She laughed, delighted with this glimpse into Tarin’s childhood. “That sounds horrible. What did you do?”
He shrugged. “I stayed up some nights, waiting for the monsters to show themselves. Then my parents would get angry with me for falling asleep at the breakfast table. I’d tell them what Amit had done and then he’d get into trouble. He’d then make a scarier drawing and the whole process would start over.”
She giggled, slapping a hand over her mouth. “That sounds awful. You were mean siblings.”
“You have a sister. What was it like growing up with her?” he asked, taking her hand and turning it over so that he could trace pictures on her palm.
Her laughter died and she looked away. “Oh, my sister and I never really got along. She was…special.”
“And you’re not?”
She smiled, but the expression revealed a deep sadness. Not wanting to talk about this, Rachel curled her fingers into a fist so that he couldn’t tease her anymore. But he only pressed her fingers back, touching her and sliding his fingers up and down her hand and arm.
“Tell me,” he urged, continuing to tease her hand. Rachel felt his touch echo through her body. “What’s so ‘special’ about your sister?”
She sighed. “My sister is truly beautiful and very talented. Anything she tackles, she excels at. It was difficult growing up in her shadow sometimes.” Most times, she silently added.
“What did she excel at?”
She shrugged, standing up and stepping away. Wrapping her arms protectively around her waist, she looked out the window. “I don’t know. Everything.” She took a deep breath and turned back to smile at him. “Would you mind if we changed the subject?”
“Back to the two of us having sex? Absolutely!”
She laughed. “Well, maybe we could ease into that conversation.”
“I was thinking we could ease into the relationship,” he replied, standing up and walking over to her. “I loved touching you last night. Your body is beautiful, Rachel.”
She snorted. “You should see how gorgeous my sister is. She has softer hair and she really knows how to put makeup on to enhance…”
He reached out to touch her, just a palm to her cheek, but it was enough to shock her into silence. “I don’t care about your sister, Rachel. And just for the record, I think you’re beautiful.” He stepped closer and she stared at the middle of his chest, unable to meet his gaze. “I love the way your eyes are huge and expressive,” he said, his thumb caressing her cheekbone. “And your nose is pretty darn adorable.”
She smiled, wanting to shake her head to deny his comment, but she didn’t want to risk losing his touch. “You don’t understand, my sister is…”
He stopped her argument with a kiss. Rachel was so startled she couldn’t move. She even forgot to breathe. He didn’t kiss her again, but he didn’t move back either. Their lips hovered just a hair’s breadth apart. Rachel waited, wondering if he’d do it again. She wanted him to kiss her more than anything she’d ever wanted in her life. But she trembled, wondering if she should want this. Was she worthy of his kiss? Would he like the way she kissed or would he hate it? Was she completely inept at kissing?
“Rachel,” he whispered and she felt his breath wash over her face, felt the need in him as well and lifted her eyes from his mouth to his hazel eyes. That was all it took. Instead of pulling back, she leaned in and kissed him. No more waiting! No more self-condemnation! This was her moment! This was Tarin and she’d lo…wanted him for so long!
That must have been what he was waiting for because, at the first touch of her lips against his, he wrapped those massive arms around her waist and lifted her higher, holding her against his hard chest! He deepened the kiss as Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She wasn’t great at kissing, not having much experience with it. But Tarin didn’t seem to mind.
She felt one of his hands move to the back of her head, tangling in her hair and tilting her head back, deepening the kiss even more. She squeaked, unaware of how her legs wrapped around his waist as she trembled, unconsciously grinding against him and moaning with every frisson of sensation. She felt his erection against her core and was startled for a long moment, pulling away from him and looking around.
“We’re…” She realized that they were sitting on the couch and she was straddling his hips, wantonly riding him.
“Yes. We’re kissing,” he groaned, his hands sliding up and down her waist, down to her thighs then back up
Rachel told herself to get off of him, that she was smothering him. But the way his hands skimmed over her body felt too good. Staring at him, unaware of the look of need burning in her eyes, she shifted deliberately against that hardness. Just a small movement but…she gasped, her hands gripping his shoulders.
“Rachel!” Tarin groaned, his fingers tightening on her hips. But he wasn’t sure if he was holding her in order to stop her from moving like that, or…waiting for her to do it again.
She took the decision out of his hands when she leaned in to kiss him again and her hips shifted with the movement. He couldn’t hold back, not after that moment of boldness. He’d thought she’d be a shy, tentative lover. He’d anticipated encouraging her to enjoy her sexuality.
So this bold, wild woman was…stunning! He wanted to ravage her, explore every inch of her skin and…howl at how hot she was! But words
