He reached for the hem of her shirt and started to lift it, but she smacked his hand. “Not yet. I’m not done getting to know your body. I don’t want any distractions. I want to remember you always.”
Closing his eyes and tilting his head back, he heard his own groan of pleasure, of surrender as he focused all of his attention on the sensations of her hands moving over his body. She took her time exploring him. She was driving him insane. He was burning up for her. His cock had never been as hard as it was at that moment. He’d never known a more torturous, more intoxicating ache.
“Give yourself to me tonight. Fully. Completely. Hold nothing back. Right here. Right now. I want all you have to offer,” she whispered as she pressed her hand against his cock. He really needed to get his damned pants off before he busted the seam. “And I’ll give you all I have to offer. Now kiss me.”
Wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, she pressed her body against his as he bent his head to kiss her. His world forever changed the instant she wrapped her arms around his neck and she touched his lips with hers. He knew nothing would ever be as it was. He would always yearn for the way her body felt as it moved against his while she kissed him. And damn, the woman, his woman, knew how to kiss. It was much more than a kiss. Her lips, her tongue were making love to his. He’d never been more aroused than he was right then and there.
She abruptly stopped and, with her palms flat on his chest, she pushed him down onto the foot of the bed. In reaction to her aggression, he growled. Not in anger. In frustration. He needed more. He had to rip her clothes off and feel her skin against his. “No getting all wolfy man on me,” she teased as she pressed a finger to his lips.
“You said you wanted it all.”
She nodded. “I did.” His natural urge to dominate kicked in. He started to stand up, but she stopped him by placing her hands on his shoulders while straddling him. “And you said that you were looking forward to me climbing on top of you.”
“That’s right. I sure as hell did.” He lifted her shirt, pulled it over her head and then threw it onto the floor. “Damn it!” The faded bruises on her ribs looked horrible and painful. He should’ve been there. He should’ve protected her. He was almost too afraid to look at them too long, but he couldn’t tear his gaze off them.
She took his face in her hands and forced him to look into her eyes. “They’re old. They look worse than they are. They don’t hurt anymore.”
“You’re lying.” Obviously attempting to make him forget about the bruises, she tried to kiss him.
“I’m not lying.” She pressed her forehead against his. “I need this. I need you right now. I would tell you if I was in too much pain.”
“You will tell me if I do anything to hurt you?”
“Yes.”
“The second I do it.”
Rising up on her knees so that her breasts were in his face, she giggled. “As long as you stop being so mean and give me what I want, I promise to tell you the second you do anything to hurt me whether it’s in a good or bad way.”
Tilting his head back to look up at her, he laughed. She was one hell of a naughty seductress. He bit her nipple through her white lace bra. “Ouch.” She dropped down off her knees. Frowning, she stared up at him. “You said you wouldn’t bite me unless I bit you first.”
“I needed to make sure you would say something if I hurt you.” He unfastened her bra and pushed the straps off her shoulders.
“Just so you know it was a good kind of hurt.”
“Then I should do it again and again.” He cupped her soft breasts in his hands and leaned over to tease her nipples with his tongue. With her head thrown back and her fingers tangled in his hair, she moaned and arched her body when he drew her nipple onto his mouth and suckled.
***
Her heart raced as her breaths came in short little gasps. She allowed herself to be immersed in the pleasure of his kiss, of his lips moving against hers. His hands were everywhere. Touching her. Caressing her. Teasing the hell out of her. It wasn’t the touch or the kiss of a man enjoying a one night stand. It was too intimate.
He was pushing her deep into a state of arousal that exceeded her wildest dreams. Of all the mistakes she’d made in her life, this promised to be the best. With each breath she took, he carried her deeper into waves of longing, needing. She felt restless and warm. So very wonderfully warm. Trembling, her body ached for release. Her core throbbed. Delicious sensations skittered over her skin. Every inch of her body tingled with anticipation.
Kissing him was like being washed out into a warm sea of passion and pleasure. She moved her hips back and forth, rubbing her body against his. She couldn’t possibly sit still. Not with his mouth on her skin and, even with their pants between them, the heat of his bulging, hard cock between her legs.
She wasn’t sure what to make of Eli, but the thought of ever forgetting him in the morning was laughable. He couldn’t have been more different than every other man in her life. She didn’t sense any need in him to rush. He had no intention of screwing her and getting the hell away from her. He would give her pleasure before he took his own.
The heat between them was burning her up. If she had more than a night, she would’ve considered spending it with him. She would remember this night until she died.
His kiss was so intense, so tender and wild all at the same time. As if he was totally focused on her. His hands traveled over her body. Exploring. Caressing. Kneading. This was not what she’d expected for a one night stand. If she didn’t know better he kissed as if he adored, cherished her. It was the kiss of a man making love to a woman. It was a kiss she’d never known before. He was entirely focused on her. For this moment, she could pretend a man loved her. No. Not love. She couldn’t go there. She couldn’t even pretend to believe in love.
The idea of love between a man and a woman was nothing more than myth; a fantasy. Her mind started to wander. How had she ever believed Tom was in love with her? How had she ever fallen in love with him? She remembered wanting and needing him to take her into his arms and hold her many times. He never bothered to comfort her, or care for her needs and wants. It wasn’t long after she’d discovered she was pregnant, that she realized he was too concentrated on getting her father to notice him to ever focus on her at all. He didn’t love her. He never did. He’d used her.
Sex with Tom was worse than boring. He was a handsome man. He took care of himself. He had a solid muscular body that could’ve performed the act of making love with much more vigor than he ever did. It was kind of sad in a pathetic sort of way. He acted as if achieving anything more than his pleasure during intercourse was a chore. He never truly saw to her needs at all. She always felt cold and empty after having sex with him. It was always over before it ever truly began. Frustrated, she would stare at the ceiling for hours as he snored night after night away.
Forcing her to look into his eyes, Eli framed her face in his hands and tilted her head back. “Can you do me a very big favor, babe?”
She wouldn’t admit it just yet, but she was game for doing just about anything with him. “What kind of favor?”
“Let’s not think about the past right now.”
“Oh, crap. I’m sorry. I really am.” Feeling like an idiot, she shook her head. “I forgot you could hear my thoughts. Maybe it’s too soon for me.” It was. And it wasn’t fair to Eli. All that had happened was too much to just forget. The pain was too much. The past was so close it was relentlessly nipping at her heals. She couldn’t stop her thoughts from straying. She couldn’t be mad at him for hearing them. He was what he was. And she knew from the start that he could hear them. She frowned. “This is a bad idea, isn’t it?”
She expected to see anger and frustration, but she didn’t see anything except for understanding in his eyes as he smiled at her. “Don’t be sorry. If it’s too much…if you would rather wait for another day we will wait.”
She rolled her eyes. Obviously, he didn’t understa
nd the concept of having a one night fling. “This is it. There won’t be another day for us.”
“I have an idea.”
“What?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“Come into my mind. Share my thoughts. Share the here and now with me. Let the past go for a little while.”
Frowning, she bit her lower lip. For a second, his gaze left hers and drifted to her mouth. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” She closed her eyes when he looked into them again. It wouldn’t hurt to try. She opened her eyes and nodded. “It’s worth a try, right?”
His lips slowly parted in a sexy smile that caused her doubt to melt away. “I promise to do my best to make sure it is.” Oh, damn. How could she resist him? His voice was deep and so very rich with his masculine sexiness that it caused her body to flush all over.
She’d never tried to fully enter a stranger’s mind. She didn’t know how. She didn’t know if she could do it. Touching a person’s mind was far different than completely merging with it. “I’m not sure how to do it.”
“Hold on to me. I will show you.” Cradling her hips, he lifted her with him as he stood up.
She was immediately aware of her size and weight. “Put me down. I’m too heavy to hold like this.”
He laughed out loud. “You’re tiny. You’re not heavy at all.”
During her pregnancy, Tom had ruthlessly badgered her over her weight gain. He seemed to know about every single pound she gained before she gained it. He called her horrible names. A cow. A dump truck. A beached whale. And many, many more that she didn’t want to remember, but she couldn’t forget. “Sorry. I’m doing it again.”
“He hurt you. I get it. You don’t have any reason to say you’re sorry. Just kiss me. Give me a chance to take the pain of his memory away from you.” He was too good, too understanding to be real. But no one, including him, could ever take away the pain of knowing her child had been killed by the man she’d chosen to love. “You’re right. Nothing will ever have the power to take away all the pain of such a terrible tragedy, but perhaps I’ll ease it a bit.” He paused for a few seconds. “It wasn’t your fault, Kara. You must know that.”
It was her fault, but she wasn’t willing to argue about it with him. “Are you searching…I mean…are you digging things up? To be completely honest, I’m not comfortable with you knowing my every thought.”
She couldn’t believe he was still supporting her ass, holding her up, and having a conversation with her as if she weighed nothing. “You aren’t heavy at all. I like holding your ass and feeling your legs wrapped around my waist. And no, I’m not digging up anything. You’re sharing your thoughts.” She shook her head in denial. She wasn’t sharing anything…was she? “You are. You would know. You would feel it if I went deeper into your mind to invade your thoughts.”
“How would I know?”
He didn’t respond right away. He appeared to be searching for the right words to explain it. “It would feel much more intimate,” he finally said.
She wasn’t sure if he was right, but she didn’t want to worry about anything anymore. She wanted an escape from reality for a while. No, she needed it. Needed him. If she hadn’t already wrecked his mood, she just wanted him to make love to her. It was an odd choice of words for a one night stand, but that’s exactly the way she envisioned their joining would be.
“Then just kiss me,” he whispered.
She kept her arms locked around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist as he tilted his head back to kiss her. But then something happened. He sensed something or heard something. She wasn’t sure what it was, but something had distracted him before his lips ever touched her. He made a sound. It was like a soft growl as he turned his head and, going completely still, stared over his shoulder.
She started to become a little worried when he stared at the door for few seconds. “Tell me you haven’t had a change of heart.”
He turned his head and looked at her, his eyes a strange but sexy combination of dark brown and glittering gold, and he smiled. His smile, his gaze captured her. Wholly. Completely. “There’s no chance of that happening unless you change your mind.”
Rather than wait for a response, he captured her mouth with his. Starting out gentle and turning into something more turbulent the kiss went on and on. Tangling his hair in her fingers, she held onto to him as her entire body reacted to his kiss. She was trembling. Her mind and her body were solely focused on his kiss. A hot surge of desire raced through her bloodstream. Wanting more. Aching for him. Needing more. So much more. She returned his kiss. She poured herself into the kiss.
Parting her lips with his tongue he deepened the kiss even more. They were flying together, soaring high over any wall of resistance that might’ve cautioned her to stop. She began to feel his presence grow stronger deep inside her mind, but it didn’t bother her. She was too focused on the sensational fire building in her to care about what he would discover in there. She didn’t resist or shy away from his invasion, though she knew he was taking control.
Not taking. You’re giving control to me. He whispered in her mind.
She wasn’t sure if it was the truth. In fact, she strongly doubted it. His presence in her mind was just as demanding as his kiss. It was out-and-out dominating. But it didn’t matter. She didn’t care. She wanted him.
His laughter filled her mind. I care. I’m not trying to control you. I am simply trying to lead you into my mind. I want to share my thoughts with you. I need you to feel what I’m feeling. I need to feel what you’re feeling.
He continued to kiss her. She felt helpless, even if she wanted to, she could not refrain from returning the kiss with passion that was equal to his. A few moments later she saw, or rather sensed the path that would take her into his mind. She was shocked when she discovered that he was entirely opened to her, welcoming her. Her mother had never opened her mind so fully to her. Fearing a trap, she hesitated for a moment before steeling herself and proceeding.
“That’s it. You did it.”
“I guess I did,” her voice sounded breathless. It was a miracle she was able to say a single word. She couldn’t believe what she discovered in his mind. She was the very center of his every thought. He was desperate to gain her acceptance. His sexual desire for her was explosive. She would’ve labeled it as lust, but it was much more than that. Yes. He felt lust for her, but he truly cared about her. He had admiration for her. She was beautiful from the inside out. She was his perfect match. His mate. He would never give her up. She was his. He was hers. “It can’t be like that. We can’t have anything beyond one night together.”
“Shh.” He gently lowered her onto her feet. “I want…I need to feel your skin, every inch of it, against mine. It’s way past time to get rid of these.” He unbuttoned her pants. Her breath momentarily caught in her throat when he got down on his knees to unzip her pants.
“We need to talk about this.” It was extremely difficult to get the words out, but she had to stop him before they ventured to far. The word mate echoed in her mind. She could never be what he wanted her to be. She had to stop him. She had to make him understand.
He stared up at her. “We will have plenty of time to talk later.” Her heart started to race as he slowly pulled them over her hips and down her legs. She knew she should’ve stopped him. He would’ve stopped if she insisted on it. But she didn’t. Placing her hands on his shoulders for balance, she struggled to kick her feet free as his lips moved over her flesh from her bellybutton to her lower belly, so close to her most feminine place. He used his hands to nudge her legs apart and then, gripping her hip with his left hand to keep her still, he used the finger of his left hand to tease her damp overly sensitive opening. He tilted his head back and his eyes met hers. “I need to taste you.”
She wasn’t sure if it was his deep sexy voice, the heat of his breath on her most sensitive feminine place or the seductive words he’s uttered, but as he talked her body started to tremble with hu
nger. The first touch of his lips and his tongue nearly caused her to fall to her knees. When she tried to pull away he gripped her hips and pressed her against his mouth. He licked. He kissed. He teased. His fingers sliding in and out of her body as he caressed and suckled her swollen clit until she thought the pleasure would push her over the edge of insanity.
The pressure was too intense. It was as alarming as it was exciting. It continued to build with every second that passed by. Tossed into flames of desire she was burning up. He couldn’t possibly know he’d kindled such an intense fire in her. She was going to explode.
That’s the idea. Let go. Stop fighting it. I want it all. Give it to me. His deep voice filled her mind. Her fingers were gripping his hair for balance, she did just that. Crying out his name, she let go. She had never felt anything like it. Pleasure shot through her. It filled her with so many intoxicating, delicious sensations all at once.
She was still recovering when he got to his feet and wrapped his arms around her. She had never experienced anything close to the aftershocks of pleasure she was experiencing. Her entire body trembled against his as he held her. She looked up at him. “That was amazing.”
“Was it?” he teased.
“Let me show you.” She unbuckled his belt, and then unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and pulled them down. She felt everything she’d ever hoped to feel in that moment. Never, in any sexual experience, had she been subjected to such an insistent need. Before he could free his feet from his pants she pushed him back down onto the bed. Kneeling she pulled his boots off and took his pants off.
Standing up she stared down and him. “Damn. You’re huge. You know you have a kick ass body, right? I can’t wait for you to show me what you can do with it.”
***
At first when she’d pushed him down onto his back he growled and almost grabbed her and flipped her over onto her back to pounce on top her. His alpha male, predator nature was inclined to dominate her, but he held his disposition in check. It wasn’t difficult. A part of him wanted to experience her playing the dominate role with him. A big part of him. He watched while she, from the foot of the bed, leaned down over him with her hands on his knees.
Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness) Page 16
