“I don’t think so,” she said slowly, surprising herself.
His nostrils flared slightly. Joy had the thrilling thought that she was about to be sexually consumed.
“I hated the fact that I wasn’t able to touch you that first time,” he said in a hushed tone. His hands spread along the sides of her rib cage, distracting her. “I hated the fact that you probably were left thinking I was single-minded and selfish—”
“I didn’t think that,” she interrupted him.
He brushed her lower lip with the tip of his thumb, his features tightening. “I was selfish. I was single-minded. That’s not the part I regret. I just regretted not being able to give you the same unselfish pleasure you gave me in return. Let me do that now, Joy. Let me show you I can give as well as get.”
Her brain stalled. It took her a moment to realize he was watching her expectantly, his face tense, his eyes reminding her of the starburst tattoo—fire in water.
“Okay,” she whispered.
His hands moved gently to her back. He found her zipper and lowered it, his gaze remaining on her the whole time. His hands
brushed over her shoulders, lowering her dress below her breasts. He removed her bra and tossed it aside so quickly, one second she possessed meager protection, and the next her breasts were bared to the cool air and Everett’s hot stare.
“So lovely. So perfect. I knew you would be,” he murmured, touching a peaking nipple with the tip of his forefinger. Her breath stuck in her lungs as she watched him detail both crests at once, looking fascinated by the changes he wrought in her flesh with his drawing, plucking fingertips. Prickles of pleasure spiked along the surface of her chilled, pebbled skin. She gasped softly when he pinched at her lightly and seemingly pulled an invisible cord of sensation that led all the way to her womb.
“You’re cold?” he asked, running his hand along the tiny goose bumps rising along her chest and breasts.
“No,” she managed to say. “Well, maybe a little.”
He smiled and covered her breasts with his large, warm palms. The next thing she knew, he’d seized her mouth with his own. For a few seconds, she was stunned at the onslaught of his kiss. His former nibbling at her mouth was a mere tiny sampling of his passion. He gave it to her now in full force, his lips molding hers hungrily, his tongue plunging between her lips, searching and probing. Liquid heat surged between her thighs. God, he knew how to kiss. Joy had never considered her mouth to be a sexual organ on par with her pussy, but when Everett kissed her, it suddenly felt like it was. She moaned shakily beneath his heat, her tongue sliding against his, joining in a sensual duel. His hands moved on her breasts, shaping her flesh to his palms.
It was like dipping her chilled flesh into a heated bath. She melted against him. Had he known his kiss would have that effect on her?
He came up for air an untold period of time later, but his mouth was immediately on her neck, one hand spreading at the back of her skull. Joy panted as he ravished her skin, her eyelids opened into slits, staring sightlessly at the light fixture on the ceiling. Shivers of sensation rippled through her as he rained kisses on her bare shoulders and paused to take a gentle bite out of the muscle.
She realized she was just sitting there, dazed beneath the tsunami of sensation caused by Everett. She reached into the opening of his robe as he continued to ravish her, a thrill of excitement going through her as she touched warm skin and dense muscle. He went still when her fingertips brushed against a small, erect nipple. He grunted softly and wrapped his hands around her wrists.
She looked into his face, surprised, when he pulled her hands away from his body.
“Let me touch you right now,” he said, his voice slightly gruff from arousal, his face tense and somber.
“Okay,” she said uncertainly.
A small smile flickered across his lips. He gently moved her wrists to the small of her back. “Arch your back,” he said. “Present your breasts to me.”
Confusion and alarm went through her at his words, but the sharp pang of arousal that tightened her sex trumped them. Her breath coming in shallow pants, she arched her back, causing her breasts to rise toward him. She saw his cock leap against the fabric of the robe. It was as if invisible fingers pinched at her clit.
She moaned raggedly when he squeezed one breast gently while he slipped a nipple between his lips. He drew on her with his mouth and she shifted restlessly on the couch. She pulled on her wrist, intuitively needing to hold his head against her, to rake her fingers through his hair, but he held her hands firmly at her middle back.
“Shh, it’s okay,” he soothed, lifting his head momentarily. “Keep still for a moment while I taste you.”
He lowered his head again and took a love bite out of the flesh he held cupped in his hand. Joy gasped. He continued to maraud the captive breast, using lips, teeth and tongue to stimulate her until Joy wiggled helplessly on the couch, desperate for friction on her sex.
“Everett,” she pleaded softly when he finally enclosed the nipple with his warm, sucking mouth. She made a choking noise, and he laved the crest with a warm, slightly raspy tongue as if to soothe her.
He lifted his head, spearing her with his stare. He smiled.
“You’re very beautiful,” he said, glancing at her flushed breasts. He placed his hand matter-of-factly between her thighs and pressed.
Joy gasped.
“It’s okay,” he assured, using his hand to gather the fabric of her dress, sliding it over her thighs. “Lean back,” he instructed. “Keep your hands behind your back, please.”
She followed his instructions, watching him mutely as he temporarily released her wrists and knelt on the floor. He raised her dress to her belly and let it drop. He deftly lowered her panties to her thighs, then spread her legs so that the fabric stretched tight. Joy moaned in anticipation when he firmed his hold on her wrists again with one hand, restraining her, and leaned into her lap. It embarrassed her a little, how aroused she became by the fact that he held her captive to what was to come.