He leaned down, his mouth brushing her ear. “Last chance to back out.”
Hello. “I came out here for a reason. I’m not leaving now.”
He nipped her ear. The tiny bite stung, followed by a wave of molten pleasure that should have embarrassed her. Apparently, however, she was shameless tonight because she let out a small moan, and his lips curved upward in a smile.
Pressed up against him, she could feel the hard muscles of his thighs and chest. The man didn’t have a soft inch anywhere. Her position was both hot—and awkward. Her butt was glued against his front, and she wasn’t entirely sure where to put her hands. She settled for placing them on his forearms. He was all corded muscle there, too. She’d be a lucky woman if she could get him inside and get his clothes off. And if his heart didn’t have a soft spot for her, she was okay with that. Assuming his words were man code for don’t expect anything but sex from me. That fit her plans just fine, right? The way his erection pressed into her butt, his good parts rubbing against hers, also fit in just fine. Except...she’d have taken more if he’d been offering. More sex, more caring, more Gray. Darn it. He’d worked his way inside her heart like a SEAL on a convert op and she’d never seen him coming.
Evidently, he wasn’t done with his public service announcement, however, because he kept on talking. “Unless you walk away right now, I’ll make you open up in every way possible. I’ll take charge, own every inch of your gorgeous body, inside and out.”
Wow. “That sounds like a plan.”
Count her in. She tugged forward, and this time he let her move. The short walk to his room was strangely companionable. He threaded his fingers through hers, and she wanted to point out that he was holding her hand, which probably broke one of their hard-and-fast rules, but there was no sense in poking the bear, at least not until after she’d got what she came for. Plus, she could practically feel him gearing up to talk.
“If you ask me if I’m sure again, I’m going to hit you,” she warned.
A husky laugh escaped him, and she wondered which of them was more surprised. He needed to laugh more, to take life a little less seriously. It wasn’t all war games and death missions. He might be able to teach her about kinky sex, but maybe she could teach him something, too. That with the right person, at the right time, sex was fun. And she planned on having plenty of fun tonight.
“I want to be here,” she admitted softly. “With you.”
“Why?” He sounded genuinely curious as he unlocked the door to his room and gestured for her to go in first.
“No booby traps?”
He gave her a look. “That’s why I’m sending you in first.”
She grinned. “Glad I didn’t pick you because you were a gentleman.”
* * *
HE ABSOLUTELY WANTED to believe that she’d picked him. The reasons didn’t matter so much, although he couldn’t be a gentleman if his life depended on it. Laney Parker drove him crazy. From her methodical, let’s-schedule-everything-including-sex approach to life to the way she stared at him as if he was the most mouthwatering brownie on the plate and she planned on having him. Now. Maybe he drove her a little bit crazy, too.
As he followed her inside his room, he realized something else. Laney dressed up for date night drove him more than a little crazy. His awareness of her was a ten on the Richter scale, her sassy sundress begging to be stripped off as she strolled into his room with a sexy roll of her hips. Giving in to temptation, he ran his fingers down the exposed line of her spine. Her dress dipped almost to her waist in the back, a clear hint that she wore no bra. The only thing between him and all her pretty, sun-kissed skin was a handful of cotton.
He pulled her back against him and wrapped one arm around her waist. With his other hand, he tilted her chin up and kissed her. A hard, demanding kiss because if she wasn’t ready for this, for him, he needed to know. For her, he’d slow things down, kiss her until he got it right. He bit her lower lip, catching the plump flesh between his teeth. She tasted like raspberries, pink and tart where she’d slicked some sort of gloss over her lips. He licked her once, twice, then swept inside her mouth when she gasped.
But she pressed back against him, her tongue flirting with his, and when he increased the pressure of his mouth, she moaned. She moved her hands, too, stroking his arms, petting his thighs, as if she couldn’t get enough of him. And then she drew back.
“Wait,” she said.
Crap. He’d scared her. “Laney—”
She wriggled around, turning in his hold until she faced him. “So much better,” she sighed, tipping her head back. “Carry on.”