She shuddered, her nipples pebbling against his chest. He needed to see those. Without losing a beat, he ripped her shirt over her head. Then he dropped his, nibbling and sucking at her full breasts, his hand at her hair, keeping her in place. She tried to pull free, her mouth wild on his neck, but he held her where he wanted her. Her legs wobbled against his, and the scent of her desire nearly dropped him to his knees.
Her helpless sigh, full of need, onlyspurred him on.
He reached for her yoga pants, and her hands were there first, shoving them down her legs faster than he could. He smiled against her breastand gently bit.
She stilled. All of her.
Yeah. He lifted his head, his gaze pinning hers. “When I want you to move,I’ll tell you.”
Her pupils contracted. He sensed her spirit and defiance and so much need he could feel it in his own bones. This was what he’d tried to shield her from. The creamy skin of her face had flushed a lovely pink, her mouth a deep red.
“Is that a fact?” Her voice was so low and hoarse, the sound shooting right down to his cock.
“Yes. See why this is a bad idea?” he asked, his voice rougher than glass crunchingacross asphalt.
Her jaw firmed. Ah shit. He knew that look. Her chin lowered, her eyes wide and direct. “I’m not afraid of you, Hunter. Never have been and never will be. So you just go right ahead and show me what you’ve got, tough guy.”
The challenge. She knew exactly what she was doing, damn her. So he stood, plucked her right off the ground, tossed her on the bed, and followed her down.
* * * *
His eyes were different. A darkness, an intensity lived there that she’d never seen. She couldn’t look away, and a heated electric spark shot straight through her. “You’re not afraid of me?” His voice held a deceptive softness that made her tremble, but not with anything close to fear. “You want me to show you what I’ve got?” The mild tone, said with such raw control, nearly sent her into an early orgasm.
“Yes,” she whispered, meaningit. All of it.
He moved over her, all rough muscle and graceful edge. He’d told her to back away,and she hadn’t.
Her entire life, she’d been conditioned to heed a warning. Any woman with half a brain would walk away from a guy whowarned her off.
But she couldn’t leave Hunter. Not even now, when he was struggling so desperately for control. He was afraid of losing it. She wasn’t. She could handle him in any state—even wounded and pissed, which he wasat the moment.
The atmosphere swelled, and he settled himself against her panties, his cock hard though his jeans. A sense of danger, of barely leashed violence, thumped from him. Oh, she knew he’d never physically hurt her. Not in a million years. This was a threat of a totally different kind—one that reached down inside her and made her ache with a force she’d never be able to explain. She was feeling every pulsing beat, and she couldn’t putit into words.
So be it.
He somehow moved and wrapped his fingers around both of her wrists, pinning them on either side of her hips. Then he ground against her, and the delicious friction nearly made her eyes roll back. “You don’t know what you’re playing with, Faye.”
No, she didn’t. But she wanted more. And she was fairly certain she wasn’t playing. Even as a kid of eighteen, the first time they’d made love, she’d known it was a risk beyond what most people understood. That she’d never want to be free of him. That she’d always want tobelong to him.
But then, he’d known he was leaving for the military soon. He’d always held something back. He’d returned darker and more wounded. She leaned up and kissed the tattoo above his right bicep. The one of the Celtic knot with four angles that matched hers.
“Faye.” The way he said her name… Then he kissed her, his body trapping hers, his hands easily pinning hers to the bed. “There’s too much going on right now for this to make sense.” His lips moved against hers, his gaze so close she could see gold flecks within the blue of his eyes. “I want you, but we’ll have to figure out us later.” The tension in him ratcheted up, and she could feel even the muscles in his hips tighten.
“I know,” she said, realizing with a bone-deep instinct that he already possessed much more of her than he’d ever understood. But he was wrong. They should figure them out as soon as possible. What they were about to do would just cement the knowledge in him. The craving for that, the hunger for him to hold her as closely inside himself as she had always kept him, uncoiled deep inside her. There was something she wanted to say, but she couldn’tfind the words.
He kissed her again, holding her hands, his chest hard as rock against her breasts. So much heat and power. She licked his bottom lip, squirming against him. “You’re wearing too many clothes,” she gasped.
He grinned, and the shadows in his eyes finally fled. Releasing her hands, he unbuttoned his jeans. She frantically helped shove them down, along with her panties.
Then they were skin to skin. She closed her eyes and breathed in, memories assailing her. God, she’d missed him. Missed. This. His fingers brushed across her clit, and she nearly came off the bed, gasping at the sparks that flew through her.
“Ah, you’re wet.” Satisfaction rumbled in his voice. “Ishould taste.”
“Not yet.” She dug her hands into his shoulders, feeling the muscles bunch beneath her palms. “Later. Now. Just you and me.” More than anything in the world, she needed him inside her again. It had been five years. Five lonely, sad, empty years.
His gaze softened. “You have to be ready.” The smile curving his lips was all rogue as he swept his fingers across her clitoris again. “I think I remember how to get you there.” He kissed her deep, his fingers working their magic.
She gasped and pressed against him, her mouth overtaken and her body alighting. He inserted one finger inside her and pressed his thumb against her clit. It was almost embarrassing how quickly she orgasmed. She tensed and came down with a soft moan. More. She definitely needed more of him.
