Claire
Inever was a good liar, so it was practically impossible to control my jitters on our way home from dinner. The food had been delicious, the company amazing, and the sexual tension unreal. Not unreal bad, but unreal good.
Off-the-charts amazing.
My heart pounded when Aiken got near. My thighs clenched from his private words meant for me. I felt myself smile when he listened intently to me. He was younger, but his actions were not those of a young man. He was an old soul, trapped in the body of a young Adonis, and I wanted him.
Lord help me.
There was no way he wouldn’t be an amazing lover, giving and controlling in equal measure. Surely, he wouldn’t be like any lover I’d ever had. Which, by the way, I could’ve counted on one hand.
He also wasn’t wrong about the cobwebs.
A plethora of them blanketed my most private parts.
“You need to quiet your racing mind,” Aiken interrupted my brewing panic.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Still your crazy head.”
“Gah, I’m a grown woman who is nervous as hell about you walking me to the door.”
He gave me a quick side glance. “Richards, there’s no walking you to the door. I’m walking you right in the door and straight up to your bedroom, where I’m going to take your dress off slowly.Very slowly. Then I’m going to spend some time staring at your gorgeous body in only a bra and, hopefully, a thong, from what I can tell, before I take those off too and lay you down on the bed and…”
“Oh…”
“Unless you’re not ready, in which case, I’ll give you a little peck good night at the back door after you let Smitty out.”
I swallowed twice—the first time was pure fear, the second was one hundred percent lust.
“No, I’m ready.”
He maneuvered his truck in front of his house and calmly walked around the front to open my passenger door. With my hand in his, he helped me down.
“Whoa, Claire, you’re shaking like a leaf.” He gathered me in his arms and squeezed me tight.
My eyelids fell shut. “I’m fine.” It was spoken softly and a lie.
“Shhh.” His lips grazed my forehead. “I was mostly kidding about stripping you down. I want to, but it’s not required.”
My head tilted, and I found his gaze. “I want that. I meant it. It’s been a while. A while for all that. A while since I’ve had such an enjoyable night. All of it. I’m overwhelmed.”
He bent, his lips meeting mine, mine answering his unspoken request to open up. Our mouths moved in sync. His tongue entered my mouth, brushing against mine, one stroke, two…I lost count. Our chests beat together, air in and out to the same tune. My hand found his rear, and his palm cupped mine.
This was how we stayed for a while, on our street, in plain view for anyone to witness. There was no rushing, no dismissing what we were doing.
“Claire.” My name was a whisper from his throat. “That’s what I want, you to be relaxed, happy, do things you haven’t done in a long time.”
Nodding against his chest, I said, “Let’s go inside.”
He took my hand and walked me down my driveway, snatched my key, and opened the door, holding it open for Smitty, ushering him outside, rushing him through his business, before kicking the door closed and stealing me upstairs.
“We’ll take it slow. When it’s too much, you just say so.” His hand slid around the back of my neck, gathering my mouth close to his. His words tickled my lips, his scruff burned my chin, his breath warmed my cheek.
His mouth devoured mine, while his other hand—the one that wasn’t holding on to my neck like his life depended on it—unzipped my dress. A wisp of black fabric pooled at my feet, surrounding my strappy heels.
“Gorgeous,” he muttered, his rougher-than-I’d-ever-experienced hand now coursing down my side, catching on my bra for a moment or three.
