Her senses sharpened, the taste of him on her tongue, the scrape of his unshaven face under her fingers. The scent of fresh-washed man and the food he’d prepared for her filled her as tangibly as he would soon fill her body.
Clamping her legs around his waist, she locked him nearer, gripped by the connection she’d been aching to recapture. She banned all other thoughts from her mind but the here and now.
His hand slid under the hem of her sweater, his touch fiery against her bare flesh. He tunneled further until sweeping the angora up and over her head. He growled low in appreciation as he cupped her br**sts. The creamy lace provided a flimsy barrier between her and his circling thumbs. Her ni**les went hard, the lace suddenly itchy, her skin everywhere tightening with a need for more of his touch, more of him.
Arching toward him, she pressed for a fuller connection and he took her cue well. His hands slid behind her and freed her bra in a deft sweep.
She bunched his T-shirt, gathering, raising until she flung the body-warmed cotton across the room to rest on top of her sweater. She made fast work of the top button and zipper on his jeans while he tugged hers down her hips, lifting her briefly, then pulled them down her legs. He backed away, removing her pants inch by torturous inch.
His washboard stomach gleamed in the morning sun as she looked her fill at the strong expanse of his chest. She reached to trace down, down, down further still, following the crisp sprinkling of hair in a narrowing trail to his open button, down the links of his open zipper.
No underwear.
Carlos flung her pants to the floor and stepped closer. The granite felt cool and slick against the backs of her bare legs. Only her silky panties separated her from total exposure. Her eager hand freed his arousal and his eyes slid closed. He flattened a palm on the counter for a second as if to steady himself.
A surge of feminine power curled through her as she stroked him, her thumb rolling over the glistening first pearly dampening. His throat worked in a long swallow before he opened his eyes. The intensity, the raw passion in his gaze left her breathless.
With slow deliberation, he swiped two fingers through the raspberries, squeezed the juice along her collarbone and cleaned it away with his mouth. The warmth of his tasting tongue and the cool air provided the most delicious contrast on her oversensitized skin. He nipped the last taste up at the base of her neck, then scooped up more of the fruit, eyeing her chest with only a hint of warning that he intended to…
Yes.
The drizzle of warmed juice flowed over her like the desire spreading throughout her body. Her head fell back as he laved his undivided attention on one breast and then the other. The gentle sucking along her skin and the light rasp of his tongue sent shivers of pure pleasure down her spine. She gripped his shoulders, her fingernails sinking in deep. He braced a hand against the counter and leaned into her.
A fleeting thought chased through her mind, concern for his back, for the strain he thoughtlessly put on his body. “Carlos, let’s take this to the sofa.”
Her fingers trailed down the flex of muscles on his back until she reached the puckered ridges of his healed flesh.
He popped a raspberry into her mouth. “I dreamed all night long about having you here.” Pulling her hands away and replacing them on his shoulders, he nipped up her shoulder to draw on her bottom lip. “Nothing’s going to steal that fantasy from me.”
His words sent a thrill up her spine, almost chasing away her concern for him. She sought a way to express her worry without stinging his pride. “But what if…”
“What if my legs give way?” He raised an eyebrow and hooked a finger on either side of her skimpy panties. “Then you can join me on the floor and we’ll finish there, because don’t doubt for a minute we’re taking this to the conclusion we both want.”
He twisted his fingers in the fragile fabric until her panties gave way. “I will see this through any and every way I can have you.”
Air brushed along her damp and needy core, stirring her higher. Just air, for heaven’s sake. Her heart tripped over itself in anticipation of his touch.
He inched her hips nearer to the edge. “Condoms or no condoms? I’m clean. There’s been nobody but you in a year.”
A year? His words along with the thick pressure of him, right there so close, teased her perilously near completion too fast.
“Go ahead,” he urged, “let go. I’ll take you there again as many times as you want.”
His bold confidence sent a charge through her, reminding her of how he’d coaxed her to let go before. And she realized—he wasn’t going to fall. He was in complete control of this moment between them.
“There is no need for a condom, Carlos. None. It’s only you and me.”
Her fingers dug deeper into his flanks as he thrust inside, his low growl of possession echoing through the spacious kitchen. Clamping her legs around his waist again, she urged him deeper, faster. Still she wanted more of him, no restraint. She whispered her wishes, her wants, her secret fantasies in his ear, delighting in the feel of his throbbing response to her words.
Just like after that party, she lost herself in the frenzy of the moment. Even wondering all night long if this would happen, still the powerful need caught her unaware. She’d known their sex was one of a kind before, but her memories…well… Nothing could compare to the pulsing draw she felt now in his arms.
Carlos brought her just shy of release again and again until their bodies were slicked with sweat. The scent of them together blended with the sweet stickiness of the raspberries and sugary fruit juice.
Flattening her hands behind her on the counter, inching closer, closer again, hungry to be nearer still, she rolled her hips against his. Her eyes fluttered open and shut, giving her glimpses of the mountain range stretching across the horizon. They were completely isolated up here, alone to explore each other, to explore the complex, confused feelings that had erupted between them over the past few months.
His pulse throbbed in his temple. He dipped his head to her br**sts, increasing her pleasure with a flick of his tongue. The tingling in her veins gathered low and pulsing, tighter still until she gasped.
Once.
Twice.
The third carried her moan of release to echo into the cedar rafters. Sweet sensations exploded inside her, filling every corner until she could have sworn even the roots of her hair shimmered.
She bowed upward and into his arms as he thrust again, again, again, until finishing with a hoarse shout muffled against her neck. The throb of his completion triggered an aftershock through her. Caught unaware, she shuddered, her bare chest against his. Her arms went limp with exhaustion around his neck. She tried to hold on but her body had gone boneless with bliss.