She gulped back a wave of lust that threatened to overtake her.
“Naked.No pajamas.But I stay pretty cozy in my little cocoon, especially with the down comforter Paige got me as a move-in present.She said I’d need it through late spring, and she’s not been wrong yet.Don’t even get me started on the cute little summer quilt I’m making, either.”Aurelie was rambling, but it was her only defense against the image of Jace’s body pressed against her in bed.Inherbed.Every night for the foreseeable future.
How had she not taken one single aspect of what it would mean to be married to this man into consideration before taking the plunge?Had she completely lost what was left of her good sense?There was no hope of a relationship with him, but there would be more than sex between them if they were going to pull this off.
“I see,” he said, his eyes dancing with mischief.“How about we take these sandwiches to go and go take a look at this spring comforter.One thing you should know about me is that I’m fascinated by all sorts of bedding materials.”
Aurelie could only nod, despite the fact that both of them knew they were headed back to Paige’s for the night to watch Maddie, that there wouldn’t be any investigation of Aurelie’s apartment until the next day.Surely, it couldn’t be this easy?That a man as handsome, rich, smart, and funny—and if she was being honest, as equally aggravating and overconfident—could help her and expect nothing really in return?
What the hell.I have nothing to lose.I can always change my mind tomorrow.
“If you grab the check, I’ll go make sure the kitchen knows we’re in a rush,” Aurelie told him, bravery rising up from her depths, inspiring her to take his hand and press it to her lips.When he groaned, almost feral, her skin flushed, and the space between her legs quivered with lust.
“Done,” he told her.In one movement, he grabbed Maddie’s car seat, swept them both out of the booth, and hustled to the counter to pay.It didn’t hurt that the dress slacks he wore—clearly from the city since they seemed crafted for his frame, specifically—hugged his butt like they were Wranglers, the uniform her brothers-in-law wore when they worked the farms.To top it off, as he carried Maddie’s seat through the restaurant, the thick bands of shoulder muscles strained against the fabric of his shirt, showing off every last one.Aurelie suddenly couldn’t wait to get home and feel those muscles against her skin, his able and agile hands on her hips.
Damn, he was going to be fun to get into bed.Now that they’d gone ahead with the wedding, the rest of her problems slid off her shoulders, no longer as pressing, at least until tomorrow when she’d have to begin filing the necessary paperwork to stop her deportation.
Tonight, she could simply enjoy this man and all he offered her.
The car ride back to Paige’s was the quietest Aurelie had ever been.No awkwardness hung in the air, but the way Jace’s hand rested high on her thigh, his thumb drawing circles close to her panty line on her hip, said his mind was in the same place as hers.The silence continued at the house as Jace tossed the sandwiches in the fridge and once again expertly maneuvered Maddie from her car seat to her bed without waking her.
Then, without missing a beat, he wordlessly made his way to Aurelie and sealed his mouth to hers.His chest pressed against hers, hard and unforgiving.Was any part of this Greek statue-come-to-life soft?
She opened her lips at the insistence of his tongue, which trailed along her bottom lip before his teeth lightly grazed it.She moaned into his mouth as his hips rocked into hers in response, his shaft running the length of her abdomen.Any question of whether an inch of this man was not hard as stone was put to bed.
Good Lord.He was going to fill all of her.
When Aurelie pulled back for air, Jace scooped her up in his arms and made his way down the hallway.She pointed out the bedroom, inhaling sharply as his hands found their way under her dress.A single finger slid along the front of her panties, and she gasped with pleasure as it dipped beneath the fabric, finding her wet and ready for him.Only a twinge of guilt surfaced for using her friend’s nice, new bedroom set for what was about to happen.
It evaporated into the cool air of the back bedroom, though, when the finger that had been inside her slipped out and migrated up her stomach, until it reached her diamond-hard nipples.He pinched them between his fingers, wet with her own desire, and she groaned with pleasure.His expert hands drew feelings out of her as if she’d never been held by a lover before.She nibbled on his neck, sucking on the bare flesh she found there, desperate to taste all of this intoxicating man.
A growl escaped his chest, low and primal.
Shutting the door behind them with his foot, Jace didn’t put her down immediately.Instead, he hooked both his thumbs on the sides of her thong and pulled down as he set her on the floor in front of him.She gasped with delight when his mouth pressed softly on top of the thin fabric of her dress, the only barrier that separated her from his exploring tongue.Even though the cotton was almost paper-thin, it felt like a parka, it was so confining.All she wanted was to be naked against Jace, available to sate his every wish.
When he got to the bottom of her dress, he separated her legs until they were shoulder-width apart.He gazed up at her, his eyes mirroring the wave of lust she felt for him.His hands cupped her butt, and before she could say anything, his head disappeared beneath the fabric of her dress, and then his mouth was on her sex.
She didn’t care what intentions the universe had by dropping this man in her lap.At that moment, Aurelie was as content as she had any right to be.Jace’s tongue slid beneath her soft folds, and then she didn’t think at all.His lips pressed to her opening, and her knees gave out when his tongue dove deeper within her, sucking and thrusting at the same time.
The only reason she didn’t collapse at his feet was because he still clung tight to her, his hands gripping her ass, massaging the dimples of her lower back with his thumbs.
Lord above, please let this never end.
Never in all her years of dallying with the tourists who flitted through the islands had she been so satisfied, so perfectly matched desire for desire with another human.Her hands fisted in Jace’s dirty-blond hair, pressing him as close to her as she could stand.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered, her voice soft but heavy.
Her volume quieted, her thoughts calmed, her skin lit ablaze—all of her was made better by this man whose tongue rolled up and down her sex, stopping only to tease her clit for seconds on end.It was magic, pure and simple.She felt certain that in that moment, he could do anything to her and she wouldn’t care, would beg for more no matter what.
Jace pulled away to look up at her, his mischievous grin aimed right at her heart, his lips glistening with a sheen of her moisture.“Not until you tell me to, Mrs.Michaels.”With that, he disappeared again, and she cried out in delight as his mouth found its way to her center once more.Suddenly and without warning, Aurelie felt herself being lifted from the ground, her legs spread around Jace’s face that never wavered in its attempt to claim her as his conquest as he moved.She squealed with surprise, which only drove Jace’s tongue deeper inside her.
Just as she was thinking that this couldn’t get better, that she would renounce her whole family back home if it meant she could come home to this each night, the mattress materialized beneath her, again as if by magic.Jace moved his mouth north, kissing the fold of skin where her thigh met her abdomen, and he didn’t stop there.Shoving her dress up, he kissed each inch of her skin until he reached her breast, which he took in his mouth, sucking tenderly on it.When his tongue flicked and teased her razor-sharp nipple, she almost came.
“Oh God,” she cried into his hair, breathing in a heady scent of apples and spices.Lord, she could eat him whole right then and there.At her exclamation, Jace pulled back again, lightly pressing his lips to hers.She tasted her own salt along with something sweet that could only be Jace.The combination was dizzying.
“You know, I’ve been called many names in my life, but that may just be the best one yet.”
Aurelie laughed, her voice wavering as her body trembled, desperate for Jace’s mouth to be on her again.Before she could resort to begging, his lips closed down hard on her nipple, then teeth followed.Instead of pain, she erupted with lust, damn near heaven-bound.She arched her back so that her stomach brushed against his chest, hard and chiseled as marble.It was almost too much to take—much like the rest of being with Jace was proving to be—but unlike before, her brain was unable to form an argument against him.
