Page 46 of Ethan

“Goodnight, Ethan,” she whispered.

“I’ll walk you up.”

She didn’t argue this time.

At the door, she removed her keys from her purse, unlocked the door, pushed it open, then turned to look at him.

“If I ask you to come in this time, are you going to turn me down again?”

He folded his arms, leaned against the rail around the stoop and stared at her.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask me and find out?”

Naomi smiled, reached for his hand, and pulled him inside. He didn’t pull back.

She turned to face him.

“Come here,” she said quietly, throwing his own words back at him.

He cupped her face in both hands, lowered his head, and kissed her deeply, no hesitation, his tongue moving into her mouth and she moaned against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed herself against him. She could stay right here for the rest of her life and not complain once.

He raised his head slowly and looked at her, his thumb moving along her cheek.

“I want you, Naomi.”

No ‘but’ this time.

She held his gaze, reached behind her, found the zipper, and drew it down. The dress slipped off her shoulders leaving just her bra covering her.

She waited.

The dress slipped to the floor and Ethan's hands moved to her waist, warm and certain, and she felt the deliberateness of him in every touch. He wasn't rushing. He never rushed anything and she was beginning to understand that about him.

He moved his lips along her collarbone and Naomi leaned into it, arching slightly, a silent invitation he answered by sliding his lips up her neck. His lips hovered above hers, then he pressed them against hers, not with force, but with a deliberate, smoldering pressure that tasted of promises. The kiss deepened,growing more insistent, a slow burn that built in the pit of her stomach.

She slid her hands up his back, feeling the play of muscle beneath his dress shirt, while he explored the curve of her waist, dipping lower to pull her flush against him. The heat between them was physical, a current that ran beneath her skin, making her feel both powerful and utterly pliant. A low groan escaped his throat, vibrating against her lips as his teeth gently nipped at her lower lip. The slight sting was electric, a sharp thrill that made her head spin and her fingers tighten in his hair.

Naomi broke the kiss just enough to push his shirt off, revealing the planes of his body in the soft lamplight. She traced her fingers down his hard pecs to his stomach, then teased him as she traced the line of hair from his belly button to disappear into his jeans.

Her gaze roamed over his sculpted body, and she could feel his eyes on her, dark and hungry. The moment stretched, thick with unspoken desire. She led him to the bedroom, turned his back to the bed, and made him back up until his knees hit the edge of the mattress. He sat down, pulling her with him. She straddled his lap, the rough denim of his jeans a stark contrast against the sensitive skin of her inner thighs.

Ethan sat up, his arms wrapping around her to hold her close, his face buried in the crook of her neck. His breath was hot against her skin as he began a trail of open-mouthed kisses from her shoulder to her earlobe, each one a brand of heat that made her breath hitch. She moved her hips against him, a slow deliberate friction that earned another deep guttural sound of approval. The world outside this room had ceased to exist. There was only the heat, the touch, and the rising tide of need threatening to pull them both under.

Chapter Seven

Ethan lifted his head and stared into her eyes.

“You are so beautiful.” He kissed her lips again, soft, and slow. “I want to see you, Naomi. Please.” His hands found the front clasp of her bra. He unhooked it, lowered the straps off her shoulders, and stared at her breasts. His breath left his body.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Perfect,” he said, and leaned down to take a nipple between his lips. Her hands fisted in his hair.

He kissed his way up her chest, past her chin, and settled his mouth back on hers. Then he stood, lifted her, turned, and laid her on the bed. He stared down at her as she lay there in nothing but a pair of red panties.

He closed his eyes for a second and shook his head.

He kissed her again, then moved his mouth down her chest to her breast, then lower, trailing down her stomach to the elastic of her panties before he straightened. He was so hard he was surprised his zipper hadn’t given out.