But, just for the hell of it, he thought maybe it was time Generalissimo Liza discovered she couldn’t command every soldier to follow her lead.
He explored her mouth slowly, enjoying the soft interior, the heat of her, the flavor. Then, just when he felt the slightest shift in her mouth, the tiniest tension in her tongue, a subtle move to turn control of the kiss her way, he moved from her mouth to the line of her jaw, robbing her of the opportunity.
He trailed the tip of his tongue along it, nipping gently at the point of her chin.
The slight stiffening he felt in her body, the quiet gasp he felt rather than heard, was immensely gratifying. He imagined most men were more than willing to let Liza do to them as she wanted. What man in his right mind would stop her?
Well, him, apparently. Not to annoy her, but more to provoke her into…well, he didn’t know quite what. His instincts just told him it would be really gratifying to find out. And other than going another night without sex, what did he have to lose?
She moved her hands, which had been resting loosely on his arms, up along his shoulders, and slid her long fingers into his hair. He let the shudder of primal delight roll through him. He loved having someone’s fingers on his scalp. And hers were particularly skillful. He felt her smile against his cheek as he pulled her earlobe into his mouth and bit gently, smiling himself when he felt her shudder in return.
She slid her hands down his back, then around his waist, and tugged lightly at the back of his shirt. He reached back and gripped her wrists to still her actions. “Not yet,” he said against the skin of her neck, the skin he was busy kissing and nibbling.
She tipped her head and nuzzled his neck. “If you think my fingertips felt good stroking your head, I can guarantee you’ll like what else I was planning to stroke.”
He chuckled and pulled her hands to his chest, where he covered them with his own. “Of that I have zero doubt.” The very part of him begging to be stroked twitched as he spoke, and he was pressed tightly enough against her for her to know it, too.
“Then what, exactly, are we waiting for?”
“I like to build the anticipation.”
“Oh, excuse me,” she said, untangling her fingers from his grasp so she could lightly scrape her fingernails over the soft cotton covering his nipples. “I thought we’d done that during dinner.”
“You’re doing a pretty damn good job of it now.”
She merely smiled.
He pulled her hands from him altogether and pushed them back, pinning them on the counter behind her. “So, we’ll just slow things down a bit.”
Despite his grip on her, she leaned forward and pulled his bottom lip into her mouth, suckled on it for a moment, then let it go. “Will we?”
His body had hardened almost painfully at that unexpected little piece of action. Sliding both of her wrists neatly into a single-handed grip, he used his free hand to cup the back of her head, and angled his body against hers, giving her no choice but to look up at him. “Yeah,” he said, his voice low and a bit rough. “We will.” He ran his tongue along her lower lip, holding her head right where he wanted it when she tried to shift and come after him with her own pink-tipped weapon. “Uh-uh,” he cautioned. “My turn.”
“Says who?” she asked slyly, then ran that wicked pink tongue along her lips.
“Me.” He swooped in and took her in a hard and fast kiss, snagging that tongue of hers and pulling it hotly into his mouth. He kept her head pressed to his as he worked her over…and over again. Not so much dueling as sampling at will, taking what he wanted. The instant she tried to turn the tables, he released her, sucking her bottom lip on his way out, then sliding his hand from her hair.
Surprised, she was left breathless, and swayed back before she could catch herself. So he followed her down, taking her mouth in another hard, drugging kiss. He kept moving her back until she was arching over the hands he still had in a grip behind her back. He moved his mouth down her chin, nipped her there, then kept on, running his tongue along her throat and the edge of her sweater, stopping at the glassy little button that held it together. That fell prey to his teeth, and the sweater fell open, leaving the deep V of her silky shirt bared to him…and his tongue.
She arched up and tried to lift her head. So he took that as a sign to pull one pouty, silk-covered nipple into his mouth. She rewarded him with a sharp gasp, followed by a long moan when he continued to work the wet silk and hard nub with his tongue.
She began pushing against his mouth, levering herself closer when he started to move away.
“Like that, do you?” he murmured.
“If you have to ask, you’re not as smart as I thought,” she said, a bit on the breathless side.
Chuckling, he let her hands go and supported her back as she straightened, then abruptly stepped back and reached for the wine.
“What are you doing?” She pushed her hair from her face, and he was pleased to see that her hand was a bit shaky. He wondered when someone had last gotten her off balance. And why he cared. He was enjoying the hell out of being the one doing it now, and that was all that mattered. Right? Eventually it would be her turn to make him pay. He could hardly wait.
But for now, he was liking his turn too much to relinquish it. “You said you wanted another glass of wine.” He split what little remained of the bottle between the two glasses, then picked hers up and handed it to her.
She stared at him for a long moment, then reached for the glass.
“Uh-uh,” he said, pulling it back. “I want to.”
“You want to what?” Her tone was a tiny bit wary, but her pupils were still swallowing up all that aqua blue. He intended to keep them that way.
“Open your mouth.” He grinned. “Without saying anything.”
She smirked at him, then opened her mouth. But snapped it shut again just as he lifted the glass. “I’ll have you know that wine doesn’t come out of silk. Or white cotton for that matter.”
“I imagine you packed other clothes, right?”
She actually spluttered. “You wouldn’t.”
He laughed and wrapped a hand around the side of her waist and tugged her close. “I’m not going to ruin those sexy, clingy clothes of yours. And if I do, I’ll replace them. Problem solved. Now open up.”
She glared at him and stuck her tongue out.
“Not exactly what I had in mind.”
She merely left it stuck out there and shrugged, but her eyes were flashing, all but begging him.
“Fine then.” He tipped the glass to his own mouth instead, took a small swig, then abruptly snugged her head to his and drew that pointed tongue of hers into his mouth…and let the wine trickle back into hers. He kept her tongue hostage until all the wine was gone, then ran his own over her lips, catching the tiny trickle that had escaped the corner of her mouth. “Mmm.” He lifted his head, and offered her the glass. “You want to try some?”
“You’d trust me after pulling that little stunt?”
He smiled and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “You want me to do it again, don’t you?” He kissed her again, only held it longer this time. “Don’t you?”
“I think you’ve done quite enough of the doing. It’s my turn now.”
“And here I thought you were the one with the uniform fantasy.”
“You’re not in uniform,” she pointed out. “But even so, that was more curiosity than craving on my part. After all, I am supposed to be trying new things.”
“Ah,” he said, “so my instincts about you were right. You have a little problem with authority.”
That wicked smile slashed across her gorgeous face. “Only when I’m not it.”
“I’m gathering that.”
She folded her arms, putting a bit more space between them. “So this has been, what—a demonstration for my benefit, then? Showing Liza who the boss is going to be?”
“I’m pretty sure Liza was enjoying herself just fine. It merely seemed to me that you slide into that upper-hand position pretty naturally. And so, being the renegade type that I am…”
She snorted. “Says the town sheriff.”
Now his grin was a bit wicked. “That badge might guide me…but it didn’t tame me.”
“I see.”
And so did he. She’d crossed her arms again and it wasn’t in annoyance. The wet spot he’d made on her shirt was a very revealing mood indicator.
“So women bring out the predator in you, is that it?” she queried. “You’re used to women wanting that man-in-uniform fantasy? Maybe you do wear that badge in bed, symbolically speaking. You like being in charge on the streets…and between the sheets.”
He laughed outright. “It’s been so long I’d have to think about that. But off the cuff, no, you’d be wrong in that assumption.”
“What do you mean ‘it’s been so long’? You haven’t been out of town to see ‘Liza’ lately?”
“Just haven’t gotten around to it, I guess.” And realized the tactical error he’d just made as soon as the words left his mouth.
Her grin was wide and naughty. “Well, I’m surprised you’re not on your knees begging for it then.”