Tempt Me - By Shiloh Walker Page 0,27

her reflection or much of anything. “There’s been nobody since my husband died.”

He’d suspected that. Hearing it, though, left him rather floored.

Somehow, it managed to cool the fire in his blood...even as it made him that much more nervous. Reaching up, he cupped her cheek in his hand. “You sure you want to do this?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” Rocki covered his hand with hers. Her dark eyes stared into his, and a faint smiled curled her lips. “That may sound insane...but very often life is. So there you go.”

“Life’s insane?” He stroked his thumb over her lower lip. “Does that mean this is, too?”

“Oh, I’m quite certain this is insane.” She caught his thumb between her teeth and bit down gently.

“Seems rather right to me.”

Rocki leaned against him and Cole suspected the ability to think, to talk—hell, even breathing—might become difficult here in the next few minutes. “Most insane people think they are perfectly sane.” She hooked her fingers in his waistband. “Come on. Lets go lose our minds together.”

It was, without a doubt, one of the most appealing invitations he’d ever received.

Without letting himself think about it another second, he caught one of her hands and twined their fingers, leading her to the bed. The black silk she wore glowed against her skin and unable to resist another second, he closed his hands around her waist, stroking up, then down. “You know, I still say I could easily develop a fetish for these things. As long as you’re the one wearing them.”

Rocki chuckled. “Well, I tend to wear them more for the store than anything else. But I have to say, I did like seeing the look in your eyes.” She caught her lip between her teeth and reached up, catching the dark wealth of her hair in her hands. Slowly, she turned around, baring her back.

Cole groaned as he caught a glimpse of the thin strip of her spine left bare by the laces.

“Think you can figure out how to undo it?” She let her hair fall over one shoulder, peering back at him over the other.

“Ah, maybe we shouldn’t do that yet. The second I get you naked, I’m going to lose any bit of control I’ve got.”

Rocki grinned. “Good.” Then she rolled her shoulders. “Come on, Cole. Either you do it, or I will.”

Well...since she put it that way. He reached for the laces, taking his time as he studied them. It wasn’t a quick process either, he realized. The top and the bottom, all of it had to be loosened. And because he knew he hadn’t been exaggerating by much, he drew it out even more, pausing here and there to stroke his fingers along her spine, to brush a stray lock of hair out of the way.

He hadn’t quite finished loosening the laces all the way when she took a step away. As she turned to face him, he saw that she was trembling, her face flushed, and her eyes burning hot. Her hands shook as she reached up and tugged at the front of the corset.

It fell away and the air in his lungs all but exploded out of him.

Oh, hell, she was gorgeous. Big, full breasts, her nipples dark and rosy. Her waist dipped in before flaring out into full, round hips, still outlined by the jeans she wore. His hands itched, his mouth all but watered, and his cock was a burning, heavy ache.

Shoving upright, he reached out and hooked a hand in the front of her jeans, hauling her against him. She opened her mouth, but whatever she might have said, the words were muffled as he caught her mouth with his.

She was warmth. She was softness. She was strength.

Rocki twined her arms around his neck and rose up on her toes, meeting him touch for touch, kiss for kiss. Spinning them around, he tore at the button of her jeans, fumbling until he managed to get them open. He should find some finesse, some tenderness—a seduction, this should be a seduction, slow and gentle and sweet, he knew it.

Tearing his mouth away, he panted as he stared down at her. “Not a date, right?”

“No.” Her breathing was almost as ragged as his, and her eyes—those dark, mysterious eyes so full of heat and hunger—gleamed as she smiled at him. “Not a date.”

“If this were a date, then I’d probably try to make this gentle and slow. Should I worry about that right now?”

Rocki