lips and her body softened against him as she opened her mouth and welcomed him with a heated gasp that seemed to echo around them. The first touch of his tongue to hers sent a jolt through his body, and he clenched her closer to him as her hands snaked up his arms and then his shoulders before clutching the lapels of his tux in her fists. He assumed she was holding on while giving in to a passion that was irresistible.
* * *
Monica was lost in it all. Blissfully.
The taste and feel of his mouth were everything she ever imagined.
Ever dreamed.
Ever longed for.
She was lost in a heady mix of surprise and excitement as she raised slightly trembling hands to stroke the back of his head. A moan from deep within her escaped. His grunt quickly followed. Somewhere in the heat of it all, she heard the flute crash against the roof as he released his hold on the drink to drag his hand up the back of her thighs.
He tasted her lips before pressing heated kisses down to her throat where she felt him deeply inhale her scent before suckling that little dip above her clavicle. She gasped and cried out as she flung her head back giving him more of her neck to taste. She clung to him, lifting and bending her leg to the side of his solid body and being rewarded by his hand gripping her buttocks through the cotton, feeling the heat of his touch.
“Gabe,” she whispered into the air, saying his first name aloud for the first time ever.
And what a time to do so.
When she’d noticed him standing there, looking so sharp and handsome in his black tuxedo with a bottle of champagne in his hand, he’d seemed to have stepped straight off the pages of a high-fashion magazine or some cologne ad. With his shirt open at the neck and his tie undone, she’d felt pushed over the edge of reason, no matter how well she’d covered it. Just tempting. Strong, dark and sexy. Devastatingly so.
Her heart had pounded with both surprise and a desire that took her breath away.
And now he was kissing her. And touching her. And pressing her body against his.
Am I dreaming?
Her mouth sought his and he accepted her boldness when she offered him her tongue. With a grunt of pleasure, he sucked the tip into his mouth. Deeply. And then did it again. And again. She trembled. Her pulse raced and she ached deep inside her womanhood.
Don’t wake me up.
Monica pressed her hands to the sides of his face, enjoying the feel of his shadow against her palms as she gently played with his earlobes and the soft skin just behind them. She felt the slight tremble of his body and knew she had happened upon his hot spot. Maybe one of many.
Against her thigh she felt the length of his hardness.
Breaking their kiss, she leaned back just a bit to look at him as she panted.
Their eyes locked and something happened between them. A current. A spark. A vibe. She felt it and shivered.
This was desire, and in it, they were equal.
“Monica?” he whispered into the small break between them.
It had been so long since she’d given in to pure carnal pleasure, but she couldn’t remember ever feeling the thrill his touch brought her. Her entire body felt electrified. He was seeking approval to give her even more pleasure. When in her entire life had more ever been an option? After a lifetime of so many disappointments. So many dreams she never dared to give hope to. How could she deny herself this?
“Yes,” she acquiesced, giving both him and herself permission.
Gabe swung her up into his arms and took long strides to reach the flower-covered pergola. There, beneath its cover, he pressed her down onto one of the round, double chaise longues, and the thick cushion welcomed her. He removed his jacket and flung away his bow tie. The shirt clung to the hard definitions of his body.
He got sexier?
Monica leaned against the pillows as the fleshy bud between her legs swelled to life. She watched him remove a condom packet from his wallet before undressing as she slowly untied the belt of her robe and opened it to fall at her sides. Her trembling hand paused at the top button of her nightgown as she took in the first sight of Gabe Cress—the Gabe Cress—standing before her gloriously naked.
Oh. My.
He was sculpted. Plain and