At least it was effective.
He surrendered with a grunt as I kicked his legs apart and straddled his waist. I settled onto his lap, prepared to earn his golden smile as the icepack rested against his ribs.
But this was a bad idea.
The best bad idea.
His hands immediately rose to my hips, and I reflexively cuddled against his chest, one arm lazily encircling his neck.
We fit together too well.
As if I’d always belonged in his lap.
I hoped he didn’t feel my shiver, but it was damned impossible to hide. His skin flushed hot from the shower, and a few rivulets of water still beaded over the packed muscles of his chest. My teddy bunched over the cotton white towel. A bulge grew under the material, and I bit my lip to avoid whimpering as the heat brushed my bare thighs.
Oh, I wasn’t wearing enough clothes for this sort of touch. The last time we were that close, I’d been lost in my own lust-crazed insanity. He’d offered me pure devotion, and I’d selfishly and eagerly enjoyed every last moment of his tongue, lips, kisses, fingers…
But, in classic Adrian fashion, a little was never enough.
He’d turned my world upside down, but he’d also wrecked me from the inside out. I had a momentary satisfaction, but I woke the next morning agonizingly unfulfilled.
But now…
His hands gently caressed my curves. First, just a steadying grasp as my legs were too short to straddle his massive form. Then, as my breathing hitched with unspoken need, his grip tightened. Hard and fierce.
The ice packed against his side. He didn’t notice it. Instead, he stared at me, his jaw tensing with simmering frustration.
My hips moved once. Twice. Grinding against the hardness straining under the towel. The motion teased the silk panties against my soft petals, dragging the lingerie against my clit. Every movement shattered my confidence yet rebuilt me with curiosity. I gripped his shoulders for strength and parted my lips.
Adrian groaned. “Not like this, Clover. I’ve gotta be gentle with you.”
“This is gentle.”
“I won’t be…not with you on my lap…not so exposed and…” His gaze focused between my legs. His hips bumped up, and the harsh strike of his cock against my slit nearly careened me off his lap. “Can’t control myself this way.”
“You don’t have to control yourself with me. I can take it.”
His smirk broke me. “You have no idea what you can take.”
“Neither do you.”
He leaned close enough to kiss but tortured me with only a whisper. “You’re ruining my plans for tonight.”
“Change them.”
“I wanted to make love to you, Clover.”
“Maybe I don’t need that?”
“It’s your first time.”
“Then let me decide what I want.”
His hands were massive, uncompromising, and meant for crushing opponents on the ice. He held me tight against his bulky, muscle-packed body. Every inch of him was hard as steel and just as unyielding, from his thick, tree-trunk legs to his massive chest, tightened like a plate of armor beneath my hands. He wasn’t particularly comfortable to straddle, but I wasn’t looking for soft and cuddly tonight.
I wiggled.
Could he tell?
Did he know what he did to me?
How my head swam in his delicious scent? How my body quivered when pressed against his bare flesh?
How the deepest, most secretive part of me ached in memory of his generous attention?
I couldn’t help it. My hips bucked, and his hands settled at my waist, pinning me harder against him.
This was nothing I’d ever imagined myself doing.
And yet, it seemed so natural for Adrian. He was fierce, powerful, and confident. He didn’t keep many long-term relationships, but a man as attractive, as successful, as him must’ve collected his share of wild nights.
But somehow—I was the one sharing it with him.
“You deserve a night to remember…” Adrian’s fingers teased the hem of my teddy, brushing my tensing thighs. “You should let me spoil you.”
“You already spoil me.”
“Not like I should—not like I could.”
I bumped my forehead against his and released a shaky breath. “You make it seem like so much has changed, but it’s still just me. Just…a virgin me.”
“All the more reason to be careful with you.”
Goose bumps prickled where he touched. He liked that. Growled softly. His grip tightened.
“I just want you,” I whispered. “I want you to finish what you started.”
“And what was that?”
My words trembled. “Delighting me.”
Adrian’s arrogance only wound me tighter. “Was that all I did? Delight you?”
I sat up straight, trying to breath anything that wasn’t his pure, masculine scent. It did nothing to ease the crippling tension that tightened my core.
“Actually, you tormented me.”
“Wasn’t my intention.”
“Tormented in a good way.” Which, until that moment, I didn’t believe was possible. “You teased me. Devoured me. Gave me the greatest pleasure of my life. Then…you left.”
His voice was every shackle that’d imprison me in place. “Those were the rules. Had to make sure this wouldn’t be awkward.”
Oh, it wasn’t awkward.
It was painful. Agonizing. Torturous.
And I prayed it’d never end.
I didn’t mean to whine, but my whimper broke through my defenses. Wouldn’t be the only one he shattered tonight.
“Why did you leave that night?” I whispered.
“I couldn’t stay.”
“Why not?”
“Because we had to wait for the right day—had to wait for you to become…”
“Fertile.” I said the word for him as the delicious heat whipped me from the inside out.
His eyes darkened.
My hips ground over his.
And his rumbling profanity preluded a ravenous kiss.
In a crippling burst of sheer pleasure, we exploded together. My lips parted. His tongue flicked mine. And the electrifying jolt of chaos shredded our world into something unknowable and forbidden.
Life fell away. Our problems. Our worries. Our friendship.
It all dissolved into a frenzy of wanton heat and wild instinct.
I sunk my nails into the thick cords of his straining muscles. His kiss consumed me, and I murmured my surrendered shock.
I’d never felt this way before.
This passion threaded through me, burning away all hesitations and modest protections in a blitz of insane delight.
So many firsts with this man—and so much potential for everything to go wrong.
And yet, his arms wrapped around me, holding me tight. Protecting me, like he always did.
Could it really be so wrong when we fit together in every conceivable way?
I fell against his thick chest, but even while straddling him, he towered over me, his form thrumming with pure athleticism. In his arms, I was small and fragile, and yet, the man who spent his nights in brutal, bloody battles on the ice understood his strength.
His touch gentled. His body cradled. And his kiss ensured only a breathless cry of excitement teased from my parted lips.
The teddy separated our skin. His fingers gripped the thin material with too much force. The sheer silk immediately ripped.