by Cat Schield
She bumped her hips against his, rocking the most sensitive part of her against the hard ridge straining his zipper. The move caused him to release a husky groan. He slid his hand over her butt, pulling her hard against him.
“Do that again,” he commanded, his fingertip skimming beneath her silk panties.
This time when she repeated the move, she gave her hips a little twist and his fingers grazed close enough to where she so desperately craved his touch that she whimpered.
She slid her fingers into his hair and imagined all the sexy, dirty things she was going to do to him. Sex with Tristan hadn’t always been about romance or even passion. Sometimes she’d felt anonymous beneath him. Especially when he’d flip her onto her stomach and take her from behind. At that moment she could’ve been anyone to him. It hadn’t occurred to her at first. She’d been a virgin on her wedding night, having never experimented with boys her own age. Which meant that a man who was eleven years her senior, with a lot more life experience, could convince her that whatever he told her was the truth.
And it wasn’t as if she had friends she could reach out to about the subject. She’d run with a similarly sheltered group of women who’d pledged virginity until marriage. Nor could she speak to her mother about such a subject. Helena Alston was a soft-spoken, Southern gentlewoman who would be scandalized to discuss such private bedroom matters.
Later, when Zoe had established herself in society and gained some confidence, she’d realized that asking questions of her peers about their intimate moments would only point out her naïveté and open her up to ridicule. Since maintaining appearances was so important to Tristan, she’d hesitated to say or to do anything that might leave anyone questioning his ability to satisfy a woman in bed.
One thing he had done was teach her how to please a man, something she was about to demonstrate to Ryan. Even more, possibly for the first time ever, she wanted to give pleasure. And Ryan was the target of all those persistent impulses.
Her heart was pattering way too fast and none too steadily. What if she couldn’t please him? Almost as soon as the thought speared her mind, she felt strong fear dig in.
“Look,” Ryan began, obviously reading uncertainty in her hesitation. He ran his thumb over her cheek. “We don’t have to do this.”
Oh, hell no. He wasn’t getting away that easily.
“I need to do this,” she explained, her focus centered on the hard bulge pressed against her.
“‘Need’?” he repeated, his voice reflecting concern. “You don’t need to do anything. Let me take care of you.”
He lifted his hand and ran the tips of his fingers over her cheek. The tender gesture made tears spring to her eyes. Talk about a mood killer. Crying a bucket of tears onto a man’s erection wasn’t exactly sexy.
“I...want to do this.” She stressed the second word, making herself sound powerful and confident. And it was the truth. “Kiss me,” she begged, loving that he knew exactly what she liked best. Hard and soft. Tender and hungry. In his arms her senses came alive and she adored every second.
“My pleasure.”
As his mouth settled over hers, she crushed her lips to his. This man turned her on and she wanted him to know it. A deep, sexy rumble of pleasure sounded from his throat. He curved his fingers over her waist and rode the bumps of her ribs to her breast. As his palm covered her, she whimpered with joy.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured against her neck, his teeth raking across her throat. “I can’t get enough of you.”
Zoe gripped his hair and gave a sharp yelp as he tweaked her nipple through her clothing. She saw his half smile as he lowered his mouth to her breast. As her blood pounded in her ears, she almost missed his appreciative groan when her nipple tightened against his tongue.
A curse slipped from her lips. The sensation of his mouth on her breast was blunted by the fabric that separated them.
“This isn’t working,” she protested, tugging at his hair.
He lifted his head and gave her a wicked smile. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“We’re both wearing too many clothes.”
“I know.” But he didn’t seem immediately inclined to tear her clothes off.
His mouth drifted across her chest to her other breast and her thoughts turned to ash as a jolt of pure lust blasted through her. He hooked his fingers in her neckline and pulled both her dress and bra aside so he could flick his tongue over her nipple.
“Oh, yes,” she murmured, a cry lodging in her throat as fire swept through her. “So good.”
She held him against her as he plied her with lips, teeth and tongue. Meanwhile the insistent drumbeat of hunger grew louder and faster. She was burning up and gyrating beneath him on the couch wasn’t getting her anywhere near where she wanted to go.
“Take me upstairs,” she demanded, pushing her hips into his hand as he eased his way down her body until his shoulders shifted between her knees, pushing them wider.
He dragged his finger over her panties and cursed. “You’re so wet.”
She squeaked something incoherent as he pressed a kiss over her clit. White-hot lightning shot through her, leaving Zoe panting and trembling.
“And so gorgeous,” Ryan continued. “I love the way you smell and can’t wait to find out how you taste.”
His words were almost as arousing as the firm grip he took on her panties. With a sudden tug, he shifted them off her hips and down her legs. The damp fabric hadn’t done much to shield her most intimate self, but as he stripped away the silk underwear, Zoe’s sudden exposure made her tremble.
With her underwear no longer a barrier between them, Ryan lay between her thighs and slid a finger along the landing strip that led to the heart of her. While her body vibrated with sharp longing, he seemed content to slow down and take his time.
Zoe closed her eyes as he grazed his fingers along the folds that hid her sex from him. As he dipped ever so delicately into her slick heat, she arched into his touch. Was he toying with her? Did he want her to beg? Because she was ready to say whatever he wanted to hear if only he would make the ache go away.
“Please,” she pleaded, nearly incoherent as he continued his gentle exploration. “I need more.”
“My tongue?”
Now he was understanding her. “Yes,” she breathed, light-headed with relief. “I need your mouth on me. Now!”
“Like this?”
He flicked his tongue against her swollen clit and the noise that erupted out of her was like a mad keen. The pleasure felt so intense and perfect.
“Oh, yes! More like that.”
His deep chuckle echoed through her body, intensifying the hum of anticipation flowing through her. He sounded so pleased with her answer that despite the tension locked in her muscles, she felt a sudden rush of joy. In that instant she knew it was going to be good between them. Better than she’d ever known. Ryan was going to take care of her.
Gratitude made her heart clench, but she barely had a chance to register the emotion because a second later the only thing she knew was a white-hot blaze of desire as Ryan spread her legs wider and sent his tongue into her heat.
In an instant she was lost. In the man. In her need. In their desire as she rocked her hips and groaned his name. Distantly she heard her name as well as some deliciously erotic murmurings from Ryan’s lips.
He made her feel sexy. Letting go during sex was about trusting her partner enough to be vulnerable and for most of her marriage Zoe hadn’t known what to expect from her husband. Ryan was a completely different story and her body reacted accordingly. Pleasure coiled tighter and tighter inside her so fast she barely recognized what was happening until she felt herself start to unravel.
“Ryan. Oh, Ryan.” Then she made incoherent noises as a million tiny stars burst into life behind her eyelids.
Shockwaves rolled ov
er her, each one smashing her safeguards and leaving her trembling and overwhelmed. It was all too good. Too perfect. Too much. Tears poured down her cheeks and she threw her arm across her eyes to hide them. Surely no man who’d just given a woman such an explosive orgasm would want to see her bawling in the aftermath.
“That was incredible,” she told him, the hitch in her voice betraying her emotion.
“I’ll say.” Ryan eased up her body and trailed kisses along her neck. “I’ve never known anyone who comes the way you do. I’m going to take you upstairs and get you naked. Then you’re going to do that all over again. And again.”
Zoe lifted her arm off her face and looked at Ryan. His gray eyes had an earnest glow that made her heart skip a beat.
“Sound good?” he prompted.
She nodded. “Really good.”
* * *
Laughter and panting bounced off the walls of the wide staircase as they raced to his second-floor master suite. Usually, Ryan would’ve had the advantage with his longer legs, but they were stripping off their clothes as they ascended and Zoe’s dress and bra seemed to fall off her body with very little effort while Ryan fumbled with his clothes.
Then, too, he was slowed by the glorious sight of her nakedness as she crooked her finger and lured him after her. After shedding his shirt and tie, he wrestled off his socks and nearly tripped over his pants. Sucking in a giant breath, he turned the corner and entered his bedroom.
Ryan came to a dead stop at the sight of Zoe standing near the window overlooking the garden. She’d draped herself in the curtain and the challenge on her face told him she expected to be unwrapped in spectacular fashion. Putting on a mock scowl, he stalked toward her.
“You said you wanted to get me naked,” she reminded him, clinging to the fabric. “I got you partway there.”
Grinning, Ryan plucked the curtain from her grip. “Thank you for that,” he said. “But now I want to see all of you.”
He took her by the hand and twirled her. Zoe was all lean, hard muscle and athletic curves. Her breasts were small, but the round shape was perfect and he couldn’t wait to get his mouth on them again.
“You are gorgeous,” he declared, lifting her into his arms and carrying her to his bed.
“So are you,” she murmured, her fingers tunneling into his hair.
He followed her onto the mattress, taking her nipple into his mouth and rolling his tongue around the plump tip until it became a hard bud. Zoe’s husky moan filled his ears, making him smile as he repeated the move with her other breast. He kept his fingers skimming over her face, her torso, her thighs, wanting to return her to the keen state of arousal that had led to her explosive climax earlier.
He trailed his lips over her shoulder and breasts one last time before reclaiming her mouth in a kiss. Curving his fingers around the back of her head, he drove his mouth against hers, devouring her while encouraging noises erupted from her throat, urging him on.
She spread her legs and slid her hands over his hips, urging him between her thighs. He hooked his fingers behind her knee and lifted it toward his waist, opening her. The move allowed him to settle his erection against her wet heat. He groaned as the pressure drove his lust higher, and then he was grinding against her and she rocked in frenzied movements, moaning and arching her back.
Incoherent thoughts swam through Ryan’s head as his mouth fell to her throat and his teeth sought for purchase against her skin. The light nip he gave her caused her hips to buck. He met the move with a deep thrust, letting her incredible wetness soak the fly of his boxers.
“I promised myself I’d take it slow,” he growled, warning her that he was more than a little out of control. “But I just can’t wait to be inside you.”
“I need that, too.”
“It’s going to be amazing. I promise—”
She sent both hands diving under the waistband of his boxers and dug her nails into his butt muscles just as he thrust into her again. His hips jerked forward, bumping him against her with more force than he intended. To his surprise she matched his fierce charge with a roughness that send an electric surge of pleasure down his spine.
It took him a second to realize she’d tugged his underwear down. But when the fabric hooked on his erection and she began to tug frantically, he came to his senses and eased her hands away before she damaged him beyond saving.
“Wait,” he murmured. “I need to get a condom.”
“Hurry.”
If every atom in his body wasn’t focused on what was to come, he might have smiled at her eagerness. Instead he concentrated all his energy on digging a foil packet out of his nightstand, tearing it open and rolling the condom onto his erection with hands that shook.
While he’d been so occupied, she hadn’t been idle. She’d thrown off the comforter and top sheet, leaving nothing on the bed to interfere with their lovemaking. Now, as he stood beside the bed, his shaft pointing directly at her, she reclined on her elbows. Offering him a small, satisfied smile, she parted her legs and let him drink his fill of the lush, rosy perfection that awaited him between her thighs.
With a shaky exhale, Ryan moved over her and rubbed the tip of his erection against her. Her head fell back and she moaned greedily. The glorious sound made him smile. He pushed a little way in and the wet slide into her tight heat made him shudder with pleasure.
“That’s it,” she moaned, her entire body vibrating as he slid deeper.
Her fingers curved into his back, nails digging. The sharp pain zinged along his already overwhelmed nerve endings as he pulled back and drove forward again.
“Like that?” he asked.
“Perfect.” She purred the word, her eyes slipping shut.
“This is just the beginning,” he promised her. “Don’t hold back.”
“Never.”
And she didn’t. She cried out at every thrust, giving herself over to him. It was a beautiful thing to watch as her earlier wildness became fierce demand. She rode her desire for dear life, claiming her pleasure without reservation. Equal parts awe and pride suffused him at the exquisite focus on her face.
Ryan slid his hand over her hip and drove into her harder. She moaned his name and he tried to form words to convey how he felt about her. What being inside her did to him.
“I need to come with you inside me,” she moaned, her husky voice rasping pleasantly against his raw nerve endings. “Make me come, Ryan.”
Her command echoed his need. Although he’d already given her one orgasm tonight, sharing a second one with her became his top priority. But already he was closer to finishing than he wanted to be. Being inside her short-circuited his willpower. He was too close to the edge. And he needed her to be there with him.
He shifted his hips and thrust into her at a different angle. She clutched him hard and the noises she’d been making morphed into something eager and frantic. Cracks appeared in the dam holding back his pleasure. He clenched his teeth, unsure how much longer he could keep his release at bay.
The need to connect with her overwhelmed him. He opened his eyes and looked down at her. Lust blasted through him when he realized she was watching him. Their gazes tangled and locked. Something tore loose in Ryan’s chest as he realized he was exactly where he wanted to be. Not just buried deep in Zoe. But with her in this moment, watching her slowly shatter beneath him.
An electric, dangerous emotion sizzled down his spine and tightened his gut, then he felt nothing but searing heat and pounding heart and endless desire.
“Come with me, baby,” he urged while all the stars in the sky blazed to life in his mind. “Please. Come with me.”
But she needed no urging. She moaned his name, shock plain on her features. A shudder racked her torso as her breath came in ragged pants. They tumbled over the edge together and for what seemed like minutes Ryan shook with pleasure as his orgasm s
hocked his system over and over.
His muscles failed him and Ryan dropped onto his elbows, somehow managing at the last second to spare Zoe the full crush of his weight.
A curse rattled through his unsettled thoughts. What the hell had just happened?
“That was absolutely amazing,” she declared unsteadily, her fingers gliding over his shoulder. “You are a wonder.”
He was a wonder? Did she have any idea what she had just done to him?
Ryan rolled them across the mattress until she lay sprawled in languorous repose atop his chest. Tangling his fingers in her hair, he tugged until she met his gaze. The contact was brief and unsatisfying.
“You’re magnificent.”
Even as he spoke, the description struck him as less than satisfactory after what had just happened between them, and he was surprised when she winced away from the compliment.
“I’ve never known...” She trailed off without finishing her thought. “I didn’t know.”
“Didn’t know what?”
Her fingertips created swirls on his sweat-dampened shoulders. He watched her face, trying to read her expression and guess at her thoughts. It turned out he didn’t yet know her as well as he hoped because he had no idea what was behind her pensiveness.
“Until now I’ve only ever been with one man.”
That one man being her husband. Ryan didn’t respond and shifted his gaze to the ceiling, giving her space to share and work through what was on her mind.
“I suppose in this day and age that seems very backward,” she continued in a rueful tone.
Once again she was making assumptions about his opinions. Why did she always believe that her choices were the wrong ones?
“Not necessarily.” Ryan dusted his fingers down her spine. “You were young when you got married.”
“Not that young. I was twenty. Lots of girls have sex in high school.”
“Not everyone is ready to take that step so early.”
