To the giant king-sized bed that awaited them.
Ella wound her slender legs around his hips, rubbing her heated center against his hard cock. It strained the front of his swim trunks, dying to escape, and he growled low in his throat when she blatantly thrust against him, mimicking the act they would no doubt be involved in very soon.
Extracting her from him, he settled her on the edge of the bed, watched with satisfaction as she lay back on the snow-white comforter. “How’s your sunburn?”
She glanced at her shoulder. “It doesn’t hurt, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I was worried.” He whipped his shirt off over his head, tossing it onto the floor before he joined her. “Your skin is still pink.” He drifted his fingers down the length of her arm, linking their fingers together so he could bring her hand up to his mouth and press an open-mouth kiss to her knuckles.
“Rhett.” Her voice was low and smoky, sexy as hell.
“What?” He kissed the back of her hand, breathing deep her salty fragrance.
“Are you going to waste all your time talking or are you going to kiss me?”
He smiled. Her impatience was a tremendous turn-on. The women he’d been with in the past had always been agreeable. Eager, even, though never too much. None of them had blatantly asked for it like Gabriella. The previous women were too afraid to let their cool, sophisticated masks slip.
He’d behaved much the same way. Sex had always been a big game, a mutual, sought-out event of extreme satisfaction. Nothing more and nothing less.
The more he thought about it, the emptier and downright pitiful it sounded.
“You don’t like to talk during sex?” He grabbed her other hand and brought them both above her head, leaving her in the most intriguing position. Her chest thrust forward, her breasts straining against the thin fabric of her bikini top. “I’ll have you know I’m a huge fan.”
Her eyes widened when he settled his lower body between her spread legs. “Of d-dirty talk?”
“Whatever you have in mind, I’m up for it.” Dipping in close, he kissed the top of her ear. “If you like sweet, romantic words, I can give you that.” He nibbled her earlobe. “If you prefer the raunchier, wicked talk, I can make that happen too.”
He pressed his mouth to the base of her throat, felt her swallow hard. “What do you prefer?” she asked breathlessly.
“Hmm, depends on my mood.” He licked her pulse, felt her hands struggle the slightest bit against his hold. “What do you like?”
“I’ve, um. I’ve never been much of a talker. During…you know.”
She sounded uncomfortable and he couldn’t have that. “Then maybe we should start out slow. Ease you into it.” Rhett shifted so his face was near hers, their mouths aligned almost perfectly.
“O-okay.” She released a shuddering breath. “You’re going first, right?”
Chuckling, he murmured, “Don’t be so scared.” He gave her a chaste kiss. “You have the prettiest mouth.”
That pretty mouth curled into a sweet smile. “Thank you.”
“And your skin is so soft.” He nuzzled her again because he couldn’t help it, she felt so damn good. “I want you naked,” he whispered in her ear.
She shivered beneath him. “I—I want that too.”
He lifted himself up on his elbows, his fingers still curled around her wrists, holding her in place. With his other hand he skimmed his fingers from her collarbone down until he stopped at the valley between her breasts. Her nipples poked against her top and he brushed his thumb first across one, then the other.
“Oh, God.” Ella closed her eyes. “
You’re such a tease.”
He laughed, having never heard that accusation before. “It’s called taking it slow.”
“It’s called torture.”
“It’s only fair. You’ve been torturing me for days.” Reaching around her, he untied the string at the center of her back, then moved up to untie the string wrapped around her neck. The bikini top loosened but didn’t quite come off and he stared at her chest for a moment, his self-prolonged agony over what he was about to reveal making him antsy.
He’d grown so used to the torture, he was doing it to himself.