I tried to focus my thoughts. “Do you have to work tonight?”
He nodded, molding my hips against his. “More vampire guarding. The usual.”
And I had to work, too. Too bad we couldn’t stay here all night and simply hold each other. A lovely thought. Josh certainly didn’t seem ready to move. He kept caressing my backside and watching me with that possessive, intense gaze. I touched a hand to my hair. “I suppose I should start getting ready for work.”
And he probably wanted to get going.
But he didn’t seem to be in a hurry. He kissed me one more time and then released me. “Want to go out for breakfast?”
“It’s dinnertime for everyone else.”
Josh’s smile was achingly sweet. “Not for you and me.”
That made us sound like . . . something more. Did he always go out to breakfast with his dates afterward? I’d gotten the impression that he got away from them as quickly as he could. But the two of us were in that weird zone that was more than friends but less than a couple. Friends with benefits.
And friends could go out for breakfast.
“Sure,” I said. “Give me fifteen minutes to get ready.”
• • •
I wasn’t surprised when Josh suggested the diner. I didn’t even mind when he left me to go hunt down Carol and pull her into a big bear hug. The elderly woman lit up at the sight of him, and I smiled in response.
I felt that way whenever I saw him, too. There was something so boyish and exuberant about Josh. He was open and flirty and pleasant to everyone—everything I was not. What on earth did he see in me?
Voyons, it was obvious: he had told me himself. He was a predator, and predators liked the chase. I’d been playing hard to get, and now I wasn’t hard to get anymore.
I felt a twinge of anxiety. Was I going to be another one-night stand?
But that was what I wanted, right? So why was I even thinking these things?
