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She leaned her forehead against his shoulder, trembling.
“If that’s okay with you,” he finished.
No more running. No more playing. She wanted to be his, if only for tonight, no matter what the future held. “That’s definitely okay with me.”
With that, she settled next to him, sitting in silence for a while as they inched forward in the line and the wipers intermittently cleared the windshield of the rain drooling down. He reached over and linked his fingers through hers, their hands resting against her bare thigh. The song playing from his stereo was incredibly sexy, and she could imagine doing lots of naughty things to its rolling beat. “What is this song?”
“It’s called ‘Bliss’, I think, by Syntax.”
“I like it.” It was appropriate. For once in her life, she’d found that particular state of mind. There would be hell to face later, but right now, she felt at peace. “I’m so glad I came with you. It might sound crazy, since I’m wet and exhausted and can barely hear, but I think it’s the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.”
“I’d have been miserable without you.”
“You would? Why?”
“My intention was to come here and blow off some steam, but that would have been impossible. Everywhere I looked, I would have seen your face.”
She blinked at him, unable to believe he was telling her this. He apparently couldn’t believe it either, given that he was staring dead ahead, the glow from the dash lights casting enough illumination to show her the tight set of his jaw. In that moment, so much love for him welled up in her heart that each beat sent an ache through her veins.
Leaning closer, she pressed her lips against his biceps in one gentle kiss, then leaned her cheek into his arm, sliding one hand over his belly.
“Not getting sleepy, I hope,” he teased, pulling his arm up so he could put it around her shoulders.
“Tired but wired, I guess.”
“I know what you mean,” he said. She watched the traffic crawl by and yawned, though sleep was the absolute last thing she wanted to do right now. It was well after midnight. Her family must be going crazy right about now. Every muscle in her body felt twisted out of position. She was wet from head to toe. And all she could think about was getting her hands all over him.
They found a hotel downtown, because he insisted she have something nice. Any roadside chain would’ve been fine with her, but he’d been relentless in his pursuit. They must’ve made quite a sight strolling through the lobby after checking in: wet and bedraggled, arm in arm and barely able to keep their 130
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hands off each other while they waited for the elevator. Her mother would have fallen out in a dead faint to see her behave in such a way. That was one reason it felt so good. Once inside their room, she collapsed on the bed and gave a long, bone-weary sigh. “I am exhausted.”
“Better build up your strength,” he said with a wink as he prowled around and scoped things out.
“Want to call room service? It’s not too late.”
She should be starving, but she didn’t think she’d be able to eat a bite. “Hmm, maybe. What I really desperately need at the moment is a shower.” Her eyes closed. As excited and nervous as she was, it wouldn’t have taken a minute or two for her to fall sound asleep. When she felt weight press down on the mattress, she opened her eyes to find him staring down at her.
“Sounds good to me.” He held out one hand. She grasped his forearm and let him haul her up to her feet. Staring into her eyes, he reached forward and slipped his fingers under the hem of her tank top. “Can I take this off?”
Candace bit her lip and nodded, raising her arms overhead while her heart thudded. Gently, he drew off the clinging material, but kept her hands trapped. His gaze roamed down over her breasts, barred from his sight only by a flesh-toned scrap of silk and lace. He brought one hand down to undo the front clasp while she gasped and shuddered. With a touch so light she could scarcely feel it, he spread the garment open, baring her to his warm palm.
“Keep this up and we’ll never make it in there,” she murmured.
“We will,” he assured her.
She smiled. “I’m glad you’re so self-controlled.”
His caressing hand slid down over her abdomen to fiddle with the button of her shorts. She thought he might have trouble using only one hand, but she shouldn’t have underestimated the skill in those fingers. Mere moments later, her shorts dropped around her feet, leaving her in her thong and her unclasped bra, all stretched out for his perusal.
“Beautiful,” he murmured.
“I was always afraid you’d find me sort of plain, only having the one tattoo.”
He smiled and tugged her hands over his head, settling them around his neck. “Every artist loves a blank canvas. At least, this one does.”
Exhaling in a rush, she pressed herself to him, rejoicing in the feel of her nipples rasping against his shirt. “Do you want me to get more of them?”
“Only if you want more. And only if I do them.”
Smoothing the hair back from her forehead, he dropped his lips to hers, his breathing ragged as she opened her mouth to invite the invasion of his tongue. She’d been starving for another taste of him. The slick warmth of his kiss reignited the fire he’d so briefly quenched earlier in the truck, and she clung to him
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and whimpered in abandon. He smelled of rainwater and the day’s heat and musky male, sending her hormones into overdrive.
“I missed you so much,” she said between mouthfuls of his dark sweetness. His hands slid down to cup her face and he drew away.
“Don’t ever run away from me again.” There was no menace about the words; it was more of a plea. But given the possessiveness in his hands, his thumbs tilting up her chin so the darkness in his eyes could burn her deep, she swallowed thickly and trembled.
“What if I do?”
His gaze roamed over her face. “I won’t let you get away so easily.”
“Promise?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Good. I’ve been a mess. I haven’t been able to concentrate in class or—”
“Sweetheart, don’t let yourself get all fucked up over me. All you have to do is call, and I’ll come running. I was only giving you the space I thought you wanted.”
She shook her head adamantly. “I don’t want it. I didn’t want it then, I only thought…”
“Shhh.” He laid a finger against her lips. “It’s okay.”
She had to tell him what she’d done. She kept forgetting, kept believing everything had worked out, only to remember…
It was hard to remember anything when he kissed her as he did then. Slow, deep, wet. She was aching, pulsing between her legs with every ragged throb of her heart. Somehow he managed to back her into the bathroom while stripping off his clothes, only briefly breaking contact with her lips at any time. She did her best to help, tugging and shoving until he was naked. Her thong gave way to one vicious yank from his hand. He shoved the bra off her shoulders, palming both her breasts and jamming her back into the wall with a snarl. She cried out and tried to climb him, sliding one leg up his hip. Needing him to catch it, lift her and…
This was out of hand. His cock was hard and so, so big against her belly, sliding up between their feverish bodies. She knew in theory he would fit inside her, but sweet Jesus, she didn’t know how. The bead on the underside grazed her skin, and she couldn’t imagine how that was going to feel inside her. Brian moved one hand to fumble inside the shower stall and crank on the water. Steam billowed, filling the bathroom until he adjusted it to make it tolerable. Then he helped her inside, and she wanted to groan with pleasure as the water fell over her skin in a hot rush. She was already crazed for his touch, but the spray invigorated her even further.
Her nipples had been chafing against him. Now they were soothed by the smooth slickness of his chest. She whimpered, and his answering groan as his tongue slid into her mouth was the most purely male sound she’d ever heard. His arms came up to trap her against the wall, his hips leaning into her so that his 132
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cock nestled against her abdomen again. She reached down to grasp it, gave it several loving strokes, but he didn’t let her play for long.
His mouth left hers, trailing down her chin and her throat, and she couldn’t resist reaching up to touch her lips. They felt bruised. Swollen and aching from his kisses. His mouth roamed over the swell of her breast, the tip of his tongue licking away the water as he kissed a path to her nipple. Candace let her hand flutter down to the top of his dark head as every breath she took pushed the taut crest toward his lips, just where she wanted it.
“God, I can’t get enough of you,” he murmured, just as the rosy tip disappeared into his mouth and she lost all ability to breathe. His palm came over to cup her other breast, as if he knew its weight had become almost unbearable, and he circled the center gently with his thumb. Beneath his lips, he was doing unspeakable things with his tongue and his teeth, sending little stinging jolts through her only to lick and soothe them away and do it all over again.