Pregnant by Morning(15)

“You know why,” she said.

He did. In her eyes, he saw the same things she no doubt saw in his. They had an understanding, nonverbal and mystifying, but very real. He’d felt it from the first moment in the hall. He felt it now.

She was self-conscious not because of her nakedness, but because she’d removed her mask and feared learning she’d made a mistake in trusting him.

This night was about two damaged people seeking a port in the storm. He was going through with it because he wanted to live up to her trust. Wanted to fall into a woman so different from any he’d ever met, one so wrong for a real estate broker from Dallas, but perfect for a man who didn’t know who he was or how to live his life anymore.

He wanted to see what happened if he let go of all the rules. It couldn’t be worse than the purgatory of the past eighteen months.

If he did it right, it would be spectacular. Meaningful. And Matthew did everything right.

“I’m not going to disappoint you,” he said hoarsely.

“I know. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.” Her voice had grown impossibly huskier as well, skating across his skin, burrowing its gravelly hooks into his center. “I’ve just never done anything like this before. Never wanted to.”

Well, that made two of them. Hopefully they could figure it out together. “No expectations. No rules.”

“I remember. Except I have this one rule.” She made short work of removing his bow tie and began slipping his shirt’s buttons free with deliberate care as she peeked up from under her lashes. “I get to explore first. You have to wait your turn.”

He went so hard, his spine curved. Had a woman ever undressed him so provocatively?

“That’s a pretty unfair rule. Why can’t we do it at the same time?”

“Because I said.”

The last button popped from its mooring, and she slid blazing fingertips across his bare chest on her way to his shoulders. His shirt came off in her hands and she yanked it halfway down his arms, trapping them against his side.

“Actually,” she added, “the rule states I get to explore twice, once with my eyes and another time with my mouth.”

Said eyes roamed over his exposed skin as she pulled him closer with the grip she had on his shirt. Without warning, she spun him and tied his hands behind his back with the fabric.

“Oh, now that’s really not fair.”

“All’s fair in love and war.” Still on her knees, she turned him back around to graze a fingertip down his chest and into the waistband of his pants. “I’ll let you go when I’m done exploring.”

She drew him closer and dropped his pants and briefs to the floor, ravishing his erection with her eyes, as promised.

He kicked his pants away. “I can easily break out of this you know.”

“You won’t.” Her light tone fooled him not in the least.

This was love and war. And holy cow, did that get his juices flowing in a way he’d never have guessed. He’d play along, but she better believe he’d be dishing it out when he got the chance.

With a soft sigh, she twirled her finger. “Turn around. I want to see it all.”

He faced the wall opposite the bed, slightly uncomfortable and enormously turned on by the notion of her eyes traveling up and down his naked body.

“When does the mouth exploration start?” he called over his shoulder.

Her answer came with a soft touch at the base of his spine. Hair brushed his skin as she nibbled upward and his long-neglected body erupted with heat.

By the time she reached his neck, her tongue had joined the party. He groaned at the wicked swipe of wet heat against his earlobe, and allowed her to spin him slowly as she followed the line of his jaw with her lips.

Then there was no more talking as she kissed him.

He wanted to drag her into his arms and respond in kind. But he couldn’t. His honor forced him to stay constrained as she did her best to drive him mad. He spiraled closer to the edge as she tilted his head in her palms to take the kiss deeper, teasing her nipples across his chest in a tantalizing back-and-forth dance.

Evangeline broke the kiss, arching her back sensuously. The silk of her thong brushed his length, and he nearly came apart right then and there.

No. He breathed heavily through his nose and clamped down on his reaction.

“Matt,” she breathed into his ear, and the low croak was the sexiest thing he’d ever heard. “When I first saw you, I noticed those capable hands. I want them on my body. Now.”

She reached around to pull the knot of his sleeves apart, but he’d already yanked his wrists free.

His mouth was on hers instantly as he slid both palms down the heat of her back to cup her bottom. Smooth. Arousing. He crushed her against his erection and plunged into sensation, freely allowing his body to revel in the impressions, the awareness. Finally, he felt something other than frozen and disoriented.