After the Ashes(75)

“Very much,” she said. “Is it all for me?” She wrapped her hand around his jutting arousal in a tight, confident grip.

He jerked back. “Yes, ma’am.” She held on, stroking him to the tip, then sliding her hand back to the root. He gasped and grabbed her wrist. “Slow down.”

She hooked her hands behind his neck and tried to pull him closer. When he didn’t comply, she squirmed under him, brushing the tips of her strained nipples against his chest.

“Why? It seems like forever since we were together.”

Braddock stilled, his smile fading. This would have to last them forever, because there would be no next time. She must have seen his shift in mood, because she dropped her hands from his neck. Her body sagged against the mattress. Braced on his hands and knees, he hovered above her, trying to memorize her features, but now she was the one frowning.

He forced a slight smile and kissed the tip of her nose. All the things he thought to say would only make her frown deepen. He wanted to tell her goodbye the best way he could. Wanted her to remember him by this night. But even he didn’t think he could stand to hear to those words spoken aloud.

He eased down to his elbows and kissed her on the mouth, swirling his tongue against hers for endless moments. The sensation sent urgent sparks to his straining cock. He pulled away, then kissed her neck, their joined mouths causing too much sensation.

He blew on her ear and she turned her head, laughing.

“I’ve been thinking about you, Lorelei. Every night. I want to show you what I’ve been thinking.”

That put the smile back on her face. He had definitely unleashed a temptress with a sexual appetite to rival any man’s. The bastard who got to be her husband would be one lucky bastard. Braddock pushed the thought away.

When she drew her knees up and arched her back, he forgot to think anything.

“Show me,” she crooned.

Why wait? Why resist? The question rang like a command. He leaned back on his heels, hooked his hands under her thighs, and spread her wider. “Are you ready for me?”

She didn’t stop him, just laid her head back and opened for him. “Yes,” she drawled with her eyes closed.

“Let’s see.”

He inhaled her desire before he tasted her. It was a heady experience, almost too much. He licked her, then slipped a finger inside, and that was enough. Her heat seared him. The sound of her soft moan ignited all his other senses. Enough was enough.

He positioned himself over her and drove in with one long thrust, lifting her with its intensity.

She opened her eyes in surprise, then gripped his shoulders, steadying herself after his demanding entry.

They were nose to nose. “This is what I’ve been thinking about.”

“I’ve been thinking about you, too.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips as if it were going to be a rough ride and she were holding on for dear life.

Smart girl, he thought before his body took the luxury away. He moved his hips, arching up with each thrust. Going slowly, making love to her as he’d been taught wasn’t going to happen. Each alluring thrust dragged him deeper into a world of pure physical lust. He was lost in the need of his body. All he could do was move, desperately grabbing her with each stroke.

Her breath came warm and heavy on his neck. She was straining as hard as he. He could hear her pleasure and desperation on each rhythmic exhalation.

He slid his hands under her back, wrapping one arm around her, pulling her to him tightly, while he cradled her skull with the other. He held her head so his mouth could take her breath as he took her body.

Urgency piled on top of itself until he was desperate for release. He went harder and deeper, his grip tightening. He couldn’t stop this. Couldn’t control it.

He had a vague sense of her stiffening in his arms. He tried to clear his mind enough to loosen his hold, fearing he was seriously hurting her. Her slick passage clenched around him and all hope of releasing her was lost. Acute pleasure squeezed the breath from his lungs. He thought he yelled but it came out as something deeply silent, like the quaking of the earth under a rumbling thunder. He came hard and slow. All his pent up lust and emotion ripped from him in wrenching spasms. He peaked a second time, sure his heart had burst.

He collapsed, his head dropping into the crook of her neck and shoulder. He angled himself so his hip sank into the lumpy mattress, sparing her his full weight. The sweat from his body seared them together. He could feel the throbbing of his own heart through her.

Lorelei rubbed his back in large, calming swirls, then brushed back his wet hair. The sound of his breathing filled the room. He jerked involuntarily as a lingering spasm gripped him.