“I’m...not really thirsty,” she admitted, the slight pause giving her a moment to decide whether she really wanted to do this.
She did.
Taking a step toward him, she murmured, “Are you still interested in showing me the view from your bedroom window?”
“Oh, yeah,” he rasped out.
He stood very still, letting her make the moves. Confident now, she laid her palms on his chest and rose on tiptoe to take a taste of his mouth. He rested his hands on her hips. She felt the impatience quivering in his muscles, but still he held back. Sliding her hands slowly up his chest, she kissed him again, a little harder this time, nipping at his lower lip until she elicited a low moan of response from him. “Aaron?”
He brushed his mouth across hers. “Mmm?”
“Either we go upstairs now, or I’m going to drag you right down to the rug beneath our feet.”
His laugh sounded a lot like a groan. Taking a step backward, he held out a hand to her, and she laid hers in it. They turned together toward the stairs.
Minutes later, her pretty dress was a colorful puddle on the hardwood floor beside the bed. His shirt lay close to her dress, while his pants were draped half on, half off the little chair nearby. He tossed her lace bra in the general direction of the rest of the clothes. She didn’t know where it landed, but she’d worry about that later.
Finally, they were skin to skin. And it was every bit as delicious as she’d fantasized. She’d seen his bare chest before, during their water outing, and she had admired it then. Now she had time for a leisurely examination, using her eyes, her hands, her lips. The bedside lamp was dimmed so that the light glowed softly on his sleek skin, illuminating her path as she kissed a line from the hollow of his throat to his shallow navel. Her hand slid downward, seeking, stroking, cupping, and the groan she ripped from his throat was immensely satisfying.
His fortitude weakening, he tugged at her shoulders, lifting her upward, flipping her over so that he could do a little exploring of his own. His hands sought her breasts—and while she’d always thought they were on the small side, Aaron seemed more than satisfied when he rubbed her nipples into tight points, then lowered his head to taste them. She gasped and arched, offering more. He accepted that invitation eagerly.
She would have liked to take the time to study and taste every inch of Aaron’s hard body, and he muttered that he wanted to do the same with her. It turned out neither of them had the patience.
“I need to be inside you,” he grated, every inch of him quivering with fiercely harnessed restraint.
Barely coherent, she whispered, “I need you there.”
He took care of protection swiftly, efficiently, then returned to hold himself over her, one hand gently touching her face. “You’re sure?”
Touched by her utter confidence that he would stop if she said the word, despite his very obvious hunger for more, she traced his lips with one fingertip before answering. Images of the time they’d spent together flashed through her mind—such a short time, in actuality, but packed so full. During these past few days, she had learned that he was kind, generous, fun, adventurous, talented, a little rebellious—not to mention drop-dead sexy. How could she not have fallen for him? How could she hold him at a distance, even though she was convinced she would be nursing a broken heart for quite a long while after he left?
“Shelby?”
Forcing a smile, she slid a hand to the back of his neck and drew his mouth to hers. “I’m sure,” she murmured against his lips.
His exultant thrust forward made her concerns about the future dissolve in a haze of passion, took away her ability even to form a coherent thought. She wrapped her legs around him, buried her fingers in his hair and opened her mouth to his demanding tongue. For now, he was hers. The future would take care of itself.
* * *
Wearing only a pair of khaki shorts, and those unbuttoned at the waist, Aaron lounged on the bed and watched as Shelby wriggled into her slightly wrinkled dress. She winced as she reached back to struggle with the zipper. “Aren’t you going to offer to help?”
His hair tumbling appealingly into his eyes, he gave her a lopsided grin. “I prefer getting you out of your clothes.”
Still, he pushed off the mattress and moved to stand behind her, slowly raising the zipper while she held her hair out of the way. He finished with a lingering kiss on her nape that made her shiver. Letting her hair fall, she moved away from him with determination. “Don’t start that again or we’ll be climbing back into bed.”
His grin deepening, he reached for her, but she eluded him skillfully, holding up both hands with a breathless laugh. “Aaron.”
Sighing loudly, he stopped. “Okay, fine. Go.”
“It’s already after midnight. You told Uncle Bryan you’d meet him at seven to start roofing before it gets too hot. You need to get some rest first. Trust me, he’s a hard taskmaster.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. I can handle it.”
Smiling, she reached out to touch his cheek. “I have no doubt.”
Catching her hand, he placed a kiss in her palm, then closed her fingers around it and led her toward the stairs.
She turned to him at the door, smiling up at him. “It was a wonderful evening, Aaron. Every minute of it.”