I gathered her into my arms, and she came willingly, her body almost melting into the touch. I wondered if maybe she didn’t get a lot of physical affection. Every touch I’d given her had been met with the thirst of a dying man in the desert.
“Will you stay with me?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I answered honestly. It was difficult enough not to kiss her, not to claim her lips and push her back into the mattress. She fit so perfectly against my body, I never, ever wanted to let her go. “You should really try to get some sleep.”
“I thought you weren’t going to tell me what to do.”
I took a deep breath and turned to correct her, but when I caught the humor in her gaze, saw her biting her lower lip to hide a smile, I shook my head.
“You’re a brat.”
My brat. My spoiled, sassy, gorgeous brat who I was going to marry and put my babies in the first chance I got. And we’d raise a pack of spoiled, sassy brats of our own. Then we’d have spoiled, sassy grandbrats.
“You just went somewhere,” she said, cupping my chin in her palm.
“Somewhere you don’t want to go yet,” I said, pulling her hand into mine and kissing her fingers. “I’m not telling you to go bed. I’m just saying you’ve had a hard day, probably a hard couple months really. You’re safe here. You should get some sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll go to breakfast and talk about what we’re going to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tomorrow,” I insisted. Unable to resist it any longer, I leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
I’d expected it to be chaste and comforting, but my little monster had other ideas. Her arms snaked around my neck and held me close, her tongue running over the seam of my mouth.
With a deep groan, I opened to her probing, running my own tongue over hers, drawing a whimper from her. I pulled her tighter against me, her breasts pressed to my chest as I tangled my fingers into her dark, wild locks.
“I’m sorry,” I said, pulling back from her. “Laura, I can’t do this right now.”
What the hell was I saying?
“What the hell are you talking about?” The glare she gave me would have made most men quake.
“Look, God knows I want you. I mean, babe, you have no fucking clue how much. But you must be at the legal limit for stress. And I don’t want you to ever regret our first time.”
“You think I’d just give up my virginity all willy-nilly because I’m stressed?” She narrowed her gaze at me. “I’ve been stressed since sixth grade. This is that caveman shit I don’t like, Luke. Don’t presume to tell me what I’m thinking or feeling.”
“I need a God damned handbook with you,” I snapped.
Before she could respond, I pulled her into me again, crashing my mouth over hers, as I pulled her body down the mattress so I could lie over her.
She responded immediately, her nails digging into my back as she splayed her thighs, allowing me to fall between them. Thank fucking God I was wearing sleep pants. As it was, my erection was pressed against her core, and even through my pajamas and the cloth of her shorts, I felt the heat radiating from her.
Lust was making me act rashly. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I couldn’t take her virginity tonight. No matter what she thought, this wasn’t the right time. That didn’t mean I couldn’t tease her and tempt her with a taste of what she had to look forward to for the rest of her life.
“Luke, I want you,” she whispered, breaking away from the kiss to meet my gaze. “Please. Just, make me forget about the rest of the world.”
“I will,” I promised her. “But I’m not fucking you tonight.”
“Why not?” she pouted.
“Because I don’t like that caveman shit where you tell me what to do.”
“You’re kind of an asshole.”
“And you’re kind of a hellion.” I shrugged. “We all have our crosses to bear, Laura.” I ran a hand down her chest, cupping one of her breasts and rolling her nipple between my fingers. “But don’t worry, baby. I won’t leave you wanting.”
Her back arched at the intimate touch, a gasp rasping from her throat. My cock jumped in response, and I couldn’t wait to hear all the various sounds she was about to make for me.
“I’m going to eat your pussy,” I whispered against her ear. “And I don’t want you to try to keep quiet. I want to hear every word, every shout, every scream. There’s no one but me here to hear you, and every sound you make belongs to me. I’m going to earn them. So, don’t you dare hold out on me. Understood?”
She nodded, her eyes wide and her chest heaving as she drew quick, shallow breaths.
I pulled at the hem of her shirt, lifting it over her head and tossing it to the floor. Dipping low, I sucked one of her nipples into my mouth, teasing the bud with my teeth for a moment before switching to the other perfect mound and repeating the action.
She moaned, and the sound was like heaven. Her reaction to me caused precum to leak in my pants. I could already feel the sticky fluid, and I was afraid avoiding fucking her would be even more difficult than I’d thought.
Sliding down her body, I trailed my tongue over her skin, pausing to lick at
