Part 17 (1/2)
Lauren studied his expression, a little like Java's the one time he'd been confronted by a kitten wanting to play. Her dog had been unsure of how to deal with a tiny creature he could so easily damage with his affection. She suspected a similar scenario flickered through Nate's mind, as a glance below the belt of his jeans indicated one part of his anatomy was apparently interested in playing.
He wanted her. She wanted him. And they only had tonight.
She slithered across the bench seat and straddled his lap, letting her lower body wedge snug against his. ”Actually, I think it's a great idea.”
This close, she couldn't escape sensual overload. Rough denim jeans sc.r.a.ped her bare thighs. The rasp of their breathing sounded loud in the silence of the cavernous workshop.
His fingers clutched either side of her hips, and she still wasn't certain if he fought to push her off or keep her pinned in place. Although she'd taken control of the situation-had thought she would remain in control-her body betrayed her, strength ebbing from her bones.
Her name squeezed out between his lips in a strangled croak, and his eyes, no longer the color of cool seaweed, flared the iridescent green of a jungle after a tropical typhoon.
She leaned forward, and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s brushed his chest, the nipples hardening into hot pebbled points aching for his touch. Running the tip of her tongue along his neck where his pulse b.u.mped, she savored the taste of him as it invaded every part of her body, making him part of her cellular memory.
”I know it's just for tonight, but it's Christmas.” Her lips skimmed along his stubbled jaw to his earlobe. ”Don't make me beg.”
A groan hissed between his teeth as Nate pulled her close, tucking Lauren's head into his shoulder. ”I'll just hold you tonight, if you want.”
”You're sweet. But that's not what I want.” Not when she really was about to start begging. ”I want you.”
The fingers of one big hand skimmed up her spine and gently gripped her nape. ”I want you too, but I'll be gentle. I won't hurt you.”
Lauren pulled back and met his gaze. She didn't doubt his sincerity for an instant. ”I'm not breakable. I don't want you to be gentle, and I don't want you holding anything back.”
Nate traced a fingertip down the raised line of her scar. His lips following the trail taken by his fingers, he whispered against her mouth, ”You undo me.”
In the stillness, her next breath sucked in on a shuddery gasp. He skimmed his hands down her bare arms, settling on the span of her waist. Lauren pulled his s.h.i.+rt up from the waistband of his jeans, sliding bold fingers along the smooth skin of his stomach.
His mouth found hers, and she relished the moan on his lips. The taste of him was an undiscovered narcotic-euphoric, mind-blowing and deceptive in its addictiveness. His palm cupping the back of her head, Nate explored her mouth with single-minded determination that blotted out everything but this moment.
Lauren wanted to savor each precious second, to tattoo them on her heart so she'd never forget this one bewitching night. But they slipped through her hands as easily as her fingers combed through Nate's hair.
Her fingers popped open a s.h.i.+rt b.u.t.ton, and Nate's abdominal muscles tensed in response. She affected him as much as he affected her.
Heady knowledge.
He kissed her again.
”My zipper. At the back,” she gasped, as they finally came up for air.
He nibbled the pulse in her neck as his fingers fumbled up her spine. ”Can't I just rip your dress off and buy you another?”
”Patience.”
”I'm all out.” His teeth nipped her collarbone while he found the zip and eased it down.
The dress slipped off her shoulders, and she let him tug the silky fabric over her head, leaving her in a crimson bra and matching lace panties. He said her name again, and the rawness in those two syllables clogged her throat but released a rush of pure feminine confidence at his dazzled expression.
She unb.u.t.toned his s.h.i.+rt, running her nails down the exposed tanned skin beneath. Nate shrugged off the s.h.i.+rt and tossed it onto the back seat, his breath hitching as she unhooked the metal b.u.t.ton on his jeans. She couldn't resist the opportunity to skim her fingertips along the inside of his waistband, the pads of her fingers brus.h.i.+ng the head of his erection. The growl from deep in his chest and the jerk of his hips sent a torrent of arousal straight south.
His zipper eased open with a slow hiss, the black boxers not disguising what fought for freedom underneath. Pulling on either side of his jeans while he arched up, she slid the denim and black cotton halfway down his thighs.
”Now.” She wrapped one hand around the satin-sleek length of him. ”Do you think you can manage getting out of those clothes, or do you need me to help?”
He let out a half chuckle, half moan. ”You're a cruel woman with an uncanny memory.”
She tightened her grip and was rewarded with another husky groan. ”So I've been told. Let's see how cruel.”
His touch, his taste, his body slick against hers was a lesson in surrender. The soft moans spiraling up as her body leaped to another plane of pleasure, the motion and shadowed light, the murmured words of ecstasy, pure torture. Their remaining clothes vanished, then his lips were on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, teasing, tantalizing her with his tongue. His fingers, gentle but work-roughened, slid between her legs, igniting a blaze low in her belly.
Nate pulled back. ”Stay.”
He eased her off his lap and pointed a finger. ”And this time, I mean it.”
Nate made the trip to and from the workshop bathroom in record time. He slid back into the car, and his hands shook as he tried to tear open the foil packet.
”Let me.” She plucked the packet from him and opened it.
”Please,” she breathed moments later as she straddled him again. ”I need you.”
His body nudged against her, and she sank down-taking him deep, taking him fully and crying out at how perfectly he fit. Nate's hands clamped on her hips, keeping their lower bodies still. With his mouth so close to hers and the feel of him so consuming, she could do nothing but gasp until he took her lips again.
He flexed inside her, and she clenched around him, arching back and thrusting her hips forward. G.o.d, he felt amazing. His tongue danced a slow seduction in her mouth, his fingers sweeping up over her ribs to tease her hardened nipples until she thought she'd come just by his relentless caress.
Nate moved in her then, guiding her smooth flesh over his, the exquisite friction drawing out another moan. This-this was what she'd waited for, what she'd wanted from the first day she'd seen him bare-chested working on his land.
Liquid heat flowed through her veins as Nate's hand slipped between them, stroking her intimately, urging her body to fly. Moments spun out on an endless silken thread, weaving a coc.o.o.n around them as they drove each other faster, higher.
She clung to him, her nails digging in to the hard bulge of his shoulder as tension built stronger, hotter and more intensely, until her climax sent her soaring. Nate pulled her tight against his damp chest, his mouth slick against her neck as he ground out her name, his final pleasure quaking through him.
Chapter 8.
Lauren woke to shafts of dawn sunlight streaming through her bedroom windows and warm, male skin tangled with hers. She kept her eyes cracked open to narrow slits, tried to a.n.a.lyze the cause of this strange, unsettling sensation-other than being completely naked and sprawled over a man who was also completely naked.
She wriggled her toes, flexed her back a little, and adjusted her cheek a fraction on the pillow of Nate's chest. Then it came to her. She was rested. Totally at peace. For once not feeling like a badly reanimated zombie after another night of insomnia. All because of Nate.
She slid her gaze across the broad expanse of his chest. Fully awake now, she developed an awareness of where her leg rested, which in turned stirred a growing ember to life deep inside her. She'd led him up to her bedroom, and they'd spent hours exploring each other before collapsing in a state of aching satisfaction.
She couldn't stop a breathy sigh from escaping as the scent of him, musky and male, tempted her to s.h.i.+ft her thigh just a little higher, brush her fingers down from where they lay on his stomach, just a little lower...
”Hi.”
Nate's voice rumbled under her cheek and she jerked upward.
”You're awake.” Her thigh travelled up his body and rested on a perky-with-good-morning-enthusiasm part of his anatomy.
”Have been for a while. I'm enjoying the view.” He grinned, which had the effect of once again striking her dumb.