Northern Rebel Daring in the Dark - By Jennifer Labrecque Page 0,101
“—but most of all inside me.”
* * *
Her words and her touch destroyed every defense he’d erected. He stood to lose the only friend he’d ever really had, Elliott, by sleeping with Tawny. But he’d trade his friendship and essentially his sense of honor, all of his tomorrows, for one night with her, to hold her, touch her, make love to her. And if he was a lesser man for this decision, he had the rest of his life to deal with it. Perhaps he’d dine on the bitter fruit of regret with tomorrow’s dawn, but for tonight she was his.
He slid his camera to the floor, dropping the strap.
“Tawny...”
He cradled her head in his hands. Without rushing, he kissed her gently, thoroughly, an unspoken promise that for the night, they belonged to each other. He told her in a kiss all the things that he couldn’t or wouldn’t say aloud—how much he wanted her, how beautiful he found her both inside and out, that among women she alone was the most desirable, that for years he’d carried the Hades analogy in his head and she had become his Persephone, but after tonight he’d release her, after offering and taking solace in her.
She returned his kiss, melded into him, connected with his soul.
The kiss heated, shifted to a higher intensity as she slid her hands beneath his shirt, greedily stroking his bare skin. Her touch ignited him. He reached between them and cupped her breasts in his hands, plying his thumbs against her nipples. She felt so good. Tawny pressed against him and moaned into his open mouth, and Simon was lost, gone. He sank onto the edge of the bed, pulling her down with him, between his thighs.
She followed, settling between his legs.
“It seems as if I’ve waited forever to touch you,” she said. She pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw while she explored his chest with her hands, bold strokes that fanned the fire inside him hotter and higher.
She reached for his belt and his jeans.
“Wait a sec. Let me take off my boots,” Simon said. Tawny stood. He bent down and unlaced his boots—infinitely better than winding up with his trousers around his ankles. Tawny stripped out of her shorts and skimpy panties, dropping them on the floor in front of him. He pulled off the second Doc Martens and looked up.
He was glad he was sitting for his first view of her gloriously, spectacularly naked. She was every inch rounded woman, from shapely legs, to curved hips, to a small waist and full breasts. And obviously a proponent of the Brazilian wax.
Desire slammed him, tightened his balls. “You’re so beautiful, you take my breath.”
She smiled and there was a shyness about it that touched him. She slid onto the bed behind him and laughed softly, her breath warm against his bare shoulder. She smoothed her hands over his shoulders and nuzzled his neck, her breasts pressed against his back. Her touch sizzled along his nerve endings.
“I’m glad I’m not sending you running out the door,” she said.
“Not a chance.” He undressed and she pulled him back down onto the bed with her.
He rolled over and trapped her beneath him, his arms on either side of her shoulders. Her eyes darkened and she parted her lips, wetting the fullness of her lower lip with the tip of her tongue.
“The only thing that could possibly send me running is—” he lowered his head and tasted the sweetness of her neck, her shoulder “—if you tell me you’ve changed your mind.”
“No. That...won’t...happen.” She arched her back, raising herself, inviting his kisses. Bathed in candlelight, her skin gleamed like a rare pearl. He licked the hollow of her throat and chased her shudder with his own. Her scent, the slight saltiness of her skin, the taste of her. He wanted to make love to her all night, learn every inch of her with his mouth, his tongue, his hands. But he’d wanted her so long, he didn’t think he could wait much longer this first time around. He circled one plump nipple with his tongue. She moaned deep in her throat.
“Simon...” Tawny said in an agonized tone.
He flicked the other one with the tip of his tongue and then moved back to the first one—tasting her, tormenting them both.
They were both slick with sweat and her skin slid against his, her thigh cushioning the length of his erection.