It was like a drug she'd been craving. A drug she'd been denied for too long.
He eased one knee between her legs and slowly raised it, putting pressure on the nerve-rich places between, and at the same time his hands skimmed upward and found their way under her blouse. His rough hands on her bare skin felt so good she whimpered, a pitifully grateful sound.
His searching fingers found the fastening of her bra and unhooked it. and she obligingly raised her torso and lifted her arms so he could pull both blouse and bra over her head. Like a prisoner released from bondage, she gave a throaty little chuckle of pleasure. He answered with a whisper of approving laughter. His fingers spread wide across her rib cage, then slipped to her sides, thumbs stroking the undersides of her breasts as with strong hands and hard-muscled thigh he lifted her up so that her bared breasts were his for the taking.
And take them he did…each nipple, already sensitized to the point of pain, he first nipped and tongued to intolerable hardness, then sucked deep in a way that tugged and tormented places deep, deep inside her body. She put her head back, wanting to scream, helpless with desire, caught between his imprisoning thigh and his tormenting mouth.
Did she want him to stop, or fear that he would?
Dimly, she felt his hands probing, seeking a way under the waistband of her jeans. Trembling now, she lifted herself higher to allow him better access, and almost sobbed with relief when she felt the buttons and zipper give way to his impatient fingers. Brain-fogged by passion already, she didn't give a thought to the strength and skill it took for him to roll them both onto their sides, remembering to shift so as not to tumble them off the couch while he tugged her jeans and underpants down past her hips. Quickly, she kicked them off, then reached greedily for his belt.
She knew there was no longer any question of anyone being half asleep-there could be no excuse on that account. Both were fully aware, completely and purposefully engaged. But for some reason, neither spoke. She didn't look into his eyes, either. She opened hers only to watch her hands as they struggled to dispose of the barrier of his clothes.
Meanwhile,
Thus distracted, she wasn't sure how she got his shirt open but somehow did. With a joyful little gasp she went exploring now. herself, using lips and tongue and teeth and fingertips…senses of smell, taste and touch, learning his body's unique scents, flavors, textures…crispness of hair, salty-slick glazing of sweat over smooth warm skin, the giving hardness of muscle beneath…the intriguing anomalies of hardened nipples and ropy scars.
Intriguing for a moment, but…not enough. She needed more.
The need was assuaged, but only partly, when his mouth took hers again. Lost in his mouth, all but overwhelmed with the kiss, still she whimpered deep in her throat with the frustration of trying to get his belt unbuckled and his pants removed-hard to do without separating from him. And she couldn't bear to be separated from him, even for that long.
Without any words being spoken, somehow he seemed to know. Without breaking the kiss, he slipped his hands between their bodies, unzipped his pants and jerked them down-not all the way, just far enough. Swiftly, then, he pulled her legs apart and twisted his body so she was once again on top of him. and she chuckled with pleasure at the feel of him, smooth and hot and hard against her belly.
Then…he drew her knees up along his sides, stroked his hands inward over the backs of her thighs and gripped her firmly. And held her wide open to him and pushed into her.
She cried out-couldn't help it. It had been a long time for her. When he hesitated she kissed him hungrily, whimpering not with pain but with the urgency of her need, wordlessly begging him not to stop. And once again he seemed to know what she needed without a word being spoken.
Murmuring assurances, he held her hips tightly and raised her just enough so he could withdraw-only a little- and before she could reach for another breath to protest, brought her down again. This time he ignored her body's resistance, brought her hips hard against his and thrust deep. Lifted her again…then set himself so deeply inside her she cried out again and arched her back, gasping for breath.
No misreading her this time. He didn't withdraw even a tiny bit, but half raised his upper body, wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the hollow of her throat, absorbing her thrusts as she drove herself against him again and again, urging him deeper inside her than seemed possible. And she was aching inside but oblivious to everything except a terrible, all-consuming passion. Passion unlike anything she'd ever felt before.
Then… as she felt the building heat and pressure of his climax, her passion became panic. He tried to soothe her with his wordless growls and murmurs of reassurance, even as his body hardened and his muscles contracted beneath her hands and between her legs. And as he uttered a deep-throated groan and emptied himself into her, she sobbed with the pain of intolerable frustration, because her own release remained just out of reach.
But instead of collapsing into an inert heap, as men in her admittedly limited experience customarily did at such moments. Wade lifted his head from the cushions, gathered her hair in one hand and brought her mouth to his, slowly and deliberately reclaimed it, nibbling and biting her swollen, sensitized lips while he carefully rolled her onto her back. Then, leaning down to her he released her hair but deepened the kiss, as with his hands he pulled her legs wide apart…held her hips firmly to keep her still while with his thumbs he gently stroked and teased her most sensitive places.
She'd never experienced anything like it before, never known her body capable of such sensations. The urge to move, the compulsion to squirm, to writhe-not knowing whether to escape the torment or to beg for more-was terrible. But he was ruthless, holding her motionless as he slowed his stroke…withdrawing, tantalizing, teasing… then finally sliding deep inside her, only to withdraw again…rocking her slower, yet slower, and even slower still. Until she felt as though her body would surely burst with the pressure of so much feeling.
And she sobbed and sobbed until, with a wild, keening cry, she finally shattered, utterly devastated…came to earth trembling and dazed, almost in shock.
Wade gathered her as close as he could without risk of crushing her, and held her, rocked her, tenderly cradled her face in the hollow of his neck while he caressed her hair and wiped the tears from her cheeks. He didn't try to speak, knowing he was probably in no shape to do so with any coherence anyway, being pretty overwhelmed and shaky himself.
It was only after Tierney had stopped trembling and
Chapter 8
He felt the ripples of her laughter with the supersensitive part of himself still nestled inside her.
'Wow,' he said, although it came out more like something between a growl and a purr. 'That's a very interesting sensation.'
'What is?'
He nudged her head with his chin…ran his hand lightly over her back. 'You. Laughing. I can feel it inside you.'
'Gee, I'd think you'd be-'
'I know you would, but you'd be wrong.' He stopped caressing her and sucked in a breath. 'Good God. Is it possible it's catching-this gift of yours?'
She tilted her head and smiled up at him, lashes half veiling her eyes and lips looking blurred and soft. 'I told you, what I have isn't that unusual. It's mostly a matter of degree.'
'Hmm,' he said, thinking about it. 'Maybe.' A little shiver ran through him. though he realized it was more mental than physical. He'd never been so conscious of the workings of his own mind. Thoughts, yeah-he usually tried to stay on top of those. It was the feelings, the reactions, the stuff that popped into his mind whether he
