Zero to naked in under ten seconds.
Nothing but that humid air and six months of anticipation standing between them.
McGuire grinned, looked as if he’d just worked through a complicated problem and finally solved it. He eased back a hair, his gaze raking over her, drinking her in while he drew a finger along her collar bone, then down her ribs. “God, Riven. You, here like this…” He grunted as if it hurt. “I still can’t breathe.”
She fisted his t-shirt, dragged it over his head and tossed it on the floor before working his jeans — adding them to the clothesheaped on the old planks. “That’s okay. I’ll breathe for you, and you can slay a few of my demons in return.”
He stood there, panting out each breath before sliding his hands across her hips, holding her close. “I’ll do more than slay them. I’ll exorcise them. Be your shield so they’ll never return. All you need to do… is fall.”
CHAPTER TEN
McGuire stood there, his heart somewhere between a dead stop and completely out of control. He still couldn’t believe Riven had called him out — dared him to deny the connection he’d felt since that Hail Mary save. The spark that had flashed the day she’d walked into the bar.
How could he when he’d felt as if he’d been slowly going insane all these months? Wanting to jump in but feeling unworthy. Or maybe he’d been unable to commit because, as crazy as it seemed, his heart already belonged to Cinder. Learning Riven was both…
It had messed with his head. Made him reconsider their situation. A little less as punishment. A whole lot more as what might be the best decision of his life.
Riven stared up at him, blue eyes wide, lips rosy and kiss-swollen. She blinked, smiled, the simple action nearly dropping him. “Pretty sure I’ve been falling since Colombia.”
“Good, then you’ve almost caught up to me.” He leaned in. “You might want to hold on, the ride’s about to get bumpy.”
He moved, slipped one arm around her waist, took them both back on the bed. It groaned, the springs creaking in protestas he shifted her to the middle, hair fanned out around her, her pale skin gleaming in the moonlight.
She cocked her head to the side, shook her head. “While I love where this is heading, shouldn’t you lose the boxers?”
He chuckled. “I’ll get there. But first…”
He traced his fingers down her hip, along her legs to her foot. Started rubbing his thumbs in circles along her arch. She inhaled, moaned, head pushing into the mattress, chest rising a bit faster as he worked his way up her thigh before switching to the other foot — smiling at the way she twitched beneath him.
McGuire went to his knees once he’d loosened all the tension in her muscles, had her exactly where he’d been picturing since he’d finally gotten his head out of his ass.
Riven snagged her bottom lip, pushing onto her elbows as he stared at her. “McGuire. I’m barely hanging on, and you’ve hardly touched me. If you put your mouth on me…”
He chuckled, drawing a finger along her thighs, dipping between them. “You’ll what? Explode?”
Her breath caught, a deep pink hue flushing her skin before she fell back on the mattress. “Christ…”
He took that as his signal to delve deeper — take her to the edge before letting her ease back down, recover enough he could do it all over again. One of her hands landed in his hair, fisting the strands as he worked her higher, stopping just shy of sending her over — moving to the soft spot behind her knee. The sensuous curve of her hip.
Harsh pants filled the room, interrupted by the occasional murmur. What he suspected was really a string of curse words directed at his methods. He smiled against her skin, took her up one more time before she huffed, pushed to her elbows.
Her fingers tightened in his hair, practically yanking his head toward her. “Either take me over, or I’m switching our positions — taking care of myself.”
He circled his finger across her flesh, loving the way her eyes rolled a bit, some of that fight waning. “I thought it was all about the foreplay?”
She cried out when he leaned down, lightly nipped her. “It’s been over two years, and I’ve been waiting on you for months. Kissing was enough foreplay.”
“I’m just trying to do this right. Give you a reason to come back for more, later.”
Her eyes softened. “I’ve wanted more from the moment I met you.” Her lips twitched. “Unless you leave me like this. Then, I might just shoot you in the ass. Let Patch dig out the slug.”
He chuckled. Damn, he was crazy about her.
McGuire sighed, prowled up the bed until she slipped one hand around his neck. “I can’t help it if I don’t want this to end. If I need more time.”
She drew him down, brushed her mouth over his. “I meant what I said. All I need is you, loving me, for as long as it lasts. And I’d like it to last for more than just this night. This mission. Not sure I can be any clearer.”
She kissed him. Hard. Her body rising against his hand as he smoothed it along her ribs, settled between her thighs, again. Only, this time, he didn’t stop.
