Why had she admitted that? Because it was the truth. Stranded like she was, it brought home how alone she felt. She longed to keep busy to avoid that feeling but without electricity, her car or her phone, it was just her and her thoughts. And Erik.
“I would imagine,” he said.
The quiet acknowledgement brought tears to her eyes once more. Damn, she didn’t want to cry. Something about the way he listened—really listened—made it even more difficult to suppress the tears that came with grief. “I’m sure you can. It’s never easy to lose someone you love.”
“No, it’s not.” He tilted her chin with his finger. She felt the strength behind the gentle touch.
She looked up. Big mistake. His eyes drifted over her face, and she parted her lips. What she’d tried to avoid was inevitable. Warm lips found hers, as his mouth slid across them. The tiny voice in her brain said to pull back and make some excuse to hide in the guest bedroom. She clutched at his wrist instead, leaning in to the kiss. Sensations began to skate across her skin. What was it about this man that spoke to her on such a deep level? He never took himself too seriously but he was sensitive when it mattered. Like now.
A tiny moan escaped from her throat and she opened her mouth, tongue seeking his exploring one. How long had it been since she’d been touched with any intimacy? Or been kissed liked she was the most precious person in the universe. She’d been focused on getting her degree and a job. Now that she had both, she could let go. Couldn’t she?
The spark turned into a flame of need and she slid her arm around his shoulders. Erik might not be the right man in the long run but he was the right one in the moment. He palmed the nape of her neck, laying her down on the carpet. This might be one of the more foolish things she’d done in a while. She didn’t care. Kendra would tell her to go for it. It was time to take her friend’s advice. She slid a hand into his hair, mouth moving in tandem to his seeking one.
He glided his hand up her ribcage. She arched into his touch, breasts heavy with need. Too many lonely nights had passed without a break in sight. He cupped her breasts through the fabric, his thumb flicking across her nipple, reading her mind and her body. With shaking fingers, she grabbed the hem of her shirt, she didn’t want anything between them. Breaking the kiss, she pulled her shirt over her head. Eyes locked with his heated ones, she willed back her innate shyness. She ached for his intimate caress and yearned to be skin to skin. “Now you.”
She felt his sexy grin to the tip of her toes. He slipped off his shirt to expose a broad chest, defined and hard with muscle. The sight cranked up her need. She traced a path along his collar bone to his sternum, a tattoo of an eagle, wings spread out on either side of his shoulder.
Blue eyes made back with need swept her torso. He lowered his head. Mouth hot and seeking, he spread tantalizing kisses along the swell of her chest. She dug her nails into the heavy muscles of his shoulders, willing him to move lower still. He didn’t disappoint. Tongue gliding along her areola, he drew her nipple into his mouth. The sensations that his mouth evoked went straight into her core. Her clit throbbed with unfulfilled desire and her heart pounded in a steady beat of need.
Passion sparked, she brought her hand between their bodies, fingers seeking the buttons of his jeans. The darkness made her bolder than she would normally be the first time she’d had sex with a new lover. He was hard-bodied, his stomach flat with an enticing trail of hair that began under his bellybutton and disappeared into the fabric of his jeans. He was toned, his body perfect. Tomorrow, there might be repercussions but tonight she’d say fuck it. Fingers seeking out his cock, she explored the generous length. Silky skin met her questing palm and he groaned, his hips rocking into her touch.
“I think we might need some condoms,” she said, a flush rising to her cheeks.
“I think you’re right.” He stood and raced into the bedroom. She removed her pants, unbelieving of what she was about to do. For years, she’d resisted him and tonight, she’d find out how stupid she’d been or how smart.
He returned and halted a foot from her. His admiring gaze swept her body and any lingering shyness disappeared. He dropped down onto the carpet before her, his palms trailing along her legs. She parted them, arms raised, greedy for more of his kisses. He shook his head, a devilish gleam in his eyes. “I’ve been waiting for this for a few years. We’re not rushing anything, babe.”
The teasing inference sent a smile to her lips and anticipation to her pussy. “First beautiful and now babe, I’m beginning to think you’re a bit sexist.”
“You can leave the ist part out. This is all about sex.” He began to kiss his way along her inner knee, a one hundred percent confident male.
She licked her lips, her still damp hair cool against her back. But the man working his way up her thigh sparked a flame inside her body. His beard brushed her sensitive skin, the heat of his mouth in direct contrast to the cool room. “Yes, sex.” That’s all it was. Two people with a growing attraction reaching mutual satisfaction.
He parted her pussy with his thumb, his eyes locked on her face. The first sweep of his tongue stole her breath. She arched her back, her fingers finding the thick pile of the carpet. He was such a giving lover, a circumstance at odds with her perception of him. Sensation rocked her world and she closed her eyes, absorbing the pleasure that was building fast. Pleasure he gave so freely.
One knee bent; she raked a hand through her hair. The ceiling was beamed, the candlelight bouncing off the shadows. It added to the light growing inside her, the intensity that increased with every play of his tongue over her clit. He sucked at the aching flesh and a ripple of pleasure shot through her. It blew her mind that she was with Erik and he was bringing her to such heights that she’d surely come tumbling down to earth. Not yet. She lifted her hips, pushing into his mouth until a second, more intense waved rippled over the first.
Panting, she watched out of hooded eyes as he stripped off his jeans. She’d had some caring lovers in the past but none of them had taken her to that place. The veins in his forearms popped as nimble fingers put on the condom. Perhaps it was the moment, or the man, but she’d never climaxed as quick or as hard. She was more than eager for more. He climbed up her body, the skin tight over his cheekbones, desire etched in every masculine feature. She reached for his cock. He was hard in her palm. Perfect. He was perfect and she couldn’t wait to feel him inside of her, filling her from the inside out. Perhaps then, she’d be rid of the hollow ache in her chest that had been there for ten years. Ten years to the day.
Was her mother looking down at her now? She hoped not, otherwise she’d be getting an eye full.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“What’s so funny?” Things between them were at a critical juncture, a long-time dream come true, and Belle was laughing. Erik wasn’t sure how to interpret her amusement, or how to feel about it. He cocked one brow, waiting for her explanation.
Her face was flushed, eyes sparkling with an inner light of lust. “Nothing to do with you. I promise. It’s completely an off-key thing to admit—and during sex —but I was just thinking about if my mom was looking down at me, what she’d think of her daughter now.”
“That she has excellent taste.” Relief shot through him. She wasn’t laughing at him. He bit her chin and parted her legs wider with his hips. After all the times he’d thought about Belle, he’d never truly thought they’d ever happen. Now that she was under him, her legs open and ready for his cock, he’d savor every second. “I don’t think I want to talk about your mother right now.”
“Neither do I.” She pumped his cock with her palm, fingers tightening at the base. Warm lips explored the skin under his ear, her voice breathy with need. “No, I think it’s best if we change the subject to something more immediate.”
“Like how beautiful your breasts are?” He allowed his stare to linger on the fullness, nipples brown and pebbled. The allure of her nude body, soft beneath his, only added to his infatuation. “Or how Kissable Red makes you look, well, kissable?”
“That’s very nice of you to say?” She bit his ear lobe before she took it into her mouth. The sensual sound of her voice increased his ever-growing need. It wasn’t just a physical desire but something he couldn’t explain. Or more like something he shouldn’t even try to figure out. Stay in the moment and take it for what it is, a one-night stand.
Hips cradled in the juncture of her thighs, he slid one forearm under her shoulder to hold his weight. Her arms were toned, her collarbone shadowed in the dim glow of the ambient light.
“It’s not nice, it’s reality. You have nice tits.” He dipped his head and flicked one with his tongue. She inhaled, causing her chest to swell. Tonguing the yielding flesh, he felt like a kid on the 4th of July, greedy for more of her sweetness.
