She nodded, her pulse thudding in her ears. “Trust me. I’ve thought about this… a lot.”
Liam stepped out of his jeans. She shivered. Liam was simply a gorgeous man. Broad shoulders, flat abs, and the outline of his boxer briefs left nothing to the imagination. He looked sinfully delicious, and he was all hers.
He moved through this like he already knew the map of her body. Like he’d memorized every slow turn and detour.
Like he understood she wasn’t going to fall apart easily. That she needed time. Sensation. Safety.
His knees sank into the bed, and she fell back into the pillows.
She loved the feeling of his weight above her. Her back pressed into the pillows, her body on the soft quilt. Outside the window, snowflakes drifted past the twinkle lights still framing the glass. Inside, her bedroom was quiet. The only sound was that of their breathing and the faint creak of the bed beneath them.
She reached up and traced the muscles on his stomach. He kissed her, slow and deep, his hand cupping the side of her face as he braced himself above her. His touch was sure but unhurried, like he had all the time in the world.
And maybe he did. They’d already said the hard things. And now, there was only this. Only them.
He kissed lower, down the column of her throat, then across her collarbone, making her squirm beneath him. His hand roamed under her oversized Christmas sweater. It was bright pink with Rudolph and a jingle bell nose, and she absolutelyloved it. He found the hem of her camisole beneath. He pushed it up slowly, dragging it over her ribs, exposing inches of skin and kissing every one of them.
She tried to sit up, to help undress herself faster, but Liam gently guided her back down.
“Patience,” he said. The word alone made her shiver.
He peeled her sweater off carefully, followed by her camisole. Her skin was flushed, her breath uneven, and still he moved with infuriating control. Liam pressed kisses along the curve of her breast, his hand brushing lightly down her side, fingers pausing at the waistband of her candy-cane underwear.
“Still sure?” he asked, voice low and serious.
“If you stop now, I’ll kill you.”
Liam chuckled against her skin.
He tugged her panties down, over her hips, down her legs, slipping her free until she was bare. Then he looked at her, studied her, like he was trying to memorize every inch of her.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, his voice rough.
Then Liam kissed his way down her body, slowly, until his mouth found the heat between her thighs. She cried out softly, her hands tangling in the quilt, her back arching as his tongue circled her clit, teasing and relentless. When his fingers joined in, she thought she might come apart completely.
But every time she got close, every time she thought that this time would be the first time she’d orgasm with a partner, he pulled back, just enough to keep her right on the edge.
“You’re evil,” she whispered, breathless.
“That’s one word for it,” he said, his voice thick with desire.
Cassidy wasn’t sure what Liam was doing.
One minute he was devouring her, and the next he was standing, offering her his hand.
“Come here,” he whispered, helping her up, guiding her around so she was standing in front of the mirror.
Her heart fluttered as she joined him. She could see herself, fully exposed, Liam close behind her, his gaze locked on her through the mirror.
“I want you to see what I see,” he murmured, his breath hot against her damp skin.
He kissed the back of her neck, slow and purposeful, letting his mouth linger at her pulse. She shivered as his hands slid around her torso, rough palms against soft skin, thumbs grazing the underside of her breasts.
Then he touched her properly, cupping her, kneading gently before rolling her nipples between his fingers. She’d never been touched this way. Never stood still and watched herself be wanted.
Her body arched instinctively into his hands. Liam didn’t rush. He tugged, circled, pinched just enough to send heat zipping straight to her core. His mouth never left her neck, dragging open-mouthed kisses across it.
She moaned softly, her eyes locked on their reflection. She barely recognized the woman looking back at her. She was flushed, hungry, wild with want. But she loved the way Liam’s hands moved over her, demanding, controlling.
