He touched his mouth to hers, as light and easy as he could, but damn, a roaring sounded in his ears.
This was Kennedy.
This was red-hot hunger.
Go slow. Be easy.
Don’t scare her.
Gently he framed her face in his hands and shifted her to her back. “I want you to tell me if at any point—”
She lifted up enough to seal her mouth to his, and he forgot what he was going to say.
In fact, he forgot his own name. As her mouth moved under his, he forgot that she’d been a victim, that he was her protector...
That this was only supposed to be a kiss.
Her arms snaked around his neck, and her lips parted to the touch of his tongue.
Half atop her now, Reyes slanted his head for a better fit and ate at her mouth with all the need burning up inside him.
With a soft groan, she shifted one of her legs alongside his hip, creating a cradle with her body. He liked that enough to trail a hand down her side until he could cup one full, soft cheek, lifting her more firmly against him.
His brain couldn’t seem to wrap around the reality of what was happening. He’d wanted Kennedy forever, and here he was, one big hand stroking over the generous curves of her ass, his tongue in her mouth, their groans mingling.
This was Kennedy.
Being so fucking hot.
She wasn’t at all like a woman caught up in past abuse. She wasn’t timid or reserved. She gave and she took, and it was the most natural thing in the world.
Even when he had a fleeting moment of sanity, she quickly pushed him beyond it again. He left her mouth to kiss her throat and made a desperate attempt at control. “Babe—”
“Don’t stop. Please don’t.” Her fingers tunneled into his hair and tightened. “Please.”
“I won’t unless you tell me to.”
“Perfect,” she purred, and steered his mouth back to hers.
Holy hell, she apparently wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her. Definitely not something he’d expected, but damn, it set him on fire.
Suddenly he had to touch and kiss every part of her. He wanted light enough to see, and he wanted nakedness to finally sate his imagination.
He wanted everything Kennedy Brooks could give, and then some.
Holding her face in his hands, he slowed her down. “I’m onboard one hundred percent, but I want your word that if anything bothers you, if you want me to ease up, or stop altogether, or—”
She smashed her fingers to his lips. “Do you have a condom?”
“Yup.” He didn’t mean to be abrupt, but the more agreeable she was, the hotter he got.
“Get it, then no more talking.” She gave that quick thought, reconsidering apparently, because she added, “Unless you want to tell me something to do, something that you like.”
He’d never survive this. Shifting her small, cool hand to his cheek, he whispered, “I like you, Kennedy.” And that was more than enough.
Her expression softened. “I like you, too, Reyes.” She brushed a tender kiss to his mouth. “Thank you for giving me this.”
His eyes flared. She was thanking him for agreeing to have sex? “You are the most...” What? Sweetest? Funniest? Craziest woman he’d ever known? All of the above. “You’re welcome,” he said, then quickly slid to the side and turned on a lamp. He was already hard as granite and breathing too fast, but who cared?
Kennedy liked him.
He knew the truth—he more than liked her. His brain shied away from dwelling on that disquieting thought. At the closet, he got down a box of condoms, turned—and completely froze.
Her back to him, Kennedy pushed down her pajama pants, giving him a stellar view of the ass of his dreams.
His mouth went dry.
Straightening again, she tossed the bottoms toward the top already on the floor, and turned toward him wearing only minuscule rose-colored panties.
A wet dream, that’s what she was.
When he continued to stare, she shifted.
“I’m not very endowed in the boob department.”
“Babe, seriously, you’re perfect.” Proud shoulders led down to small, high breasts, her rosy nipples already pebbled tight. A narrow waist flared into generous hips and full thighs, down to shapely calves.
Visually, he devoured her.
Holding the box of condoms loosely in his hand, he strode over to her. “I’ve thought about you naked from that first day we met.”
Her lips lifted into a cheeky smile. “I didn’t think about you naked until we rescued Chimera.”
Ah, that alley cat had proved most instrumental in his relationship with Kennedy. And, damn it, it was a relationship. That of friends, and soon lovers.
By far the closest relationship he’d ever had with a woman who wasn’t related.
Reaching past her, he set the box on the bookcase headboard. He touched her hair, sifting the silky blond strands through his fingers and then settling them behind her shoulder. Leaning down, he kissed her throat, filling himself with the warm scent of her, absorbing her softness and accepting that she was his.
On a breathy sigh, she tipped her face up and away to give him more room. He cupped both her breasts, loving how they fit into his palms. Against her throat, he suggested, “Let’s lose the panties, too.”
She nodded but otherwise didn’t move, so he did the honors, trailing his hands over her body, tracking all those sweet curves and the silkiness of her skin, down to her waist, her hips, then around to her bottom—and inside her panties.
Stepping against him, she opened her mouth on his chest, her hot little tongue tasting his skin, her sharp teeth scraping gently over him.
While stroking her, he eased her panties down. His arms were long enough, and she was short enough, that it was an easy thing to get them over her hips, and from there, they dropped on their own.
He was a visual man, and he absolutely loved women’s bodies, so he held her back enough to look her over again.
“It’s not going to change,” she whispered with the first hint of nervousness. “This is it.”
His gaze locked on hers. “Just so we’re clear, you’re the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen, and I’m going to want to look at you a lot.”
“Oh.” Her chin angled up. “I’d like to look at you, too, so drop the boxers.”
Ah, there was the confident, no-nonsense woman he knew. “Yes, ma’am.” He took two steps back and quickly shucked off his shorts. Holding out his arms, he said, “I’m not shy. Look your fill, just make it fast because I’m dying to get you under me.”