Once Upon A Half-Time 2(38)

“I was satisfied,” I said.

“I can do better. I will do better.” He promised me with a kiss. “That first time, I thought I wanted a night with you so I could get off and silence my own desire. I was wrong. I realized my only desire is to give you pleasure.”

“Why?”

“How else would I express my gratitude?”

“Gratitude for what?”

“Letting me near you? Letting me touch you?” His words stilled as my blouse fell away. “Giving me the best night of my life?”

Nate’s kiss teased a mew from me. A wave of goose bumps washed over my body as he studied everything I offered.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” he said. “You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

“I think you’re just saying that because I’m standing here in a bra and jeans.”

“Let’s test it.”

His fingers danced over my back. He unhooked my bra and tugged it off. The cool air wrapped over my breasts, and I bit my lip.

They were bigger than they had been. Fuller.

Nate stared, enraptured. I held my breath as his knuckle brushed my nipple. It immediately tightened, hardened and budded for his inspection.

I wanted more than just fingers. How quickly could I get him to lick and taste and suck?

“You’re beautiful with or without clothes.” His hardness pressed against my leg. “Though I prefer without.”

So did I.

Nate took off his shirt, but he only unbuckled his belt before dropping to his knees. His shoulders rippled with muscle. In the low light, the tattoos blended into his flesh, almost natural. I couldn’t imagine him without the barbs and coils of ink.

I loved the sound of his growl. He strained against his own need. I had no idea he possessed such willpower. He grunted, but he didn’t dive over me. I wondered what I’d have to do to get tossed onto the blanket, to let him have his way with my desperate and wanting slit.

I swallowed, tensing to stone as he studied my every curve. His touch shivered dizzying circles over my arms and waist. I loved and feared the inspection. He unhooked the button to my jeans.

Could he tell?

Was the baby still hidden?

Did he remember how I had looked before? I recognized the change, but it was slight yet. My nipples had grown a little larger, and my breasts softened and plumped. My tummy was yet flat, but the secret made me feel heavy and weighted, as if anyone who saw me would know.

Nate said nothing. His lips tenderly kissed my skin as he tugged at my zipper.

He centered a kiss directly over my womb. I gasped.

His eyes glinted, mischievous. “Feel good?”

I didn’t know what to say.

Yes.

It felt amazing.

For one brief, insane second, I imagined he had kissed there because he knew. That he’d kissed because he was happy, and that this secret was ours to keep. In that world, this wasn’t a second mistake but the beginning of a lifetime of amazing opportunities and happiness.

I stayed quiet.

Nate held me tight as I kicked the jeans away. All the remained were my panties. Of course, they were a ridiculously pink and cute pair that had no place in my fantasy under the stars. He left them on.

Like he thought I was going to change my mind?

I wasn’t. I couldn’t. Every touch against my skin set a fire of confusion and delight. Had he peeled the panties away, I would’ve been ready for him then. Slick. Hot. I’d run for too long. What was I afraid of now? Nothing more earth-shattering could happen in his arms.

Except the amazement when he kissed me.

That was new. That was wonderful.

And it was so very frightening and real.

He guided me onto the dock, cradling me in the softness of the blanket. His touch wove so gently my heart only beat when his fingers graced my skin.

I reached for him, opening my legs so he could rest over me. His tongue responded to my delicate, tentative probe, and the rest of me shivered with warmth as his whisper promised everything I shouldn’t have accepted.

“You’re going to love this.” Even at his most gentle, Nate still grinned a wicked smile. “Every touch, every kiss. We aren’t leaving until you are nothing but a puddle of pleasure.”

“Promise?”

“You know how much I love a challenge. And I know how much you like when I do this…”

He flattened his tongue over my nipple and dragged the heat over my breast. I arched.

Oh God.

I was more sensitive than ever. My breasts weren’t just fuller, they tingled and tightened and if he did it again—

“You look better than I remembered.” His words rasped over his own desire. “Unbelievably sexy.”

His tongue returned, spiraling over the tight bud. Every stroke rippled through me with aching jolts. I couldn’t breathe. He liked that. Nate did the same to my other breast, slowly tickling my nipple with his tongue. It was as if he wished to torture me with pleasure until I revealed my secrets.