Part 13 (2/2)
”Okay,” Emerson said, stealing one last taste of his firm, full mouth. ”You win. Kissing is underrated.”
A low, s.e.xy laugh rumbled up from his chest. ”I've only just started kissing you. But now it's not your mouth I want.”
Uncut desire ribboned through her as Hunter's hands found the b.u.t.tons on her s.h.i.+rt, freeing the halves of sheer cotton with a few economical twists of his wrist. Her bra was just as thin as the blouse he was currently sliding off her shoulders and the skirt that quickly followed, and for a stark second, the desire to cover up the body that could betray her at any second took hold.
But Hunter's eyes followed his fingers over her skin, his expression so colored with desire, that moving-h.e.l.l, even breathing properly-wasn't an option.
A low oath slipped past his lips. ”Jesus, Em. You are . . .”
He trailed off to scrub a hand over his mouth, and in that moment, she realized how much he wanted her, too. The tautness of his muscles, the ridge of his c.o.c.k pressing hard against his jeans, the flash of hunger turning his stare a dark, stormy blue. All of it combined to make Emerson feel beautiful and bold.
She lifted her chin, squaring her shoulders to let him look at her. Although the blinds on his bedroom windows were closed, the ample sunlight behind them easily illuminated the room. Her heart thrummed faster as Hunter took her in with a slow stare, sliding his fingers over the thin satin straps at her shoulders. Without a word, his hands met at the swell between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, unfastening the front closure of her bra and guiding her back over the bed.
He tugged his T-s.h.i.+rt over his head, fitting himself next to her across the center of the mattress. In a clear reaffirmation of his promise not to rush, he slanted a slow kiss over her mouth, lingering just long enough to build a whimper in her throat before sending the kiss down the line of her jaw. His path traveled lower, stubble rasping against the sensitive column of her neck, then the flat plane where her shoulder gave way to her chest, and another shot of need bloomed low and hot in her core.
”Hunter.” Emerson barely recognized that the gravel-and-velvet murmur belonged to her voice, and she arched up at the same moment he dropped to part his lips over one aching nipple.
”Ah.” The wordless sound burst out of her on a cry. Her back bowed to follow it, curving the edges of Hunter's mouth into a smile, but he didn't slow his movements. Tightening his lips, he circled his tongue around the hard peak trapped there, and the wet friction was enough to make her pulse hammer even faster. He sucked and swirled and licked, angling over her for better access and bracing one palm wide over the comforter in the spot just beside her head. Slick heat built, steady and demanding between her legs, and Emerson realized the truth all at once.
Her body wouldn't betray her. Being with Hunter just this once was hers for the taking.
And fast, slow, and everything in between, she wanted all of it.
Emerson's hand reached out of its own free will to discover his hip, wrapping around the denim in a tight grasp. His breathing changed just a fraction, letting her know he felt her hand on him, and the effect dared her to be even more brazen. Releasing her grip, she let her hand travel lower, relis.h.i.+ng both his moan and his faster ministrations on her breast as she closed her fingers over the hard line of his c.o.c.k.
”Emerson.” The word was all warning, and grated against her sensitive skin.
But she continued to stroke. ”Turnabout is fair play. Plus”-she paused, making a round-trip circuit from root to tip and back again over his jeans-”I'll go slow if you want. But, trust me, Hunter, you're not the only one who's only just started.”
He pulled her nipple all the way past his lips, kissing her hotly before sliding his attention to her other breast, and Emerson followed his lead. She freed the b.u.t.ton and zipper on Hunter's jeans, moving from a light touch to firm intention. His c.o.c.k jumped against her palm as she slipped her hand between the denim and his boxer briefs to stroke him faster, and he parted from her nipple to capture her hand with a groan and a curse.
”Not yet.”
”But-”
The look on his face, so full of die-hard certainty, stole the breath right from her lungs. ”There's one more place I haven't tasted yet. Now come here and let me remind you how underrated kissing really is.”
Hunter moved before Emerson could blink or breathe. He found his feet, turning to face the spot where she lay across the short side of the bed. Taking barely a second to shuck his boots and jeans, he leaned back over her body, curling his palms around her hips to slide her legs over the side of the bed.
”I used to think about you like this.” He parted her knees and knelt on the floor between them, his breath nearly as hot as his gaze as both raked over her thighs.
”I thought about you, too,” Emerson admitted. After she'd left, she'd spent so many nights lost in memories. She'd touch herself until she cried out, imagining that the hand between her legs belonged to him instead.
Hunter dragged a finger up one inner thigh, drawing a s.h.i.+ver over her skin. ”And now here you are. Hot. Wet. Exactly like I remembered.”
A reminder of how deceptively different her body really was now kicked at the back of her mind, but she shut it out in favor of his touch, so close to the place where she ached for it most.
”So pretty,” he said, moving his hand to the seam of her body, stroking softly. Emerson bucked against the slide of his fingers, crying out when he circled her c.l.i.t over the damp cotton of her panties. Hooking his thumbs around the material at her hips, Hunter tugged downward, exposing the last bit of her covered skin. ”So perfect.”
The want building deep inside of Emerson's core became the background for the slam of her heart. She levered up to her forearms, and the sight in front of her sent the breath from her body in a gasp. She'd been too preoccupied before to notice the full-length mirror on the wall by the bathroom door. But now, faced with the unexpected reflection of Hunter's muscular shoulders angled between her thighs, she couldn't do anything but stare.
His sun-burnished skin was a direct, s.e.xy contrast to her cream-colored legs, and she widened them out of pure instinct. He pressed his shoulders beneath her thighs, increasing their contact, and Emerson lost herself in the sight of the two of them wrapped together so intimately. Heat and need pumped through her even harder as Hunter lowered his mouth to her s.e.x with a long, slow sweep of his tongue.
In the mirror, she watched herself tremble and moan. ”Oh . . . G.o.d. Please don't stop.”
And in the mirror, Hunter didn't. Curling his arms around her thighs from beneath her, he flattened both palms over her hips, pressing her wide as he pleasured her with his mouth. Emerson watched their reflection, completely entranced. Every flick of his tongue sent sparks through her belly, and she chased each sensation with a pump of her hips. The body in the mirror was strong and sensual, skin flushed pink with arousal, and yes-yes-that body was hers, meeting every sinful glide of Hunter's mouth and wanting even more.
”d.a.m.n, I've missed how you taste,” he whispered, slipping higher to swirl his tongue over her c.l.i.t. Release built between her legs, tempting her to thrust even faster against his lips and tongue. Splaying the fingers of her left hand over the comforter, she pushed herself nearly to sitting, knotting her right hand through Hunter's hair to hold him close between her legs.
The image in the mirror was wicked and beautiful, and the sight of their intimate connection snapped the last thread of Emerson's control. Her o.r.g.a.s.m surged up from deep inside, replacing all of her senses with wave after wave of pure pleasure. Hunter worked her through each one, softening the movements of his mouth until, finally, her mind and body returned to one another.
”Come here.” She pulled him close, letting her shoulders fall back over the mattress.
Pressing a kiss to her neck, then another to the s.p.a.ce just below her ear, he chuffed out a small laugh. ”You're even more beautiful than I remember, you know that?”
”So are you,” Emerson said, reaching between their bodies to run her hand up the corded muscle of Hunter's thigh. ”Will you let me show you now?”
His heavy, want-filled exhale was answer enough. She trailed her fingers over his hip, above the waistband of his boxer briefs, making her way to the flat plane of his abdomen. Hunter's muscles were lean, work hardened and strong in a way they hadn't been twelve years ago, and now that he was on top of her, dividing the cradle of her hips with his frame, Emerson could make them all out in mouthwatering detail.
Her hand moved over his warm skin, the thin line of hair arrowing from his navel to the waistband of his boxer briefs crisp beneath her touch. She sent her fingers lower still, slipping past the cotton and closing them around his c.o.c.k.
”Em.” The word broke from Hunter's throat on a low sound. His eyes squeezed shut, and he began to thrust against the circle of her fist, slowly at first. Need rebuilt in Emerson's body, quickly pulsing through her veins, and she canted up to meet his thrusts with her hips as well as her hand.
They moved together in rhythm until both of them were left breathing in short, needful bursts. A thought made its way past the l.u.s.t-fueled haze in her mind, and as much as she wanted nothing more than to take Hunter's boxer briefs all the way off and have him inside her right this second, that thought was too important to ignore.
”I need . . .” So many things, so many things. ”My bag.”
His eyes opened, but Emerson didn't wait long enough for him to stop his motions.
”I have condoms in my bag,” she said, and the confusion on Hunter's face slid into a mischievous smile.
”Why, Miss Montgomery.” His drawl was pure honey, and G.o.d, she wanted to come from the sound of it alone. ”Did you come over here today to seduce me?”
”I sure did, Mr. Cross.” She put on the sultriest expression she could muster, although current circ.u.mstances didn't make it tough. ”Now are you going to go get those condoms so I can finish the job, or am I going to have to take charge here?”
Hunter's gaze glinted, but he slipped from her body just far enough to reach his bedside table drawer. ”You can take charge next time. In fact, I have a feeling I'll like that very much. But I'm prepared, too, and today, you're mine.”
He took a condom out of the drawer, pausing for just the briefest of moments to take off his boxer briefs and tear past the foil. Returning to the bed, he guided her lengthwise along the comforter, centering himself between her legs.
Emerson opened for him without a second thought. Hunter slid his c.o.c.k along her folds, and she lifted her hips in search of more. Slowly, he pushed inside, stretching her with delicious pressure, inch by inch, until they were completely joined.
”Holy . . . G.o.d, you feel so good.” His murmur spilled over her shoulder as he leaned in to cover her body, drawing his hips back and returning them just hard enough to make her c.l.i.t throb. Hunter felt familiar and brand-new all at once, the warm cedar smell of his skin, the delicious friction of his stubble where her ear met her neck. Emerson's lips parted over his shoulder, her teeth grazing the hard line of muscle there, and he thrust deeper without increasing his pace.
”Yes. Oh yes.” The handful of sounds was all she could manage past the pleasure coming at her from all sides. Her heart pounded, nipples tightening to beaded points from the slide of Hunter's chest on hers. He held her close, whispering all sorts of things in her ear that made her move faster, begging him deeper inside. Balancing his weight between his forearms and knees, he pumped his hips to fill her over and over, and she let out a high-pitched cry as a powerful climax blindsided her.
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