“For what?” he asked.
“For finding me tonight.”
Their eyes locked and held, and the intensity of the emotion she felt in those few seconds made her shiver. Never, ever, in her life had she felt this kind of powerful connection to a man.
“You found me tonight,” he said. “In my thoughts. I needed to see you.”
“I’m glad you came,” she said, her breath lodged in her throat. That he found comfort in her presence felt special. “This thing with your parents is bothering you.”
He nodded. “For some reason, you felt like the thing that would make it better. It’s crazy, I know, but still…it’s a fact.”
Feeling drawn to him, feeling attached emotionally, scared her. But it didn’t stop the thrill of his words. Or the yearning for him beyond the physical. She couldn’t make this go away. It was what it was. Even if she could, she wasn’t sure she wanted to. “I need you tonight, too.”
He kissed her then, a slow slide of his tongue past her lips, soft and sensual. When he lifted his mouth from hers, he lingered, breath mingling with hers, teasing her with the wait of another taste.
“You know what I want?” he whispered, his breath a warm, sultry trickle against her skin.
“What?” she asked, a bit breathless.
He framed her face with his hands. “To make love to you. Nice and slow and all night long.”
Zoe absorbed the intimacy of what he said, the deep meaning. She wanted to believe they weren’t just flowery words spoken in a moment of passion. That this was more than sex. For the first time in her life, she really wanted to make love. To feel this man beyond the limits she’d placed upon herself and every other who’d ever touched her.
Yet, still, she didn’t know how to respond to the inferred question. To say yes. Make love to me. So instead of speaking, she kicked off her shoes and pushed to her feet. She stood in front of him and began undressing. He watched her, his eyes smoldering hot. His hands were on his thighs as if he had forbidden them to move. To touch.
In a few flicks of her hands and a brush of material, Zoe was naked. Exposed. He was fully dressed. It was meant as a sign of trust. A willingness to be the one without the barrier of clothing. “Make love to me,” she said softly.
A flash of passion and emotion so intense it darkened his eyes crossed his features. He pulled her to him, onto his lap. She straddled him and instantly his hands and mouth traveled. Explored. Induced ravishing charges of electric heat that felt as if they would consume her with a cloud of instant desire.
Claiming her mouth in a passionate, hungry kiss, he swallowed her moans and palmed her breasts. Then, he pinched her nipples, rolling and tweaking with a technique born of a man who knew how to please a woman. Her fingers slid through his dark hair, over his arms, enjoying the flex of muscle beneath her touch. But even as she explored the fine lines of his body, he did the same to hers. Every caress of his hand, his mouth, his body, sizzled. Every inch of her skin tingled and warmed.
She worked the buttons of his shirt, struggling to stay focused on the task as he arched his hips upward, pressing his aroused cock against her core. God, he was so hard, so ready. Urgency grew and she slid the shirt over his skin and across his shoulders. Finally, she had him partially undressed. He pulled her close, pressing her warm skin to his, her nipples settling with tantalizing perfection into the dark hair on his chest. Her lashes fluttered as his lips touched her neck, her jaw, and her ear. And when he drew back and stared up at her, his blue eyes so dark with passion they appeared black, her heart skipped a beat. For there was more than the heat of the moment in his gaze. There was true yearning. There was…love. At least that’s what it felt like. Dangerous, wonderful, love. An illusion, she knew. It couldn’t be. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Still, it sent a shiver from head to toe. It made her wish for things she thought she didn’t believe in.
Declan whispered her name and kissed her, and whatever she’d seen in his eyes, she heard in his voice. Even tasted as his tongue caressed hers. She sank into the kiss, arms sliding around his neck, savoring the seduction of the moment. After several seconds, Declan flipped her to her back, pressing his long, hard body against hers, still kissing her with deep, probing strokes. She clung to him, legs wrapping around his calves as she fought to get him closer. The need to have him inside her growing with each passing second. The absolute yearning to feel the steel hardness of his cock buried deep in her core demanded to be heard. To be acted upon.
Abruptly, Declan moved, untangling himself from her body and pushing to his feet. She wanted to argue the loss until she realized he was undressing. Leaning up on her elbows, she watched as he toed off his shoes and then shoved his pants and underwear down in one movement. And there he stood, tall, broad, and sexy, allowing her inspection. Her absorption.
His body was perfection. Head to toe muscle. Not too bulky but not too lean. Her eyes traveled from his broad shoulders to his tapered waist and defined abs…lingering. Taking her time and enjoying. But when her gaze settled on his erection, long and hard, her body sizzled. His hand circled it as if reacting to the heat of her stare.
He took a step forward, and feeling impatient, she sat up, meeting him halfway. She touched the tip of his cock and his hand slid away. She found her fingers damp, offering proof of just how ready he was for her. Zoe spread the liquid along the soft skin of his head and along the ridge. She wanted to feel him pulse in her hand and she circled his shaft, her eyes lifting to his as she did. And as he watched she bent forward and licked the dampness pooling again on the tip. Though she’d wanted a reaction from him, she found one in herself. Pleasing him became imperative. The salty taste of his arousal spurred her onward.
She lapped at him with her tongue, circling and tasting. But it wasn’t enough. Zoe sucked him into her mouth, taking him with long slides back and forth. He was moaning, fingers in her hair, body arching into her mouth. She wanted this. She wanted him. Turning him on wasn’t like turning on other men. This was an ultimate satisfaction. His pleasure was hers. She’d felt power from taking a guy over the edge many times. But never, ever, had she felt pleasure from it. That came later. With her own orgasm. When she demanded her turn.
“Zoe. Baby. No.”
Declan eased her back with effort. She didn’t want to stop. She wanted him to come. To know she’d given him that satisfaction. But before she could think, she was pressed into the couch cushion and he eased her legs apart. “I want to make love to you,” he murmured, his breath warm and tantalizing against her cheek. “To come when you come. Inside you. With you.”
She could barely breathe. Anticipation, emotion, arousal, all merged and made her mind cloud. His cock slid inside her and seemed to melt into her body. Declan’s mouth lingered above hers. “I’m crazy about you, Zoe.”
For some reason, she didn’t know how to respond. Maybe it was simply because she burned to move with him. To feel their bodies in motion as one. But there was more to her silence and she knew it. She was as scared of what he made her feel as she was pleased.
Her fingers brushed his cheek and then his lips before her mouth brushed his for the briefest of moments. Time seemed to stand still as they merged into the passion. Like a burst of flames, desire and need were unleashed. Wildly, they kissed, their bodies beginning to rock together. Back and forth. Up and down. They pressed against each other, her fingers digging into his back even as she lifted her hips upward. She didn’t just want the feel of his cock hitting her core. She wanted every inch of his body touching hers.