He leaned in close, fingers sliding over Dana’s hip as he whispered in her ear. “You do realize your house is empty right now.”
She stiffened slightly, her fingers freezing in mid-tease.
“And I seem to remember having gotten all the names right for everyone we met. Which means I get a reward, yes?”
Dana wiped her mouth with a napkin then grabbed hers and Mark’s plates, stacking them and smiling across the table at her brother and sister-in-law.
“We’ll catch up with you later,” she said sweetly, somehow dragging Mark away without looking as if she was hauling him along as fast as she could.
He made it to the truck before giving in to temptation. He whirled her against him, backing her up against the vehicle and pinning her in place with his body. “Please tell me yes.”
“You might need to be more specific,” she teased during the split second before his mouth covered hers.
The kiss was wild enough to get his blood pounding and his entire body tightening with need. When he did pull back, it was to damn near growl, hips pressed tight against her. “I want to take you home. I want to take off your clothes and kiss you everywhere. I want to make you scream my name.”
He eased back, putting enough space between them to see her eyes had gone dark, pupils wide.
“Dana,” he whispered. “I want you.”
Her head bobbed, a small movement but rapid. “Yes.”
Good answer.
Somehow, they both made it into the cab of his truck, Dana sitting beside him in the middle of the bench seat. Both of them got their seat belts on before he cautiously manoeuvred out of the crowded parking area and headed down the gravel road the couple of miles toward the Angel homestead.
Only once they made it to her house, his attempts to stay slow and in control failed.
It didn’t help that as soon as they walked into the kitchen, she turned and caught the hem of her sundress, stripping it over her head and dropping it over the back of the chair.
“Sweet fuck.” Mark nearly tripped over his own feet as he stopped to stare.
Her chin rose again as if she were gathering courage. “I’m no spring chicken. What you see is what you get.”
“Then I’m a lucky, lucky man,” Mark said, closing the space between them. He trickled a hand over the sweep of her waist and up her side to where her pretty green bra covered her breasts. “Dana, I’m the same age as you and have done far more miles. The map might not be quite as fresh as it once was, but the picture’s all the richer for the details the time has brought.”
He stepped forward, stripping away the layers over his torso and tossing them on top of her dress.
He brought her against him and got ready to listen in a whole new way.
Dana had given this moment a great deal of thought over the past months. She was sensible enough to guess the opportunity for sex would eventually arrive. Hopeful enough the event would be something she could truly enjoy.
What she hadn’t wanted was a series of comparisons or thoughts about what had been. Which meant taking charge in any way she could.
Time, place. The man.
It became very clear very quickly that controlling that last one was futile. Mark seemed intent on putting every bit of preplanning she’d done to waste.
His torso against hers was scalding hot and not nearly enough. Skin on skin, he continued to kiss her as sensations spiraled upward with each touch, each tease on her senses.
He kissed his way along her neck, sliding his hands down her back until he cupped her butt, dragging her closer. The firm length of his erection pressed against her stomach for a moment before he lifted her, placing her on the table.
He slid his hands over her thighs, fingers teasing the inside of her legs as he opened her wider until he was able to rock directly against her core.
None of this was on the agenda, but Dana was quite happy with the change in plans.
“I like this,” she whispered, stroking her fingers through his hair, loving the cool tease against her fingertips. Loving that she could drag her hands over his shoulders and trace the muscles there.
“You smell so good,” he said with a groan, hips flexing as she scratched her nails down his back. "God, yes.”
Then his hands were at the clasp of her bra, sliding the straps from her shoulders as he watched the cups fall away.
She refused to hide. Refused to be embarrassed about anything regarding her body.
A soft curse escaped his lips, then his hand rose, brushing knuckles over her nipple as it tightened from—being exposed? From being so close to the man she desperately wanted?
From being licked, his tongue teasing a moment before Mark wrapped his lips around the peak and sucked.
No use in trying to categorize any of it. It felt good, and she didn’t need to know why other than he looked mesmerized and his body had reacted positively.
He held her, hands cupped on either side of her breasts. “I have dreamed about this.” He lifted his gaze, thumbs moving over her in a soft caress. “I have dreamed about this and so much more.”
More turned out to be stripping away her panties and pulling her hips to the very edge of the table as he dropped to his knees.
An instant later his tongue was teasing at her sex, hands drifting over her thighs, brushing over her hips, then returning in a circle.
Dana sat on her kitchen table, stark naked, sexual pleasure rising like a storm as her boyfriend—time to make it official—proved his patience was more than adequate to bring her to the very edge and over faster than she thought possible.
“Mark.”
Her fingers had ended up buried in his hair, and she jerked unwittingly. He leaned back far enough to show off a wide grin, his now familiar cocky expression back in place.
His gaze drifted to meet hers with great satisfaction. “That was fun.”
Oh no. Well, yes, it had been, but if he thought this was where they were stopping?
She tugged on his hair again. “Are we having sex here or in my bedroom?”
He hesitated for a minute. “I don’t want to push. I meant what I said—I want you, but I don’t—”
She caught him by the hips, undoing the button on his jeans and pushing at the zipper, the backs of her heels wrapped around his thighs, trapping him in place.
“Listen. I said yes.” She was pushing away the fabric when she hesitated and worked on listening back. Was she pushing him too fast? “I want you too. But only if you’re ready.”
Mark swore, shoving at his jeans and underwear, hopping to try and strip them away. They were both laughing when he picked her up, settling in the nearest kitchen chair and lifting her over him.
“Very ready.”
She rocked a few times over his hard length. She was wet from her orgasm but still not one hundred percent sure how this would go.
Dammit, it was worthwhile making sure everything went better than okay. “Come with me.”
Both of them naked as jaybirds, she pulled him down the hallway into her bedroom. She grabbed the container of lube and a condom from beside her bed where she’d placed them after having a blunt conversation with her sister-in-law a few weeks earlier.
Mark grinned as she put a hand on his chest and pushed him back into a seated position on the edge of the bed. “Prepared.”
“Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout.” Her heart was racing, but she wanted to return to where they’d been a moment earlier. Connected. Ready to become one.