Rather than dissemble, he shook his head and said, ‘Nope. I’ve been distracted.’ He was surprised to find they were already at her porch.
‘Darlin’, that’s obvious.’ She smiled. The curve of her full lips riveted him. ‘What’s got you so deep in thought that my exposition on Daisy’s latest hijinks isn’t keeping your attention?’
Leaning against the railing of her steps, he pulled her to him, enveloping her in a gentle hug.
‘You, Bridg. You have me distracted.’ Tipping her chin up, he dropped a gentle kiss on her lips. ‘I think I better go home, before I do something that I’ll regret and you might resent.’
She gripped his lapels and held tight as she whispered against his lips, ‘What makes you so sure I’m going to resent what you want to do?’
He pulled her in closer, resting her head on his chest while at the same time pushing his hips against hers so she couldn’t miss his obvious arousal. He waited for her to tense and was surprised when she just melted further against him.
Plunging ahead, he said, ‘That’s why, Bridget. I don’t think you’re ready yet for how I’m feeling tonight and I’m not sure my control will hold tonight.
‘I want you too badly. You feel too good. You look too good. You smell too good. And, dammit, I want inside you more than I want to breathe at the moment. But I’m not feeling gentle, Bridget. I want it rough and hard. And, baby, you need gentle. You need calm and considerate. We’re still feeling our way through this and I don’t know that I can give that to you tonight.’ He took a deep, deep breath and set her away from him. ‘So, I better go.’
Damp, green eyes searched his face for long moments before she turned away reaching for her key. What hope he’d had that she’d take him up on his offer crumbled to ashes. He watched her unlock each lock – the mechanisms that symbolised her scars as much as they protected her – and in that moment he wanted to rip to shreds the man who had so indelibly changed her.
The last lock clicked and she opened the door before turning to him, a tentative smile on her lips.
‘Connor.’ She held her hand out to him.
He took it in his, prepared to give her one last kiss and take his leave.
‘I’m not made of glass, Connor. What I need is for you to treat me like a woman. Your woman. I trust you, baby.’
Gripping her hand tightly, Connor said, ‘Be sure, Bridget. There’s no going back once I start.’
Rather than speak she pulled him closer, raised up on her toes, and kissed him.
He didn’t kiss her, he ravaged her mouth. And, for once, she melted into it. He nipped at her lower lip and sucked gently to eradicate the pain. He walked her backward into her foyer and kicked the door shut behind them.
‘Locks,’ she panted against his mouth and he broke the kiss long enough to slam all the locks tight.
Unwilling to wait, Bridget grabbed him by the jacket and pushed him up against the wall next to her door. She ripped the jacket off and tossed it aside, praying Daisy didn’t decide to use it as a bed later.
As if summoned by the thought, the pit bull terrier came out to greet them and simultaneously they hollered, ‘Daisy, bed!’ Daisy gave them a doggy huff and left in search of her bed, clearly not happy at being excluded, but the last thing Bridget wanted was an audience.
The interruption did nothing to quell the heat between them. It had been building in the time they’d been seeing each other. Growing hotter with each interlude as Connor slowly drew out her sensuality, reminding her she was a woman, not just a female with the requisite body parts. Now, the heat was too much. She might not want to jump off the ledge altogether, but she definitely wanted more than what they’d done the other times.
All of his teasing and play while they were out had left her with a gnawing need inside her. She wanted it satisfied. A plan he was clearly on board with, considering the way he looked at her. Her awareness of him, already heightened from their interlude at the restaurant, grew exponentially.
She could see the pulse at the base of his neck. It was fast and hard; his chest heaved and he all but panted even as his erection tented the cotton of his boxers. She could smell the woodsy, earthy scent of the soap he used and, as she stroked along his skin, she was convinced the small hairs on his body stood at attention. The chemistry between them made manifest.
In another first, she took the lead. Stroking his body, she watched his muscles ripple and flex, dancing under her fingers like he was the puppet to her master. He let her have her way for long minutes. Allowing her to trace his nipples with her fingers. To squeeze and pluck them before leaning in and licking gently, absorbing the feel of the flat discs under her tongue.
He groaned and leaned into her mouth. His hands he kept planted on the wall and her heart squeezed that, even in this moment, he was thinking of her.
It was time for her to think only of him. Time to give him what he gave her.
She sank to her knees in front of him and smiled as his eyes flickered in surprise. He began to reach for her, to pull her up, but she held up a hand and fended him off.
‘Be still, Connor.’
With shaking fingers, she pulled down his boxers. Gripping him in her hand, she licked him and revelled in the moan she got in response. She licked him again and again, treating the silky flesh like an ice cream cone and growing more enthusiastic with each moan, each gasp and groan, until finally he stopped her, saying, ‘Enough. I don’t want to come in your mouth; I want to come in your pussy.’
His graphic words set her blood on fire and had her body clenching in all the right places. Moisture flooded her sex and her nipples were hard. She wanted more. She wanted everything he had to give.
That thought gave her pause. She couldn’t lose herself completely. She might not recover. But she wasn’t going to fail him tonight. Tonight they’d take another step.
Standing, she kicked off her heels and faced him. Reaching up, she slid the straps of her dress from her shoulders and let the silk pool at her feet. Clad in only her thong, garter, and stockings she waited, unsure of where to go from there.
‘Jesus!’ The look in his eyes seemed to scorch her everywhere his eyes trailed over her skin, leaving her feeling physically stroked, and she felt herself sway toward him.
He came for her then, stalking her like a big cat with prey in its sights. Rather than scare her, the leap in her heart and the catch in her breath were all about the need to be possessed by him. Even as she backed up, she wanted him to catch her, and catch her he did.
She could go no further as she felt her ass bump up against the table in the hallway she used for keys and mail. Turning, she thought to tease him by giving him her back; instead, she was brought up short by the sight of them in the mirror that hung over the table. It was so large, she could clearly see them both from the hips up.
He dwarfed her. His bronze skin unbroken in his nakedness. He stepped up behind her, pressing his erection into her ass as he reached around her and cupped her breasts. They were full and swollen with desire, her dusky nipples hard and distended.
His hands were large and still her breasts spilled out of them. His touch was electric as he squeezed her nipples. Zings of pleasure raced through her veins. She closed her eyes …
‘Watch!’ he demanded and nipped her shoulder.
She gasped and did as ordered. She watched as he cupped and massaged her breasts. She absorbed the sight of him pinching and tugging her nipples even as the pleasure threatened to overwhelm her. She took in the image of the two of them together, building in a crescendo of ecstasy as her sex swelled and pulsed with the need to be filled.
She pushed back against him, pressing her ass into his groin.
‘Tell me what you want, sweetheart,’ he demanded as he ripped her thong from her and kissed each cheek. Kneeling behind her, he tugged on one ankle and spread her legs.
Rising up behind her, he gripped her hips and growled, ‘Look at you. You’re so fucking gorgeous. You look like a woman waiting to be good and thoroughly fucked, Bridget. Your pretty breasts with your nipples so hard –’ he plucked them as he spoke ‘– and your pussy, swollen and dripping, just waiting for me to fuck you.’
She flushed with embarrassment even as she felt her clitoris pulse with each graphic word he uttered. He groaned as she pushed against him again. Moving quickly, he snatched up his pants and grabbed a condom out of his wallet. After efficiently rolling it on, he repositioned himself behind her. His cock was rubbing along her slit and she wanted more, but she didn’t think she could say the words.
