Her lips parted as her chest heaved, but she made no move to uncover her face.
I’d climbed into bed still wearing my shoes, and I now took the opportunity to kick them off. Elise flinched at the sound of them hitting the floor, but then she remained both silent and motionless. The neckline of her T-shirt reminded me of the bottom of a heart. It tapered into a V at the top of her cleavage, but the garment was lazy about it, curving in and out on its way down. Teasing me.
The cotton was a deep coral, and she’d paired it with a flared, apple-green skirt. The colors were so vivid now against the plain gray of my bedspread, they made me think of candy, and my mouth watered.
I had to taste her.
Unchecked, I let my little finger travel the wavering edge of her neckline. Down from the top of her left collarbone, up over the rise of her left breast. Her breath quivered as I traced down into her cleavage, and her response had me lingering there, moving my fingertip from the silken side of one breast to the other.
When my finger continued its journey back up the right side of her neckline, Elise released a little sigh that sounded to me like disappointment. That was all the encouragement I needed. I brought my lips to the point on her collarbone where my lucky finger had begun its journey, and I let my tongue play follow-the-leader.
At the wet exploration, Elise’s breath pulled sharp. I had to force myself to slow over her left breast. There I could feel the stampede of her heart. And my own pulse that had been steady and sure only a moment before spooked like a horse, ready to chase after hers.
She tasted like honey butter, sinfully sweet with just hint of salt. The very idea of her body misted in feminine sweat had my cock straining against the prison of my jeans.
In the well of her cleavage, I let my tongue dip low between her breasts until lace and padded underwire stopped me. Nudging the cotton neckline of her T-shirt open with my nose, I swept my tongue over the ripeness of her right breast, and a hint of a cry escaped Elise’s throat.
Keeping my loyal tongue right where it was, I lifted my gaze to find that Elise’s face had tilted to the left, her bottom lip caught fretfully between her teeth. Instead of sealing themselves flat against her eyes, her hands were now relaxed, her fingers slightly cupping over her face. In the spaces between her fingers, I could see her eyes were still closed.
I wanted her to look at me.
I’d always wanted her to look at me.
With my left hand, I pushed up the hem of her T-shirt to just under her ribs. When I pressed my lips to the fair, smooth skin right above her navel, Elise hissed in a breath. I ached to travel south, under the canopy of her bright green skirt, but I knew instinctively Elise would protest. She was still too tense and full of doubt to allow me between her legs. But I promised myself I’d taste her there as soon as I had the chance.
I stroked my hands up the sides of her slender waist until my thumbs met the winging of her ribs. Kissing my way up to her sternum, I slid her T-shirt higher until her lacy, rose-colored bra was exposed.
The sight of it had me swallowing hard. Watching Elise, I snuck the fingers of my left hand beneath the unforgiving underwire. Warm, supple flesh welcomed my fingertips. Suddenly impatient, I pushed my way inside to palm her, and Elise gasped at the invasion, her hands falling back against my pillow.
She kept her eyes shut even now. I wondered if it was to torment me. And it might have tormented me, but the sacred handful I now cupped was just the right distraction. The skin of her breast was unbelievably soft. Her pretty lace bra trapped my wrist, leaving only my thumb free to sweep over her petal-soft skin. But as I did, I felt her nipple bud tightly beneath my touch.
My cock thickened, and I couldn’t help myself. With a flick of the plastic clasp, her cups opened, and I took one perfect breast in my mouth.
I heard myself grunt as I sucked her hard.
“Ho, God!” she cried. Surrendering nothing of her, I lifted my eyes and found her looking down at me, her head still tilted to the side, her eyes half-lidded. At the desire in her gaze and the scrape of her fingernails on the back of my head, a hundred thousand years of human evolution fell away.
Rolling over, I hauled her on top of me before knifing up and leaning back against the headboard. Now face to face with her astride me, I whipped off her pastel T-shirt and sent it flying. Her useless bra slipped down her arms, and the sight of Elise straddling me — bare from the waist up in that sexy-as-hell skirt — nearly unmanned me.
“You’re fucking gorgeous,” I muttered, dipping my head and claiming her other breast. Sucking… tonguing… teasing her peaked nipple. My hands splayed across her lithe back, tugging her closer to me.
Elise threw her head back, arching against me. “Cole…God.”
Her voice was taut in a way I’d never heard before, a way that made me impossibly hard. I squeezed her tight, wanting to consume her. I felt wild. Ravenous. I lathed my tongue around her nipple and released her breast only to catch at it again with my teeth.
She cried out at the nip, grinding against my cock, and I almost bit harder.
Christ, calm the fuck down,I scolded myself, freeing her tender flesh and pressing penitent kisses the to bite mark I’d left.
“Sorry,” I whispered against her heart. I meant it. I really did. But at the same time, I felt like I was holding back a beast beneath my own skin. Any minute now, he’d rip through my control and fuck her long. And hard. And now. All he wanted was to be in Elise.
AllIwanted.
“Oh, God, Elise,” I moaned. I needed to warn her. I needed to send her away while I took a cold shower or went for a swim or downed a bottle of NyQuil. But then I felt her fingers working the buttons of my shirt, and all possibility of warning or delay burned to ash.
I glanced down and found her fingers trembling. I took in her determined face and didn’t know what I was seeing. Was she still afraid? Or was she just as desperate as I was? It didn’t seem possible.
“Open, dammit,” Elise hissed at a stubborn button. Even through my haze of lust, my brows leapt in surprise. Shewasjust as desperate.
