Dizziness set in, and she let her head loll back, the intoxicating mix of scruff and soft lips on her neck sending the room spinning faster and faster. He licked, nipped, and sucked at the skin there as he wedged one of his thighs between both of hers. A whimper escaped as she rocked against him, in desperate need of friction.
Next thing she knew, she’d been wheeled around a hundred and eighty degrees. Gavin reached behind him and fumbled with the door handle. She was about to launch a complaint about his leaving—hello, they were in the middle of something—when it dawned on her that he was merely engaging the lock.
Yes. Privacy was an excellent idea.
Regardless of how excited their families would be to bust in and discover they were surrendering to urges that’d become too powerful to withstand… She’d say they wouldn’t go that far, but this past week she and Gavin had been dressed as elves, coerced into a game of Reindeer, and booked on a romantic sleigh ride meant for two.
Not to mention all the damn mistletoe. This house was basically infested with the stuff.
Gavin walked her backward, and she fully surrendered, eager to go in whatever direction he was taking her. Spellbound by the magical things he was doing with his tongue, she could hardly believe how quickly the backs of her knees hit the mattress.
Her heart was a caged bird, chirping, dipping, and flapping its wings as it awaited the exhilarating tumble onto the bed.
Only Gavin broke the kiss instead.
A mewl escaped, and he cupped her cheek. “I know—believe me I know—and I feel the same way. But you’re also one of the most important people in my life, and I’d never want to do anything to mess that up.” He swept his thumb across her cheekbone, and tingly heat followed in its wake. “Before we cross any more lines, I just had to check and see if you’re sure about this.”
“Is anyone ever sure about anything?”
One corner of his mouth kicked up. “Not the answer I expected, and unfortunately, not one that allows me to strip you of that sexy dress and have my wicked way with you.”
“But I want that. Like, a lot a lot.”
Gavin sniggered, and traversed the same path over her cheekbone he’d made earlier. Another swipe and she’d be incapable of stringing complete sentences together. “Pretty obvious that I’m onboard,” he said, glancing at the insistent erection the fabric of his slacks did little to hide.
Naturally, Julie followed his lead. Seeing the evidence of his attraction only made more heat pool low in her belly. She sank her teeth into her lower lip, and at Gavin’s corresponding groan, the ache between her thighs intensified, proclaiming its stance.
After a long exhale to check in with herself the best she could under the horny circumstances, she wound her arms around Gavin’s waist. “What about you? Any reservations?”
“Did I need one of those to have sex with you?” He shook his head and gave a dramatic sigh. “I should’ve guessed this would happen once you realized just how sexy you are.”
Her cheeks burned with the compliment. “As my flirting coach, you really have only yourself to blame.”
He snapped his fingers, as if it were a real tragedy.
Since she wanted him as needy and breathless as she was, she walked forward until she’d eradicated every inch of space between them. A strangled noise came out and his erection bobbed against her stomach.
“I was gonna make a joke about you dumping Gatorade over my head after we win, but…” Callused fingertips skimmed her collarbone and traced the column of her neck. He brushed his lips across hers, and fireworks burst in her chest, the resounding heat searing a path all the way down to the tips of her toes.
“Safe, with nothing to lose belongs in the boring category, and I don’t want to be boring. The one thing I’m certain of is that I want this, and I want it with you.”
She lifted herself onto the balls of her feet so she could capture his lips and keep him from using them as torture devices. She ran her tongue along the seam of his mouth and then swept it inside, demanding another taste to placate her greedy libido.
Still it raged, ravenous from going without for too long.
Gavin plunged his hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head and giving himself full access to her mouth. Keeping her lips locked against his as he met her tongue, thrust for thrust.
She slipped her hands inside his shirt, grappling with herself over which body part of his was her favorite. Between the built pecs and taut abs, it was hard to choose, but then her fingers found the V of his obliques.
His resulting groan vibrated through her core, a lit fuse that burned fast and fervid. She skimmed her hands back up to his shoulders, being extra careful with his right side as she peeled away his shirt. “By the way, I’m totally open to constructive criticism. If you don’t like something, or have a suggestion to make things more exciting—”
The metallic zing of him unzipping her dress cut through. “Naked. I need you naked.” Cool air wafted across her skin, and then Gavin yanked her top down around her waist. “But don’t worry, I’m good at taking the initiative. Only assholes don’t put in any work and then complain because they don’t know how to satisfy a woman.”
While the guy across from her had always been confident, this was a different sort of assuredness. One that promised not only would her needs be met, but that she’d also have a hard time moving on after this.
Don’t think about that right now. Nothing’s set in stone, and you deserve to have at least one night of passionate sex with someone you implicitly trust.
Taking a page from his playbook, she reached for his belt. She made quick work of the buckle and then moved to unbutton his pants. His harsh exhale stirred the section of hair that’d fallen across her forehead and partially impaired her vision.
She shook her hair off her face, and when her eyes latched onto his, she gasped at the blaze burning in the whiskey-colored depths.
Her fingers slipped off the tab of his stubborn zipper, her pinky accidentally dragging down the length of him, and he made a low, gravelly sound in the back of his throat.
“Did you just growl?” Well, that question was supposed to stay in her head. Curse her knack for ruining the mood with her defective filter.
Instead of frowning or shaking his head at her, the way Brad sometimes had done, Gavin dipped his head until his lips were so close to her ear that they brushed the shell of it. “I did, and if you don’t finish what you started, I might just follow it up with a bite.” He sank his teeth into her earlobe, and she moaned loud enough that she worried the entire house might hear.
Not enough to tell him to stop, though.
She pursed her lips and arranged her features into the sternest expression she could manage under the steamy circumstances. “You said you might if I didn’t finish, but then you went and bit me anyway.” She hitched her chin another inch. “Seems like you’re the one who needs a lesson.”