Before she could take a breath, he had her face between his palms, his lips on her lips, claiming her gently, driving away her every thought but the desperate need to have him inside her.
She melted into him, welcoming the hardness of his body and the long, demanding caress of his tongue. How many hours had she tossed and turned, remembering their wild nights together, his firm hands stroking their way over her curves, his tongue easing the ache between her thighs?
“You are impossible to resist at the best of times…” he murmured against her lips, his voice raw and husky with need, “…but in this outfit…”
She arched into him, offering herself to the soothing stroke of his hands. He cupped her breast, squeezing gently as he circled his thumb around her nipple through her clothing, drawing it to a tight, hard peak. Desire licked through her body and she burned for the moment he would be inside her.
She hooked her leg around his calf and pulled herself tight against him, rubbing the curve of her sex over the erection straining beneath his jeans, her core tightening at the exquisite sensation.
“No.” He gently detached her and stepped back, leaving her confused and breathless, aching.
“There is a price for disobeying the rules.” He reclined on the bed and folded his arms behind his head. “Strip.”
Still reeling from his sudden withdrawal, Lana just stared.
“Babe, you’re racking up the penalties like there’s no tomorrow. I said strip.”
“Excuse me?”
“Everyone at Oktoberfest got a show. Hades got a show. Now it’s my turn. You can start with the cap and work your way down.” His eyes glittered fever-bright. “Once you’re naked, I’ll decide what to do with you.”
“You’ll decide?” Nervous excitement ratcheted through her.
He waved her toward the foot of the bed. “I’ll decide.”
She stared pointedly at the bulge in his jeans. “Seems to me part of you has already decided.”
He gave her a warning look that sent quivers of need straight to her core. “Seems to me there’s something you want and you know what you have to do to get it.”
Of all the…
Her hands found her hips. “You think I can’t just walk away?”
“Babe, I don’t think you want to walk away. And neither do I.”
Chapter Twelve
A thrill of fear shot through Lana’s veins.
“How about we just have sex? I’m up for that. And apparently so are you. Right here. Right now. No foreplay needed. I don’t even need a call tomorrow. No strings attached. Just a good old roll in the hay, or against the wall, or even on the bed. Your choice.”
He gave her a measured look. “What are you afraid of? I know what’s under that sassy little dress,” he rumbled. “Seen it all before. Want to see it again. But slow and sexy like.”
Her heart thudded in her chest and her stomach clenched. “I’m not afraid. It’s just…too…”
Intimate.
How could she tell him that? Sex, she could do. Raw, physical, need-slaking sex. But the last time she’d stripped for him, her heart had been full to bursting. She had wanted to make him as happy as he made her—do something to give him as much pleasure as he gave her.
She sighed. “I can’t.”
He studied her for a long moment and then a glint of mischief lit his eyes. “I’ll make you a deal. If you strip for me, I’ll strip for you.”
She snorted her amusement. James? Decorated homicide cop. Badass biker. Dancing around the room? Stripping for her? She couldn’t even picture it in her mind. “Sure you will.”
“You have my word. As fast or as slow as you want.” His intense, steady gaze gave her pause.
“Seriously?”
His eyes crinkled when he smiled. “Seriously.”
“Okay.” She couldn’t pass up the opportunity, no matter how much her heart protested.
“You want music?”
Lana swallowed, nodded. “Music is good. It’s easier if I have something to focus on other than your lascivious grin. I like…”
James chuckled, cutting her off. “I know what you like.” He flipped through his iPod and placed it in his iPod dock on his bedside table.
“You’ve changed,” she said as she waited for the music to start. “You’ve become rougher. Also unrestrained, unpredictable, uncontrolled and, strangely, more relaxed.”
“Seems to me you like rough and unrestrained.” The deep, sensual timbre of his voice made her bones melt.
“Maybe we should just forget the deal and…”
James’s eyes softened. “Babe, I fucking ache with wanting you. But it’s been a long time and I want to enjoy your body. So strip for me. Nice and easy. Then we’ll see where we go from there.”