Commanding Her Seal (Plus Bonus Novella)(52)

“I like that.” That hadn’t been hard.

“Good. There’s more.” He inched her shirt higher, following it with his mouth until he hit her bra. “I’m going to take this off.”

It was half statement and half checking in, and she got a little mushy eyed over that. He was being so careful and patient with her that she could hardly stand it. “You can take off all my clothes. If you want to.”

His grin gave her permission to breathe again. “It would be my genuine pleasure.”

Before she’d scarcely registered him moving, her shirt and bra came off in one motion over her head, and his quick hands got her short skirt off and thrown into the pile. All that remained was her underwear, but he left that in place as if he could read her need to take it in stages. Which she was oddly grateful for.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured. “Let me show you how much you excite me.”

She braced for his mouth, his touch, something. But instead, he eased back and unbuttoned his jeans. Her mouth went dry. “Is this the part where you’re going to strip for me?”

“Oh, yes. Definitely.” His jeans hit the blanket, and he was utterly, gloriously naked. His thick erection jutted from his body, and as she watched, he stroked himself once. “So hard it hurts. Because of you.”

Molten heat spread through her core.

She couldn’t tear her eyes from his flesh. He was so comfortable with his body, and why wouldn’t he be? He was magnificent, unashamed, sinewy, and so well-defined that she’d have a hard time figuring out where to touch him first. “You’re really gorgeous. You know. Down there.”

His laugh rushed over her skin, sensitizing it. “It’s not just for show, darling. This bad boy is on active duty.”

All at once, reality crashed through this little party. “I um… I’m not on anything, and I don’t have, ah, protection.”

“Got it covered.” He waved it off. “Condoms are the one thing I never leave home without.”

“Then I should tell you that I like looking at you.”

So much that she wished now she’d had the guts to tell him to strip earlier when she’d had her camera. She’d had a feeling he would have, and she’d wanted to capture him at his essence. This was it, no question. His entire body stood at high alert, ready to dive into her the moment she gave the word.

This was a man made for loving a woman. And that’s what she wanted.

“Then I should tell you that we’re not going to need the condoms for a while.”

His smile turned wicked as he knelt back down between her legs and levered himself over her, holding his body up easily so he didn’t crush her as he took her mouth in an insistent kiss that said he was done playing around.

But then he trailed his lips down her neck to lave at the hollow of her collarbone, sucking not at all gently, and the tugs on her skin prickled all the way to her core. She gasped and he instantly sucked harder, pulling on the invisible strings inside. Oh, yes.

“More,” she murmured, and he shifted again, moving his magic mouth to the valley between her breasts and his jaw raked across the sensitive flesh on both sides, bowing up her back in an involuntary response that she hadn’t seen coming.

“You didn’t have to tell me you liked that,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

Wow. It pleased him when she physically reacted to his mouth. That was… hot. And she did want to please him.

All at once, his lips closed over a nipple. The suction sent a streak of fire straight down her body to explode in a flood of dampness between her legs. Coherent thought drained away. She moaned and shifted, seeking more, and he gave it to her, taking her nipple deeper and turning his head slightly to rub his cheek against her flesh.

Her whole body bucked. “Oh, God.”

But he didn’t stop there. Trailing kisses down her stomach, he nudged her legs apart and hooked one knee over his biceps, widening her. His hot gaze raked over her panties, and it wasn’t a barrier after all. She could feel him there as readily as if he’d touched her.

And then he did.

Fingering aside the drenched fabric, he ran his thumb through her slit, groaning in appreciation as she squirmed against the shivery, quivery feeling.

“God, Lilah. I’m barely touching you and you’re already soaking wet. That is… beyond sexy.”

“This is barely touching me?” she squeaked. What was touching her a lot?

He made a strangled sound in his throat as if she’d physically pained him. “Yeah. I’m going slow and easy on purpose.”

“Then stop,” she suggested and didn’t even have the grace to be ashamed. “I want your mouth on me.”