“The plan was dinner and dessert, then I’d sneak up and light them, but that kinda went out the window when you jumped me on the veranda.”
Her laughter skittered over my skin. “No regrets.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead, then stepped away to grab the lighter from my nightstand.
I moved around the room, touching flame to wick, watching the soft glow spread across the walls. Emily stood where I’d left her, her expression inscrutable.
I lit the last candle and set the lighter down, flicked the bedside lamp off, then crossed back to where she stood. The flickering light played across her face, catching in her hair, making her eyes look impossibly deep.
“Hey,” I said quietly.
A small smile tugged at her lips. “Hey.”
I reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, letting my fingers trail down the side of her neck. Her breath hitched, and I felt the shiver that ran through her.
“You okay?” I asked.
She leaned into my touch. “I think so.”
I kissed her then. Slow and sweet, trying to pour everything I was feeling into it. All the tenderness, the protectiveness, the desperate need to show her she was safe with me.
She made a soft sound against my mouth and her hands came up to grip my shirt, pulling me closer. I deepened the kiss, my tongue sliding against hers, tasting wine and something sweeter. Something that was just Emily.
She found the hem of my shirt and tugged upward. I pulled back just enough to yank it over my head, then reached for the tie of her dress. She caught my hands, stilling them.
For a second I thought she’d changed her mind. But then she smiled, that teasing edge I was starting to adore creeping into her expression.
“Let me,” she said.
I dropped my hands, watching as she slowly pulled the tie loose. The fabric parted, revealing the pale skin beneath, the curves I’d already memorized with my hands earlier tonight. But this felt different. More intimate somehow.
She shrugged the dress off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, and then she was completely naked before me.
Jesus Christ. Heat slammed into me, so intense it almost made me dizzy.
“You’re stunning,” I said quietly.
Doubt flickered in her eyes for just a second, and I knew words wouldn’t cut it. I’d have to show her instead.
I reached for her, pulling her against me, needing to feel her skin against mine. She was warm and soft and perfect, and when she pressed up on her toes to kiss me, I had to fight the urge to just lose myself in her right there.
But I’d promised her slow. And I meant it.
Her hands were on my belt now, working it open with sure fingers. No hesitation. No trembling. Just heat and intention.
I helped her with the button and zipper of my jeans, and shoved them down along with my boxers. Stepped out of them when they hit the floor.
Her eyes roved over me, resting on my straining hard cock, before she reached out and wrapped her hand around me. I had to close my eyes and breathe deeply to stop myself from exploding.
“Too much?” There was a smile in her voice.
“Not enough.” I caught her hand. “But if you keep that up, slow is going to be impossible.”
“Then take me to bed.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. I guided her backward toward the bed. She went willingly, her eyes never leaving mine. When the backs of her legs hit the mattress, I eased her down onto it, following her until I was hovering over her.
The candlelight painted her skin in shades of gold and shadow. Made her look almost ethereal lying beneath me, her hair spread across my pillow, her chest rising and falling with quick breaths.
