But instead of screaming, she let out a low moan.
“How am I going to prove it to you?” Carter said in a conversational tone as his hand sent spirals of pleasure rippling through her. “That’s a good question. First, I’m going to make damn sure you feel beautiful, Ivy.”
His words wound around her like a spell. His voice combined with his incessant touch, offering just the right amount of pressure, and she couldn’t hold back. She couldn’t formulate a challenge, a question, or any thought other than—
“Yes,” she screamed into night. “Oh, Carter, please.”
She wasn’t sure what she was begging for. The orgasm to never end? The pleasure might kill her. It was so intense. She felt as if she were chasing the feeling from one peak to another rising higher and higher until…it drifted away.
And now she was floating down to earth. But gently, as if aided by a parachute.
Or Carter.
Through her bliss, she heard the rustle of her gown as he stood. He gathered her into his arms and cradled her head against his chest.
“How do you feel?” Carter asked.
Bold. Daring. On top of the world…
“You proved your point.” She lifted her head. “Now lose your boxers and I promise to make you feel beautiful, too.”
He stripped off his underwear and reached for her, drawing her flush against him. She could feel his hard length, ready and waiting for her.
“Hey, I wanted to take a look at you before we dived right in,” she protested.
“You’re a scientist,” he teased. “Surely you can determine just how much you have to work with using your other senses?”
“Like touch?” she challenged, running her hand up his powerful thigh. How did a man who spent his days behind a desk staring at spreadsheets maintain this body? She lived for her work, but she didn’t have a six-pack to show for it.
But he did. She’d seen enough to know this was a man who could bring a woman to her knees with one glance at his abs.
Her hand stopped before reaching the destination of her supposed research. “Maybe I should start with taste.”
She pressed her mouth against his chest. Her lips parted and her tongue touched his tanned skin. Slowly, placing both hands on his hips for balance, she licked a trail down his body as she dropped to her knees. Wrapping one hand around his hard length, she guided him to her parted lips.
“Ivy,” he growled.
She ran her mouth over his erection, surveying the entire length before drawing away. Glancing up at him, she murmured, “Just completing my research.”
She reclaimed him between her lips and proceeded to explore all eight long, hard inches of him. He began thrusting into her mouth as if begging for more, more, more. She lost herself in the feel, the taste of him. And she reveled—just a little—in having him at her mercy.
“Enough.”
He stepped back and pulled himself free from her lips.
Surprised by his sudden movements, she didn’t protest when he lifted her up off the terrace floor and into his arms. She allowed his hands to guide her legs around his waist. Her arms draped over his shoulders and her hands clasped at the nape of his neck.
“Carter?” she gasped as he gripped her hips and lifted them up. She could feel him poised to enter her.
“Tell me you want this,” he demanded as he allowed her to drop just a touch. Then he held her still again. Another centimeter lower and he would be inside her. Another inch and she would be that much closer to an orgasm.
“I want you, Carter,” she declared. “Right now, please.”
He let out a raspy chuckle and lowered her all the way down. Her body tightened around him. The effect rippled out from her core and her legs pressed into his sides.
“Relax,” he rasped.
Because you’re so calm and collected right now?