just grew in intensity. He made love to her mouth, nibbling the corners, stroking her tongue with his. Curling her fingers around the lapels of his shirt, she needed to hold on to something. She didn’t understand what was happening. Had he forgotten? Need she remind him? “Clint…we need to stop.”
He eased his lips away, resting his forehead to hers. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
“I know you didn’t. It’s okay.” She felt like someone stuck a knife in her middle and was ripping upward to her heart. Even as she spoke, his hands weren’t still, they were moving softly over her arms, her shoulders, her back. “I should go.”
“No.” He wove his fingers into her hair. “Don’t go. Do you want to go?”
“I don’t know.” She kissed his palm. A fever for him was consuming her. “I don’t know what I want.”
Clint felt an uneasiness in his chest. “Honestly, I don’t know either. I’m afraid.”
“I’m scared too. What are you afraid of?”
“I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I already have.”
“I know.” His frankness touched her heart. She couldn’t assure him that he wouldn’t hurt her, he very well could. Rejection was something she didn’t cope with well, and if Clint rejected her, turning away when he saw her body – well that would be something she might never recover from. “I guess it’s a risk I’m willing to take – if you are.”
“Some risks are worth taking. The stakes are high. As I am now, I can’t think. I can’t sleep. I can’t function.” He kissed each of her eyelids. “I miss our banter. I miss our sparring. I miss planning on how I’m going to change your mind. Yet…”
“Yet, you don’t know if you can handle it or not. I know. I understand.”
“No, you shouldn’t understand something like that.”
“It’s okay.” Knowing he really cared made all the difference. “Whatever happens, it’s okay.” Going on tiptoe, she put her arms around his neck and tugged his head down until she could seal her lips to his.
Groaning into her kiss, he swept her up in his arms and walked toward the house.
They kissed all the way inside and all the way up the stairs. When they came to his bedroom, he sat on the bed with her on his lap and kissed her some more. Long, deep drugging kisses. He caressed her face, her neck, her arms. Jensen could tell he wanted to touch her – he just didn’t know how to go about it.
Pushing from her lap, she stood in front of him. “Let’s undress you first, then we’ll decide what to do with me.”
Clint allowed her to push his shirt from his shoulders, but he balked when she went to her knees to take off his boots. “Last time was all about me. That’s not the way it’s going to be tonight.”
“I wasn’t shortchanged in Montana. We both enjoyed two orgasms. Don’t you remember, I sat on your…”
“Fuck, yeah. I remember.” He pulled her to him, crashing his mouth to hers. Pulling her to the bed, Clint lay beside her, his hands and mouth busy. He pulled her top up in the back and slid his hand up her spine. He tugged the neckline of her blouse to one side to kiss her collarbone and shoulder. Pulling the tab on her zipper, he inched her jeans over her hips so he could slide his hand into her panties to fondle her ass. He touched her everywhere but the one place they were both afraid for him to touch.
“Clint, I can keep my top on,” she offered as he feathered kisses on her cheek. “Or…you could shut your eyes.”
“Hush,” he whispered against her lips. “I don’t want that.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you.” He kissed her again, nipping her bottom lip. “I want just you.” Grabbing her hand, he placed it over his heart. “Feel that?”
“Yes.” A fast, hard steady beat. “It’s pounding like mine. Like we’re running a race.”
“That’s right, but we’re running the race together.” He held her gaze as he brought his hands to the first button on her top.
“Don’t you want to turn out the light?”
Clint almost said yes, but then he shook his head. “No. The light stays on.” He sent a prayer skyward that he could stay hard, that he could perform. Heaven knows he wanted her – he just didn’t know how much control he had over biological things like blood flow and nerve endings. “I want to see you.”