acknowledge it, she’d never made a point of denying it, either.
She was a woman, after all, and he was handsome and strong. But gentle, too, in his way. He held her doors open and he loved his sister. He was a good man, but he was alone. Alone like her. And because he was, and because she was, and because they were attracted to each other, there was a connection.
They could have sex, and it would satisfy the temporary hunger and when all was said and done, they could return to their respective corners. There was no lingering presence in her head to suggest that Lauren was a part of this, and so the morning-after-meaningless-sex hangover would be much less nasty than it had been with Dougie.
Yes, she could do this. She could be brave enough to have this. But she wanted it fast and furious. Done and over and satisfied and back to their corners as quickly as possible.
She reached for the belt at his waist and started to unfasten it.
His lips, which had been grazing her neck just below her ear, lifted and he took a step back. He caught her hands in his and waited until she looked up from his waist, where she could see the faint outline of his erection against the fine fabric of his pants.
“What?” she asked, not understanding why he had stopped. He wanted her. She could see it; if she could just reach out and touch him, she could break his control.
“No, not that way,” he answered calmly.
“Not what way?”
“Your way. This isn’t going to be fast and over quickly.”
She lifted her chin, ignoring the fact that this time he’d been the one to read her mind. “What if that’s how I like it?”
He lowered his head until his lips barely brushed hers. “Then that’s how we’ll do it…next time. Turn around.”
Cass hesitated, but the gentle push of his hand on her shoulder had her obeying. Suddenly the sense of being out of control mingled with the excitement of desire. Both overrode the fear of letting him get too close. She felt the slow, gentle tug of the zipper being pulled down her back.
The dress he’d picked out was her standard all-purpose dress. Long-sleeved, knee-length with the barest scoop neck, it could appear elegant at a wedding or appropriate at a funeral. It had been the easy choice.
The other choices he made had been slightly more startling. He’d picked a black lace thong instead of her more prevalent white cotton panties, and he’d picked a pair of thigh-highs that she had purchased months ago on a whim, which she’d never actually worn, rather than the single pair of black nylons she knew were in her underwear drawer inside her closet. The bra was a simple black garment-her only black bra-but it seemed boring in comparison.
“Did you do it on purpose?” she asked as the zipper fell to her lower back, and she knew the lace along the top of her thong was revealed.
He kissed a spot in the center of her back and she felt him smile against her skin. “You mean my choice of undergarments? Hell, yes.”
His hands found her shoulders and he pushed the dress off one, then the other and let it slip down over her arms, her hips, until finally it pooled in a lifeless heap on the floor.
“You’re beautiful.” Cass felt his hand slide from her bare shoulder to her nape, then a single finger traced her spine until the warm, heavy palm of his hand rested on her bare buttock.
For a moment, she stood trembling. She couldn’t recall a time when she’d been studied like this. He’d left on the single lamp by his bed, which gave off more than enough light. He saw everything she had to offer and there was nowhere for her to hide. Dougie hadn’t been her first, but there hadn’t been many experiences besides that one. Most had been rushed and frenzied. This was anything but, and she wasn’t sure she would be able to withstand the tension Malcolm was building.
Another gentle push and he had turned her to face him. Holding her hands, he helped her step out of the remains of the dress and then he led her to sit on the bed. It was huge and soft, and she felt herself sinking into it. She pulled her hands away and used them to brace herself.
Malcolm stepped between her legs, which were still covered in black silk. She thought he might remove the delicate stockings, but instead he traced the length of her leg, down her thigh, under her knee, circling her ankle, until he popped off her very practical shoe. He repeated the process with the other leg, and it was all she could do to sit still while he performed the ritual again.
“You are a contrast,” he said as he moved farther between her legs, making her spread them wide enough to accommodate him. “So small and delicate, but then I see your arms and they’re so sculpted. Your legs are so toned. And your belly…” He ran his hand over the flat skin that was stretched over firm muscle. His fingers brushed the top of the lace and lingered until she almost begged him to dip them farther below. “Softness over steel.”
Since she was unable to form a truly coherent thought, the only thing that emerged from her dry throat was, “Yoga.”
“And Pilates. I know.”
He met her eyes and smiled. Truly smiled, maybe for the first time since she’d met him. It removed all the sharp edges from his face and made him seem younger. Lighter.
Cass smiled back and he traced it with a finger. Then he was pushing her back onto the bed until she was in the center of it and he was over her. He lowered his head and kissed her like he had all the time in the world. His tongue ran along hers in a slow, leisurely manner, tasting, testing, sucking. Then he delved into her mouth with a steady, heady rhythm that gave her body a hint of what was to come. And the hint was so delicious, so tempting, she found herself arching against him, testing both his endurance and his will-power.
He apparently had plenty of both.
But when her hand searched for and found the outline of his straining erection, he was forced to pull back.
“Not yet.”
Cass almost screamed in frustration. She did in fact whimper.
Malcolm merely smiled again. He moved off the bed and removed the tie he still wore that had already been loosened. He quickly unbuttoned his shirt and stepped out of his shoes, throwing the clothes behind him in a careless fashion that suggested while he did possess expensive things, they weren’t overly important to him. Finally, he pulled off his undershirt and pushed down his pants and briefs. For a moment he stood in front of her and let her study him as he had studied her.
He was beautiful, too. Built the way a man should be built, with heavy muscles, a defined chest and thick forearms that suggested years of conditioning. His thighs were equally strong. It was no wonder he was able to lift and carry her about as effortlessly as he did. His sex sprang up tall from a nest of dark blond curls, and for the first time, Cass was awed by the powerful sight of an aroused man. Her breath caught in her chest, and instinctively she used one of her hands to reach for him so she could touch him and feel all that pulsing power in her hand.
But Malcolm shifted his hips and his erection out of reach. “No, I’m too close to the edge. It will be over…too soon. My way,” he reminded her, although she could see what it cost him.
He leaned toward her and again turned her so this time she was lying on her belly in the center of the bed. She could feel the dip in the mattress as he climbed onto the bed with her and she waited for the next touch.
“Do you know what I discovered about you?”
“Mmm?”
His lips found the base of her neck, a place she hadn’t realized was so sensitive. His tongue traced the line of her vertebrae, and then his teeth ever so gently bit down, making her neck arch much like her cats did when she found a particularly sensitive spot.
“You work so hard not to touch people, but you love the sensation of touch. You love it.” He trailed kisses down her back and quickly dispensed with the unfastening of her bra so that he could continue his trail.
“It’s there in the way you stroke the cats. The way your fingers run over the steel of a fork or the way they caress the surface of the glass in your hand. When I’m done with you, I’m going to love having your hands on me.”
Cass would have told him she wanted to put her hands on him now, but the words got caught in her throat as his mouth pressed against the small of her back. He played there for a while, teasing the shallow dimples that framed her ass. The exquisite torture was like nothing she had ever known. She felt him pull the thong over her hips and down her legs, careful to leave the thigh-highs in place. Then he rolled off her and moved to sit up in the bed with his back propped against the pillows.
