“Better?” he asked.
“Mmm.” Even her lips had grown weak. She couldn’t seem to form a coherent word.
His chuckle was a rumble that started deep in his chest and vibrated against her fingers. He began to feather kisses along her jaw, down her throat, all around that spot where he’d bitten her before. When would he do it again? Desire coiled and tightened inside her. “Do it again.”
“Sure thing, sugar.”
But it was his tongue she felt first, hot and wet. And the bite was sharper this time. So was the pleasure. Her skin felt icy cold and hot at the same time, and desire tightened into an ache. Suddenly, she had to touch him. She ran her hands up his chest. The hair felt soft, the skin smooth. Both sensations provided a delicious contrast to the rock-hard muscles she felt beneath.
“Yes,” he murmured as he began to nibble again along the line of her throat. “Touch me.”
Encouraged, she ran her palms down his sides and lower over his narrow waist and sharp hip bones, absorbing the hard planes and angles. Each little response he made—a sharp intake of breath when she tried to span his waist, a groan when she moved lower to his thighs—spurred her on. She’d never before received so much enjoyment from merely touching a man. The more she did it, the more she wanted to continue.
To her surprise, her hands seemed to be developing a mind of their own as they moved down and up his thighs, then around to grip his buttocks. And squeeze.
“You’re good,” he said, gripping her waist and pulling her close so that she felt the hard length of his penis press into her stomach.
This time, her groan mixed with his, and the ache inside of her twisted into a pain. Then he set her back against the tree. “Touch me.”
Her hands followed his command and closed around the hard length of him. Once again she marveled at the contrasts—steel hardness covered in velvet. Fascinated, she stroked her hand down, then up. She was about to do it again when he gripped her wrist.
“Am I doing it wrong?” she asked.
For the first time, he wasn’t smiling and the look she saw in his eyes wasn’t amusement. It was something else, something that shot a little shock wave of heat through her.
“Sugar, you’re doing it just right, and if you keep doing it, we won’t make it to the hammock.”
That would have been perfectly fine with her, but she didn’t protest when he drew her hand away and placed it on his waist. “You’re really attached to your fantasies, aren’t you?”
Now his lips curved just the barest fraction. “You got that right. And I haven’t nearly finished collecting data.”
She was absolutely sure that her heart skipped a beat as he slowly lowered his mouth again. His lips brushed hers briefly, then retreated until they were barely a breath away. “Let me see. Where was I?”
Before she could think of an answer, he angled his head and pressed his mouth to the base of her throat. Then using both lips and tongue he journeyed lower inch by inch until he reached the valley between her breasts. Then he lingered there as if some flavor had captured him. Tension coiled inside of her again.
His hands lay at the sides of her breasts and his thumbs were still stroking gently, steadily over her nipples. At any moment she expected him to remove one of his thumbs and replace it with his mouth. Just the thought had her nipples growing harder. She was anticipating the way his mouth would feel, but when he finally moved again it was to brush his lips lower. And Lower. Each lick of his tongue, each press of his mouth sent shivers along her nerve endings.
She shuddered and cried out when he pushed his tongue deep into her navel and pinched her nipples at the same instant. She’d never experienced pleasure so sharp or a need so consuming.
“You’re so responsive,” he murmured as he nipped at her waist. “Better than I ever dreamed.”
The words brought their own kind of pleasure. She felt as if she should respond, but her thoughts were focused on what he was doing with his mouth and where he was headed. At least, she thought she knew where he was headed as he released her breasts, lowered to his knees and drew her legs apart. Anticipation streamed through her, and for the second time she was willing to believe that it was half the fun. But she wanted the rest of it, and she wanted it now.
Her voice was a rasp when she said, “I’m ready.”
“In a minute. I’m really getting into this data collection.”
She wanted to hit him, but she couldn’t seem to lift her arms.
And still he took his time, making her wait, making her want, until the tension building inside of her was almost unbearable. She thought she knew what was coming, what it would feel like when his mouth finally reached its destination, but the quick lick of his tongue shot through her like electricity.