Breathing in the scent of her, Caleb pushed up her dress, flattened one hand on her belly and tasted her like he'd been wanting to do since forever. From the first stroke, he knew he was a goner. She gave a soft shout and her whole body shuddered. "Caleb, I can't—"
"Sh." He blew a breath against her sensitive flesh. "Don't give away the game." Knowing he was being a merciless tease, he flicked his tongue along her exposed flesh, then nipped gently with his teeth. Her thighs trembled as the addictive flavor of her settled on his tongue and in his mind. This wasn't something he was going to get enough of, ever. Certainly it wasn't something he wanted to rush. The delight of her had to be savored.
Her breathing was jerky and he knew she was having trouble maintaining control. "Caleb—" Her sentence ended in an abrupt sob as he slid his tongue inside her. Her whole body started to shake.
Giving her a moment's relief, he pulled out and nipped at her bottom. "Is he looking your way?"
"No." She crumpled into his arms. "I'm going to kill you."
"First let me finish what I started." His fingers slid into her sweet flesh, stroking. "I want to taste you some more."
All her breath left her. She arched up and made no protest when he laid her out on the white tile of the kitchen floor, protecting her bare bottom by cupping it in his hands as he raised her to his lips. "Mercy," he said, as her scent ensnared him once more. But mercy was the last thing he wanted.
Victoria gave herself up to Caleb. He'd tried to love her this way at the start but she'd frozen, terrified of the passion that had begun to boil in her blood. Nothing he'd said or done had soothed. So he'd never asked that of her again.
A whimper escaped her throat as he suckled at her flesh, sending her nerves screaming. The muscles on her abdomen grew painfully taut as she closed her eyes to fight the building explosion. It was too much. She wouldn't survive.
"Let go," Caleb whispered, and she felt his hair brush her stomach as he pushed her dress farther up and kissed her navel. His kisses began trailing back down and this time, he wasn't playing. "Please let go."
It was the rough please that broke through the last of her reticence. With a soft scream, she felt her back lift off the floor as she let him overwhelm her senses. Behind her closed eyelids, lights exploded in a thousand colors. She couldn't stand the extremity of the pleasure, couldn't bear it.
Gasping, she tried to tell Caleb but he was already there, taking her lips in a kiss that gave her even more pleasure and yet also gifted her with the strength to ride the firestorm. Last night he'd been patient, so beautifully patient, but today he was asking her to hold up her end of the bargain, to give him the passion she'd withheld for so long. Lost in the hunger of his kiss, she could do nothing else but surrender.
* * *
When she finally blinked her eyes open, she found herself being carried to the bedroom. "Now you want a bed," she managed to tease.
Desire clouding his eyes, he grinned. "I didn't want to give you bruises. I'm feeling energetic."
"Caleb!" It was impossible to contain her laughter in the face of the unusual spark of mischief in his eyes.
He set her down gently on the bed. "I love your laugh." It was a quiet declaration.
Stunned, she held out her hands. He kept surprising her. Just when she thought she knew all she could about him, he came up with something so tender it broke her heart into a thousand pieces. "I miss you."
Holding her gaze, he shucked his sweatpants and got into bed beside her, one big hand stroking down her thigh as he bent his head to place a kiss on the exposed skin of her throat. Her dress was light but it felt too confining. When she wiggled, he raised his head. "What's the matter?"
"I want to take off this dress." She blushed. It was silly to blush after everything they'd done together but she'd always been shy about undressing in front of Caleb.
His eyes skimmed over her body. "I want to see you take it off." It was a challenge, but more than that, it was a request.
There was nothing she wanted more than to give him what he needed. But as Caleb himself had said, the habits of a lifetime couldn't be so easily forgotten. She wasn't some bold temptress; she was a woman accustomed to holding back.
Biting her lower lip, she pushed at his chest until he moved aside. In his eyes she saw nothing but patience. Once she was on her knees, she smoothed the dress over her thighs, feeling the heels of her feet against the bare skin of her buttocks. "Caleb?"
He spoke from behind her. "Yeah?"
"You have to keep helping me. Okay?" It was becoming easier each time she asked, because she was starting to learn that Caleb wouldn't deny her requests. Unlike the people who'd shaped her childhood, he'd never ignore her needs and tell her to toughen up.
"Always." He moved around until he was kneeling in front of her. "Close your eyes."
She let her lashes flutter shut. Then she lifted her fingers to the back zipper of her dress. Caleb's arms came around her as he helped her lower the fastening. She breathed in the warm, masculine scent of him and allowed her body to soften in pleasure. She'd come this far and was now tempted to push forward.
Caleb pulled away once the zipper was open and she knew what he was waiting for. Her husband wanted to see her undress in front of him. For most husbands and wives, it was an intimacy they took for granted. But for Caleb and Vicki it was so much more. Eyes still closed, she slid the straps down her arms and off her fingertips.
"You're wearing a bra." Caleb's voice was a caress in the darkness of her mind.
Not seeing him watching her made this easier. And yet, it turned the mood from hot to scorching. "They're starting to ache if I don't."
A fingertip traced the lace edges of her bra, shocking her with unexpected pleasure. "I like seeing you in satin and lace."
Her breath rushed out of her. Satin and lace. She'd never have guessed that her tough, practical husband would enjoy such a thing. "Shall I…?"
"Yes."
Reaching back, she undid the hooks and started to slide the straps down. Suddenly struck by remnants of her inhibitions, she stopped, far too aware of the dress pooled around her waist and the man watching her.
"I'll wait forever if you need me to."
How did he know exactly what to say to melt every one of her defenses? With a deep breath, she pulled off the bra and dropped it on the bed. Feeling more naked than she ever had before, she sat in place, listening, waiting, anticipating.
But nothing could have prepared her for the hot rush of Caleb's mouth on her breast. She cried out as he wrapped his hands around her waist and bent his head. The raw silk of his hair moving against her flesh clashed wildly with the scrape of his unshaven jaw and the tug of his teeth.
With her eyes closed, she was drowning in the sensations. She wanted to luxuriate in them. Her hands clenching in his hair, she lifted her lashes and found herself lost. Now she could see what she'd only felt—the golden heat of Caleb's skin, the sheen of wetness on her breasts as he moved his attention from one to the other, the utter pleasure on his face.
Tugging his head up, she tried to claim his lips in a kiss. When he wouldn't cooperate, she made a frustrated sound and uncurled her legs to grip him around the waist, her arms tight around his neck. She got her kiss. It had been a last desperate attempt to find some sort of anchor and it failed miserably as Caleb took merciless advantage of her wide-open position.
Pushing his hands under the bunched-up sundress, he started to slide her down onto him. She gasped. They'd never made love this way before—it felt as if he was invading her, going so far that she shuddered. "Too deep."
"Are you sure?" He paused and started to suckle at her neck.
She rocked toward him and felt him tense. Inside her body, he seemed to grow impossibly harder. Fascinated, she rocked again. This time, his hands tightened on her waist and he raised his head. "Vicki." Grit out between clenched teeth, it was almost a growl.
She'd never made him sound that way. Suddenly he wasn't too deep. He was perfectly, wonderfully deep. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she held his gaze and pushed down. He groaned and his head dropped back, the tendons on his neck standing out in stark relief.
Scared by her own temerity but having starved for this moment, she started to move. Her fear of doing something wrong was nothing compared to the need she had to bring Caleb to the brink of ecstasy. She'd spent her marriage thinking she'd failed in bed with her virile husband. No way was she going to let this opportunity pass.
"Slow down." He buried his face in her neck, but didn't attempt to stop her quickening rhythm.
Taking her cue from his body, not his words, she did the opposite. His shoulder muscles tensed and untensed repeatedly as he ran his hands up and down her body. She could feel him riding the limits of control, feel him start to lose his mind and the woman in her rejoiced.