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Braden dropped the comforter and the towel. Both fell to his feet without a sound. The light coming through the plantation shutters gave enough for her to see that he was completely ready for her.
“You have all the control now,” he told her. “Whatever you want to do from this point on is your call. You can humiliate me and reject me, you can quit your job and claim I’m just like the jerks you dated, or you can start stripping out of those clothes and join me by the fire so I can show you exactly how much I want you.”
He didn’t wait on her response. Braden stepped out of the mess of comforter and tugged the blanket toward the fireplace. As he spread it out, he thought for sure he heard her shifting behind him. She wouldn’t deny him or herself. That longing look in her eyes, the way she was speechless and flushed were all telling signs of what she was afraid to admit aloud.
He stilled when her hand settled on his shoulder blade. Slowly, as if to drive him completely out of his mind, she started trailing her fingers over his bare skin. She was tracing his ink, and he wasn’t about to turn around and stop her no matter how much he wanted to see her, touch her. He meant it when he’d told her she was in control.
Even though he only wanted something physical from Zara, he still wasn’t about to prove to her that he was like the other men she wasted time with. He would put her needs first, let her know she mattered here and what was about to happen didn’t have to be ugly.
“Why did you get this?” she asked as she continued to trace the pattern. “I always wonder why people choose certain images to mark their skin for life.”
On this he could at least tell her the truth. “It’s a symbol that has deep meaning to my family. It dates back to the sixteenth century.”
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
He couldn’t wait another second. Braden turned, causing her hand to fall away, but the loss of her touch was made up for with the sight of her standing before him completely bare, completely giving and completely trusting.
“We need to set some rules,” she told him.
Braden snaked an arm out around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. From chest to knee they touched, and there was no way in hell he was going to start in on some ridiculous conversation now.
“To hell with the rules.”
He crushed her mouth beneath his. Zara stiffened for a second. Then, as if she couldn’t deny herself anymore, she wrapped her arms around him and returned the kiss. Her passion came alive, bursting on to the scene in ways he hadn’t experienced before.
She matched his desire, raising the bar to a level all her own, and Braden was the one who was nearly brought to his knees. He allowed his hands to roam over her, wanting to memorize the feel of her body, wanting her to get used to his touch because he planned on doing a whole lot more.
Braden eased back from the kiss, ignoring her protested groan which turned into a moan when his mouth traveled down the column of her throat and continued lower.
She gripped his hair as he palmed her breasts. Arching her back, she silently offered herself up to him. Braden’s lips covered her breast as he lowered her to the floor. He couldn’t get enough of her, not her gasps, not her kisses, not her touch. He wanted it all, and willpower and trying to hold back were going to be a struggle.
“Do you have protection?” she asked.
Braden froze. Considering he’d only come here in his party attire, he hadn’t planned on getting lucky that night. Damn it.
A smile spread across her face. “Go to my nightstand.”
Thankful she was prepared, Braden made a mad dash to the drawer and found what he needed. Also thankfully, the cat stayed out of sight.
By the time he’d stepped back to the comforter, Zara was practically on display. Her arms on either side of her head, hair fanning out all around her. But it was those eyes that watched him so cautiously that made something twist in his gut. She may be trusting him with her body, but she was still not letting him in.
That fact should have given him a sense of relief, considering he was technically using her, but it didn’t. He didn’t want to just be some prick who proved to her that all guys were jerks.
But when she reached her arms out to him in a silent invitation to join her, there was no way in hell he could deny her or himself. Consequences be damned. Yes, this started with the scrolls, but the moment she’d walked into his office he’d wanted her, and he refused to feel guilty now. Allowing feelings to override what he was literally aching for would just leave a void that only Zara could fill.
