by Body, Heart
Before long, she found herself smiling, although she didn’t completely relax. To do that in this man’s company would have be classified a definite institutional offense. He reminded her of a dark warrior. His skin, eyes, and hair were all dark, but when he smiled, light shone from heaven into his eyes. She noticed he had one dimple in his left cheek and now that she was so close, she noticed a small scar just below his left eye and a tattoo that looked like some type of Celtic knot on his neck.
Her gut told her to trust him while her hormones urged her to strip naked and offer herself up to him, and her brain screamed at her to run. The conflicting messages made her feel nauseous as her nerves kicked into high gear. She was thankful that when she got nervous, she got very quiet—unlike her friend Becky, who tended to babble when nerves hit her. Kira simply stayed in his arms, allowing him to lead her in the dance and wishing it would last a very long time. Forever would have worked for her.
He never said a word, either, just stared into her eyes as if he could see into her soul, and for some strange reason, Kira wanted to let him. She wanted to let him see all her secrets, her shame, everything she so carefully hid from the rest of the world. Somehow, she thought this man might understand.
The song ended moments later, leaving the night air filled only with the sound of crickets, frogs, and nightingales to serenade them. It wasn’t long before another song began and Kira half-expected him to make a gentlemanly bow, thank her, and leave her with a lifetime of memories of the dance they shared. Instead, he casually said, “On this one, we can just wing it,” and pulled her a little closer, wrapping his arms around her waist and dancing them over to a darkened part of the balcony where they would be almost out of sight to anybody inside.
She felt a moment’s hesitation, catching her bottom lip between her teeth as he delicately moved a long strand of hair off her face that had fallen loose from her ribbon.
“So beautiful.”
His words were whispered, reverent, and nicer than any she’d ever heard. She wanted to look away, look at the ground, look anywhere but his eyes, but they compelled her. They held some kind of magic that wouldn’t let her look anywhere else. So she stared, afraid she looked far too much like a lovesick puppy, but unsure what to do about it.
She knew he was saying things with his eyes that she was too inexperienced to interpret. His hand moved over her face again, as if treasuring it, and in the next moment, he took her head and placed it on his chest, resting his cheek against the top while continuing to sway to the soft lilt of the music. She listened to his heart thump out a rhythm against her ear, entrancing her. In some small part of her heart, Kira knew she’d waited for this moment. Waited a lifetime.
When she gathered enough courage, she looked up to find his penetrating gaze already there. He studied her as the heat of his stare burned her, scorching her very soul, branding her his—and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. With hands she’d already grown to love, he cupped her face, tilting her head back. She was helpless to protest. His breath swept her cheek, his lips so close to hers that the tiniest movement on either part would have had them together. Kira held her breath as she felt his thumb slide over her cheek. His fingers felt so soft, his touch so gentle that she barely felt him. Then his fingers of one hand brushed her hair while his other arm pulled her closer.
She felt the undeniable proof of his feelings for her, but everything about this was so surreal that she almost didn’t believe it and was at a complete and total loss to know what to do about it. Vivian probably would have grabbed it. Cheryl would make some kind of sarcastic comment, but Kira lamely placed her hand on his shoulder, her body shaking with a need she didn’t entirely understand and wished she’d gone with Cheryl and Viv to that Thursday night sex class.
Under his spell, she felt her hand gravitate from its safe and benign spot on his shoulder toward his neck and the soft strands of hair that brushed passed his collar. Her fingers stroked the skin of his neck, then explored the hair brushing his shoulders. She wore the gold sandals picked out for this dress, and all of her new shoes had at least five-inch heels. These ones had six, and though hell to walk in, brought her nearly shoulder level with him. Before she could stop herself, she rose up on her toes and followed the outline of his tattoo…with her tongue.
“Shit!”
The expletive fell from his lips as he tore her from his arms, taking several steps away from her. Kira felt chilled even as the look in his eyes burned her. She stood stunned, wondering what she’d done wrong. She wished the ground would swallow her. She would have run upstairs to her room to cry her eyes out if he hadn’t just as quickly stepped back toward her, throwing one arm around her waist. His free hand at her neck just below her ear, he jerked her body with controlled aggression and possessiveness hard against his, his lips captured hers within a heartbeat.
Without thought, Kira lost herself to him, allowing his essence to swallow her whole. The kiss wasn’t gentle or sweet, it was passionate and fiery. His tongue not waiting for permission to enter but taking it, finding hers and possessing it completely until there were no longer two individuals, but one entity lost to passion.
Chapter 2
Dev pulled himself away, leaving her panting and obviously burning for more as he looked deeply into her eyes for answers to questions he didn’t dare ask. Then his mouth was back on her, hungrier than before and just as demanding. He had no idea how he was able to keep himself from tearing the dress from her skin. It was practically the only thought in his head. He wanted skin against skin—touch, taste, scent. Every inch of her had to be his. He wanted his hands gliding over that satiny skin, his cock shoving into her dripping pussy again and again, until they were both delirious with passion and the world ceased to exist.
Earlier, when she’d touched him—so soft, so…exploratory—he’d nearly come undone. His cock was harder than he’d ever remembered it being in his life and that included all those damn teen years when just the hint of female skin had him ready to cum all over himself.
He knew himself, though. Knew his hunger.
He forced himself to take a breath, then began kissing her jaw, her neck, her bare shoulders. He knew under normal circumstances, he was damn near insatiable. For so many years, he’d consumed female flesh in every way he could get it and very few women had been able to keep up with him. He was sure this sweet young thing didn’t stand a chance, yet still he came at her. Had to have her.
His tongue possessed her mouth again while his hand slowly pressed against her breast, the swell of it filling his palm and then some. He felt her nipple harden beneath the thin fabric he knew Barbara had dressed her in. He groaned, so ready to take her it was painful, but he held back.
Reminding himself she was here of her own free will didn’t seem to ease his conscience at all and as a war was fought between his need and what was left of his sense of decency, he pressed her against the balcony’s stone railing with only one clear thought in his head, fucking her. Hard and fast at first, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to contain himself. Then slowly. Deliberately. And thoroughly. Right here, right now.
His tongue swirled over hers, the taste of her sweet and innocent, something he hadn’t tasted in a good long time and was shocked at how it made his heart race and his blood heat. He had to have her. There was no way around it.
But he would wait.
It was only the first night, for Christ’s sake. Was he so much of an animal now that he couldn’t control himself even for a small amount of time?
He slowed, sucked her tongue into his mouth and loved it, then nuzzled her neck, biting then soothing the area with his lips. He loved every little sound she made. Every slow intake of breath. Every gasp. Every moan and whimper. He pressed his palm firmly against her breast, heard her moan and before he could stop it, had the top of her gown down and the gorgeous rosy nipple exposed.
“I need you.”
His voice was so raw and raspy it shocked h
im. The truth of his words shocked him further. He wanted, he craved, he even demanded at times, but he never needed.
Until now.
She didn’t make a sound, just kept looking at him with her golden eyes half hooded and thick with desire,. He took that as a yes and first licked then sucked the nipple hard into his mouth, heard her sharp intake of breath, and steadied her by wrapping one of her legs around his waist.
* * * *
Kira was lost.
Lost to the night, lost to the man.
The cool night air hit her tit like a bucket of cold water. For the briefest second, she’d felt desperate, then wanted to bolt, but before she could act on anything, he had her in his mouth. Now he sucked her so hard she thought she might come simply by that action alone. The thought excited her to no end and she wriggled furiously against him, wanting more contact than he was giving her, almost delirious with desperation for his touch.
Never had a man excited her like this. The only orgasms she’d ever had were at her own touch. The thought of having a man able to bring her to that state of arousal and passion was everything she dreamed of. Then she felt his hand begin to slide up under her dress, along the thigh currently wrapped around his waist. She knew that was what would happen—if she let him, if she could step outside of herself enough, if she could shut off her mother’s voice inside her head, and trust him. She longed to trust this man whose name she didn’t even know; her soul sensed that he needed her as much as she needed him.
Her head began to rage against her emotions, but she wanted this, and as he sucked once more, she cried out only to have him capture the sound in another deep possessing kiss, which effectively short-circuited all her higher brain functions and left her willing in his arms.
“I don’t even know your name.”
The breathless quality to her voice made her sound like a siren. Like she was an experienced seducer and nothing could have been farther from the truth. She swallowed hard as he searched her face with eyes that were almost completely black.
“Devlin,” he rasped and pushed the hair back from his face. “Devlin Kiersen.”
He watched her for a second as if waiting for recognition, but she had no idea who he was and wondered why he would have thought differently. His eyes still holding her captive, his fingers ran just under the lace at the top of her stocking. She pushed her body closer to his, aching for so much more than he gave her.
There was a part of her—buried deep under the current storm of desire—that felt cheap. She wondered if this man would even speak to her in the morning. Away from this moment, would he even want anything to do with her? She’d never thought herself capable of a one-night stand and wasn’t sure that was how she wanted to lose her virginity, either, but she also wasn’t sure she had the power or self-discipline to stop what had been started. But more to the point, did any of that even matter?
His tongue plunged into her mouth, and he dragged her body so intimately against him that she felt him hard and so large it frightened her. She gasped. He drew his head back, smiling down at her with knowing eyes. His fingers brushed the silk lining of her panties and his smile grew more intense, his eyes dilated so deeply that she felt herself sucked right into it.
“God, you’re soaked.”
A shiver ran the entire length of her body at words she knew should never be spoken out loud, but that he had made her tingle and want to smile back at him…
“Is that bad?”
“God, no.”
He growled. A sound so shocking, so primal, so goddamn sexy she felt her muscles clench hard, and before she second-guessed her impulses, she kissed him. Hard and forceful, the way he’d taught her earlier. Their tongues battling for supremacy, she gave as good as she got, at least until his finger worked its way under her panties.
Male flesh touching her, she jerked her head back, meeting his gaze, needing to know everything was going to be okay. As if reading her thoughts, he touched her cheek gently, his expression softened, and she knew before he spoke that this was right. That this was exactly what she’d been created for. This man on this night. This was what she’d waited for.
“It’ll be all right. I’ll take care of you.”
She relaxed and let him slip a finger inside her, not able to hold back the startled gasp that turned into a husky groan of need as she stared into his eyes. There was no amusement now, only a fire burning steadily declaring his need for her.
“Devlin.” She breathed, but he didn’t allow her another sound before reclaiming her mouth with a passion so fierce that she wondered if she’d ever feel anything this intense again as long as she lived.
She was about to come. She could feel it starting. Couldn’t catch her breath, her legs were tingling and her vagina was already wracked with pre-orgasmic spasms. A shimmer of fear worked its way down her spine. She shivered from it, but his fingers kept on sliding over her clit then inside of her in a steady rhythm she couldn’t resist. She searched for his eyes once more, needing that last bit of security. He didn’t disappoint her. He looked at her as if she were the only woman on the planet. He seemed just as turned on as she was and she felt that he needed her to come just as badly as she needed it herself. A second later, she bit down on her lip so hard she tasted blood, but she refused to cry out and possibly be discovered by one of the other guests.
* * * *
Dev slowed his movement, allowing her orgasm to continue to wash over her, all the while keeping such a tight leash on himself that he swore it would leave physical marks. She made little breaths and an occasional shiver wracked her. Dev wondered at how sexy and uninhibited she seemed. She looked so incredibly beautiful, and felt so hot and tight and so damn wet that he wanted inside her with everything he was, needed to fuck her as much as he needed to breathe, but he’d make himself wait. The waiting, he knew, would allow for a more intense session of lovemaking when they finally came together. Although he briefly thought that if things got any more intense, they both would simply combust.
As he looked down on her sweet face and she stared up at him in wonder, there was no doubt in his mind that they would come together, just not here, not like this. When he finally had her, it would be something they’d both remember for the rest of their lives. He wanted to make it special, to give to her everything that she’d give to him. For a millisecond, he’d thought about his heart, about her filling it with love and all those ridiculously tedious sentiments he’d so long ago turned his back on. He quickly recovered himself and used that as a very good reason he needed to walk away now and get his head back on straight.
Slowly, he lowered her leg to the floor. She swayed slightly and another shiver ran through her body. He smiled, although how he was able to considering the physical pain he was in, he wasn’t sure. He stared unashamed into her golden eyes as he slowly sucked both his fingers that had just been inside her cunt into his mouth. Her sweet juices coated his tongue, giving him a hard punch of desire that nearly knocked him on his knees. He shivered then and considered letting her pleasure him, with her hand at least, if not her mouth.
For a minute, he even let himself imagine it. He could almost feel her soft touch on his hard quivering cock, her hot wet mouth sliding over his length, her tongue tasting the salty essence of him. He drew a sharp breath, fisting his hand hard, nails digging into his palms, the stab of pain the only thing keeping him from coming right there in front of her like an untried kid.
I’ll wait.
The growl ricocheted around his brain as he demanded something of himself he honestly wasn’t certain he was capable of. He slid the fabric of her gown back over the large nipple that was still erect as if begging him for more. Staring into her eyes, he felt a kind of intimacy he rarely felt with anyone these days. The thought coursed through him, he wanted to analyze it, but he wasn’t going to be able to stand much longer if he didn’t go take care of himself. Though the thought of her watching him as he ran his hand over his cock until the hot seed spurted
from his body—satisfying the need she’d mercilessly aroused in him—sent another shot of adrenaline through him, and he wasn’t able to hold back a groan, he decided against that as well. If he got his cock out of his pants right now, it would be inside her before she blinked, and he’d have her here on the stone floor.
He brushed her lips again, used the self-discipline he was so well known for and took a step back.
He saw the question in her eyes and smiled, touching her cheek with his thumb.
“Another time, my sweet.” His thumb pressed against her lower lip, a small cut in it now. “That’s a promise.” Before he could change his mind, he turned and strode into the ballroom as fast as he was capable in his current condition.
* * * *
Kira watched, half-senseless, as he disappeared into the melee of guests swirling once more on the dance floor. She checked her dress to make sure she was covered. Her hand lingered over the nipple that had so recently been inside a man’s mouth. In twenty-four years, no guy had ever gotten past first base with her, and it didn’t matter how long they knew one another or how often they dated, it never happened. She hadn’t felt it, so she never allowed it. Simple as that. She did have some morals, not that anyone could tell from tonight.
What had come over her tonight? She put a hand to her forehead and turned, leaning over the balcony rail looking out at the garden below, soft lighting made visible a few trees and a flowerbed. There was a bench, but fog had come ashore and all she could see of it was the top part of the back. Etched into the wood was a man and a woman locked in an embrace.
Kira felt another shiver as even that simple image made her remember every touch, everything she’d allowed this time. She looked over her shoulder, not expecting to see him but needing to remind herself this was real. With the dimly lit garden disappearing into the fog, it was too easy to convince herself it had all been a dream. She touched herself lightly through her gown and a residual frisson of her orgasm rippled through her.
