Any hope of control evaporated at that request. She moved to run her hand down his body. Before she could, he tugged at the jersey and she raised her arms. A second later, he'd thrown the jersey aside and she was pressed against his heated skin, her fine-lace panties the only barrier between them.
"I can't touch you if you hold me like this," she whispered, acutely aware of the delicious roughness of his chest hair against her nipples, so sensitive these days.
"Why don't I have a turn instead?" He bit gently at her lower lip. Stroking his hand down her body, he lifted one leg and put it over his hip, leaving her scandalously open.
Fear clawed at her. Not fear of his loving, but of her own reactions. What if she let him down again?
"Stop thinking." One hand lay flat on her back, while the other moved between them.
"I can't help it." She was excruciatingly aware of the direction his hand was heading in. A second later, he slipped under the waistband of her panties to cup her intimately. She stilled, shocked at the riot of emotion within her.
"Tell me what you feel."
It was too hard to think, speak and keep her body under control at the same time. She bit down on her lower lip, trying not to let her breathing turn ragged.
"You know what I feel?" Caleb asked, spreading his fingers and starting to stroke her most delicate flesh. "I feel you hot and wet against my fingers, so silky soft and welcoming. I feel your body crying out for mine."
Eight
V icki's mind was a buzz of sensation and sound. Caleb had never talked to her so explicitly before. He'd hardly talked at all when they'd made love. To her shock, she found she loved hearing his husky words, loved discovering another layer to his sexuality. Without her being aware of it, her body had softened against his as she concentrated on what he was saying.
"I think these pretty breasts of yours have gotten bigger." He shifted, without removing his hand from between her legs, until she lay on her back with him on her left. Pulling out the arm he had under her head, he propped himself up. "I'm going to turn on the light.""No," she whispered. "Caleb, I can't … "
"I just want to see if I'm right about your breasts, sweetheart." The soft light of the bedside lamp hit her eyes. She blinked rapidly.
When she focused again, her throat dried up as her eyes went to that hand, stroking her so languidly that she felt herself melting. It was the slowest of seductions and she was starting to lose herself to it.
"They are," he whispered, leaning down to flick his tongue across one nipple.
She whimpered.
"Aren't they?"
The words spilled out of her. "They've swollen some."
He bit at the underside of her breast gently. "Does that hurt?"
"No." It felt good, so good. She wanted to ask him to do it again but she'd spent too much of her life remaining silent. A good child should be seen, not heard. A good wife should accede to her husband's requests but demand nothing herself.
"Do you want me to do it again?" he asked, holding out the temptation.
She fought back the voices of the past and reached for the promise of tomorrow. "Yes. Oh, yes."
He repeated the gesture on her other breast, murmuring, "I like the way you taste." Between her legs, his thumb found the small nub that could lead to exquisite pleasure. "What do you like? This?" He pressed his thumb hard. "Or this?" He rubbed his thumb in circles, then stopped. "You have to respond, honey." Slowly, he began to slide his hand out.
Desperate, she used one of her own hands to push him back down. Their eyes met and there was such sexual heat in his that she felt burned. Under her hand, he began to move again.
"This?" he asked again. "Or this?"
Their interlocking gaze was the most intimate thing she'd ever experienced. Running her tongue around a mouth gone dry, she nodded.
"Uh-uh." He shook his head. "You have to speak."
"Caleb," she begged.
"I promise you I'll like it." It was a lover's reassurance and a man's demand in one. "The way I liked it when you used your hands on me."
The words wouldn't come but she knew he wasn't going to go easy on her tonight. She had to ask for her pleasure. Instead of speaking, she moved her hand on his, showing him the movement that pleased her.
A slow smile spread across his face. "I'll allow that answer." Leaning down, he bit at her lip again. She arched up to further the kiss but he shook his head. "No kisses for you. You have to show me how you feel with the rest of your body. I promise I'll be endlessly patient."
She was dying, her breath coming out in pants. His fingers were driving her crazy. Taking her hand away from on top of his, she grabbed hold of one muscular arm. Her body was sheened in sweat but it was the heat in Caleb's eyes that she couldn't get enough of. He'd never looked at her this way in bed.
Tonight he was speaking to her with far more than his mouth. And she liked what she was hearing. She tried to kiss him again but he shook his head, staying frustratingly out of reach. Always before, she'd used her kiss to convey everything she felt but now she didn't have that outlet. Combined with the way he was touching her, it was pulling her remaining shreds of control to pieces. She dug her fingernails into his arms as her body arched toward him, seeking more.
One finger began to slide into her. "This?" His breath was hot against her ear. "Or this?" A second finger nudged at the swollen entrance to her body.
She pushed down against him, squeezing his body with the thigh she had thrown over his waist. He heard and rewarded her by pushing those two fingers deep into her again and again. She felt the edge of something beautiful on the horizon but he stopped before she could reach it.
"Caleb, please. Please." It was the first time in her life she'd begged for anything in bed. Part of her froze in shock at her own audacity, but the rest of her was too busy trying not to shatter as Caleb gave her exactly what she'd asked for.
Unable to kiss him, unable to release the wild sexuality riding her any other way, she screamed, her entire frame shaking with the shooting arcs of an orgasm so intense she thought she was going to black out.
She was barely aware of Caleb taking off her panties at last. When he rose up over her, she let him wrap her other leg around his waist. To her surprise, he didn't make any other move, waiting until she opened her eyes and focused on him.
His face was taut with sexual need but there was something very much like satisfaction in the curve of his mouth. "Time for round two."
Her eyes widened. She felt him nudge at her with his arousal but he didn't penetrate. Swallowing, she pushed her pelvis up, trying to entice him as she never had before. The tip of him lodged in her but despite her wordless plea, he wouldn't deepen the penetration.
"Not until you're with me."
Before she could say anything to that, he dipped his head to her nipple. The hard suction of his mouth sent sensation rocketing through every inch of her body. When he began to move his head away, she knew what she had to do. Caleb had taught her the rules of their very private game, given her the tools with which to fight her fear of doing something wrong.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she held him to her. He returned to his task with such obvious enjoyment it succeeded in destroying what little mind she had left. When he moved to her other breast, she felt her body buck upward. He pushed in another inch. And stopped.
Wanting to scream with the need to have him inside her, thick and hard, she ran the nails of her hands down his back. He jerked and raised his head, a red flush along his cheekbones. "You're not with me yet."
She wanted to beg for mercy but had a feeling Caleb wasn't going to give her any tonight. For the first time in almost five years, she had her wild lover back in bed with her, the one who'd always driven her half insane with need.
In the past, her own hunger had frightened her into silence, leading Caleb to leash his wild sexuality. But tonight the leash had been thrown aside and if she wanted to survive the ride, she had to let go and trust him to lead her over the edge.
When fear beckoned, she reminded herself of her decision-no more pretense, no more self-protection. Running her hand down one of his arms, she found his hand and brought it between their bodies to show him what she wanted. It was one of the hardest things she'd ever done but the payoff was the most exquisite pleasure. She felt the last thread of her control snap, throwing her into the dark hunger of their combined passion.