They rode the carousel three times before climbing off.
“That was so fun. Layla would love this.” Brianna’s tears were gone, replaced by glistening sparkles from the lights of the carousel.
“I thought about bringing her, but this was for you. Maybe one day I can take you both on a date. She can get dressed up and feel like a big girl and we’ll get a little extra time together. There’s a light show at the Ginter Gardens that I think she’d enjoy, or we could go to Maymont. There’s a petting zoo there and nice trails and things. Or we could see a play since she loves them.”
“Hugh.”
He felt his shoulders sink a little lower. “It’s okay.”
“No, that wasn’t a no. That was a ‘Hugh!’” She put her arms around his neck and said, “I’ve never taken her to the light show, and I think she’d really enjoy that.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his chin. “She’ll love it, and I can’t keep you hidden forever.”
Forever. Hugh hadn’t been thinking in those terms, but now the word lingered in his mind in a way that would have made him bolt the other way a few months ago.
“Great, well, when you decide it’s appropriate, we’ll do it. And we don’t have to do any of those things. If she’d rather go to McDonald’s and throw a Frisbee or go to a movie, I’m all for it. I’d just like to take you both out so she doesn’t feel left out.”
Hugh couldn’t pin down why he was feeling the need to push forward and meet Layla, but after talking with Treat and spending years not allowing his heart to be heard, it felt like the right thing to do. He couldn’t help but think that maybe fate had stepped in after all. He’d been happier over the last two days than he'd been in years.
They came upon the cotton candy vendor that Hugh had hired, and he handed them an enormous paper cone of pink sugary deliciousness.
Hugh grabbed a hunk with his fingers and raised his eyebrows. “Open up.”
She opened her mouth, and he placed the fluff of whipped sugar on her tongue. Brianna closed her lips around his fingers, sending a flare of heat to his loins and a groan he had to work hard to stifle to his lungs. The seductive look in her eyes drew his mouth to hers. Sugar covered their tongues and melted in their mouths. The combination of his growing feelings toward Brianna and the hope for a future together made the kiss even sweeter than their first. They kissed long after the cotton candy had melted. The music faded. The lights on the carousel went out, and the cotton candy vendor discreetly pushed his cart away. Brianna smelled so fresh, and she tasted of sugary wine. Beyond that, she tasted of Brianna. The captivating taste he’d experienced earlier that morning, when she’d fallen into his arms and he thought he’d dreamed up his perfect match.
“I have to take you home,” Hugh said between kisses.
“Home? No.”
Hugh pried his lips from hers. “No?”
She shook her head vehemently. “No. I want to be with you, Hugh. More than anything, I want to be with you tonight.”
“Yes…my home.” He put his hands on her gorgeous cheeks and took her in another hungry kiss.
They hurried to the car, kissing along the way, and jogging hand in hand. Once in the car, Brianna lifted serious eyes to Hugh. “Don’t we have to clean up dinner or let someone know we’re leaving?”
“God, I like you.” Hugh kissed her again. “They know.” He drove toward his house with a million thoughts of Brianna—and what he wanted to do with her—storming through his head.
At the house, Brianna was quiet. Hugh knew she was nervous by the way she bit her lower lip and the way her eyes darted from him to the floor and back again. Seeing her so nervous made him even more so. He didn’t turn on the overhead lights; instead he went to the living room and used the remote to turn on the fireplace and the stereo, which played soft rock through the wall-mounted speakers.
Brianna set her purse on the table by the door and looked so damned seductive as she crossed the floor in the body-hugging dress that Hugh couldn’t wait to strip it off of her and love every inch of her.
He took her in his arms. “I’ve been trying to figure out what it was about your eyes that make them so beautiful,” he whispered.
Flush covered her cheeks. Feeling her body against his brought rise to his desires and a throbbing in his heart that was new and different from anything he’d experienced before.
“There’s so much more to you than what anyone sees. Behind those beautiful eyes is a well of emotions.” He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “And thoughts.” He kissed her cheek. “And fears.” He kissed her lips again, feeling her body tremble against him.
She licked her lower lip, and his hand slid to the curve of her hip.
“Not fears,” she whispered, but worry hung in her voice.
“It’s just you and me, Bree.” For the first time in his life, he wasn’t trying to rush a woman into bed, and it struck him that everything about the way his mind reacted to Brianna was different than it had been with anyone else.
She put her hands flat on his stomach, spreading warmth beneath her palms. “Nerves. It’s been a long time, and I want to be with you more than anything. I just don’t want to disappoint you.”
“You’re here with me. Nothing could make me happier. We don’t have to do anything, Bree. I’ll wait until you’re ready. There’s no rush.”
“No. No,” she whispered. “I don’t want to wait.”
She took his hand and led him toward the hallway.
“Wait.” He grabbed her purse. “You promised Layla you’d keep your phone on.”
She took his hand again and led him down the hallway to the bedroom. Every step kicked up Hugh’s anticipation, and when she closed the bedroom door behind them and began to unbutton his shirt, he could barely breathe. He set her purse on the dresser and stilled her hands beneath his.
Music filtered in through the speakers, and moonlight streamed through the sheer curtains. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, moving his body to the rhythm of the music. Her hips moved in tune to the sensual beat, and their tongues stroked a lustful dance of their own. She gazed into his eyes and fiddled with his buttons again. Hugh took her in another desperate kiss before taking off his shirt. Brianna’s fingers found the sprinkling of fur on his chest, and her tentative touch magnified his desires. She pressed her lips to his chest, flicking a warm, wet path with her tongue. If he let her continue, he’d never last. Tonight he wanted to love her like she’d never been loved. He took her hands in his and kissed her palms.
“Let me,” he whispered. He gathered her hair in one hand, exposing the flawless skin on her neck. He dragged his tongue along the base of her neck before settling his mouth over the gentle curve at the back of her neck and sucking, stroking her with his tongue. She breathed harder. Her hands pressed against his chest and he drew back again and gently turned her around. He nibbled his way down the back of her neck and slowly unzipped her dress to just below her shoulder blades. Her body stiffened, and when he caught a glimpse of the black lacy bra, his body did, too. He slid her dress off her shoulders and kissed a line down her spine to the zipper, then ran his tongue up the center again. His hands trembled as he ran them along her bare shoulders—so small and feminine they made him ache. Hugh licked the arc of her shoulder, then widened his mouth and loved the gentle curve of her arm.
Brianna arched back, and he reached around her and cupped her breasts through her lacy bra as he suckled the sensitive, smooth skin on the back of her neck. She moaned in pleasure, and it took all his restraint not to rip her dress off and take her right then. Instead, he teased her nipples into taut peaks. She grabbed his hands and pressed them harder against her. He lowered his hands to her rib cage and drew them down to her thin waist.
“Hugh,” she whispered.
He moved her chin to the side and kissed her hard. When she tried to turn toward him, he held her in place. He wanted her to experience desire like she never had before. He wanted her loins to ache like his did. He drew back once again and she whimpered.
“Let me love you like you deserve to be loved,” he whispered. He lowered her zipper to the curve of her ass and slid his hands down her sides, gripping her hips. Her body trembled harder, and he clutched her tighter, then whispered, “You’re safe. I’d never do anything you don’t want me to.”
“I know.” Her voice was a thready whisper.
He kissed the dimples at the base of her spine, then ran his hands up her delicate back and back down her sides, grazing her breasts with his fingers. Brianna sucked in a breath, and her dress slipped to the ground. Hugh kissed along the edge of her thong, just below her hips. Then his hands found the front of her thighs, gripping them tightly as his tongue ran along the underside of the lacy string, over the arch of her cheeks, to the crest of the crack between. He felt her body stiffen again, and he drew himself up to his full height and came around to her front. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips slightly parted. He ran his tongue along her full lower lip, and she closed her eyes.
“You’re so beautiful, Bree.” He kissed the line of her jaw, down her neck, to the indentation at the center of her collarbone, where he licked her gently. He wanted to taste every inch of her skin. “Are you okay?” he whispered.