"I'm afraid that's my nature," she admitted, pressing her forehead against his. "I fuss, and then I decide, and then I race ahead with whatever decision I've come to. It's part of my charm," she added wryly.
"Yes, it is," Cale murmured. "And I think things through, calculate the pluses and minuses, and then after a suitable time has passed, decide if it is feasible."
Alex snorted. "From what Sam said, you decided I was your life mate the first night we met."
"That is different. The nanos chose you. There was no decision to be made."
"Then why drag it out and wait?" she said simply, and kissed him.
Cale responded at once, his mouth opening to allow his tongue out. Alex sighed as he invaded her, her hands dropping to run over his chest, sending little ripples of pleasure through them both as she found his ni**les and began to play with them through his shirt.
"I never knew men liked to have their ni**les touched too," she gasped as his mouth left hers to trail to her ear.
"Maybe they all don't," he murmured.
"You do," she almost moaned as he began to nibble at her earlobe.
"So do you," he breathed, his hands now finding her br**sts through her sweater and kneading lightly.
Alex moaned as the pleasure sliding through her doubled, and then doubled again, but then gasped in surprise when Cale suddenly stood up, taking her with him. His hands cupped her bottom, holding her up, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips. Alex hooked her ankles around each other as he began to walk toward the door, but asked worriedly, "Do we have time? I have to be well enough to go to the restaurant by four tomorrow."
"We'll be fast," he assured her, carrying her out into the hall.
She chuckled wryly at the promise. "We always are. But if we sleep too long afterward ..."
Cale's response was to shout, "Mortimer, check on us in an hour and make sure we're awake!"
He didn't even wait for Mortimer's assurance that he would, but started up the stairs, his eyes moving to her face as their bodies rubbed together, sending shock waves of pleasure through them both.
Alex shifted against him with a little moan, grinding herself against the hardness growing where their bodies met, and said breathlessly, "I think you'd better hurry."
"I am," he assured her, and she realized he'd picked up the pace and was practically jogging up the stairs now. It just ground her body into his more firmly, pounding them against each other with each step. By the time he reached the top, they were both panting, and it had little to do with the exertion of mounting the stairs.
Instead of carrying her on to his room or hers, Cale groaned and bore her backward. He pressed her against the wall, allowing it to help take her weight as he claimed her lips and removed one hand from her behind to bring it around to cover a breast. Alex wasn't still. She immediately began tugging at his sweater, pulling it up to bare his chest, and then urging his arms up so that she could pull it off. Cale immediately released her, pinning her against the wall with his h*ps and breaking their kiss so that he could do her silent bidding and raise his arms.
"This is insane," he muttered, as she dragged the sweater over his face.
"Uh-huh," Alex agreed, tossing the sweater the moment she had it off him. She caught a glimpse of it sailing over the balustrade, and then her attention moved to the bare chest she'd revealed. She didn'tthink, but bent her head to lick the bare skin of his upper chest, her lower body squirming between him and the wall as she nibbled at his collarbone, sending up a maelstrom of pleasure. Who knew a collarbone could be so sensitive? she thought dazedly, as his pleasure mixed with hers.
She felt him tugging at her sweater now, and pulled back enough to allow him to remove it as well, then shivered as he tossed it over his shoulder. She saw it float over the balustrade, and then closed her eyes on another shiver as his hands, still cool from outside, slid over her heated flesh. Her eyes opened again when her bra suddenly went slack around her, and then Cale was slipping that out from between them and sending it flying as well so that he could cup her br**sts, unfettered by the silky cloth.
"God, you're beautiful." He almost sighed the words as he lifted her higher to close his mouth over one now-bare nipple.
"Hey! Sam, Mortimer! You gotta see this. It's raining clothes out here." Bricker's words sounded on a laugh, and Alex heard Cale growl deep in his throat, and then his hands slid down to cup her behind again. He lifted her away from the wall to continue up the hall, still suckling at her and Alex closed her arms around his head, her body arching and twisting against his head.
"Door?" he mumbled against her flesh, not lifting his head.
Alex shivered as the vibration of his speaking went right through her, and then laughed at the absurdity of it, but glanced around.
"A couple more steps," she gasped, running her hands down his back and scraping the nails back up.
When he pressed her against the door, she reached back to open it, aware of the soft murmur of voices below but unable to comprehend what was being said. Not that she cared what they said or thought below. She didn't have the ability at that point; all she could think about was the sensation roaring through her body. She barely had enough spare brainpower to turn the doorknob, but she managed it, and the door swung open.
Cale immediately carried her inside. He turned to close the door by pressing her back against it as his lips let her nipple slip free only to nibble their way across to her other breast and claim that one. He was holding her high now, her legs around his waist rather than his hips, and Alex moaned in frustration as she writhed against him. She began to tug on his hair, just wanting him to lower her enough to allow her to rub against him again, and he did, but had to stop what he was doing to achieve it, and Alex found that frustrating as well.
She caught his face in her hands and lifted it, claiming his mouth with her own, and then tore her mouth away to glance around with surprise when he turned her away from the door.
"Bed," he gasped for explanation. "Soft surface."