She smiled. “Absolutely,” she said.
Nate stripped off his shirt, grinning. And like the last time he’d taken off his clothes, his naked torso threw her into a state of confusion. He was just so freaking gorgeous. It was too much.
“So?” he prompted. “Now what? I am yours to command.”
“Damn.” She pressed her hands to his hot chest, feeling the shape of the steely muscle below. Swaying forward until the tips of her breasts brushed his chest. “I, ah, forgot what we were talking about.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Good. Then let’s get right to it.”
Pleasure welled up, from a hidden, secret place inside her. It was a wonderful contradiction, to be held so tightly she could hardly breathe, and yet his wild, frantic kiss made her feel free.
Past and future, gone. Fear gone. She was a flame twisting in his arms.
His lips moved over hers, tasting, exploring. His hands slid down her back, gripping her ass. Lifting her so that her mound pressed the hard bulge in his pants.
She wound her legs around his, and without pulling away, she went at his belt buckle. Nate helped with the belt, shoving his pants down and stepping out of them.
Her feet left the floor. He’d swooped her up into his arms, cradling her against his hard chest. The contact felt electric. The taste of him, the delicate flick of his tongue against hers. Desire swelled in her body like an orchestra’s crescendo.
Nate set her down on her feet just long enough to pull the blanket down. Then her back hit the cool sheets, and his hot body covered hers. He kept his weight off her, but she pushed against him, arching as he pushed her legs open and petted her pussy lips with his fingertips. It was already slick and yielding. Ready. Aching for him.
He slid his fingers into her clinging depths with a ragged groan, thrusting and caressing. “So hot,” he moaned. “Slick and tight. You’re killing me.”
“Now,” she whispered into his ears, dragging him closer. “Right now. Do it.”
“We just got started,” he protested. “I can’t just jump on top of you and go for it. You’re small. Tight. You need lots of lube. Lots of orgasms, before I get inside you.”
She canted her hips, winding her legs around his and reached down to grip his stiff cock, twisting her hand in a seductive, pulling stroke. “Save your fancy technique for later,” she said. “I need you inside right now or I’ll start clawing you.”
His chest vibrated with silent laughter. “I hear and obey,” he said, positioning himself over her, shaking with the effort at self-control.
He gripped his cock in his hand, sliding the blunt glans tenderly up and down her pussy lips and making himself gleaming wet and slippery. Petting her clit and circling it, tenderly around and around and around it, like a tender lick. The world narrowed down to the dark room, the sounds of their ragged breathing, her low, whimpering gasps as he caressed her, making her arch and buck against him.
Finally, he gave it to her, surging inside with exquisite slowness. Rocking, slowly. Gliding in her slick heat. “Oh yeah,” he gasped out. “So hot. So good.”
She just clutched his shoulders as they found that perfect dance. Deep, gliding thrusts stroked all her sweet spots and woke up new ones everywhere. Every sensual thrust felt like both a perfect culmination and a maddening prelude for the next.
He reared up, head thrown back, his body pumping into hers. She squeezed him with her twined legs, her nails digging into his chest. They both gasped for air at the slick thrusts, the wild rhythm that propelled them into an explosion of pleasure.
Later, she stirred, stroking his chest. Enjoying the feeling of being in his arms. Warm, soft, floating. Utterly weightless.
They gazed into each other’s eyes, speechless. Astonished. She couldn’t stop stroking him. His chest, his heartbeat. Every detail of his gorgeous face. The bold dark slash of his heavy eyebrows, the wonder in his dark eyes. Like she was the most fascinating, desirable thing he’d ever seen.
It was so sweet. She could get used to that.
The fleeting thought gave her a twinge of panic. The thought of getting used to anything presupposed a future. She hadn’t let herself think of the future for a very long time. She hadn’t dared. She still couldn’t. She was dangling by a thread.
“What’s wrong?” Nate asked, because of course, he felt it. The slightest disturbance inside her. She’d never known anyone as perceptive as he was.
She didn’t try to evade the question. “It’s just too good, with you,” she said. “It scares me.”
He nodded. “Same,” he said. “But I’m not going anywhere. Let’s just be brave. We’ll hope for the best. Give it our best shot. That’s the best anyone can do.”
She pulled him closer and hid her face against his chest. “I guess so.”
“It’s going to be all right,” he said. “Tomorrow, we go on the attack, with reinforcements. Tonight, you can relax. Rest, so you can be fresh and alert for Josh.” He rolled away and got up. “Wait here,” he said, heading for the bathroom.
Right, like she was going to bounce up and race off into the night.
She heard the roar of running water, and Nate returned swiftly, looking pleased with himself. “I want to try that bathtub. It’ll relax you.”
It sounded wonderful. Frivolous and sensual and self-indulgent. “You’ll get in with me, right?”
His grin was wicked. “Babe, nothing on earth could keep me out.”
13
Nate had to go back a few times, to check on the water and gauge the temperature. In between times, he slid right back into the warm bed and wound himself around Elisa’s slender, silken one. So lithe and strong. Those beautiful, plump, perfectly shaped tits. So perfect for his hands, his mouth.
His dick was in a perpetual state of frantic eagerness whenever she was in his line of vision. Or his thoughts, for that matter. And the touch of her skin made his heart thud and his whole body instantly overheat into a thrum of raw need.
Wait. He had to pace himself. This wasn’t about him. He had to make it perfect for her. It was the iron-clad rule. Forever and always.
When the tub was finally full, he turned to find her already in the bathroom door, winding that long, night-dark curly mass of her hair into a thick messy knot on top of her head, and securing it with the black elastic tie she’d used for her braid.
He was speechless, his entire brain busy processing the sensory input of her naked beauty. Her eyes fell to his erection, and she gave him a teasing smile, her eyebrows going up. “Oh! So it’s that kind of bath?”
“It’s just a bath,” he assured her. “Any kind of bath you like. I don’t want to overdo it.”
“Speak for yourself, buddy.” She stalked past him, stroking his chest and arm as she went by, and her slow, teasing touch buzzed against his nerves like electricity.
He followed, helpless and dazzled. She moved like a queen. Regal, lofty. He could stare at her elegant back forever. The little wispy dark curls at her nape.
Nate stepped in front of her and went in first, down the steps and to the bottom of the hip deep tub. He held out his hand. When she took it, the contact was a soul touch. A mark of divine favor, and she was a goddess with the power to bless and transform him. To change his fate forever.