Then Carson’s hand was on her jaw, forcing her attention to him. “Sugar, you still with me?”
She blinked at him.
“If you don’t like what I’m doin’, tell me.”
“I like what you’re doing. A lot. And I want more, but it… I don’t know how…”
Keeping his gaze locked on hers, he feathered his thumb across the inside of her bottom lip. “I can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me. You set the boundaries.”
“I want to take your shirt completely off this time,” she blurted.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Really? That’s what you want?”
She nodded.
“All right. But here’s the deal. If my shirt comes off, your shirt comes off too.”
“You want me to take it off now?”
“No. I get to take it off you as soon as you’ve had your turn with me.”
“Okay.” Carolyn scooted back on his knees and dropped her feet to the ground before she stood.
“Whoa there. Where you goin’?”
“Nowhere. I thought it’d be easier if you sat on top of the picnic table.”
His answering grin was very naughty.
But as soon as he’d moved, Carolyn had a moment of shyness.
Of course, Carson caught it and reached out to her. “I know I’m the first man you’ve been with.” When she ducked her head, he tipped her chin back up. “I’m nervous too.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want you to be disappointed, thinkin’ you’re getting a guy built like Mr. Universe and end up with this.”
Smiling, she leaned forward to kiss him. “I already had a little preview of you so I know getting you would be the better deal, cowboy.”
Her hands shook when she popped the first snap on his shirt. The second snap revealed a delicious glimpse of his chest hair. The third and fourth snaps even more. She experienced the urge to bury her lips in the dark curls and breathe him in like she’d done yesterday.
After she freed him of his shirt, she set her palms on his shoulders, marveling at how broad he was. Then she inched her hands down his upper arms, feeling every bump and bulge of his muscles. His forearms were thick, bunched with tendons and sprinkled with dark hair. As she let her fingers trail back up, she noticed the tan line in the middle of his biceps, separating the pale skin of his torso from the sun-kissed flesh on his forearms, neck and face.
She flattened her palms on his pectorals. His muscles were so firm. Hard, but not unyielding. His chest hair started below the hollow of his throat and spread out in a triangle across his upper chest, tapering to a thin line that disappeared beneath his waistband. Carolyn slid her hands down, her fingers ruffling through the springy hair. She could feel his heart beating and the flat disks of his nipples brushed the base of her hand. Her own heart raced and her mouth went dry in anticipation. She wanted… Oh how she wanted…
Take what you want. Do what you want.
Carolyn pressed her lips to the center of his chest, and immediately his musky, masculine scent surrounded her. Desire bombarded her from all sides. She rubbed her right cheek into that downy softness, then her left.
Hands landed on her head, pulling her away. For a second she panicked, worried she’d done something wrong. Then her eyes met Carson’s and the molten heat in those blue depths stole her breath.
“Christ, woman. Do you realize you made a purring sound when you were rubbing on me?”
“I did? Does it bother you?”
He laughed. Then he took her hand and placed it over the bulge between his legs. “Hearin’ you make that sexy noise gets me even more hot and bothered than you touchin’ me.”
Her cheeks went red hot and she slammed her eyes shut. She couldn’t believe she had her hand on his… Why wasn’t she pulling away? Why was she wishing she’d demanded to strip him out of his shirt and his pants?
“Much as I like how you’re rubbing on me, if you keep doin’ it something will come out of there but it won’t be a genie.”
Crude man. Just to be ornery, because he was teasing her, she locked her gaze to his and kept stroking her palm up over the hard length. “Maybe that’s what I want to see.”
Carson curled his hand around her face. “You will. But not tonight.” He ran his thumb back and forth over her cheekbone.
“What?”
“You’d run if you could read my thoughts right now.” He picked up her hand from his crotch and kissed her fingertips. Then he scooted aside and stood. “Now I really need to cool down.” He unhooked his buckle and unzipped his pants.
“Carson. What are you doing?”