"Damn it," he muttered a second before shooting off the chair. His big hands cupped her behind, holding her steady and aloft as he strode across the room. Seconds later, they entered a dark bedroom she hadn't noticed on her previous visit to his man cave. He set her on her feet and shoved her robe off her shoulders. It hadn't fallen to the floor yet before he hooked a finger through the straps of her tank, linking them together over her chest. He jerked, and she stumbled forward into the rock-hard wall of him. Her hands latched onto his waist.
"Drop the shorts," he murmured, cupping her nape. He squeezed her neck for emphasis. With suddenly clumsy hands, she rolled down the waistband of her shorts, pushed them over her hips, and stepped free of the small puddle of cotton. "Underwear, too, princess," he added, voice rougher. "I want to see what I only got to feel and sink into last time."
She shuddered, a glimmer of embarrassment flickering inside her, but again, she did as he asked. Or ordered. Not so sure which one, and about now, she didn't care. She craved what he did. Yearned for it more than her next breath, her next heartbeat. If she were offered the choice between a lungful of air or this man buried balls-deep within her body, she'd take him, his cock, and soul-shattering oblivion.
His full lips firmed, and desire glinted in his narrowed eyes. Then her shirt was over her head and on the floor. Like a predator on the hunt, he stalked forward, inching her backward. When the backs of her knees bumped the mattress's edge, she lowered to the bed, and he followed, crouching over her like the sleek, dangerous animal he reminded her of. She was caught, taken down. And she'd never been happier for it.
He nudged her thighs apart with a knee and settled between her legs, latching onto a nipple at the same time. She gasped, clutching his head as he sucked her into the moist cavern of his mouth, his tongue swirling and lapping at the hard tip. His long dark strands tangled around her fingers, draped over her wrists. Pleasure arced from her breasts straight to her core, causing the empty and moist channel to spasm harder as if pleading for what her breasts were receiving. When he scraped the edge of his teeth across her beaded flesh, the quiver below increased, became more demanding.
She whimpered, her hips undulating in a wild cadence, grinding her clit against his abdomen, seeking even just a little relief from the erotic torture he administered. He planted a soft kiss to the damp tip before switching his attention to her neglected breast and drawing it between his lips. Her nails dug into his scalp, and God, she wanted to apologize but couldn't draw enough air into her lungs to get the words out. She could only manage broken cries and soft moans. Not that he seemed to mind. The sharp tugging on his hair and the bite of fingernails appeared to spur him on, make him suck harder, flick faster.
Heat coalesced and constricted in her sex, centering in the small bundle of nerves at the top of her folds. She circled her hips, rubbing against him, propelling herself closer and closer to the edge …
Raphael abandoned her breasts, his wide chest and torso momentarily stilling her restless and desperate gyrations. He continued his journey south, not stopping until his shoulders spread her thighs wide and he stared at the hot, wet core of her. She should've been embarrassed. His thumbs holding her wide open, his intent inspection of her flesh, the glistening evidence of her desire for him-the raw eroticism and vulnerability should've had her cringing. In the back of her mind, the demure good girl she'd been all her life scolded her for baring all in such a shameless manner. But then the woman who writhed with pleasure, drowned in it, told the goody-goody to shut the hell up and reached for the man who made her burn.
"Damn, you're pretty," he breathed against her flesh. He blew against her exposed clit, pressed his thumb to it, and she jerked as lightning struck and sizzled through her. "I knew you would be. God, I can't wait to … " He didn't finish the sentence but lowered his head and licked.
She screamed. He growled.
And she splintered.
When she reassembled, he still devoured her.
"Again," he demanded, then proceeded to shove her back up the peak she'd barely climbed down from. His tongue forged a path between her folds, finding and circling her clit, plying the tiny nub with soft laps and pointed thrusts. She trembled beneath him, pleaded, commanded. But he didn't listen, didn't stop. Not until she tumbled headlong into ecstasy again.
Enough. Not enough. No more. Please give me more.
Pleasure had reduced her to an aroused, indecisive mess. Her mind warred, but her body had already taken sides. As he rose over her body, her arms were reaching for him, her hips arching, her sex-still pulsing with the aftereffects of orgasm-ready to swallow his cock deep.
He settled against her, and the flared head of his erection prodded her entrance. Yet he didn't push inside.
"Raphael?" she asked, bowing beneath him, stroking his rigid length. A tiny muscle danced along his jaw but he didn't move. "What's wrong?"
He leaned over her, cupping her cheek. And the gentle touch in the middle of their fierce joining jolted her. "I thought you were going to call me Rafe," he murmured.
She traced his lips with a fingertip. "I was, but … I like your given name. It's beautiful." Like you.
"You're the only person who calls me that." He dipped his head, stole a short but hot kiss. "I like it."
The "Me, too" stuck in her throat, trapped by an emotion she didn't want to attempt and analyze, much less acknowledge. He shifted, pressing his erection harder and tighter against her. The slow grind of hips stole all thought away from nicknames and focused every bit of her attention on the rigid length prodding her folds.
"Baby, I haven't been with anyone since you, and I imagine with all the tests you've had to take you know by now I'm clean. But if you want me to put on a condom, I will. And I'll understand." His eyes flickered down to where his cock was notched at her opening. "But I don't want to. I don't want anything between us. I want to feel all of you surrounding me and sucking me deep." His gaze returned to hers, impossibly hot. "Your choice, baby."
Her choice. Her heart thudded against her chest wall. And not entirely because he poised naked and hard above her. She didn't reply, instead reached down and encircled his thick column. Drew him forward, shifted her hips, and pushed. She sucked in a breath as the tip of him penetrated her. Above her, he groaned.
Permission granted, he snatched control. Slowly, firmly, he slid into her. She clutched his back, holding on. Muscles and tissue stretched and quivered around his shaft. After months of non-activity and two orgasms, she struggled to accommodate him. But with determined thrusts and patient pauses, her core inexorably relaxed, and soon he was buried inside her. She shuddered, vacillating between the discomfort of being almost too full and the pleasure of being filled. Her arms and legs tightening around his shoulders and waist. Her face hidden in the crook of his neck. His hands stroked up and down the sides of her chest and torso, his low murmurings seeking to soothe the tremors racing through and over her body.
"You okay?" he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Let me know when you're ready." She squeezed him, her muscles rippling over his cock, which jerked in response. "Fuck," he rasped. "I take that as a yes?"
"Yes."
His fingers speared through her hair, tugging her head back. His mouth captured hers just as he withdrew and thrust hard. He swallowed her cry, but the sound acted like a match to his control, incinerating it. Grabbing her wrists, he slammed them to the pillow on either side of her head. Fingers intertwined, he plunged into her over and over, riding her with a wildness that tore her breath away. He released one hand, palmed her thigh and hiked it higher, lifting her so he went impossibly deeper into her sex. Another breathless scream escaped her as electric currents pulsed and raced up her chest, down her spine and legs, and returned to the core of her he fucked so relentlessly.
"Raphael." She didn't have a chance to finish the thought. Ecstasy crashed over her, shattering her into dozens of pieces. Dimly, she detected his hoarse growl, welcomed the hard jet inside her and the weight of him covering her. She managed to whisper his name once more before sliding into oblivion.