“A statue wouldn’t be able to take off his boots,” he murmured. “Help me?”
She nodded.
He sat on the edge of the bed and she promptly slid onto his lap. Hmm. She was feeling the whiskeys she’d had earlier after all. She might not be foxed but she was deliciously light-headed and sitting on Cade’s hard lap, feeling the length of his arousal and the warmth coming off his bare chest. Heat pooled between her legs and an ache began to spread there, too. She leaned down to tug at his boot, just like she had the night they’d met. The first boot came off without incident. The second one came off with a pop and she flew backward on top of him.
“Another boot trick to get me into bed with you?”
He quickly changed their positions and pushed her beneath him. He slid down her body and pulled off her boots, too.
“Yes,” he said. “Your shirt next.”
She nodded again. This heady feeling spreading through her veins was pure elation. She was no virgin. She’d had an awful time the first and only time she’d ever given herself to a man, well, a boy really. Robert. Since her first kiss had been entirely different from the one Cade had given her, she knew making love with him would be an experience she would never forget. First she had to make certain they both understood what this was… and what it wasn’t. She didn’t want a repeat of the last time she’d done this.
“Wait.”
His hand arrested at the top of her shirt. “What? Are you all right?”
“Yes, it’s just that… I must tell you something.”
“What’s that, love?” He kissed her neck. She couldn’t think when he kissed her neck, let alone speak. She forced herself to push him to arm’s length.
He stopped and searched her face. “What is it?”
“I need you to listen to me.”
He braced his arms behind him on the mattress. “I’m listening.”
She brushed a swath of her hair over her shoulder. “Before we do this, I need you to agree to two things.”
“Sweetheart, right now I’d agree with you if you told me to move to Russia.”
She laughed at that. “Nothing that drastic.”
“Good, because I don’t speak the language. Though Daphne does.”
“She does?”
“Love, I need you to focus.”
“Right. The first thing you must agree to is that we’ll… you’ll… take precautions. I do not want a child to result from this.”
He nodded. “I understand. I know what to do. I don’t have any bastards to my knowledge.”
That made her feel much better. “Thank you.”
“And the second thing?”
“We must both agree that… this doesn’t mean anything.”
“Doesn’t mean anything?” He frowned at her. “I’m afraid I’m not following.”
“I mean that we both need to understand that this is… just for fun. We’re not making any promises to each other. This is not a commitment.”
“If you insist,” he said with nonchalance, but his countenance betrayed a hint of disgruntlement. “Now may I get back to the business of removing your shirt?”
“Yes,” she said, relieved that he’d so readily agreed to both of her requests. Perhaps this might be pleasurable and simple after all. Perhaps they wouldn’t have to worry about working together (if indeed that was Grimaldi’s plan) after having had a naked romp in bed. Perhaps it really was possible to keep the two things separate. All she knew was she had to try.
Men left after sex. They were no longer interested. She didn’t want that inevitability to keep Cade from helping Grimaldi. By establishing this boundary, she was ensuring there would be no awkwardness later. It would simply be business after this. She settled back into the mattress and let out a sigh. Now she could enjoy herself.
