by Lori Foster
“You think I want a quick lay?” With heart-stopping tenderness, Cannon stroked over her hair, moved it behind her shoulders so he could better see her breasts. “You think once I get inside you, I’ll be done?”
The way he looked at her now… She shook her head. No, she hadn’t thought that. Not until Mindi had spelled it out to her. Then it had seemed all too plausible. “Honestly, I don’t know what to think anymore.”
He lifted her chin. “Guess there’s only one way to find out for sure.”
The words, combined with that particular heated look, had her pulse leaping. “You won’t quit on me this time?”
His mouth quirked at her wording. “I can’t.” He levered her away so he could look at every inch of her. While consuming her with his gaze, he murmured, “First time will be fast and hard. Second time might be better. I’m still up in the air on that one.” He drew her close and playfully bit her lower lip. “The third time, though…for sure, that one will be all for you.”
Oh, God, she could hardly wait.
Cannon tumbled her into the bed—and she knew she wouldn’t have to.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
WARM SOFTNESS, FIRM breasts, tantalizing dips and hollows and wet kisses—Cannon wanted everything, right now. With Yvette.
He kneed her legs apart and settled over her, his mouth at her throat, his hands frantic on her breasts. The long day, time spent at the bar and then the turmoil afterward, left her skin rich with her intensified scent. He breathed her in and hurt with wanting her.
He enjoyed her gasping breaths, how she arched into him.
How could she think one time would be enough? He’d run the gamut of emotions today, ending with that mind-numbing rage that had thrown him off-kilter.
He’d still been coming down from that, adrenaline surging, doing his best to comfort her, when she’d decided to make everything sexual.
Mouth open on her skin, he gently ate his way down to her breasts, sucked in one tight nipple, nursed her while plucking at the other with his fingertips.
She moaned his name, her hands in his hair holding him closer.
It wasn’t enough. Not even close.
Leaving her nipple wet and flushed, he made his way down her torso, teasing her flat belly, her hip bones, inner thigh, then pressing his face against the crotch of her minuscule panties.
Here, her musk was even stronger, drugging him.
His cock throbbed, ached. He’d wanted her forever, denied himself too long. She was already damp, and he tasted her through the panties, pressing with his tongue, lightly biting.
She tried to twist away, but he held her hips steady. She’d been warned, and she wanted this anyway.
“Cannon,” she said on a whimper.
Sitting up in a rush, he scooped up her legs with one arm, then stripped the panties down and off. Looking at her tormented him. He made himself hold back, savoring the sight of her completely bare. She shifted her feet, pressed her knees together.
“Cannon?”
Using both hands, he opened her thighs wide. Yvette turned her face into the pillow, her hands at either side of her hips.
Such a perfect offering.
His chest worked like a bellows, the pressure building until he oh-so-carefully parted her vulva to further expose her.
So pink and shiny wet. Her inner lips swollen. Her little clitoris ripe and ready.
Groaning, he leaned down and tasted her deeply, thrusting into her with his tongue. His nostrils filled with her excitement. He sucked and licked and taunted with his teeth.
He tried to fight it off, but with each small sound she made, the pressure built inside him.
Accepting that it was now or never, he twisted away to find a condom, then stood and stripped off his boxers.
Yvette didn’t move except to squirm in need. He’d love to hear her come again, to see that unique mix of pain and pleasure on her face.
Doubtful.
With her rapt attention spurring him on, he rolled the condom down his shaft and lowered himself half over her, his hand going immediately between her thighs to stroke two fingers deep.
So ready.
He shifted over her, positioned himself and, teeth locked, began easing into her.
She tipped her head back, offering up her breasts again.
So fucking beautiful. Not quite there, but definitely cued up. Briefly he mouthed one puckered nipple, then the other, playing her with his tongue, leaving them each red and wet. He watched her through a haze of mounting lust and razor-sharp need. Each broken breath she took, each shiver, the flush on her breasts, the silkiness of her inner thighs.
The creamy clench of her body on his cock.
Lowering himself to his forearms, he took her mouth in a deep, hungry kiss.
And pressed into her as deep as he could go.
She gasped, turning her face away, but he recaptured her mouth again, angling his head for a better fit, taking her mouth as he took her body. Hips grinding, need consuming.
On a vibrating cry, she gripped his shoulders, her nails biting in his flesh.
And he loved it.
He wanted to be gentle, but instead he pounded into her, harder and deeper until she lifted her slim legs around him. Digging her heels into the small of his back, she matched his urgent rhythm.
He fought to stall the inevitable.
A losing battle.
Lifting up with a harsh groan, he rocked out his release, only vaguely aware of Yvette watching him, her hands moving gently over his chest and shoulders.
Sucking in air, totally spent, he sank down onto her small giving body, only some of his tension now gone.
Yvette continued to stroke him.
Outwardly, she stayed still and calm, peaceful in the way she put small kisses to his damp skin, how she tunneled her fingers through his hair.
But inside, he felt her still holding him tight. Felt the little ripples of her need. The heat of her skin and the hammering of her heart.
Attempting to clear the fog of pleasure, he drew in a deep breath, but that only tantalized him with the scent of sex hanging in the air.
He had his face in her neck, so he nuzzled against her and felt her tremble.
He’d left her on the brink of release, without taking her over. And still she touched him with affection.
Smiling against her throat, he said, “Told you so.”
“Mmm?” She kissed him again.
And damned if he didn’t feel her hot little tongue lick over his sweaty shoulder.
Struggling up onto his forearms once more, Cannon looked at her. Her lips were puffy, her hair tangled around her. She had whisker burn on her cheeks and the heavy eyes of a woman in extreme need.
“How do you feel?”
“Better.”
The smile tugged at his mouth. “Yeah?”
With a languid nod, she coasted her nails lightly down his pecs. “Throbbing.” Back up to his shoulders. “Maybe…coiled.”
He gave a slight press against her. “Wet.”
“That, too.” She shifted. “I wish I could feel you, and only you.”
Dangerous. But damn, it turned him on, the idea of taking her bareback, nothing between them.
Her flesh and his.
He bent to her mouth, kissing her idly this time, his tongue playing with hers. “I need to get rid of the rubber.” Amid her protests, he rolled off her and stood.
He couldn’t have prepared for her impact. He looked at her sprawled on the bed, his for the taking, and it did things to him.
Crazy, possessive things.
Things he realized he’d been feeling even before she’d left for California. Now they were amplified, more tangible because he could touch and taste her.
Fuck her.
Make love to her.
As he stood there looking at her, she shifted her feet restlessly, knotted her hands in the sheet.
He’d thought to spend time bathing her, teasing her, but he couldn’t.
Ignoring the rubber for the moment, he sat beside her on the bed and cupped a hand between her open thighs.
Her eyes drifted shut and she lifted into him.
Watching her was the most erotic thing he could imagine. Lacking haste, he worked his fingers over her, then one finger in her. She writhed, her hips twisting, her breath coming faster.
Seeing her primed like this stirred him sooner than he would have expected.
He withdrew, only to sink in two fingers, curling them slightly to reach that special spot for her. She followed where he led without inhibition, gasping, rolling her hips, getting so very close but not quite there.
Coming down beside her, propped on one elbow, Cannon kissed her mouth, then her nipples, suckling each in turn until she was mindless with wanting.
Down her belly again.
“Ah, God. Cannon, please.”
“We’re getting there.”
She fisted a hand in his hair, trying to hurry him.
He pulled his fingers free to tease her glistening clit. “Here, baby? Is that what you want?”
For an answer, she purred and widened her thighs more.
He circled, spreading her wetness around that tiny bundle of ultrasensitive nerves, applied careful pressure, gently tugged.
“Cannon, please…”
He pushed his fingers deep again—and drew her into his mouth.
Fingers still working her, he stroked with his tongue, rasping over her, pushing her, and within two minutes she broke. Her moans were loud and real and powerful enough to get him at the starting gate again.
She’d barely settled, her breath still catching, when he rid himself of the spent condom and rolled on another. Giving her no time to prepare, he cupped his hands over her knees, pushed them far back and sank into her.
Her moan was both pleasure and protest.
“You are so fucking wet now.” Already the slick friction built. With each deep slide of his cock, she tightened more until they were both caught in the hot clench of powerful release. Neck and back arched, she gave a deep guttural groan, her muscles squeezing like a fist. While coming, he kept his gaze on her, the sight of her heightening his pleasure. Even as she drained him, his body continued to buzz.
Long minutes later, when he finally worked up the energy to lift himself, he found her fast asleep, dead to the world.
The things he felt… They were too unsettling to contemplate after the hellish day, at such a late hour. Unable to help himself, he kissed her again, softly so she wouldn’t awaken. Her parted lips. Her throat.
Her now-soft nipples.
She grumbled a protest and shifted, making him smile, a sappy smile that he felt in his heart.
The bruises on her arm wrecked him. He’d rather break a limb than see her marked like that. He kissed those, too, then carefully separated from her, standing beside the bed.
Her legs were still inelegantly sprawled, her tender sex exposed. Using only his fingertips, he touched her.
She mumbled in her sleep and turned to her side, drawing up one leg.
Yeah, he liked that view, as well.
He wanted to touch her again. Hell, he wanted to kiss his way down her spine to that perfect ass. Later, he told himself.
Rubbing both hands over his face, he got it together. She didn’t need to be molested in her sleep. He pulled back the covers, lifted her up where she belonged and covered her again.
It took him only a minute to clean up, and then he was beside her, turning her toward him and holding her close.
Knowing he’d never let her go.
*
THROUGH THE INFINITE darkness closing in around her, she saw glittering eyes everywhere, heard the snickers and whispers. Desperate to find the light, she began searching, groping blindly. She smelled kerosene. And death.
Another snicker, followed by a soft laugh. Someone grabbed her wrist, hard fingers squeezing in an iron grip. Another hand on her shoulder. Her neck. She silently fought. But more hands joined the eyes, faces getting closer—
Yvette jerked awake with a start, gasping, her eyes seeking…
“Hey.” Cannon was over her, his hand on her cheek. “You okay?” His fingertips touched her cheek, his brows drawn in worry.
Oh, God. Her face was wet. With tears? Humiliation squeezed her heart. “I…I’m fine.”
For the longest time he searched her face until she could no longer meet his gaze.
He turned to his back but pulled her up onto his chest, his hands clasping her backside. “You had a nightmare.”
Denials came automatically, but remembering his insistence last night that she trust him, she pushed past her reservations. “Yes.”
Maybe surprised, he held silent for a moment, then asked, “A bad one?”
“I’ve had it before.” Often. “It’s…unsettling.” She tried not to clutch at him, but the remnants of the dream, the helplessness and incessant fear hung with her.
His hands moved, cuddling her behind. “Want to tell me about it?”
God, no. She shook her head.
He stroked her behind, startling her by teasing along her cleft.
She automatically tried to slide away.
He gripped her cheeks again, resettling her. “I like you right where you are.”
She blinked at him, a little more uncertain now that bright morning sunlight flooded the room.
Of course, Cannon didn’t have the same reservations.
Looking at her mouth, his hands again palpating her rear, he said, “We never did have that talk last night.”
Dazed from the bad dream followed by his bold touch, she struggled to ground herself. “We had amazing sex instead.” Yes, if she could just concentrate on that…
“Very amazing.”
Levering up on her arms, she got a better look at him. Rumpled inky hair. Burning blue eyes. Those sinfully long lashes.
She couldn’t stop the groan of appreciation. Even resting, his biceps looked amazing. And his chest, the crisp hair, that fascinating happy trail…
“What are you thinking?”
“That I want to lick you all over.”
An arrested expression held him immobile for only a moment, then he flipped her onto her back and came down over her, pinning her in place. “I’d like that.”
She laughed. “Well, I hope so.”
“But first we’re going to talk.”
She groaned again for an entirely different reason.
“None of that.” He took her mouth in a barely there kiss. “Do you want to do this here, now, or would you rather hit the john and grab coffee?”
Twisting, she tried to see the clock, but he didn’t give her much room for leverage.
“It’s nine-thirty.”
“Wow.” Very late for him. “We slept in.”
“It was damn near dawn when I finally let you fall asleep.”
Narrowing her eyes, she asked, “So you didn’t sleep in, but you stayed here so I could?”
“Yeah.” Lazily, he cupped her breast, rolling his thumb over her nipple with single-minded purpose until it drew taut. His eyes narrowed with satisfaction. “I got to look at you. A pretty fair trade.”
He’d watched her sleep? Her face warmed, and then she realized… “I fell asleep.”
“Yeah.”
“I mean…”
“Right after you came.” Still moving with an indolent lack of haste, he grazed his teeth over the side of her neck, her shoulder. Down.
She held her breath…and then those same teeth lightly scraped her nipple and the sparking sensation arched her back.
“You are so sexy.” His big hand left her breast and instead he held the side of her face. “But we do have to talk.”
That had to be a joke. But no. He looked plenty serious. Incredulous, she shoved at his shoulders, but he didn’t budge. “Why would you start all that if you didn’t plan to—”
“Because you’re irresistible.” He kissed her forehead. “And I can’t stop thi
nking about all those sexy sounds you made, how you looked and smelled and how it felt to be inside you with you squeezing me so tight.”
Instead of pushing him away, her fingers curled against his muscular flesh. “Cannon.”
“Sex isn’t always like that.”
What an understatement. “Not for me anyway.”
He shook his head. “Not for me either, honey. Maybe you don’t realize, but we’re good together. Better than good.”
It’d be nice to think they had something special going on, because for her it was so much more than physical.
But how could she be sure? “You’ve always enjoyed sex.” He’d told her so.
“True. But with you, it’s more.” Plumping up her other breast, he brushed his lips over her nipple, making her want so much more. “It’ll always be more.” He blew gently against her, then met her eyes. “I know it, whether you do or not.”
Squirming against him made her very aware of his erection on her belly. Hoping to forestall the inevitable, she twined her arms around his neck and slid her foot up his hairy calf. “We could talk later.”
Taking her by surprise, he caught her hands and slowly stretched them up high over her head. He took his time, pinning her legs with one of his.
Excitement shuddered through her. Yes, she could use a quick trip to the bathroom. And she wouldn’t mind a quick gargle to ensure she didn’t have morning breath. But everything was secondary to how he made her feel right now.
Anticipating what he’d do next, she held her breath and tried not to wiggle.
“Now,” he murmured, after a soft suckle of her nipple. “Tell me about your dream.”
Wait, what? Experimentally, she tugged at her wrists; he held her secure. Frowning, she shook her head to deny him. “It was dumb.”
He shifted both her hands into one of his. “Tell me anyway.”
“Why?”
“Because,” he said, then gently sucked at her nipple until her breath left her in a vibrating moan. Curling his tongue around her, he tugged free, leaving her nipple achingly taut. He blew against her, then whispered, “I want to know.”
“You’re diabolical.”
“I’m incredibly turned on.” His gaze met hers. “And incredibly determined to get you to open up to me.”
