Mixtape: A Love Song Anthology
Page 47
What else was she hiding?
He tossed the sweater onto the chair with a blind throw, his focus never leaving her. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured. Beyond beautiful.
Her head dipped, embarrassment edging her weak smile. Did she really not get it? She’d been the most beautiful woman in the room since the first time he’d seen her.
He ran his fingers down the edge of her bra, over the curve of her breast to the bow at the V before he followed the material up the other side. Her shiver trembled down in a tiny wave as goose bumps dotted her chest and upper arms.
“You’re killing me,” she said on a breathy laugh.
He held back the boorish growl that demanded freedom and ignored the damp spot growing on his lower stomach. He eased her bra strap down her arm, ran his fingers back up and over her shoulder to lift her chin up. Her eyes were wide, yet heavy with lust.
“Then we’re even.” His words broke over her lips before he claimed them again. Heat ignited instantly, his fever crashing through the barrier held in place with his restraint. Need overtook everything in the quick intake of breath and the desperate tug of her hands.
He stopped thinking the second she palmed his erection beneath his pants. A tortured groan ripped up his throat. Christ. She really might kill him. His dick pulsed under her touch, his balls drawing up in a prewarning that spurred him into action.
His hands seemed to move on their own, skimming up her back, over her sides, around to her breasts. Her bra came off with the quick flick of his fingers, and then her nipple was in his mouth. Her shocked cry echoed through the room and shimmered down his spine. He sucked the hard tip between his lips, trapping the other with his fingers. One long, hard pull was all he allowed himself before he straightened, plunging his tongue into her mouth to swallow her erotic sounds.
She struggled to free the buttons on his shirt with the same frantic edge that he yanked the zipper down on her skirt. One shove had the annoying barrier dropping to the floor. He shoved his hands beneath her panties and cupped the soft curve of her ass in the next instant. She lifted on her toes, one of those desperate whimpers of hers grinding in her throat. The hunger seemed to bleed into their kiss, the taste coating his tongue with a frantic freedom.
He found the warmth that hid between her legs. His breath stalled at the first swipe of his finger through her folds. Wet, warm and so silky soft. There was nothing like it. Nothing that ever imitated the distinctly erotic feel of a woman’s pussy.
Her head fell back, her chest heaving as he searched out her secrets by touch alone. The nub of her clit was already firm and sensitive. He circled his find, pressing just enough to draw out the desire pooling beneath.
Tension clung to her muscles and matched the quick hitch of her breath. She squirmed in his arms, wrapped her leg around his thigh, drawing him closer and opening herself to him. He buried his face in her neck, her scent drugging his thoughts despite his intense focus on the slick heat encasing his fingers. He plunged them deep within her, stunned at how good it felt.
She jerked, groaned and clenched around him until he swore he was drowning in the pure wonder of her. It defied logic, but then, nothing about this was logical.
Love was never about logic.
The rough growl that escaped him emulated the passion raging within him. His dick strained to feel the heaven of her. The slick sounds of her wetness became the carnal backdrop to the images spinning freely in his head.
He moved them, never once breaking his hold until the bed beckoned behind her. She sagged in his arms when he withdrew his fingers, her tongue making a slow swipe over her lips. The invitation was almost too much to resist. Tasting her was all he wanted to do.
Her smile spread as he lifted his slick fingers to his mouth, licked them clean with a deliberate, slow suck. Her heady, rich flavor swarmed his taste buds, leaving him ravenous for more. There was nothing about her that he didn’t want more of.
His next kiss was hard and demanding, edging on ruthless. He forced her back and followed her down as she tumbled onto the mattress, still clinging to him. He straightened and took a long, slow sweep over her sprawled on his bed. His stomach contracted, his dick pulsing with wild, crazed want.
She was . . . everything.
Her skin glowed beneath the soft lighting, every dip and curve an extension of the beauty within her. Her hair spread in a dark pool against the gray bedding. Her nipples were deep-rose tips on rounded mounds. Tiny, pink panties hid her last secrets, the barrier adding to the sensual image instead of hindering it.
Sultry longing flowed from her eyes when he met them. She hid nothing, and in return, he would give her everything.
He could do nothing less.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tara had never wanted anyone or anything more in her life. There wasn’t even a close second.
Daniel looked down at her with something close to . . . reverence, maybe? Whatever it was, it burned her without a touch, enveloping her in a sense of security. This wasn’t a man out for a quick lay or even a temporary fling. The truth of that hugged her heart and kept her strong.
“I don’t deserve you,” he mumbled. He tore through the buttons on his shirt with precise flicks of his fingers before he tossed it aside and yanked his undershirt over his head to reveal the firm expanse of his chest.
Her mouth went dry, want racing up to feed her lust. Her hand fluttered at her throat, mindlessly rubbing the ridge of her collarbone as she appreciated the view. She slid back on the bed when he reached for his belt buckle. He shoved the last of his clothing to the floor, stooping to rid himself of his shoes and socks before she could get a good look at all of him.
Intent blazed when he raised his head, every inch of her skin between her toes and head scorched from his gaze. She bit her lip to keep another of those whimper sounds from escaping. They gave away too much when she already felt so exposed.
He skimmed his hands up her legs, stopping when he reached the last piece of clothing that stood between them. He traced the edge of her panties, her stomach clenching at the feather-light touch. “These are sexy as hell.”
Her disbelief surfaced in a breathy shot of amusement. The cotton bikini underwear had been chosen for comfort over enticement. Practical to the bone, her forte had never been seduction, and that included her wardrobe.
His brow hitched, speculation dancing. “You don’t believe me?”
She swiveled her head, but who was she to contradict the man who was currently naked and snuggled between her legs? “If you say so.”
“I do,” he rumbled, leaning in.
Her back arched with the sudden hit of warm air on her pussy. Her stomach contracted. Her eyes rolled back when his second dragged-out exhalation set her pussy on fire. Perspiration dampened her nape and flushed across her chest with the quick puckering of her nipples.
He’d done that to her with nothing more than a breath.
She tried to wrap her mind around that and couldn’t. Not when he added his mouth to her torture. The wet slick of his tongue soaked her panties, the barrier increasing the erotic sensation. He moved his mouth over her clit and then prodded her opening until she squirmed for the fulfillment blocked by the material.
She laced her fingers in his hair, the strands just long enough to grip. His chuckle became another tease as it vibrated over her clit and into the need coiling beneath it.
“You . . .” Daniel whipped her panties down her legs, a fierceness barely contained, “ . . .will kill me,” he insisted, pausing only briefly to force her knees up, opening her even more before he dove back in. The first, hot lick of his tongue ripped a cry from her. Her fist curled in the bedding as the heaven that was his mouth became her world.
There was just him. Just this. Just . . . his tongue driving her insane.
Her orgasm crested so quickly, she barely had time to acknowledge it. “Daniel.” Her weak plea was indistinct in its request. She had no id
ea if she was begging him to stop or continue. It was so good, so slick. He worked her clit, his fingers filling her in a steady pump that met her need yet left her longing for all of him.
The sudden force of his bite on the inside of her thigh shoved her orgasm back and ripped a shocked cry from her. Confusion muddled her thoughts before the residual pain eased, spread and then throbbed over her pussy in a crazy demand for more. Oh my God. Her lids were weighted when she tried to lift them.
The sight of him rolling a condom down his thick erection was so damn hot. He was pure man beneath his tailored suits. Firm, toned and studying her with a hungry, predatory air that made her toes curl. The muscles in his arm flexed with the two quick strokes he gave himself before he kneeled between her legs.
She tracked the progress of his kisses up her thigh, over her abdomen to the valley between her breasts. Each touch of his lips added another kick to her racing heart. She dragged her hands through his hair, but she had no desire to hurry him. Not when everything felt so good.
The teasing swirl of his tongue around her nipple drew out the tension that’d been so close to bursting just moments ago. Anticipation danced over her chest and twisted in her stomach until he finally pulled the tip into his mouth. Her moan was pure pleasure that raced back to her halted orgasm. The ache grew to a harsh demand as he sucked, nibbled and tweaked the bud until it pulsed in time with her heart. Only then did he shift to apply the same dedication to her other breast.
She was officially lost to him by the time his mouth closed over hers again. She clung to him, throwing everything into the kiss that she wasn’t ready to say.
He broke away with a pained groan that trembled over her skin like an erotic purr. He pressed his lips to her temple, deep breaths gusting out through his nose. His muscles strained through his back and arms in a telling display of restraint. His erection lay heavy and thick on her mound, tempting her until she could barely breathe. His pulse raced beneath her lips on his neck, the heady scent of sex and him drowning her senses.
She wrapped her legs around his hips. Lust, need and something so much deeper burned in his eyes when he shifted, his dick grazing her pussy. Everything seemed to clench, wait, pulse with the expectation he’d been building since she’d stepped into his arms on the dance floor.
The slow, final push of him into her was amazing. Her breath caught, emotions colliding, then settling. Rightness, mixed with awe, eased through her. It pulsed beside the desire and urgency thrumming in her blood. He filled her completely, her walls clenching around him in a desperate attempt to get closer. Wonder clogged her throat and locked around her heart where it beat so close to his.
His eyes closed, his mouth parting. “Tara.” There was more than desperation blended in his tone. Disbelief. Restraint. Reverence. She couldn’t pick them out, but they struck a matching chord within her.
She framed his face, stunned by the emotions he’d exposed, both his own and hers. She drew him into a kiss so tender, so weighted with promise, she almost wept. Tears burned her sinuses and prickled at the backs of her eyes for no discernible reason. He moved then, pulling out on that same slow pace that’d embraced the moment.
The roll and slide of his hips became a gentle tango of building need and denied urgency, every thrust a declaration and confirmation in one. Love collected in her heart with each tender stroke. She’d never expected this, had never expected him.
The build was a slow, luxurious climb that allowed the knot in her core to twist and grow until the hunger sizzled over every fiber. His breath warmed her neck, his skin smooth beneath her palms. Heat melded his chest to hers, the pace almost lethargic in a way that intensified everything. They moved as one, her hips rising to meet his, their lips grazing in almost-kisses that spoke louder than words.
His back arched beneath the drag of her nails down his spine, his breaths increasing. His strokes became harder, each one ending with a distinct slap of skin. The sound was just one more piece of the dance that wound the tension tighter.
“I—” Her words were lost in the almost brutal kiss he claimed. He swallowed her whimper, his tongue searching every inch of her mouth before he reared back. His eyes had gone so dark and fierce she could barely distinguish the color. They ravished her as thoroughly as his body when they raked down her chest to where they were joined.
“Yes.” Her choked confirmation scratched over her dry throat on his next quick descent. Her legs contracted around him, every drive bringing her closer to the ending she craved yet resisted.
He spread his legs wider, his hips driving hard until she could only hold on and take. God, she could take it. She wanted more of him. More of the wild, frantic need he’d built. More of his scent and touch and the feel of him over her.
Her breath caught, her gasp silent as she rode the edge of almost. Her nails dug into his shoulders, his grunt sharp. His curse had the texture of coarse gravel when it hit the air.
He crushed her to him, an arm wrapped beneath her shoulders. His lips buzzed her ear, each raspy breath abbreviated like her own. The first touch to her clit sent stars exploding behind her eyelids. He rubbed, hard and quick, timed with his powerful thrust.
She tensed, her skin burned, and then she was coming. Her breath was trapped in her lungs for the first harsh wave. It released on an aching cry that shattered her thoughts, only to have her gasping at the next hard pulse. Her toes tingled; every cell vibrated until it slowly fizzled into stunned relief.
His rough groan broke through her haze as he shuddered, his hips slowing to a firm, grinding finish. He grunted a string of sounds that could’ve been words, but she had no clue what he said.
His heart pounded against her chest, the pace equal to her own. Silence shrank in to hold them close in the aftermath. The sex hadn’t been wild or extreme or out of control, yet it’d been the most passionate experience of her life.
She held him tight, her fingers threaded into his hair in an attempt to trap the peace that teased her heart into feeling things it had no right to feel.
But she did feel them. It was ridiculous and terrifying and illogical—and none of that mattered. She couldn’t stop herself from loving him. Not when he’d proven himself to be so honorable.
She could only hope her trust and love wasn’t misplaced.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Daniel stayed where he was for as long as possible.
His face was buried in the crook of Tara’s neck, her scent mixing with the heavier layers of sex and come to create a telling aroma he never wanted to forget. His pulse had decreased from its wild pace as the lethargy overtook his muscles and dulled his thoughts.
He didn’t want to think, not when Tara was wrapped around him and he was still buried deep within her. He’d never imagined anything could feel so good and . . . right.
He’d guessed. He’d hoped. But he’d never expected it.
He held out for as long as he could until he gave in to the inevitable. He pressed a kiss to her temple and then shifted away, her legs and arms falling to her sides. The loss was startling and yet another unexpected sensation.
He rolled off the bed and headed to the bathroom. His movements were automatic, his thoughts erratic. He was so far in love with Tara, he was amazed he could think at all. She had him wrapped around her finger, and she didn’t even know it.
Fear tiptoed in before he could shut it down. Fuck. His head fell forward, the counter’s edge digging into his palms where he braced them. Exposing his heart was far more terrifying than standing up to the starched faces that’d filled the boardroom. They’d held nothing over him, unlike Tara.
The air chilled his skin by the time he returned to the bedroom. The sight of Tara sliding her sweater over her head, her cute little panties peeking out below the hem in a too-sexy way, inflamed and froze him.
“What are you doing?” His tone was curt, harsher than he’d intended, but her quick departure nailed his chest and took a hatchet to the fal
se hope he’d raised.
She spun around, her hand landing on her chest, mouth wide before she snapped it shut. Guilt flashed before hurt overtook it. Her brows dipped, her mouth curling down as she looked away. Her eyes closed with her slow inhalation.
What had happened?
Calm restraint was in place when she looked back to him. The cool reserve whipped out to chill him further. “Office gossip spreads quickly.” Her flat delivery held the hurt she was trying to withhold from him.
“Ah.” He refused to take the guilt she was trying to shovel on him. A quick glance to the bed showed her phone, the screen lit up with text messages. “Of course, it does.” He should’ve expected it, but he hadn’t thought the news of his departure from the company would spread this fast. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, uncaring that he was still naked. Defending himself seemed pointless, especially after what they’d just shared.
She studied him, the tension shifting from frustration to annoyance. She shook her head, a bemused sigh gusting out. “All right.” She dropped onto the bed and met his gaze with the determined one he’d grown to love. “Tell me why I shouldn’t walk out the door.”
His scoffed laugh cut between them. There were a hundred reasons why she shouldn’t go. Hell, a thousand. He scrubbed a hand over his face, dragged it through his hair. “Tell me why you think you should,” he countered.
Her eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you tell me you quit today?”
“Why does it matter?”
“Because it’s deceptive.”
“How?”
She threw up her hands. “Don’t you think it’s relevant, given you were my boss yesterday?”
“How is it relevant?” He wasn’t that blind, not truly. But he kind of enjoyed seeing her riled. It brought out the fire in her eyes and that stubborn streak when she believed in her point.
She flopped back on the bed with a groan, all pretense of leaving gone. She turned her head to glare at him, but she didn’t offer up a counter-argument.