The first touch of his lips on hers felt like home.
Chapter 23
The Desk
Owen tasted whiskey on Ava’s lips. It was only fitting for how intoxicated kissing her made him feel. He coaxed her mouth open and plunged his tongue inside, consumed by her. Their tongues clashed in a battle of wills, much like Owen against his self-control since she’d flown into Cedar Falls and turned his life upside down the past month.
He forced himself to pull away, catching Ava’s eyes. His thumb stroked her jawline, holding her right where he wanted her. Ava’s chest rose and fell with panting breaths, as if she couldn’t get enough air. He ground his erection against her, eager to taste other parts of her.
Instead, he pinched her shirt between his fingers.
“You were wearing this shirt on your first day in town. The first time I’d seen you in ten years. It made me jealous, thinking you were wearing another man’s shirt in my café,” he confessed.
“And how do you feel about it now?” Her hazel eyes widened at him, baiting him.
“Like I want it off you.”
She grinned and nodded in consent, releasing her hold on his neck.
Owen fisted the material and tugged up, confused when he met resistance. “What the hell?” he muttered, tugging once more.
Ava tossed her head back in a laugh, her blonde curls bouncing with the movement. He loved her hair down like this, giving him something to grip.
“It’s tucked into my bra,” she said, placing her hands on his and guiding them to feel the underwire of her bra.
He wasted no time yanking the tucked material out and ripping the shirt over her head. She lifted her arms to assist him, shaking her curls out after the shirt roughed up her hair. Her hair would look even more roughed up by the time he was done with her.
Ava leaned back on her hands, looking at him through lowered lashes. Owen traced the flush at the bottom of her throat down her chest and in-between her breasts with his finger, feeling the heaving of her chest under his hand. And then he retraced the path with his lips. The vibration of her moan against his lips making his cock twitch.
“I always loved you in red. It’s like you knew I’d be undressing you tonight,” Owen said.
“Stop talking about it and undress me, then,” Ava taunted. She sat up straight and unclasped her bra, throwing it behind her without care.
“I’ll do that and more.” Owen gave her a wicked smile, then sucked one of her nipples into his mouth, teasing the bud mercilessly. His hand pinched the other, rolling it between his fingers. Her responding moan was all the encouragement he needed to switch his attentions, teasing her until her legs tightened around his waist, and she fisted his bun, pulling him closer.
He released her nipple with a pop. “Lean back for me, Birdie.”
She lay flat, her hair fanning around her in a halo of curls. He grabbed her hips and pulled her to the edge of the desk, sending papers scattering on the floor. “Lift,” he instructed.
She wrapped her ankles tight around his back and lifted her hips for him to slide the red shorts down her thighs, revealing the matching red thong underneath. He pulled at the thong and let it snap against her hip.
“Sure you weren't planning on being fucked by me tonight? Walking around in these shorts, giving every man a glimpse of this perfect ass they can't have.”
“If I were to be fucked by anyone tonight, it would've been you.”
“Damn right.”
Ava unhooked her legs from his waist, and Owen stepped back to sit in the rolling chair. He kissed down her calf until he reached her ankle, then pulled off her sneaker before repeating on her opposite leg. Ava kicked off the shorts, sending them flying past Owen. He chuckled at her eagerness. His laughter died off at seeing Ava spread out and naked in front of him, a sight he'd fantasized about far more than he'd care to admit in recent years. Propped on her elbows with her hair falling around her shoulders, breasts jiggling from heavy breaths, and all soft curves on display, she looked like a goddess. His own personal goddess.
“Look at you,” he said in awe. “Beautiful.”
He moved closer, using his teeth to yank down her thong. The raking of his teeth on her outer thigh elicited goosebumps. When lowered enough, Ava kicked them off, sending them flying like her shorts. With everything out of the way, Ava wrapped her legs around to rest on his shoulders.
Owen kissed up her inner thigh, eliciting staggered breaths from Ava. Right as he neared her aching center, he switched to the otherinner thigh, kissing and sucking on the soft skin there. The primal urge to leave a mark on her skin overwhelmed him and he gave in, leaving behind a purple and red bruise on her inner thigh.
“Owen,” she squealed. “Did you leave a hickey down there?”
He ignored her and moved where she wanted him, licking the path up her center and ending on her clit. He circled and sucked it into his mouth, and Ava's tightening thighs around his head was all the encouragement he needed to keep going. Owen lapped and suckled her with the savagery of a starved man, and her responding moans and sighs were like music to his ears. He used his teeth to lightly scrape the bud.
