She brought hergaze upward, past his thick neck, beyond the dark scruff of his chin, to find his gaze intent. Instinctively, she phased.
“Disrobe her.”
Joy immediately solidified again to feel the heat of the sun on her body as her clothes vanished. She wasn’t unhappy with her body, but standing naked outdoors was a new experience, especially with the man of her dreams staring at her.
No, not staring…appreciating.
His gazed moved slowly over her, a slight smile on his lips. When he reached her feet, he took his time perusing her, especially at the juncture of her thighs and her breasts. Finally, his eyes locked with hers.
She felt frozen in place by his look. There was desire and something more that had her heart hoping.
“Release her hair.”
Her hair fell against her back, a sensation she wasn’t usedto. Unless she were washing and drying it, she always kept it in a low bun at the back of her head. Its soft weight against her skin made her feel vulnerable and delicate.
Malcolm lifted one hand toward her, and she put hers in it. Pulling her toward him, he held her in his embrace, her soft body molding against his hard one. “Joy.”
He said her name with such reverence as if she and its definitionwere one in the same. “You’re different from anyone I’ve met, living or spirit.” That he stopped using his brogue had her paying close attention. “I’m glad I chose you as my partner on this journey.”
There was more meaning behind his words, but she didn’t know him well enough to understand. What she did understand was that something had changed for him, something for the good.
She lifted herhand to his face. “I’m glad you chose me, too. I’ve already learned so much about myself and about you.”
He turned his face toward her palm, but instead of the erotic lick she expected, he kissed it. “Lay with me?”
He didn’t need to ask. It was obvious she was incredibly attracted to him. They’d already had amazing sex, but something in his tone told her this would be different. She smiled shyly.“Yes.”
His answering smile had no glimmer of seduction in it. It was purely happy, and her heart grew fuller.
Malcolm laid her down on his cape, facing the monolith that kept them out of the heat of the sun. He knelt on one knee beside her and picking up her hand, he kissed her fingers, each one getting its own brush of his lips. Then he moved to her palm, then her wrist and methodically madehis way up her arm.
She felt worshiped as if she were some pagan goddess, and he some druid priest sent to make a sacrifice to her. She pushed the thought away. She was no goddess and she sincerely hoped there’d be no sacrifices required from either of them.
When he’d made it to her shoulder, he leaned over and kissed her gently, not breaching her lips. The whole action made her feel beautifuland cared for at the same time.
He moved away to kneel at her feet. He lifted one foot and kissed her arch, her ankle, her knee. He really did mean to kiss every inch of her.
Malcolm inhaled as he kissed Joy’s sweet skin. Some time between starting their assignment together and now, he’d become addicted to peppermint. He hadn’t expected that. Then again, Joy had been a bundle of surprises.From her secret jewelry to her failed engagement to her worry for him, she’d been far more than he’d expected.
That she’d taken on his role as interrogator at Brody’s had been a defining moment for him. Unlike Blair, Joy wasn’t a pushover, doing what had to be done, so he wouldn’t be the only one urging Holly along. And unlike Coira, she was honest despite her habit of suppressing her reactionsto hide the depth of her feelings.
Joy was far more than puppies and marshmallows and if that were true, it meant he had the chance to be more than locusts and rain. It was that possibility that had him giving her the experience she deserved.
As he kissed her inner thigh, he had to thank whoever set up the shocks at his cottage because there he’d be tempted to use the many devices at his disposal.Here, among the stones, they could return to the elemental experience of a man taking his woman.
His woman?
Maybe not his, but as he kissed the hard nub at the apex of her thighs, definitely woman. He continued his kisses over her belly, enjoying the fluttering that played across it. He moved to her ribs and true to her word, she wasn’t ticklish there. When he reached her full breasts, he forcedhimself to featherlight kisses despite the hardness of her nipples.
He ran his kisses over her collar bone, along her jaw, on her cheek, eyebrows and nose, until he reached her forehead and her hairline. Her hair sprawled out above her, and with his weight on his elbows, he let his face fall into the rich silky waves. He breathed deeply.
His lungs filled with the scent of peppermint and a sweetessence that was pure Joy. Her hands came up to lightly rest on his back as she turned her head and kissed his neck. He pulled back to gaze into her turquoise eyes. “You are bliss itself.”
“And you are a dream come true.”
At her response, he remembered the photo of himself tucked away in her drawer. He had to know. “Have you dreamed about me?”
He expected her to look away, but she didn’t. “Ihave.”
