He stilled, banking down the surging ache between his legs. ‘It’s an unusual situation—I get that, Jess. I want you but you know you have every right to change your mind and walk away...’
‘No, it’s not that,’ she said in a stricken voice.
‘Then what?’ Just talking felt like a feat of endurance when he wanted to do so much more.
‘I’m not that experienced,’ she muttered.
Curtis smiled reassuringly, oddly pleased at her honesty. He carried on unbuttoning the shirt until she could see his chest, broad and muscled. He shrugged off the shirt and she felt faint. ‘I am experienced enough for both of us,’ he murmured softly.
He rested his hand on his trouser zip and reached with the other hand to tug her towards him.
This time his kiss was one hundred per cent no-holds-barredhungry.He slid his tongue between her lips, tilting her back, plundering her mouth until she was whimpering and clinging to him, restricted in the dress and desperate to get rid of it.
He edged her towards the bed and she felt the edge of the mattress hit her knees. She almost teetered onto it.
Her arms were looped over his shoulders, her breasts pushing against his bare chest, and she moaned when he reached to unzip her dress until it was sagging open.
‘No bra.’ He nipped the side of her neck and she shivered and sighed, eyelids fluttering. ‘I like that. Very much.’
‘I’m not as slight... I’m a big girl...’
‘Something else I like. Also very much.’ He swept down the straps almost before she could protest or take evasive action or even shield herself from his gaze because he took her hands in his and stepped back and looked at her.
Jess closed her eyes tightly. So desperately did she want to cover herself that it took a superhuman effort not to yank her hands free of his loose hold and put them strategically in front of her.
‘You’re beautiful,’ he murmured huskily.
At that, she sneaked a glance at him and their eyes met, his blazing with desire, hers tentative. With hesitation, she touched his chest and then stroked it, marvelling at how hard it was and loving the way he sucked his breath in as she caressed him.
He caught her hand and growled that she would have to watch out because too much excitement would make an experience he wanted to last, finish in way too short a time.
‘Let me see the rest of you,’ he commanded gruffly.
He slid his hands down her sides, along her waist, and pushed the dress so that it slipped further down. Jess inhaled deeply and shimmied out of it. Should she tell him that by‘not that experienced’she actually meantcompletely green behind the ears?
No. She couldn’t face his reaction. There was no reason for him to know, was there?
She stepped out of the heels, instantly losing five inches in height. Her underwear was practical cotton, nothing skimpy, and definitely no thong.
‘You have a body fashioned to drive a man wild,’ Curtis told her with searing honesty. ‘Feel for yourself...’
He stepped towards her and in one easy motion took her hand and placed it on his prominent bulge. This was what he wanted. This was what theybothwanted. They were two adults and if their situation was more complex than those he was accustomed to then all that was needed for clarity was for him to strip it back to the bare bones.
Mutual physical attraction.
Irresistible and overwhelming.
He killed the questions tugging at his conscience. He had spent a lifetime controlling his own destiny and if now there was a moment of vague unease that destiny might be controllinghim, then he was quite certain that it would be a momentary blip, easily remedied in the cold light of day.
His deep affection for the woman who just happened to be turning him on to a degree that was unimaginable would not pose a problem.She knew him better than anyone. Knew of his aversion to the sort of commitment that led to a walk down the aisle. He had explained about Caitlin...so there were no illusions waiting to be shattered.
There was no risk to him. His heart was protected, as icy cold when it came to the murky waters of emotional involvement as the frozen tundra wastelands. It was the way he was built—the way life had moulded him. He had no illusions that could be shattered.
They werebothgoing into this with their eyes wide open. Had that not been the case, then he was sure they wouldn’t be here now, however hot the fire was that burned between them.
He would never—neverrisk hurting this woman and on that thought he promptly closed his mind and allowed physicality to consume his head space.
Jess’s mouth went dry. She looked down and inserted her finger under the waistband of his trousers but honestly lacked the courage to actually yank down the zip. It felt surreal. Being here, being with him, having her fantasies roar into life without much warning. She wished she had the experience to handle the situation, to deal with what was happening without feeling utterly out of her depth.
