Learning Curves(12)

Her pulse raced. “I just want to get through tonight,” she muttered.

He was about to take a bite of his pizza, then stopped. “Get through it? Lauren, there is nothing to get through. Sex is supposed to be fun, not something you endure.”

She took a big drink of wine, wanting to be honest. “I…just… What if I can’t…you know?

“Come?”

“Yeah. What if there really is something wrong with me?”

He put his pizza down, toyed with the stem on his wineglass and stared at her for a long moment. He frowned, and the real concern in his eyes was touching. This weekend was about sex, but Linc was making it about her, too.

“Do you touch yourself when you’re alone?”

Her hand moved to her thigh, and Linc’s gaze followed the motion. “No.”

“Then how can you know what you like?” His eyes moved back to hers. He bit into his pizza, chewed, then nodded like he just came to some great conclusion. “Tonight you’ll touch with me. We’ll learn your body, every curve, together, and discover all your likes.”

“You want me to touch myself?” she asked, shocked she could find her voice.

His gaze held hers. “Yes.” Their knees bumped under the table, distracting her. Warm shivers skittered through her limbs. “Lots of people do.”

“Do you?” she blurted out without thinking, her body firing as she visualized his hands on his cock. Why did that image turn her on so much?

“Yeah. I can show you that, too, if you like.” He finished off his slice of pizza, but she left half of hers on the plate, too anxious to eat. “Still nervous?” he asked.

“A bit.”

“It’s okay,” he said then gave her a wink. “In a few minutes you’ll forget what you were ever worried about.” He glanced at her plate. “Are you done?” When she nodded, he pushed away from the table and stood. “Come here.”

Oh, God, this is happening. This is really happening.

She went up on wobbly legs, and he cupped her elbow and pulled her to him. A little nudge had her pressed against the wooden railing surrounding the deck. Off in the distance, the waves lapped at the shore.

“I wasn’t lying or putting on a show for Matthew when I said I wanted you to wear this dress, with your hair up.” He pushed a foot between her legs to spread them, and curled a wispy strand around his finger.

“You can’t be serious?”

“Why is that so hard to believe?”

She shrugged. “Matthew said this was boring. He wanted me to dress sexier.”

The muscles along his jaw clenched. “You don’t need to change a thing.” She blinked as she stared at him. Was he for real, or was this part of the seduction?

He arched a brow, and his eyes softened. “What, you don’t believe me?”

“No one has ever said anything like that to me before, so it’s hard for me to believe—”

“Then believe this.” He pushed his hard cock against her side. “The body doesn’t lie.”

“Oh,” she said.

“Yeah, oh.” He grinned. “Need any more convincing?”

Holy hell. She made Linc hard. This powerful, hot-as-hell man wanted her. The firm length of his cock against her body bolstered her confidence, and recklessness surged through her. “Maybe I do.”

He laughed, and she grinned. “Good,” he said, taking back the reins. He dipped his head, his thumb on her chin as he zeroed in on her lips. She wet them, waiting for his mouth to take hers. Her lips still tingled from their earlier kiss. And, oh, what a kiss it had been. It left her craving more.

“You’re beautiful, Lauren.” He moved his hips and bent his knees, his erection pressing into the notch between her thighs and bringing her to her toes. “And I want you, so much that I’ve been walking around with a goddamn hard-on for months now.”

He pushed against her, and her nipples tightened. “I didn’t even think you liked me. You ignore me a lot.”

“I had to.” He put his hands on her outer thighs and fisted the fabric on her dress. “Otherwise I would have lifted this dress over your ass, bent you over a chair, and fucked you right there in the skybox, with everyone watching.”

His dirty words reverberated through her and seduced every erogenous spot on her body.

“I want you. Make no mistake about that. Tonight I’m going to prove there isn’t a damn thing wrong with you. You just haven’t been with the right man. But next time… Well, next time I might just strip your clothes off right here, kick your legs open wide, and pound into you against this rail. Hard and rough. And I don’t give a sweet fuck who’s watching.”