He eased the wet, clingy jeans down her legs. “Sit.”
“Are you always this bossy?”
“Only when there’s something I want very badly. And I want you so badly my jaw aches from gritting my teeth against the need to be inside you.”
Her lashes fluttered and her pupils widened. “Are you always so…verbal?”
“Yes. Does it bother you?”
“No. I—I think I like it.” She sat. He stripped the garment from her and tossed it onto the hearth where it could dry without catching fire, then he chafed her cold, reddened thighs with his hands.
But as her skin warmed beneath his palms, he discovered touching her legs wasn’t nearly enough. The hem of her shirt played peekaboo with the dark triangle between her thighs, mesmerizing him, tantalizing him, beckoning him. He whisked her shirt over her head, then released and removed her bra and tossed both aside.
He considered planting his face in her lap and bringing her to a cli**x, but he wanted more. “I want to caress you, to taste you—your skin, your br**sts. But I specifically crave this spot.” He dragged a fingertip beneath each soft curve, making her gasp. “You smell so damned good there.”
He rose, his legs unusually unsteady as he took in her almost nak*d form in front of the fire. His erection pulsed behind his zipper, demanding release.
She arched her back to the heat, thrusting her puckered n**ples in his direction with mouthwatering effectiveness. The fact that she was probably trying to dry her wet hair and seemed unconscious of the eroticism of the move made it all the more irresistible. He stripped off his boots and clothing, pulled her to her feet and yanked her close.
She gasped and stiffened. “You’re cold.”
“No, baby, I’m burning up. For you. Feel what you do to me.” He pressed his erection into her belly and her soft skin teased him.
He lost control of the kiss even before his lips met hers. He wanted to absorb her, better yet, to burrow under her skin. Instead, he wound his arms around her as tightly as he could and devoured her mouth with hungry bites and greedy swipes of his tongue—all of which she returned.
How had she done this to him? He usually had more control.
He tried to tame the need, tried to slow his caresses. But she felt too good in his arms and the fire in his belly burned as hot as molten steel. He couldn’t get enough of her. He cupped and massaged her br**sts, tweaking her n**ples until she whimpered into his mouth. He thrust his leg between hers, and gripping her hips, encouraged her to ride him. She eased back and forth, hesitantly at first and then found her rhythm.
“You are so wet,” he groaned against her cheek, then gasped for air. The knowledge sent a sharp stab of hunger straight to his penis. Her moisture eased the glide of her flesh over his thigh. She trembled ever so slightly, but enough to let him know she was as turned on and close to the edge as he. “Are you ready for me?”
“Yes,” she whispered breathlessly.
He couldn’t wait any longer. He eased his fingers between them and found her slickness. The scent of her arousal rose up to greet him, and his heart slammed against his chest.
He stroked her center, circling her tender flesh again and again until her back bowed over his arm, granting him access to the sweet taste of her nipple. He rolled the tight bud with his tongue, grazed it with his teeth, then sucked it deep into his mouth. He sampled the other, licking, biting, sucking. “Do you like me touching you, Sabrina?”
“Yes. Yes. I do.” Her cries of release echoed off the high ceiling. Then, near the breaking point, he bent his knees, determined to take her on the rug in front of the fire and pulling her down with him.
“Wait.” She remained standing as he kissed his way down her tummy. “Do you have a condom?”
Her question yanked him back to reality. “In the bedroom.”
The bedroom seemed a mile away. But they couldn’t take any more unnecessary risks. He swept her into his arms and carried her to his room. Despite her height, she weighed practically nothing in his arms.
The maid had already been in and turned on the bedside lamp, folded down the covers and left chocolate truffles on the pillows. He laid Sabrina on the sheets and pushed the confections away. The only thing he wanted to feast on was her.
On second thought…
He snatched up one chocolate and unwrapped it, watching curiosity fill her eyes. He licked her nipple, dampening it, then pressed the chocolate to the tight tip.
She gasped and flinched. “It’s cold.”
“It won’t be for long.” He circled her puckered flesh, leaving a melting chocolate trail on first one hard, dusky pink areola, then the other. Desire flushed her face and chest. Her eyelids fell to half-mast, and she bit her bottom lip which was already swollen, red and damp from his passionate kisses. Beautiful.
She shifted restlessly beneath him, her breaths stuttering in, then out again. “That feels…g-good.”
He lapped up the chocolate, being sure to do a thorough job before he reapplied the confection once, twice, a third time until the only thing left was the smudge on his fingertips. When every trace of the chocolate was gone from her br**sts, he offered her his hand. “Lick me.”
Without hesitation, she grasped his wrist and sucked a chocolate-covered finger deep into her mouth. The sight of his flesh disappearing between her lips combined with the swirl of her tongue over his skin pushed him perilously close to the edge.
“You’re driving me crazy, baby. I like your mouth on me.” He shook with hunger, and could barely wait until she cleaned the last of the chocolate from him before he kissed her, their mouths mingling the tastes of candy and desire.
Gasping, she pushed him away. “Condom.”
He groaned, then yanked open the nightstand drawer and grabbed protection. Where was his head? He didn’t make stupid mistakes like forgetting precautions. Certainly not twice.
After he’d taken care of business, she extended her arms, beckoning him. He stroked her thighs apart and savored the sight of her glistening sex, then moved into position. Her lids drifted shut, her head turned away.
“Open your eyes. Look at me.”
Her lashes fluttered upward and their gazes locked. Gritting his teeth against the urge to drive deep and hard, he eased in, one arm-quaking inch at a time. His pulse hammered in his ears. Need burned his gut, licking like the flames of a wildfire at the base of his spine and snaking out in hot streaks. Watching pleasure expand her pupils and part her lips magnified every sensation. “Tell me what you want.”
Sabrina grasped his hips. “Please, now. Hurry. I’m so close.”
The dam of his control broke. He thrust deep, hard and fast, riding the crest of desire. He tortured himself with restraint, teetering on the edge as he stroked her to cli**x with his thumb. Her inner contractions put another crack in his control but he fought off his release. He wasn’t ready for this to end. Not yet.
She arched off the bed, banding her arms around his neck, and then her breath fanned his ear a split second before her tongue outlined the rim, then her teeth closed on his lobe. The love bite sent him reeling and he lost it. Wave after wave of hot, molten pleasure erupted through him until spent, he collapsed to his elbows above her with her cries echoing in his ears.
Her body spasmed around his with aftershocks, and the gentle clutching and releasing was almost too exquisite to bear. He eventually found the strength to separate from her and ease onto his back beside her. Shaken by the intensity of the experience, he stared at the ceiling.
Why her? Why did this woman who’d been forced upon him have the power to rock his world and decimate his control like no other?
He’d be damned if he knew. But he would find out.
Because if he didn’t, losing her could destroy him the way losing his mother had destroyed his father.
She had to get out of here, Sabrina decided once her lassitude eased and her brain resumed functioning.She turned her head to study Gavin through the steam rising from the hot tub and visually traced the strong line of his jaw and throat and his broad, wet shoulders—the same line her hands and mouth already had taken three times today. She tried to work up a little shame for her day of debauchery…and failed.
With his arms and head resting on the rim of the hot tub and his breathing deep and even, he appeared totally relaxed. Was he asleep? He hadn’t moved since he’d dragged her out onto the deck to sink into the steaming water after their impromptu fireside dinner followed by round two of lov—sex. Her body quivered at the memory of his devilishly talented tongue making her cli**x again and again on the rug by the fire.
She blew out a silent, shaky breath and prayed she wasn’t courting disaster. She couldn’t afford to care for him. No matter how much fun she’d had with him tonight. Or how good the sex—all three times—had been. He’d done something to her, cast some spell over her to keep her from thinking straight. If she wasn’t careful she’d forget this temporary relationship was all about physical fulfillment.
An urgent need to run surged through her. She started to rise. “I have to go.”
Without cracking an eyelid, Gavin snagged her wrist and pulled her back down into the water. It was as if he had some sixth sense or mental GPS or something that told him where she was without looking. “Stay with me tonight.”
Her heart slammed against her chest like a racing horse against the gate, then it pounded like thundering hooves. “I can’t. Pops will be waiting for me.”
Without releasing her Gavin turned his head and their gazes met. “Henry will understand.”
She’d be lying to herself if she didn’t acknowledge she was tempted. Tempted to give in to the passionate demand in Gavin’s dark eyes, tempted to lie in his arms, tempted to hold and be held throughout the dark night. And that was exactly why she had to go. She broke free of his grip, the lubricant of the water enabling her escape, and bolted to her feet.
The biting cold temperature slammed against her hot, wet skin like an iceberg. “There’s nothing to understand. We were both answering a biological need and we had sex. That’s it.”
He rose and stood beside her, water streaming over his corded muscles, flat belly, groin and thighs. Involuntarily, her eyes tracked the cascade. He caught an escaped curl and tucked it back into the knot she’d made at her nape, then lifted her chin with a knuckle. “It’s more than that. You know it. I enjoy your company, Sabrina. I had more fun tonight than I have had in a long time.”
The hint of surprise in his eyes and voice undermined her resistance. Was he as shaken by this sudden attraction as she was? She struggled to rally her defenses because she needed room and privacy to think and reevaluate her plan. “I enjoyed tonight as well, Gavin. But I nee—I want to go home. If you can’t take me, then please call me a cab.”
She couldn’t—wouldn’t—call Pops. She knew he’d come get her instantly, but even if he didn’t have trouble driving after dark, she didn’t want him to know about tonight—today—any of it. As much as he’d been nagging about her lack of a social life lately, he was incredibly old-fashioned. He wouldn’t approve of an affair with no future.