Her eyelashes fluttered against her flushed cheekbones, but she was no coward, his Rose, and she raised her face to his, her green eyes as dark as emeralds under heavy, slumberous lids.
“Yes, that’s good.” He cupped her cheek in his palm to keep her from looking away, then slowly, gently dragged his thumb over one of her nipples. Once, then again, his breath turning ragged as it peaked under his caress.
“Ah.” Her flush deepened, her lips parting.
“You’re sensitive here.” He slid the pad of his thumb over the hungry nub again, his belly tightening with want when she gasped, her hands grasping his shoulders. “Does it feel good when I touch you here, Rose?”
She nodded, her teeth catching her lower lip, still red and swollen from his kisses. He made quick work of the rest of her buttons, tearing them loose with clumsy fingers until her dress hung loosely around her neck, and he could slide it from one of her shoulders, his breath stuttering in his lungs as he revealed an expanse of silky, creamy flesh.
His gaze dropped to the tender points of her nipples, the palest blush pink visible through the thin cotton of her shift. He imagined trailing his lips over that vulnerable skin, kissing and licking it. Biting it. He swayed forward, gazing at her pouting nipples, mesmerized by them.
What would she taste like?
“Oh, I . . .Max.” She trembled in his arms as he ducked his head and closed his lips around her nipple, and God, she was perfect, delicious. He nipped and suckled and teased until the sensitive peak darkened to a deep, cherry red, standing out in sharp relief against the damp cotton of her shift.
“You’re so lovely,” he whispered, drawing back to blow softly on the hard peaks. She cried out, her fingers sliding into his hair and gripping hard, holding him against her as he devoured her, running his thumb in lazy circles around one delicious peak while he suckled the other. “Do you think about me, Rose?”
She nodded, but that wasn’t enough for him. “Say it.”
“I—I think about you, Max.”
He caught her chin in his hand, raising her face to his, his thumb still working her swollen flesh. “What do you do when you think about me?”
She could only stare at him, her cheeks coloring.
His hand shook as he slid it over her hip, caught a handful of her skirts in his fist, and raised them, the fabric sliding up her shins and over her knees, then higher, until inch by inch, he revealed the prettiest pair of thighs he’d ever seen. “Do you touch yourself, Rose?”
She sucked in a breath, a flush racing down her neck and flooding her chest. “I . . .”
“Like this?” He dragged his palm over her belly, the tips of his fingers grazing the soft thatch of hair between her legs. “I want to make you feel good. May I touch you, Rose?”
Her tongue darted out to lick the corner of her mouth, her eyes burning. “Yes.”
Slowly, carefully, he slid his hand closer to the damp curls between her legs, groaning when he found her wet for him. Her eyelids fluttered closed again, but her hips shifted, straining toward his touch. “Please.”
“Open your eyes. I want to see your eyes.” She obeyed at once, the green eyes that had so mesmerized him fluttering, and her legs sliding open, welcoming him inside.
He made a low, crooning noise in his throat. “Yes, like that. So good, Rose.”
Her hips jerked forward when he touched a fingertip to her core, her entire body shuddering as he drew lazy circles around her slick center.
“Oh,please, Max.”
“God, yes. You’re so wet for me, Rose.” He grazed his thumb over that tight, slick knot of flesh that was straining for his touch.
“Ah.” Her neck arched and her hips jerked as he stroked her again, and then again, his chest rising and falling with each of her quickened breaths, his cock surging against his falls. He was ready to explode just from the sight of her, the way she writhed against him, her mouth slack with pleasure, whimpers and broken pleas falling from her lips.
He eased closer, one hand on her thigh to keep her open to him, stroking and teasing her with the other until she was panting for him, then he sank one long finger inside her and thrust gently. “That’s it, love. Find your pleasure. I want you to fall apart for me.”
Her hips were moving faster with his every stroke, rising to meet his caresses, then all at once she tensed. “Max.” Her body went rigid against his, and an instant later she fell over the edge with a breathless cry, her back bowing. He stayed with her until the spasms subsided and she went limp, her head falling onto his shoulder.
He was painfully hard still, his cock twitching insistently, but he made no move to satisfy it. He simply held her as her small body trembled against his.
“Don’t let go, Max.” She nuzzled her face into his neck, her breathing gradually calming. “Not yet, please.”
Something stirred to life inside his chest then, the ache of it both painful and sweet at once. “Never.”
Neither of them spoke again, but he cradled her against his chest, his fingers tracing up and down the delicate line of her spine, a half smile on his lips.
