“Hold on,” he said. After a slight adjustment, he cradled her in his arms and stood.
Carrying her across the living room and down the hallway, he headed to his bedroom, half expecting her to say wait. He thought she’d tell him that she’d made a mistake, that this was not what she wanted. She didn’t. Her arms were securely around his neck as she kissed him.
This was happening.
Tristan wasn’t used to being vulnerable, but when it came to Cree, he was afraid to hope. Afraid that one wrong move or a misunderstood comment would send her running again. He didn’t just want her back in his life, he needed her. She was the puzzle piece missing in his world, and he wouldn’t be complete until he knew she was back for good.
He entered the bedroom and carefully set her on her feet. Before he could step back, Cree’s warm, soft hands slid beneath his shirt, and her palms glided up his body, then stopped at his pecs. Unable to help himself, Tristan made them jump beneath her touch, and she laughed.
Her eyes glittered with mischief, and she was smiling for the first time since leaving the restaurant. “Impressive,” she said.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Oh, baby. You haven’t seen nothing yet.”
Chapter Seventeen
Cree’s heart was practically beating out of her chest as Tristan took his time unbuttoning her shirt, while at the same time he grazed his lips along the length of her neck, kissing and sucking. No doubt leaving a few love marks along the way.
How he managed to multi-task with such precision was a mystery to her, but she loved it. She loved everything about this moment, and she knew when they finally came together, it would be good. Better than good. Tristan never did anything half-ass, and she doubted that had changed.
Squirming under his touch, feeling his heat radiating off him, she fumbled with his belt buckle as if she had never unfastened one before. The man had her breathing erratically, her hands shaking, and her pulse pounding in her ears, and they hadn’t even made it to the bed yet.
When Tristan finished with her shirt, he started sliding it down her arms, then tossed it to the floor. All the while his lips caressed her cheek, then worked their way down to the pulsing hollow at the base of her throat, and he continued to her shoulders, peppering kisses against her skin.
Cree was on fire. She was burning up everywhere he touched causing heat to soar through her veins like a match, igniting a flame through her body.
It was already clear he planned to take his time, but her impatience had her squirming against him. As if sensing she was about ready to leap out of her skin, Tristan’s strong arm went around her waist, and he crushed her to him. His lips met hers in a searing kiss that had her about ready to lose her mind.
He had always been wickedly skilled with his mouth, and that hadn’t changed either. The man already had her moaning in pleasure, silently begging for more as their kiss built in its intensity.
“Oh yes,” she murmured against his mouth.
She cupped his face between her hands and deepened their connection while delighting on every lap of his tongue. Her chest heaved. Her heart beat double-timed, and her self-control was quickly dwindling. She wanted them naked and in bed, and though she loved a little foreplay as much as the next person, she couldn’t take much more.
Tristan might not be in a hurry, but her body was vibrating with desire, and she was tempted to take matters into her own hands. She needed him to touch her everywhere, then make her come over and over again… like now.
She jerked her mouth from his, her breaths coming in short spurts. “Take your clothes off,” she said and reached for the zipper on the side of her hip to undo her skirt but stopped when she realized Tristan wasn’t moving.
“What?” she said. “I’ve been waiting a long time to be intimate with you again, and I want you… now. Hurry up.”
His low chuckle filled the quietness in the room, and Cree lowered her head to hide her smile. She tugged down the zipper of her skirt, letting the garment puddle around her ankles. Next went her socks, leaving her in a white lace bra and pantie set.
“Still as bossy as hell, but I wouldn’t have you any other way,” Tristan said, and when Cree looked up, the only thing that remained on him were gray boxer briefs.
Have. Mercy.
He stood before her like a Nubian god with rippling muscles everywhere she looked. The elaborate tattoos she had spied on his arms days ago stood out even more, and they blended well with his bad boy physique. From his biceps and his muscular chest down to his washboard abs, the man was perfection.
As her attention went lower, she squeezed her legs together to help tamp down the throbbing pulse between her thighs. He definitely knew how to fill a pair of briefs, and his thick erection wanted out.
“Damn, baby. I didn’t think you could get any sexier,” Tristan said, speaking the exact words she was thinking about him. He moved closer and ran the back of his fingers over the lace on her bra. “But clearly I was wrong.”
Without another word, he bent slightly and gripped the back of her thighs and lifted her into the air. Cree couldn’t stop herself from laughing. The man was ridiculously strong, and he held her as if she was weightless.
When he didn’t immediately lay her on the bed, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Then she kissed him. They kissed like they couldn’t get enough, and the hunger with every lap of his tongue had her thoughts spinning.
There were moments like now that she found it hard to believe she and Tristan were back in each other’s lives. It just didn’t seem real. It was like a fantasy come to life, and she wanted to experience it all. The kisses. The touches. The heavy breathing. The sweaty sex. She wanted it all.
By the time Tristan finally laid her on the bed, Cree knew it wouldn’t take much to make her come. She was already panting as she watched him remove a condom from his wallet and set the foil packet next to the pillow.
