She looked so befuddled he had to smile. “By giving you your first kiss.”
Her eyes widened. “You are?”
He nodded.
“What do I do?” Her voice wobbled a little.
Christ,nowshe was uncertain? He laughed and shook his head, thinking if he didn’t shut her up this could go on all day. “Close your eyes.”
She did as he bid, but then immediately peeked one eye open at him. “Are you sure? Since this is my first time, I don’t want to miss anything.”
He chuckled huskily; just the anticipation of kissing her was making him throb. “Do you want me to kiss you or not, Cate?”
The eye immediately snapped shut.
He stilled, arrested by just looking at her.Breathe, he thought to himself, but his lungs couldn’t seem to take in air at the sight of her face turned to his with such trust and innocent surrender.
His heart pounded and hiscotunsuddenly felt like it had been made for Pip. Just a kiss. Something he’d done hundreds of times. But he wanted to make this good—really good. She deserved something special, and he would muster every bit of his skill to give it to her.
Slowly, wanting to savor every moment of this, he lowered his mouth to hers. He heard her sharp intake of breath as his lips brushed hers and felt something jam in his chest. His lungs? His heart? He didn’t know, but everything seemed to start aching.
She tasted so damned sweet, he wanted more. Nay, heachedfor more.
He brushed his mouth over her velvety lips again. So soft. So incredibly soft. He had to let his mouth linger, press a little harder, but that was it, he assured himself. He held his mouth there, giving her the kiss, but not giving in to the urge pounding through his body. The urge to pull her up against him, open her lips under his, and taste every inch of that silky, sweet mouth with his tongue.
Pull back. You have to pull back.
But God, it felt so good, and he’d been wanting to do this for so damned long. Just a moment longer and he swore—
She moaned, and whatever promise he’d been about to make to himself was lost in the surge of lust that shot through him as her mouth opened under his.
He dropped the hand from the gentle hold on her chin and plunged it into the knot at the back of her head, to bring her mouth more firmly against him, while his other hand slid around her waist to bring her body against his.
Oh God, yes. He groaned as sensation crashed down over him in a hot wave and dragged him under. There was no holding back.
One kiss? He was a damned fool.
Cate’s breath stilled as she waited for his lips to finally touch hers. The first brush was so light and feathery soft, she actually wondered whether she’d imagined it. But then he brushed against her again and the heat of the contact singed her all the way down to her toes.
She felt her heart try to jump out of her chest, but she caught it and dragged it back down. Yet she could not control the fluttering. The budding excitement. The overwhelming euphoria of knowing that she was being kissed by the man she loved.
Finally.
Cate had dreamed of this moment so many times, she thought she knew what to expect. But the feel of his mouth on hers was unlike anything she’d ever imagined. It was warm and possessive, tender and sweet, and so exquisitely perfect a thousand dreams could not have captured it.
She’d never dreamed how good it would feel. How soft his lips would be. How she would be able to taste the faint tinge of mint from the paste that he’d used to clean his teeth. How the heat of his body would envelop her. How her skin would tingle. And most of all, how the gentle brush of his lips could stir such a powerful craving inside her for more.
A craving that only grew more intense when his lips pressed against hers and held. Softly at first, and then with increasing pressure that made her heart start to thud against her ribs with instinctive anticipation.
The sensations intensified and stirred faster. Hotter. Wonder and euphoria turned to burning desire and scorching need. She didn’t know what she wanted but sensed it hovering just beyond her reach.
She moaned in silent entreaty, and that was all it took to find out. It was as if a dam broke, and all the passion he’d been holding back came crashing out in a tidal wave.
She was suddenly in his arms, her body pressed against his. His fingers were digging through her hair to grip the back of her head and bring her mouth more fully—more possessively—against his.
Her gasp of surprise was followed by an even bigger one, when he took advantage of her open mouth to fill it with his tongue. Long, slow, incredible pulls of his tongue that demanded a response.
Tentatively she gave it to him, and the low groan that emanated from somewhere low inside him was all the answer she needed to know that it was the right one.
