To hell with this.
I needed to taste her. It was an unexplainable need of epic proportions. Standing, I hauled her to her feet, wrapped my arms around her waist, and pulled her to my chest.
“Derek, what are you doing?” Shock registered in her eyes, and I realized I should give her a warning of some sort. I dipped my head to align my eyes with hers.
“I’m going to kiss you now, Sparky. Long and hard. I want you boneless in my arms.”
“Oh, okay,” she breathed. She tilted her head back and released a small sigh, giving me all the permission I needed to kiss her senseless. I said a silent thanks to everything holy for giving me this moment—for giving me such a beautiful and complex woman. She was soft and fiery all at the same time, defining everything I’d desired for as long as I could remember.
Angling my head down to claim her mouth, I pushed my tongue past her waiting lips and devoured her. The press of our bodies was combustible, tempting the odds by sparking a match to gasoline-soaked timbers. She moaned and I could feel the burn, the vibration from her lips singeing a path straight to my groin. I worked my way down her neck, savoring the feel of her pulse hammering beneath her skin as I breathed in her scent. She smelled like strawberries and sunshine.
“You need to lead the way,” I whispered. Nipping up her neck to her earlobe, she lolled her head to the side. I pulled her tighter against me, and she sighed her appreciation. “I don’t want to push you too far, too fast. Tell me when to stop.”
I caressed her back through her fitted black t-shirt, allowing my hands to move down to the curve of her hips. Pulling her body closer to mine, I captured her pouty, lower lip between my teeth and groaned.
God, she tastes divine.
My hands slid down to cup her ass and lifted her slightly until she was on her tiptoes. Her fingers burrowed into my hair, encouraging me to take more. Never before had I felt so desperate—so overcome with desire, I couldn’t see straight. I moved my mouth back down to her neck, making love to the thrumming pulse beneath her skin.
“Oh, God, Derek,” she whimpered, angling her head back to give me better access to the dip between her clavicle bones.
My hands roamed to cup her breasts through her shirt, and before I knew what I was doing, I was sitting on the chair, so my mouth was level with the swell of her breasts. I could see the hardened peaks of her nipples through her thin t-shirt and bra. Flattening my palms against her back, I pulled her between my legs and leaned in to bite one taut nub through the material. I glanced up at her, and her gaze caught mine. The intimacy that passed between us was almost unbearable and I could barely think beyond the mesmerizing look in her eyes.
Finding the hem of her shirt, I slid my hands up and under, raising it high enough to reveal the pink, satin bra beneath. My lips found the smooth skin of her waist, eliciting tiny gasps from her with every sweep of my tongue. She felt like the softest of silks under my palms and her skin tasted like my own personal slice of heaven. When I came across a raised area at the base of her ribcage, I paused and angled my head back—a two-inch scar contrasted with the smooth, unblemished area surrounding it.
“What’s this from?” I murmured. I traced the scar with my thumb as I kissed the marred skin and felt her body stiffen.
“Derek, please don’t—” Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by a rattling noise near the front of the restaurant. She jumped back and straightened her shirt. Her cheeks flushed crimson as she stared at me with glazed eyes and swollen lips, her confusion evident in her eyes. “I need to go see what that noise was.”
I glanced in the direction the sound had come from. Because of our position, the front of the restaurant was out of view, but I was still able to pinpoint the source of the incessant rattling.
“It was nothing. It just sounded like someone pulling on the door handle. Chris said it was locked. We’re fine.” I reached for her again, wanting to resume my slow exploration of her body, but the rattling noise continued. “Damn it,” I cursed under my breath.
Val stepped back and hurried toward the front door. I shifted back in the chair to make more room in my pants for an erection that rivaled no others and waited for her to return. When she did, her face looked different. She no longer had the sultry look of a woman who’d just seduced me. Instead, she looked more like a timid baby deer who was learning how to walk for the first time.
“Sorry about that,” she said awkwardly. “I don’t know what it was. Nobody was at the door. We should probably get going, anyway. It’s late.”
“Wait.” I reached out and grabbed her wrist.
“Derek…don’t. Please,” she begged. Her hand began to tremble.
Frustration coursed through me, unable to understand when the switch flipped—when the light in her eyes had suddenly gone out.
“Don’t what?”
“I lost control for a minute there.”
I chuckled lightly. “And is that a bad thing?”
“It’s… um…” She trailed off and pulled her hand from mine, twisting her fingers nervously as she tried to find the right words to explain how she felt. “I’m not ready. I’m sorry if I made it seem like I was.”
I stood and wrapped my arms around her. She didn’t stiffen like I thought she might but she didn’t return my embrace either—that stung something fierce.
“I had no intention of letting things go too far. Relax, Sparky. We can go as slow as you want,” I tried to assure. Her body softened as she brought her arms around my waist, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“You’re too good to me,” she murmured.
I pulled back to look her in the eyes.
“No. I’ve just been waiting for you for a long time. I’ll do whatever I need to do as long as it means I get to be with you. You don’t have to apologize for anything.” I pressed my lips to her forehead to, hopefully, ease her fears. “Now, why don’t I help you clear the table and get things cleaned up?”
“You don’t have to do that. I can manage if you want to head home.”
“I insist,” I told her and began collecting dishes from the table. I brought what I could carry to the kitchen, turned on the faucet over the sink, and waited for the water to warm. Val came in with the remaining dishes and set them off to the side.
“Are you close with Isabella? As in, do you have a good relationship with her?”
“Yeah. I think so. Why do you ask?” I saw her shrug out of the corner of my eye as I sprayed hot water over the dishes to rinse them.
“I was just wondering. You seem close. I think it’s kind of cool, actually.”
“I guess…” I laughed. “If you think it’s cool to have an older sibling who’s constantly in your business.”
“I’m serious. Watching your dynamic is interesting. I never had that growing up. You know… siblings, a big family. I’m kind of jealous,” she admitted.
I eyed her curiously, pondering over where this line of talk was coming from.
“Nothing to be jealous of. Bells is kind of a mother hen. Sometimes, I wonder if she’s trying to fill the void my mom left when she passed. As for the big family, it’s really just me and my sister. We have aunts, uncles, and cousins who live out of state but we don’t see them much.” I paused when I caught sight of her bending over to put a bottle of olive oil away under a cabinet. I couldn’t stop myself from looking at her ass if I tried—it was just too goddamn perfect. When she stood, I quickly cast my eyes away and continued with what I’d been saying. “I have to be honest, though. It’s not like Bells and I feel like we’re missing out on anything by not seeing our distant relatives. Christopher has more cousins than I can count. There’s been plenty of family to go around ever since my sister married him.”