Two-Step Temptation (6 page)

She brought her hands up to his chest, her palms skimming over the smooth fabric of his shirt, feeling his heat beneath. She traced his jaw, toyed with his goatee, before she glided her touch down his throat to his shoulders, all the time her mouth fused to his, tongue teasing.

His hands slid down to her waist and pulled her closer, thumbs easing under the hem of her sweatshirt, stroking the tender skin of her waist. Even that innocent touch sent heat pooling between her legs.

“You know what I always loved about this?” he asked, his breath sweet and warm against her mouth as he toyed with the zipper of her hoodie.

“Hmm?”

In response, he tugged down the zipper in a fluid motion, letting the fabric part to reveal the swells of her breasts. He slipped his fingers inside to ease the jacket off her arms, his gaze on her nipples.

“Your skin’s so soft.” He brushed his lips across her jaw and slid his palms down her naked back to draw her close. “So soft,” he repeated as her breasts cushioned against his chest.

His gentle kiss deepened when she began unfastening his buttons, her fingers trailing along the skin she bared. The pulse of his arousal beat against her belly. His fingers squeezed her waist and he broke the kiss, his breathing heavy. He stepped back and pulled off his shirt, then unfastened his slacks, his knuckles brushing against the skin of her belly. She eased away to slide her pants down and straightened, close enough that the crown of his cock bobbed against her. Her pussy swelled in anticipation. Would he want to make love standing? From behind like before?

He scooped her into his arms and cradled her against his chest for a moment. The movement startled the breath from her. This was new. He carried her to the bed and set her upon it with a bounce, and returned to the table for the glasses and the bottle, all lean muscle and grace. Her mouth went dry as she watched him. When he returned, he handed her a glass, set the bottle on the nightstand and sat by her feet.

“To tonight,” he said, saluting her with his glass.

She clinked her flute to his and drank as he did. Then he dipped his head and took her nipple into his mouth. The chilled wine hardened the peak painfully and she gasped, her head back. As his tongue soothed the bud, he dripped champagne on her other breast. Her nipple contracted and she sucked in a breath as the liquid dribbled down her stomach. He released one breast to lick the champagne from the other, tongue moving quickly, warming her now. She moved her thighs together as her pussy spasmed in response.

“Lie back,” he whispered against the rise of her breast.

She did, hoping to feel his weight over her. Instead, he lifted the bottle and splashed a little right at the hollow of her throat. She tensed. He bent to lap it up, his tongue teasing the sensitive skin before caressing the erogenous skin of her throat, his goatee scraping, his lips soothing, his teeth nibbling. Wanting to feel his body against hers, she bowed off the bed toward him, but he held his weight on his arms.

The bottle scraped on the nightstand again, and she braced herself for the cold splash, this time in her navel. She watched in a lust-induced haze as he dragged his tongue from the rise of her stomach to her belly button, his eyes focused on hers.

“Eric!” To entice him, she parted her legs. His eyes shone with humor and he scooped his hands under her ass, angling her hips before picking up the bottle again and drizzling champagne on her pussy.

The combined sensation of cold and bubbling was exquisite. Her clit hardened, her channel grew wetter. Never taking his gaze from her, he covered her with his mouth.

His tongue circled her entrance before slicking up to lap the wetness from her folds and tease the base of her clit. He lifted his head and poured more champagne over her, watching it drip along the length of her slit before he lowered his head again, repeating his caress, this time dipping his tongue inside her vagina. His breath was hot against her pussy, his upper lip firm against her clit, and the irregular rhythm of his tongue inside her—

She came in pulses, lifting her hips against his mouth, threading her fingers through his hair, her thighs trembling, her body quaking with the intensity of the sensation.

With a graceful shift, he broke away and rose over her to cover her mouth the same way he’d covered her cunt. She lapped at his lips, savoring the taste of herself and the champagne that filled his mouth. He pressed a foil wrapper into her palm.

“Put it on me,” he said against her lips. “God, soon.”

With shaking fingers, she opened the packet, then caressed the length of him before rolling the condom onto his cock and snugging it against the base of his shaft.

“Fuck me,” she pleaded, tilting her hips up.

The words had barely faded in the room before he thrust into her, long and hard, her channel clasping around him, clinging to him when he withdrew to push forward again. He stayed deep for a moment, his mouth seeking hers in a searching kiss before he pulled out, his rhythm becoming more and more determined, his cock stroking along nerve endings already heightened. She ran her hands over his back, to his ass and thighs, back up again, bringing her hips up to invite him deeper, harder. Yes, there. God.

“Eric!”

The orgasm washed over her, the waves of it pulling her under, tossing her emotions about. She arched her neck for his mouth as his fingers dug into her ass. Obliging, he ran his mouth up and down the line of her throat, adding another layer to her pleasure. He stilled, burying himself in her quivering body. His fingers threaded through her hair and he angled her head up so she could meet his gaze. His breath caught when she did, as the throbbing of his orgasm pulsed deep inside her. He thrust two more times, three, then lowered his forehead to hers. Her own heart stilled at the familiar intimacy, deeper than the lovemaking, at the mingling of their breath, their sweat, but she didn’t have the will to break the contact. Finally he withdrew to lie beside her on the bed.

“That didn’t last nearly as long as I’d hoped,” he said at last.

“No?” She turned toward him and trailed her fingers over his chest, pressing a kiss over his thudding heart, savoring the scent, the taste of him. “Well, we have all night.” And that was all they would have. She ignored the twinge of regret and nestled her head under his chin. Why was he making her want so much more?

Even if he stayed, would she be able to allow herself to have it? Or would she always be waiting for him to walk away?

Haven woke cradled in Eric’s arms. His room was dark. She lifted her head, careful not to wake him, to look at the clock. Six twenty a.m. Plenty of time to retreat to her room before she was seen.

They’d moved to his room a few hours ago because her bed was damp and sticky from the champagne. And though she hated to admit it, lying in bed with him, snuggled against his side, was cozy. She couldn’t remember ever being so relaxed with a man.

So it was going to be hard as hell slipping out and returning to her room. She considered giving it a bit more time, but feared she’d doze off again and run into Jill in the hallway as she was leaving.

“Where you going?” he asked groggily when she slipped from beneath his arm.

“My room. Everyone will be up and about soon.”

“So?” He propped himself up on his elbow as she picked her clothes off the floor.

“I don’t want to explain why I’m sneaking out of your room in the morning.”

“You won’t have to explain. They’d figure it out. Come back to bed, Haven.”

He looked delicious, naked among the sheets they’d tangled. His bare skin would be warm—she should know, she’d snuggled into it all night. She turned away from the temptation and stumbled, trying to get into her pants, her heart squeezing. After today, she wouldn’t see him again. But she didn’t want him to know how she felt so she lowered her gaze to the floor, turning light now with the dawn. “You don’t understand. You don’t see these people all the time. You’ll be gone and I’ll be answering questions that I don’t know the answer to because that’s not what this is.”

He rolled onto his back and folded his hands on that tight stomach. “Haven, they already know.”

She blinked up at him. “What?”

“They already know. Jared and Christine for sure, anyway. I told them a while ago. That’s why they paired us for the wedding as soon as I was sure I could make it.”

Her body felt like it was squeezing in on itself as she stared at him, and then the pressure bubbled up, ready to erupt. “And you didn’t tell me? When you knew I was trying to keep it a secret?”

“I didn’t know when I told them that you hadn’t told anyone.” He swung his legs over the end of the bed. “So when you said you didn’t want to spoil their weekend, I just went along with it.”

“I’ve been so stressed and this whole time everyone knew?”

“Not sure about everyone. The guys, yeah. Christine and Jared. His parents, her parents.”

“Just mostly everyone.” She pushed her hair back from her face and tried to reason out what to do. Her stomach was in a jumble. “They have to think I’m the biggest fool, sneaking around when they already knew.” She’d recover, maybe even find the humor in it, but now she lamented the wasted energy. She certainly wouldn’t have draped herself over him, of course, but she wouldn’t have been so twisted up about their casual touches and glances.

He rose from the bed in a fluid movement. “Haven, no one cares. They just want to see you happy.”

“How is this supposed to make me happy? I won’t see you again after today.” She took a step back and lifted her gaze to his, horrified. She hadn’t meant to let that slip, hadn’t meant for him to know she wanted more than great sex.

He stroked his hand down her arm. “Hey. I’m not going anywhere.”

That revelation sent her reeling in a new direction. “What?”

“I’m not leaving. I got a job as a professor at the university in town.” He trailed his knuckles down her cheek. “They’ll get used to seeing us together.”

She drew away, unable to comprehend what he was telling her. “You’re staying?” And he wanted a relationship? Shock blocked all other emotion as she stared.

His smile faded as he tried to measure her reaction. “Yeah. I—I got tired of moving around all the time and last summer when I met you, I thought, hey, here’s something special. So instead of applying for funding, I applied for a job. I found out last week that I got it.”

She jammed her hands on her hips. “And you told me none of this.”

“Ah. Yeah.” He moved back as well, looking uncertain for the first time since she’d known him. “I thought you might like it.”

She did, so much it scared her, but she couldn’t do more than stare.

He plunged ahead. “I wanted us to have a chance, you know, to see where this goes.” He reached out as if to touch her, then thought better of it and dragged his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t stop thinking about you the entire time I was gone, Haven. I missed you like hell.”

Her pulse thundered. Everything she wanted, and while her mind was too scared to take it, her heart wanted to grab on with both hands. He was saying all the right things, but she couldn’t wrap her head about what it could mean.

“I…need to think.”

“No.” He grasped her hand and pressed it to his chest, her knuckles against the warm skin there. “Don’t put that armor back on. Come back to bed.”

That would be a mistake. She loved the armor, as he called it. She needed it for her own protection. But his voice was soothing, and she looked up into those blue eyes.

The blue eyes of the man she knew better than she’d known any man, the eyes of a man who she trusted. The man she wanted to take this chance with. She opened her palm against his chest and lifted her face, inviting his kiss. His exhale relaxed the muscles beneath her hand and he bent his head, his lips first testing, then possessive in his victory. For once, she didn’t mind losing as she invited his tongue into her mouth, as she glided her fingertips over the smooth, warmth of his chest. His erection grew between them, brushing the bare skin of her belly. Smiling against his mouth, she moved closer, trapping his cock between them, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. His breathing changed and he folded his arms around her waist, pulling her flush to him.

The kiss changed, growing sweeter, somehow, his lips stroking across hers, his tongue teasing the sensitive seam, his fingers moving in rhythm along her spine. Everything in her melted—her resistance, her heart, her doubts, her fears.

Then she was beneath him on the bed, his cock pressing at the opening of her unfastened jeans, his hands cupping her face, fingers trailing through the fine hair at her temples as he did no more than kiss her. Seducing her when she was already seduced, giving her time to adjust to the shift in their relationship. She smiled again and surrendered to the joy of a new relationship with a man who wanted to be with her.

He released her mouth and trailed his lips across her cheek, to her ear and down her throat, nuzzling until she arched against him. His hand covered her breast, stroking over her nipple. She wanted his mouth there, at her throat, everywhere. He chuckled when she urged his head down.

“Slow. This time, I want to go slow.”

She wanted to ride the delight of her newly opened emotions, but again surrendered to his touch, his desires. He trailed his fingers down her waist, tickling her so she gasped, and he played his touch over the skin of her hip at the waistband of her jeans. Desire hummed between her legs as he continued his caress above the fabric of her panties, then moved no lower. Following his pace, she coursed her touch down his back, over all those lovely muscles, circling her fingers at the small of his back. He growled against her breast and sipped her nipple between his lips. Finally, finally, he reached beneath the edge of her panties and stroked her mound, still not delivering his touch where she wanted it, where she needed it.

She cupped his very fine ass, and he closed his teeth over her nipple, looking up at her with lifted eyebrows. To see if she liked it or to send her a message that he was setting the rhythm? She couldn’t bear it anymore and lifted her hips, shifting his touch. He lifted his hand away and she opened her mouth to protest, but he only moved to tug down her jeans, baring her, opening her, and lifting her hips to his mouth.