by Claire Kent
Her belly and thighs were tensing up, and Matt’s eyes shifted irresistibly from her face contorted in concentration to the muscles quivering in her flat belly to his finger sliding slickly in and out of her body. She was exhaling in huffs and grunts—sometimes incoherent sounds and sometimes words like “Matt” or “Yeah” or “Fuck.”
When her whole body began to clench in preparation, she started clawing at the sheets, fumbling for purchase on the smooth surface.
And Matt couldn’t stand it anymore. He needed to be inside her. He wanted to feel her release in the deepest of ways.
“Elizabeth?” he muttered thickly.
She was obviously just on the verge of coming, but she must have understood his question.
She jerked her head to the side spasmodically. “Yeah!” she cried, her voice hoarse and breathless. “Yes, Matt. I want you inside me. Please!”
With a moan of relief, Matt pulled away his hand. Her thighs fell open for him, her knees still pulled up toward her chest.
Then Matt—sitting on his heels—hooked his hands around her thighs and quickly pulled her pelvis up into position.
He lined his cock up without wasting any time and slid it inside her, her hot, shuddering muscles enveloping him in a close, almost excruciatingly sheath.
Matt groaned as the friction and pressure on his cock sent jolts of pleasure and need shooting out from their connection.
He clenched, jerked his head to the side, and willed down his need to release the urgent pressure in a few wild thrusts and spasms. He held on to his control, although it was more of a struggle than he was willing to admit.
But Elizabeth was already gone.
As soon as he’d sheathed his cock in her, she cried out helplessly, arching up and flailing her hands. Then her hips began to move spontaneously, bucking up against his penetration, demanding the friction she needed, riding him from below.
Matt paused, his eyes glazing with the primitive thrill of watching her lose control.
She panted out helpless sounds, her face twisting with how much she was feeling. Her pelvis pumped upward wildly, causing his cock—which he had been holding still—to slide inside her with a tight, delicious motion.
Matt’s mouth fell open slightly, and his eyelids dropped down. He gazed at Elizabeth with half-closed, blurring eyes. “Yeah,” he murmured thickly. “Yeah, baby, come. Come.”
She let out a little sob as her body tightened unbearably. Then her muscles clamped down ruthlessly around his cock, causing Matt to grunt as he felt her climax all around the hard length of his flesh.
She spasmed and shook with her release, her head tossing and hair flying into her face. Then she relaxed, gasping and repeatedly huffing out a breathless, “Oh God.”
Matt was sweating, and his hands were shaking slightly as he held her thighs, but his chest was swelling with emotion as he watched her face transform into a contented smile. “I guess I got a little carried away,” she said when she found her voice again.
He leaned forward, adjusting their bodies until he could kiss her. “You can get carried away anytime. I love it when you let go.”
“I know you do.” She caressed up his arms, shoulders, neck until her hands were cupping his face. “Now I want to see you come.”
“Don’t you want to come again yourself?” he asked huskily. “I think I can probably hold out.”
She shrugged. “If I do, I do. But it’s your turn now.” Her voice was casual, but she was meeting his eyes evenly. Holding them.
He understood. He knew by now that his needs were every bit as important to her as hers were, and she would never let him think otherwise. “All right. Do you mind getting on top?” He gave her a hot look. “You know how much I like to watch you.”
“Sounds good to me,” she answered, moving her hands down so she could push at his chest. “Your inner caveman probably got enough of a thrill by watching me come just now. Better not let it get out of control.”
He grinned and let her readjust their bodies until he was on his back and she was straddling him, her legs folded in at either side of his hips.
He stared up at her face, with her auburn hair hanging down in tousled waves around it. He moved his eyes down to her breasts, which were full and heavy and exquisite. He reached up, cupped them, fondling the tight, rosy nipples.
She arched backward, pushing her breasts into his hands, letting out a pleased moan.
At the sound Matt gave an involuntary thrust up into her weight.
She smiled down at him, evidently pleased by his reaction. Then she carefully leaned over so she could kiss him.
Matt tried to kiss her back, although he mostly just groaned at the shift of his cock’s angle inside her.
“Elizabeth,” he muttered thickly. Moving his hands to her hips, he exerted a little pressure, hoping she’d take the hint and realize that he needed her to move. His cock was throbbing almost painfully, and he was having trouble focusing on anything else.
She smiled, rocking forward and then back, creating tight, erotic friction between their flesh that made Matt arch back his neck involuntarily.
“Fuck, Elizabeth,” he groaned as she kept rocking over him. It wasn’t enough stimulation for him to build up toward climax. Just enough to torture him deliciously.
After a minute she added an up-and-down motion to her rocking, and Matt sighed hoarsely in relief. He squeezed the flesh of Elizabeth’s hips, gazing hotly at the rhythmic swinging of her breasts and her hair.
Elizabeth was leaning farther forward now, Matt assumed to get some stimulation on her clit. She was starting to grunt softly from effort or pleasure, and her eyes were devouring his naked body—much as his had hers. He’d been looked at more often and by more women than most men would have dreamed of. But something in her look made Matt feel more loved and desired than he’d ever thought possible.
Soon Elizabeth’s motion over him became more urgent and rapid. She was pumping up and down over his cock now, the friction and motion causing Matt to make helpless groans and grunts of pleasure.
The feeling was starting to build in his cock, in his balls. He could feel his climax approaching and had to force himself not to start bucking up to claim it.
Elizabeth’s fingers were digging into the bare skin of his chest, but the slight pain only intensified the sensations. “Matt,” she gasped, “Matt, Matt, Matt.”
He made a growling sound as he tried to hold back from thrusting, since he knew she was about to come again herself.
His hands slid up to her breasts. He squeezed them, not controlled enough to be skilled.
She made a sobbing sound, suddenly leaning back, grabbing his thighs behind her as she rode him with shameless abandon.
From this angle Matt’s cock was hitting her G-spot. He knew it.
So he let himself go, thrusting up against her pumping to add to the stimulation.
Elizabeth cried out, her voice growing progressively louder as she jerked and shook above him. “Oh God, Matt!”
Matt felt all the collected pleasure and pressure in his body clench down just before the release. He bucked upward one more time. Heard Elizabeth cry out as she came. Felt her begin to convulse above him.
He roared out—completely uncontrolled for the moment—in relief, in victory, in love. Felt his climax explode and burst out, the spasms of it washing over his body and pulsing through his cock.
The rich spasms were long and lingering, and for several moments Matt couldn’t do anything but feel them.
They were both panting and sweating when Elizabeth finally collapsed on top of him, her arms clinging and needy as she buried her face between his neck and shoulder.
He had just enough energy to pull her into an embrace. Felt her soft, warm weight on top of him, a burden and a blessing both. He felt her tightened pussy around his softening cock, the moisture from both of their climaxes soaking where they were joined.
They lay in silence for a few moments until Elizabeth f
inally raised her head.
“Do you think you’ll ever want kids?” she asked.
Matt had no idea where the question came from, but it didn’t bother him as much as he would have expected. He didn’t even tense up. “I don’t know. I never really considered it before.”
“Oh. Well, is it something you might start to consider now?”
Matt knew she loved kids. He knew she wanted kids. And he could suddenly picture her with them, holding them, taking care of them. Then the picture changed and, for the first time, he saw himself with her as well, together with the kids.
Their kids.
Maybe they would even call him “Daddy.”
And he suddenly wanted that picture to be real, more than he’d known he could want anything besides Elizabeth.
“No hurry or pressure or anything, of course,” Elizabeth said in a rush, evidently misreading his silence.
“You know,” he said, pulling her up so he could see her face. “I think maybe it could be something I want.”
Her face dissolved in emotion and joy, although she made an attempt to control it. “Oh. Well, that’s good.”
He chuckled and pulled her down to kiss her. “But I wouldn’t want to have kids until I was married,” he said, knowing exactly how she would understand the comment.
Wanting her to understand it that way.
She gasped in response before her body relaxed. Then she leaned down to kiss him again. “There’s something that could be done about that, you know.”
He smiled against her lips, wondering for a moment if he deserved to be this happy and then deciding he didn’t care if he deserved it or not. “I’ll get to working on that, then.”
“Good. Until then I’ll live in hope.”
About the Author
CLAIRE KENT has been writing romance novels since she was twelve years old. She has a PhD in British literature and, when she’s not writing, teaches English at the university level. She also writes contemporary romance under the pen name Noelle Adams.
You can email her at [email protected] and find her online at:
clairekent.com
Facebook.com/NoelleAdamsAuthor
@NoelleAdams3
The Editor’s Corner
Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November…wait, it is November, and Loveswept is releasing some of our best books of the year! Check out these fabulous romances:
New York Times bestselling author Marquita Valentine releases her second new novel in her Boys of the South spin-off series Take the Fall series with When We Fall, in which a small-town sweetheart takes a chance on the bad boy who’s always been her hottest fantasy. Another Loveswept New York Times bestselling author, Tracy Wolff introduces her new Hotwired series with Accelerate, where an unassuming passenger is taken for the ride of her life. New York Times bestselling author A. Meredith Walters releases a powerful romance akin to The Fault in Our Stars with Butterfly Dreams. Then, welcome to Thistle Bend! A charming series debut from Tracy March, Should’ve Said No introduces a small town where old secrets are revealed—and wounded hearts are opened to new love. And in a short novel, Rebecca Rogers Maher’s Rolling in the Deep, two kindred spirits share a winning lottery ticket—and discover what it really means to get lucky.
Sports fans were introduced last month to the Aces Hockey series by Kelly Jamieson with Major Misconduct, and this month Kelly releases a holiday romance, Off Limits. Book two in the Recovered Innocence series by Beth Yarnall features a San Diego investigative team with a soft spot for lost causes and a passion for redemption in Vindicate. And Taking It Off, by USA Today bestselling author Claire Kent introduces you to Matt Stokes, the sexy-as-sin male stripper and club owner who knows what it really means to bare everything. Jessica Lemmon’s irresistible Lost Boys series kicks off with Fighting for Devlin the story of a good girl who plays by the rules—and the bad boy who brings out her wild side. And in Cecy Robson’s O’Brien Family series debut, two total opposites find that the flames of desire are still smoldering in Once Kissed.
For historical romance fans, Sharon Cullen’s The Reluctant Duchess ignites as a shy country girl and a hotheaded duke surrender to dangerous temptations. Then it’s on to Scotland for USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Haymore’s Highland Knights and the first book in this new series, Highland Heat, an electrifying tale of class warfare, fierce loyalties, and forbidden love.
I don’t want this month to end! But the good news is December is upon us with more fabulous Loveswept titles. Until then…
Happy Romance!
Gina Wachtel
Associate Publisher
If you loved Taking It Off, you won’t want to miss the first novel in USA Today bestselling author Claire Kent’s deeply sensual two-part story of love, lust, and deception, in which a woman searching for the truth discovers that she’s sleeping with the enemy.
Sweet the Sin
Continue reading for a sneak peek!
Available from Loveswept
Chapter 1
Kelly Watson heard her phone buzz with a new text as she was pulling into the parking lot of one of the city parks.
It was almost eleven on Saturday morning, and Jesse’s flight back from Paris would have just landed, if it stayed on the schedule he’d mentioned. Kelly had met Jesse in a bar last weekend, and they’d gone back to his place afterward. The sex had been pretty good—standard-issue, nothing special—and she’d been hoping that the business trip he was leaving for the following morning meant she wouldn’t hear from him again.
She hadn’t given him her number, but she’d told him she painted pet portraits—which was obviously a mistake. There weren’t that many pet portrait artists in the DC area, so she wouldn’t have been hard to look up.
Maybe the text was from someone else. Maybe the client she was meeting at this park was running late.
When she shifted her car into park, she reached for her phone and glanced at the screen.
Hey, I’m back in town. Want to get together again? Got any time this weekend?
Jesse.
Damn it. He must have texted her as soon as his plane had touched down.
A familiar tension roiled in her gut as she stared at the words. She hated when guys did this.
She never pretended that her one-night stands were anything but casual, so there was no reason for anyone to try to turn them into something else. She didn’t do relationships, and doggy style on the bed while he tried to talk dirty certainly wasn’t going to change her mind.
She sat for a minute, wondering if she should just ignore him. But he hadn’t been mean or inappropriate with her, and she didn’t like to be rude, so she tapped out a reply. Thanks. I had a good time too, but it was just the one time. Take care of yourself.
She reread it, making sure there were no undercurrents of encouragement in the brief lines. She hit send and dropped the phone into the front pocket of her bag.
Getting out of the car, she glanced down at herself to make sure she looked presentable. She had on one of her work outfits, consisting of a long, flowing, casual skirt, a tank top, and a thin tunic sweater. She’d set up her business when she was twenty-one, so she’d been doing this for seven years. In that time, she’d learned that clients expected a certain look from pet artists, and the slightly bohemian style—as long as it wasn’t too over-the-top—satisfied their expectations nicely.
Pet portraits weren’t exactly a booming business, so she did anything she could to give herself an advantage. She’d done all right for herself, considering. The first few years had been slow, but she’d used her adoptive parents’ wealthy contacts in the area and had slowly built up a business. She’d made a living out of it for the last four years, but if her adoptive parents hadn’t left her a sizable inheritance, she never would have been able to afford her lifestyle.
She swung her leather satchel over her shoulder and headed toward the entrance of the park. She was supposed to meet her client at eleven, so she wa
s exactly on time.
There was no sign of a man and a German shepherd hanging around the entrance, which was where she assumed they would meet up, so she waited for a few minutes, watching all the approaching cars.
It was the weekend and a warm, sunny day in April, so the park was crowded. She’d never been to this park before, since she lived on the opposite end of town. There was a wide stretch of grassy lawns and several different trails that led into a wooded area.
Her breath hitched at the sight of the woods. If this client wanted her to walk those trails with him, she would have to tell him no. She’d make up something about how she needed open areas like the lawns to get a good picture of the dog.
She hadn’t gone beyond the edges of any woods since her father had been murdered eighteen years ago.
When she felt a flash of overwhelming emotion at the memory, she pushed the thought away with a practiced mental strategy, breathing out, clearing her mind, and looking at the family of four approaching with their golden retriever.
The dog had a good build, so she studied it, mentally sketching out a portrait of it in her mind.
After a few minutes, the threat of the memory had cleared.
At fifteen after eleven, she started to wonder if her client was waiting elsewhere in the park, since there was still no sign of him at the entrance. She walked down the main path and searched the wide lawns for a man with a German shepherd.
She had to walk over the slight hill toward the trees before she saw him, throwing a Frisbee to the dog.
She sighed, thinking it would have been polite had the man waited near the entrance for her like a normal person, but the wealthy types she catered to often weren’t thinking about what was convenient for her. She swallowed her faint annoyance and walked over to him.
The dog was beautiful. Well-bred and healthy, with thick fur, good lines, and a powerful run. He would make a beautiful portrait, even if his owner was rather inconsiderate.
Kelly pulled out her camera and snapped a few pictures as she approached. She usually painted from photographs, since that was easier for everyone—aside from the occasional client who mistakenly thought the portrait was “purer” when painted from real life. She always got to know the animals before she painted them so she could invest the paintings with personality, as well as get the visuals right.
