“I get it.” I lowered my head. “We could try to keep things casual.” Though with him I didn’t think that was even possible. My heart already wanted what it couldn’t have. “Sex and…”Nothing more.Those words got trapped in my throat. I couldn’t stand to lie to him or myself.
“It’s not like that with us and you know it.” He touched his forehead to mine, looking as conflicted as I felt. “It hasn’t been long, but it feels like we bypassed casual and jumped straight into... something more.” It was obvious he didn’t know how to define things between us any more than I did, but it felt like it had the potential to be serious. Maybe too serious.
“It’s not too late for you to walk away.” His sigh was heavy when his lips brushed mine. “I can’t promise I wouldn’t chase after you, but…” He swore softly. “I’m making this harder for you, aren’t I? That’s not fair. I don’t want—”
I silenced him with a kiss. He wasn’t like every other guy I’d ever been with. He wasn’t trying to take advantage, lie, or trap me in a relationship going nowhere. He was being honest, and I appreciated that. I had my eyes wide open and I’d chosen to silence my inner warnings with the possibility this could work out. Maybe I was being naïve, but it was a risk I was willing to take.
I curled my arms around his neck and let his lips dissolve my fears as he pushed the light sweater over my shoulders and tugged the tank over my head to reveal a lacy bra the same color as my eyes.
“You’re killin’ me here,” he whispered, between kisses.
I undid my skinny jeans and pulled them off to reveal matching panties. I loved the way he looked at me, like I was the answer to his prayers. It made me feel sexy and powerful, like we shared control.
I held his hands and walked backwards toward the master bedroom tucked away at the end of the narrow hallway.
As soon as we were inside, he kicked the door shut and stalked me with purposeful strides until my legs hit the edge of the mattress. “Lie down, beautiful.”
I fell backwards and reached for him, but he raised his index finger before stripping his clothes off.
He was so much bigger than my previous lovers. Taller, broader, more masculine. He made me feel safe, protected. And I knew I was physically safe with him, but emotionally…? It was one hell of a gamble. But I refused to let the uncertainty prevent me from enjoying this moment.
Dade hovered over me, his weight supported by his muscular arms as he claimed one more kiss before trailing his lips down my body.
I sighed, feeling the last of my uncertainty slip away as his lips left a blazing trail on my sensitive skin. I was slipping into the zone where the only thing that existed was this man and the pleasure he promised.
He slipped his fingers into my panties and rumbled deep in his throat as he yanked them off and tossed them aside. I helped the cause by unhooking the closure at the front of my bra, baring myself to him.
His eyes darkened with desire when he looked up at me and spread my legs before hitting his knees on the shaggy carpet beneath the bed.
My body was already thrumming with anticipation. I knew how good he could make me feel, and I was quickly becoming addicted to his touch. I was starting to crave it, to fantasize about it when he was and wasn’t around.
The first touch and my body was already twisting with the manic need to surrender to him. My sighs were breathless as he amplified my rush, making my mouth water and legs tremble with every lash of his tongue. The hum built slowly, rolling through my body until the slow roll built into a driving thunder that made my heart pound and muscles tense.
Instead of backing off he stepped up his game, making my eyes roll back as I felt the throb between my legs swell to a crushing wave that made senseless whispers fall from my lips as I pleaded for more.
The tingle rippled through me as I cried out his name and swore softly, writhing while my throaty cries echoed off the walls, igniting my explosion.
“Please,” I whispered, reaching for him as my release receded. “I need you.” It scared me how much I needed him. If I were to slip away tonight and never see him again, I knew he’d be imprinted on my soul in a way no other man had ever left a mark.
He bit his lip, his eyes raking over my flushed skin before he claimed the spot beside me. His kiss was tender when he turned my face toward his, stealing my next breath with his. “I don’t know what the hell we’re doing here,” he whispered. “But I want more. A hell of a lot more.”
I didn’t know if that meant he wanted more sex… or more than sex. And I was too afraid to ask. I’d never been one to hold my tongue, in or out of bed, but my growing feelings for Dade made it impossible to lay it all out there, like the outcome didn’t matter.
Our kisses became more demanding as he slipped his hand between my legs at the same time I reached for him. He was so hard, so ready for me, and I couldn’t wait to take him. To put an end to this sweet torture and remind him how good we were together.
His head rolled back as the breath hissed through his lips while I gripped him harder, watching him slip into the same hazy fog that he’d led me to earlier. The rhythm of my hand intensified the rise and fall of his broad chest before he finally gripped my wrist, murmuring, “Enough.”
I didn’t think I’d ever get enough of this heady feeling. Knowing the man at my mercy was the same man who made thousands of women scream for him every night made me want to claim him. In every way.
I kissed his chest, running my hand over his abs as I looked up into his eyes. The same eyes that found me in a crowd years ago, zeroed in on me, like he’d found someone special. Our souls connected that night. I felt it, just like he had. So why we were still running from it? Was it time to stop? To just give in to the fear and ride the wave of terror on the off chance we might find euphoria on the other side?
I straddled him, giving my thoughts a voice as I curled my hands around his thick wrists. “Dade, that night you spotted me at your concert, you wanted me… like this?” I teased us both, sliding his shaft through my slick folds as my breath hitched.
“Goddamn…” He clenched his jaw, his eyes boring into mine as I waited for an answer. “I wanted…” He shook his head. “I don’t know what the hell I wanted that night. I just knew I wanted facetime with you.”
“Facetime?” I repeated, leaning over, brushing my lips over his. “You mean like this?” I was pushing him, trying to make him realizethisis what we’d both been waiting for, the place our hearts knew we’d eventually meet, even before he knew my name.
I deepened the kiss and he was still allowing me to pin him, to maintain control for as long as he let me. I knew it would take nothing for him to flip me over, trap me under him, and make me forget all the questions drifting through my head. But he let me have my way, as though he sensed this was important to me. Because it was. I needed answers. I needed to know if he saw what I saw when he really looked at us.
