She linked her fingers behind his neck, as he slid his hands to her hips and coaxed her closer. He dropped his forehead to rest on hers, unhurried, like he was savoring the moment as much as she was. He bent lower, his stubble grazing her cheek. She closed her eyes, letting her head fall back a little. Those soft lips touched hers, released, touched again, slowly evolving from gentle probing to one long, searching kiss. Her body prickled head to toe with warmth and desire.
Like it was mutually agreed upon, he deepened the kiss the same moment she pressed into him. They explored each other until she felt like she was entering a new reality, until the give and take came as naturally as if they’d been doing this together all their adult lives. Her body cried with need but this part was delicious, too. The calm before the storm.
And boy, did she love storms.
* * *
MAN, TIAFELTlike even more of a goddess than she looked. Cody shrugged off his jacket, unzipped hers and slid his palms under her sweater and thermal. He caught a breast in each hand, round and supple and heavy. She groaned into his mouth. Oh yeah, that satiny skin he’d glimpsed earlier, those big, dark nipples, tight now with desire instead of cold. She shuddered against him, wobbling on her injured leg. Time to take this horizontal.
He dropped his hands to her waist and walked her backward, releasing her lips long enough to guide her onto the thin bed. She let her knees fall apart and he eased his weight onto her, pushing his fingers into her hair and again seeking the silky paradise of her mouth. Damn, he couldn’t get enough of her—but he sure as hell was going to try.
She tugged the hem of his thermal, and he lifted away and let her pull it over his head. He hungered to feel her warm, soft skin against him. As if reading his mind, she dived for her sweater. He got there first. As he discarded her layers, her hair fell in heavy curls on her shoulders, the curves of her breasts catching the moonlight.Increíble. Magnifique.A goddess in any language.
She circled a fingertip on his chest, over his tattoo.
“I saw this earlier,” she said huskily. “Some French words, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s it say?”
“Je ne t’abandonnerai jamais.”
“Meaning?”
“I will never abandon you.”
“Your brother.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s over your heart.”
“A few of us got tattoos at the same time. We’d had a little too much cognac. Got all sentimental.”
And sentimentality was not what he was after tonight. He lowered his head and caught one of her nipples in his mouth. She gripped either side of his head, moaning and sinking onto the earth like she’d lost the strength to hold herself up. Which was cool because he’d found a ton more energy.
“Cody, do you have protection?”
He released her, his cock straining against his shorts like it had ears. “Somewhere. Let me find it.”
Her freckles stood out against her cheeks. Maybe later he’d lie beside her counting them, memorize every detail of her, of this. Get enough of a fix that he could return here whenever he needed to remember happiness and normality. He caught a lock of hair and rubbed it between his fingers. So soft.
“In a minute,” he said, catching her lips and easing onto her. Yep, she felt amazing against him. Soft and strong and pliant, her fingertips pressing into his back. Not a fragile bird who might break but a real woman who smelled of shampoo and desire. He slipped his fingers into her shorts, under her panties, and slid into her slippery curls. He circled and played, as she groaned and thrust against his fingers. So sexy. He dived into her neck, kissing her silky saltiness as she got wetter and wetter under his hand, her moans ever more desperate. Her nails clawed his shoulders and she arched those beautiful breasts into him. Holy shit. This could well be heaven.
Suddenly her hand was on his cock, squeezing and stroking through his shorts.
“I want you inside me,” she said, panting. “Shall we...?”
“...move this along?”
“No, wait.” She closed her eyes. “Keep. Going.” Her mouth fell open.
“Yes, ma’am.”We have all night.
She gave a muffled cry and bucked against his fingers, clamping his cock like she was taking the impact out on him. As she crested, he slipped two fingers into her, his groans matching hers as her muscles pulsed around him. Hell.
She slumped, her hand—blessedly—releasing. “Wow.” She exhaled, her breath cool on his shoulder. “That’s been building longer than you might think,” she added, as if she felt the need to explain.
