His laugh vibrated against her lips, and his stomach automatically tensed beneath her fingers.
God, she was lost! His body was abnormal. “A guy who sits behind a desk so much shouldn’t have so many muscles.”
“I exercise when I’m angry or upset about something.”
Yes, that explained everything. “Then you should actually be even more muscular,” she whispered, gasping as he pushed the straps of her dress and bra down her shoulders simultaneously, kissing and biting the exposed areas. The heat between her legs grew unbearable. She wanted him so damn badly, but they were still in the hallway. They should probably…
“Do you want to come in?” she asked breathlessly.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Before she could pivot to the door, Connor had turned the key in the lock, pushed her into the apartment, and pinned heragainst the countertop of her open kitchen. He used his thigh to force her legs apart before sliding his hands under her dress, his thumb lightly sliding over the damp fabric between her legs.
“Fuck,” he whispered, her hips jerking forward for more friction. She felt his hard erection against her stomach, slowly losing patience as he kissed her cheek. With his other hand, he grabbed her hip to stop her from accelerating the process, slipped his fingers under her panties…and paused.
“What?” she gasped, frustrated, looking up. His gaze was no longer on her face, but over her shoulder.
“Shit. You weren’t kidding when you said cacti were your most interesting hobby, were you?”
Irritated, she turned…and her cheeks caught fire. Her old apartment in Chicago had been bigger, so it hadn’t been as noticeable, but here, there was at least one cactus on every available surface: on the microwave, next to the coffee maker, filling the living room table, and the shelf in front of the TV. They were everywhere.
“Um, no. I was serious,” she admitted, stifling a laugh. On the outside, she must have looked like a crazy person! But with Connor, it didn’t bother her at all.
“It’s a lot,” he murmured, sounding almost impressed, his thumb still digging into her hip.
She frowned. “Is twenty-two a lot?”
“You’re right. It’s a battalion! A horde.”
She laughed, unbuttoned his shirt, and kissed the exposed skin beneath. “Okay, yeah. It’s a lot.”
“Why?”
“I like cacti.”
“Why?”
“They’re easy to care for.” She undid a few more buttons. “They can protect themselves. They have infinite energy reserves and can manage well on their own.” She brushed his shirt overhis shoulders until he let go of her briefly and it fell to the floor. “They’re versatile. You can eat them or use them as fuel.” She licked his nipple as she unbuckled his pants, enjoying the way he stiffened under her touch. “You can use them as a fence. Some have medicinal properties. And their flowers…” She smiled, unzipped his pants, and slid her hand inside. She wrapped her hand around his long, hard shaft, stroking it up and down until a ragged groan escaped Connor’s lips. “Some only bloom for a few hours, and the Queen of the Night only blooms for one night. Yet it’s so beautiful that people wait and wait just to see the spectacle once in their lives.”
She kissed his slightly parted lips, enjoying the way his cock twitched in her hand as she increased her speed, and slowly sank to her knees.
“You see? Cacti are wonderful. They give and give and ask for almost nothing in return. Just a few drops of water every few years. Very different from…humans. Humans demand too much, which they don’t even realize, and then they are too weak to protect themselves when someone tells them to.” She kissed his shaft, looked up at Connor, whose breathing was becoming increasingly shallow as he buried his hands in her hair, holding her in place. “But I like to give,” she whispered, taking him in her mouth.
The tip of his cock tasted salty and sweet at the same time. But that wasn’t enough. She took in more of him, rocking her head back and forth, until Connor’s hips jerked forward, thrusting into her, holding her head so he could go deeper. He slid across the roof of her mouth as she swallowed. And she loved it. The ragged sounds from his throat. The power she had over him with just a flick of her tongue. So she sucked him, licked him, until Connor’s cock twitched in her mouth and he jerked it from her lips. “Bedroom,” he gasped. “Now.”
“Left.”
“Good. I want you in a fucking bed.” He stepped out of his pants, pulled Rachel up off the floor, and lifted her into his arms. Little flashes shot through her middle as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pushing his erection against the thin, damp fabric of her panties. “But please tell me you’re not hiding cacti under the covers. The spines could be a problem.”
“They’re thorns, not spines,” she whispered breathlessly, gasping as he kissed her neck, his rough stubble scraping her sensitive skin. “Thorns are like leaves; they’re part of the plant. Spines are usually just on top. But a cactus’s thorns are a part of it, and that’s okay. Nobody blames it for that. Because you know, the cactus isn't thorny to hurt anyone, just to defend itself.”
Connor paused. They stood in front of her bed, and she felt how hard he was, saw in his eyes how much he wanted to be inside her, but he stood there unmoving. He looked at her as if they had all the time in the world.
“It’s okay that you’re thorny sometimes, Rachel,” he whispered, his voice so soft, so full of emotion that her chest seemed to fill with it. “And that you find it hard to open up. You don’t always have to be nice or perfect. Iadoretough Rachel, who doesn’t take any nonsense. I don’t want perfect. I want you.”
She melted in his arms. Everything inside her became soft and warm, and when Connor lowered her onto the bed, pulled her dress over her head, and kissed her again, it felt different. No less hungry, but…more pleasurable. As if their bodies and hearts had had more time to prepare. As if they knew what they were getting into this time.
And when Connor spread her out on the bed like a particularly indulgent dessert, as he caressed her breasts, licked her stomach, and pulled down her panties before pushing her thighs apart with his broad shoulders and kissing her between them, Rachel lost herself in the feeling.
