One More Moment

by Samantha Chase

  And it was a complete turn-on.

  It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her what exactly she did, but he had a feeling he was already enjoying it.

  Stepping back, Christian slipped off her sandals and noticed the bright coral paint on her toes. Lifting her foot, he kissed her ankle.

  And she hummed with pleasure.

  Slowly, his hands retraced his earlier path—skimming up her calf and lifting her leg so he could kiss the sensitive spot behind her knee.

  Her hum became a low moan.

  Feeling bold, Christian leaned in closer and kissed a path up her thigh, sliding the green silk of her dress up as he went. He opened his eyes in time to see the tiny panties that matched her dress and hissed at the sight of them. He brought his gaze up to meet hers.

  “For me?” he asked gruffly.

  Biting her lip, Sophie nodded, and all Christian could think of was how he was possibly the luckiest man alive.

  His hand shook as he touched her intimately—his finger gently caressing the thin material. “How attached are you to them?”

  Sophie’s smile grew. “They’re yours to do with as you want.”

  It was like waving the red flag in front of a bull. He knew what he was going to do with them and as his hands grasped the fabric and tugged, he smiled triumphantly as they tore away from her body. Holding the scraps in his hand, he looked down at Sophie. “A thong?”

  She nodded again. “I thought you might like them.”

  “Now I’m sorry I didn’t take the time to strip you properly.”

  Another sexy hum. “I bought more. If you’re lucky, you’ll have other opportunities.”

  He loved the way she thought.

  “Sweetheart, I do believe that luck is about it become my middle name.”

  * * *

  Sleepily, Sophie tiptoed across the room and into the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, she felt along the wall for the light switch and squinted when the entire room lit up. There was a large mirror over the vanity and it was hard not to look at herself—naked, squinty, with bedhead and all.

  Not her best look. However…

  “I look glowy,” Sophie said with a satisfied grin. Leaning closer to the bathroom mirror, she confirmed it. “Yup. Definitely glowy.”

  On the other side of the door, Christian was still asleep. The sun wasn’t even up yet and she had needed to pee, but after a quick glance in the mirror at her disheveled state, she knew she needed a closer look. With her hair a riotous mess, her lips a little swollen, and some delicious aches all over her body, there was no doubt she was a woman who had spent an amazing night being thoroughly loved.

  The happy little sigh couldn’t be contained and once she’d finished in the bathroom and slowly padded back to the bed, Christian instantly reached for her.

  He didn’t say a word—simply guided her back beside him and held her close. He was warm and hard, and Sophie couldn’t get enough of being pressed up against him like this. Their legs tangled together, his arms wrapped around her, and then his lips sought hers.

  “I missed you,” he murmured against her lips before settling her in against his side.

  Sophie couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “I was only gone for a minute.”

  But he shook his head. “It felt much longer.”

  Kissing his chest, she rested her hand over his heart and immediately relaxed. “Go back to sleep. It’s way too early for either of us to be awake.”

  “Mmm.”

  It was obvious that he was nearly asleep and she didn’t mind. It was barely four in the morning and she could definitely use a little more sleep herself. Her mind, however, was going a mile a minute with thoughts of their night—the conversation, the dinner, the drive home, and ultimately the dessert. It had taken several hours to get to it, but it was well worth the wait. She never knew eating could be such an erotic experience. Between licking the frosting off each other’s fingers—among other places—and feeding one another, there was no way she would be able to look at a simple slice of cake the same way ever again.

  She placed a feather-light kiss on his chest as she snuggled closer. The French doors that led out to the deck were opened and she could hear the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, mixed with the soft sound of Christian’s breathing. Both were soothing to her and Sophie had to wonder how she had gotten so lucky—how the darkest and lowest point in her life had led her directly to this place.

  And to falling in love with Christian Montgomery.

  Never one who took romantic relationships lightly, Sophie used to laugh at her girlfriends who always had crushes or who seemed to fall in love at the drop of a hat. She preferred to get to know someone and get a feel for who he was on multiple levels before deciding if she could connect with and—eventually—get romantically involved with him. And everything she had learned about Christian in the past month made her feelings deeper and deeper, to the point that it almost scared her. Mainly because it had happened so soon.

  And partly because everything about him was so incredibly different from anything she’d ever known.

  Take his home—Sophie had grown up in a small rural town. The home she and her grandmother shared was a modest, two-bedroom house with one bathroom. The roof leaked, the exterior needed paint, and their appliances didn’t match. But it was filled with a lot of memories—there were framed pictures all over the house that told the story of her life. Whereas Christian’s home looked as if a designer had decorated it and it was void of any personalization. It didn’t matter how beautiful the space was, every time she came here it made her sad to think of him living in someplace so cold.

  She had to wonder what his family was like. From everything he’d shared about his father, she already didn’t like him. But his mother and aunt had been so sweet and friendly that it confused her to imagine those two personalities in one family. As for her own family—meaning her grandmother—they were who they were, and even though right now she wasn’t feeling her closest to Nana, Sophie always felt loved.

  Or at least she had.

  Yawning, Sophie forced herself to stop thinking about the negative. Too many wonderful things had happened to her in the past twelve hours to ruin them with tainted memories. She was in bed with a wonderful man, in a beautiful room, and very satisfied. That was what she needed to focus on.

  That and…maybe being a little bold and being the one to wake Christian up this time. Any time they had dozed earlier, it had been Christian waking her up because he wanted her again. This time, she wanted to be the one to slowly tease him to wakefulness.

  Her hand gently rubbed his chest and he hummed softly in his sleep. Next, she shifted so she could lift up on one elbow and look at him a bit. Leaning forward, Sophie began to kiss all the spots her hand had just touched. Earlier, she had found how much Christian loved to have her kiss his chest. And while she rained gentle kisses on him, she moved her hand lower—over his abs and then lower still.

  Hiding a smile, Sophie could tell Christian was waking up.

  As she continued to touch and taste him, his hand slowly skimmed up her spine and tangled into her hair, tugging.

  She really loved when he did that.

  “Mmm… I thought you told me to go back to sleep,” he said, his voice soft and sleepy.

  “I did,” she said breathlessly between kisses. “But then I started thinking about all the ways you woke me up over the course of the night and wanted to try that out for myself.” Lifting her head, she met his gaze in the moonlight shining through the open doors. “You don’t mind, do you?”

  If anything, his hand fisted tighter in her hair. “I will never complain about your hands and mouth on my body,” he said fiercely.

  Sliding over him and straddling his lap, she ran her hands up his chest. “We’ll have to sleep eventually,” she teased as her nails scratc
hed their way back down.

  Christian hissed at her touch, releasing her hair only to grasp her hips. “But not yet,” he said, guiding her lips to his.

  * * *

  The next time Sophie opened her eyes, the sun was shining and the room was completely bright. Stretching, she realized that she was alone in the bed. Slowly she sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest and marveling at the view through the glass doors.

  “That is one heck of a view to wake up to every morning,” she said softly.

  “Yes, it is.”

  Gasping, she turned and saw Christian standing in the doorway with a tray in his hands. He walked over and placed it on the bedside table before leaning in and kissing her thoroughly. “And I wasn’t referring to the beach.”

  She blushed and tried to duck her head to hide it. But Christian tucked a finger under her chin and gently forced her to look at him. “When I woke up a little while ago, you were sleeping so peacefully and all I could think of was how beautiful you looked.”

  Self-consciously, she ran a hand over her hair. “I’m a bit of a mess.”

  He sat beside her, caressing her cheek. “You’re beautiful.”

  Part of her wanted to deny it—mainly because accepting compliments always made her feel a little uncomfortable—but when she looked into his eyes, she knew he meant what he was saying.

  Glancing over at the tray, she asked, “What have we got here?”

  Christian reached for it. “I made you some coffee and a little something to eat.”

  Her heart squeezed at his thoughtfulness. There was a bowl of fruit with strawberries, pineapple, and cantaloupe, along with a cup of yogurt. “You’re going to spoil me.”

  Then he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “You deserve to be spoiled.”

  Oh boy, she thought. A girl could easily get used to this.

  “Aren’t you going to eat anything?”

  He shrugged. “I had my coffee. That’s normally all I have for breakfast.”

  Grabbing her mug, she took a sip of the steamy beverage and sighed with delight. “Oh, that’s good.” But then she had to put on her nurse’s cap. “You know that’s not healthy for you, right? You need to be taking better care of your diet.”

  “And yet you let me eat all that cake last night,” he teased, and she seriously blushed thinking about those escapades again. Taking her hand in his, he said, “I love that you’re concerned, and if it helps, the coffee was decaf.”

  “Christian…”

  “And I did have some of the fruit while I was cutting it up.”

  Unable to help herself, she laughed softly. It was hard to be stern when he looked so relaxed and deliciously adorable. When he wasn’t in work mode, Christian had some seriously boyish good looks—a wonderful smile and a great laugh. She wished there was a way for him to stay more like this.

  “You’re looking pretty serious right now,” he commented.

  Now wasn’t the time to bring up work or health issues. Now was the time to bask in the afterglow of a fantastic night. So rather than risk it, she went for something she knew would distract them both.

  “Just wondering how playful we can get with fruit and yogurt,” she said with a sexy grin. And before she knew it, Christian was on his feet and stripping his shirt off over his head.

  “Let’s find out!”

  For more Samantha Chase check out

  The Montgomery Brothers series

  Suddenly Mine

  On sale January 2019

  About the Author

  Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than forty titles under her belt! When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug, Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of twenty-five years and their two sons in North Carolina.

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  Samantha Chase, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

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