Project Runaway Bride(39)

A shudder vibrated down the length of his back, air hissing through his teeth on an exhale. Juliet grinned at the untamed response, but her amusement was short-lived when he growled low in his throat and grasped her ankles, shoving her farther onto the bed. She clutched at the covers to keep from falling as he yanked her boots off one at a time, then reached for the waist of her pants and peeled them down her legs in a single swift motion before the second boot hit the floor.

His actions left her in nothing but her bra and underwear, and he quickly toed off his own shoes, kicked out of his trousers and stepped between her parted legs. He ran the flat of one palm up the center of her body, from the lacy band of her French-cut panties, over the still-flat plane of her abdomen, to her rib cage and between her breasts. Then he caught her under the arms and hauled her into a sitting position.

He stared deep into her eyes, his hot breath spilling across her face as she pressed against him once again. She hitched her legs high over his hips, keeping him close while his arms snaked around to the rear clasp of her bra. With a flick of his thumb and forefingers, the elastic gave way, the straps and modest cups falling away from her body.

She helped him free her arms from the garment, then arched off the bed as he went for her underwear. He disposed of his own at the same time but didn’t give her a chance to admire his arousal before hauling her up and turning around to take her place on the edge of the bed.

He brought her down on top of him, so she was straddling his lap. The heat of his erection pressed between them, but he didn’t move to use it. Instead, he splayed his hands at her sides and brought her in to capture her mouth. While his tongue slipped past her lips to tease and taunt, he caressed her back, up to her shoulder blades, back down to her waist and the globes of her bottom.

With his hands on her buttocks, she lifted up, moaning as her swollen, sensitized breasts rubbed against his chest. The kiss deepened as they shifted, moved exactly as they needed to until he was poised at her opening, brushing but not quite ready to enter.

She clawed at his biceps, the muscles bulging beneath her fingertips as he clutched at her hips in return. But no matter how many times she canted her pelvis or tried to lower herself onto his length, he held her just out of reach.

“Reid,” she groaned in frustration.

When she opened her eyes, he was smiling up at her much as she imagined a wolf would smile over a stag once it had run it to ground and was getting ready to devour—gleaming teeth and all.

“Let’s see just how compatible we are,” he murmured in a voice so low she almost didn’t hear him.

And then he pulled her down, sliding inside of her in one long, powerful glide.

Juliet sucked in a breath, letting her head fall back and her lashes flutter closed as she acclimated herself to his size, his heat, his possession. Beneath her, Reid remained equally still. She could hear the air sawing in and out of his lungs, but otherwise it was almost as though he was afraid to move.

She was pretty sure she knew precisely how he felt. Not only because being with him like this put her on the teetering precipice of losing control, but it felt like forever since they’d been together.

It wasn’t just the sex, it was the nearness, the intimacy. When they were together, like this, without quarrels and conflicts between them, things were amazing. They connected in a way she never had with any other man.

Unfortunately, there were quarrels and conflicts between them. Almost too many to count. And as much as she might have enjoyed it otherwise, they couldn’t stay naked and in bed 24/7. If only.

But for now, they were naked and in bed. For now, the gulf of problems between them was forgotten and there was only the physical, a whirlpool of sensation dragging them both down.

Reid’s mouth found the underside of her jaw, his lips and teeth and slight beard stubble scraping her there. She pushed up on her knees, drawing away from him, and they both gasped. Then, with the help of his hands glued to either side of her hips, she moved back down.

A hiss accompanied her descent, though whether the sound came from him or from her, she couldn’t be sure. And then it didn’t matter. The room filled with sighs and moans and heavy breathing, along with every manner of other inarticulate noises as she rose and fell, as he plunged inside of her again and again.

If it hadn’t been for his hold on her—strong almost to the point of pain and completely assured—she was pretty sure she would have fallen several times over. Right off the edge of the bed and flat on her butt...or worse.

But Reid didn’t let her fall. He barely budged himself, even as their activities became nearly acrobatic.

As tension mounted, pleasure building at her core, she tightened her hold on the only anchor in her rapidly spiraling universe. Her hands curled into the meat of his shoulders like talons, her legs circling his waist in a viselike grip.