her belly, around her hip, and back up, where he took hold of the buttons of her blouse. With a subtle pluck, he undid each one, and then his hand was on the bare skin of her belly, then cupping a breast over the silk of her bra.
Their first time had been amazing—the first orgasm she’d ever had with someone else, and really the first orgasm she’d ever had that had been worth a fig. When she got herself off, the whole thing lasted like ten seconds and a vague calm was the peak result.
What Alex had done to her with just his fingers had been very much different. He’d ruined her for her own hand, for sure.
As good as that had been, she’d been half lost in her various relentless insecurities, trying to remember to keep her belly in, hoping he didn’t notice the faint stretch marks on her hips and breasts, hoping she didn’t have a double chin. Those thoughts made a hard crust over her memory of their first time.
But that time had been unexpected, and they’d had nothing like this between them before it. This time, Lia knew Alex liked her, and she liked him. He was sweet and hot and was in the process of giving her the best birthday of her life.
This time, she could trust him enough not to worry if he really wanted her.
Well, worry less. She still wanted to be as pretty, and as good, for him as she could be. She wanted his memories to be good, too.
He tugged the cup of her bra down, exposing her breast, and brushed his thumb over her nipple. “God, you have great tits.”
His palms were rough, and the touch was like a match struck on sandpaper. Lia gasped and bucked in his hold.
He smiled and met her eyes. “Good?”
A nod was all she could manage.
He closed her nipple between his thumb and forefinger and bore down a little in a pinch. Now flame roared through the nerve endings caught in his touch.
“Good?” he asked again.
She tried to say yes this time, but it fizzled into a whimper. Still, he grinned. And dipped his head.
He sucked her nipple into his mouth, and she felt his tongue swirling around it, laving the taut skin of her areola. Moaning, Lia clamped her hands over his head and held him there.
“Good?” he asked with a chuckle, his mouth still on her breast.
One or two other guys had played with her breasts, but only Alex had done so for her pleasure more than his own. The difference was obvious and profound.
Lia wanted more of him. She was too keyed up for lighthearted play. She wanted all of him, naked and inside her.
She pushed at his shoulders, yanked at his jacket. They were both fully clothed, even in outwear, except for Lia’s mostly open blouse. “Alex, please!”
He lifted away and gazed down at her. The room was chilly, and her nipple tightened into a painful knot as the cool of the room moved over the wet his mouth had left.
“God, Lee, you’re … just gorgeous. I want my hands all over you.”
“Me, too. I want to be naked.” She felt a blush rise into her cheeks at her own boldness, but it made Alex smile and nod.
They started to undress each other, but they had too many clothes and the room was too cool for it to go gracefully, so they ended up wrestling around together on the narrow bed, getting themselves naked and under the covers. He had clearly planned for a room without heat; two wool blankets were sandwiched between the comforter and the top sheet—which was, yes, satin.
Alex was wearing his gun at the base of his spine; there was a pause in their frantic progress as he took off his holster and set it carefully on the table beside the bed. He set a condom next to it. Lia decided not to think about the gun or the unsettling juxtaposition of it with their sex.
Then they were both naked, under the heavy weight of the cozy coverings, lying on satin sheets, their bodies fitted together from shoulder to toe, and Lia didn’t have to try not to think. Her head was full of nothing but Alex.
He was at her side again, but he’d slipped his leg between hers. Lia loved the weight and heat of him, and the soft scratch of the dark hair over his thigh and calf.