“Will you please stop looking at me like that?” she whispered.
“I can’t seem to help it. Can’t seem to stop this, either,” he admitted before he cradled the side her neck in his hand and kissed her. She made a sound in her throat like a desperate whimper and returned the kiss.
He’d kept himself on a tight leash ever since that day in his office, but his restraint tank was now officially on empty. Spending time with her this past week, seeing the way her eyes lit up when she laughed, watching her move gracefully amongst the guests all evening, holding her in his arms while they danced—all of it had worn him thin. A man could only take so much, no matter how rational that man was.
Besides, all it took was touching Colleen once, and he became the polar opposite of rational. Losing himself in pure feeling had never felt so good.
He reacquainted himself with the shape of her mouth, gloried in how responsive she was, how soft. The heat just behind her lips beckoned him. He stroked her with his tongue, and she opened for him. He groaned and put his hands on her hips, pulling her against him. The feeling of her curving flesh covered by clinging knit fabric made everything go red for a moment. He leaned over her, trying to slake himself on her taste. The more he drank of her, the more he touched, the more he wanted. His hands moved hungrily, detailing her back, the ridge of her spine.
He molded her hips in his palms before he traced the curve that led to her narrow waist. So soft. So feminine. Her rib cage felt narrow and delicate in his cradling palms. He could feel her heart beating rapidly inside of it. When he touched the side of her breast and felt firm, luscious flesh, they each moaned into the other’s mouth.
He lifted his head and studied her face as he shaped her breast to his palm. A shudder of excitement went through her. Her eyelids opened a crack. Her eyes looked glassy, her lips pink and slightly puffy from his ravening kiss.
“You’re so beautiful,” he muttered through a tight jaw. “Have I told you that?”
“Yes,” she mumbled. “While we danced.”
“It wasn’t enough. I want to tell you more. I want to show you.”
His thumb found her nipple, and he stroked her. He stayed immobile, but it was as if his entire body leapt in arousal. Even through her bra, he felt how she stiffened in response to his caress. He cradled the weight of her breast and molded her flesh against his hand, teasing the nipple into further pronouncement with his thumb and forefinger.
She closed her eyes and gasped, arching her spine slightly and pressing their hips together tightly. He winced in pleasure at the sensation. Unable to resist the lure of her parted lips, he plucked at her mouth, consuming her…coaxing her.
His hand traveled down the length of her body, exploring her hip and the taut, delicious curve of a buttock. He’d wanted to touch her so much over the past several days. Being able to do so now—feeling her firm, feminine flesh, hearing her little moans of excitement—felt like the height of sensual gratification.
Having her touch him was just as intoxicating. Her hands caressed his lower back, and then his hips. She stroked his outer thigh as though she was trying to feel the shape of the muscle through his clothing. Her enthusiastic caresses drove him a little nuts. If their bodies pressed any closer, he was going to be inside—
She bit at him gently, dragging his lower lip between her front teeth. A shudder of pleasure went through him. His eyes sprang wide.
Enough already.
He sealed their torrid kiss with a low growl of arousal. His hands on her waist, he urged her to follow him. She gave a little shriek of surprise when he fell back on her couch, bringing her with him until she partially sprawled on top of him. He shifted his hands beneath the fabric of her dress, relishing the sensation of long, silk-clad legs. He grabbed just above her knees and pulled, sliding her along his legs and firmly into his lap. His jaw clamped tight at the sensation of her breasts crushed against his chest, their bellies pressed tight…the heat from their arousal mingling.
Her lips were still parted in surprise at their sudden transfer of position. He laced his fingers through her long hair and cradled her head, kissing her hard before she had a chance to speak. His other hand opened along the length of a silky thigh. She shifted subtly in his lap as she kissed him, making it harder and harder for him to control himself.
One hand trailed up her back and found the tab of her dress zipper. The sound of it lowering was like a hiss of arousal. Her skin was warm and satin-soft between the parting fabric. He poked his hand beneath the dress and spread his hand over the back of her ribs, greedy to absorb the sensation of her.
He groaned and broke their heated kiss. How was it that a small patch of skin on a woman’s back could make him so desperate?
“I’m taking you to bed
,” he proclaimed gruffly.
“What?” she mumbled.
He paused in the action of preparing to shift her in his lap so he could lift her in his arms. He shouldn’t have paused, but he did. She hadn’t sounded uncertain, necessarily, just dazed.
“To bed,” he repeated. He gave a small smile when he saw how befuddled she looked…how gorgeous. Unable to refrain, he nipped at her bee-stung lower lip. “You do have one of those, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” she mouthed, even though no sound came out of her mouth as she stared at his face as if she’d never seen him before.
“Mari told me earlier the kids were at your mother’s. We’re all alone, Colleen. It’s just you and me.”
Her beautiful, desire-glazed eyes went wide.
Abruptly, she pushed herself out of his arms. She stood clumsily. One moment, he held a sex-softened, eager female; the next, two feet of air separated them.
Two feet of air that felt very chilly in comparison to the heat that had just overtaken them.