Snowbound with the Boss(8)

They were eye to eye now and when he scraped his hands up beneath the hem of her sweater to cup her breasts, even through the fragile material of her bra, Kate felt heat blossom. Tingles flickered into life deep in her belly, and the core of her ached and throbbed in time with the beat of her heart.

Want. Desperate, frantic need clawed at her, and Kate threw herself into the conflagration. Outside, snow flew in an icy wind that rattled the windowpanes and slammed a stray shutter against the side of the hotel. Neither of them noticed or cared.

“Other room,” Sean muttered thickly, tearing his mouth from hers. “By the fire.”

“Not cold,” she assured him, leaning in for another kiss.

He indulged her, once, twice, then pulled back and shook his head. “Nope. Want you naked and,” he added, “in this room, we’ll both be too cold to finish what we started.”

He was right. The kitchen was cold and getting colder. The light was going outside, and the snow piling up was seeping its icy touch through the walls. True, the heat inside her was only building, but the thought of being with him in front of a roaring fire had its appeal.

“Right,” she said, giving him a nod, “let’s go.”

He scooped her off the counter and braced his hands on her behind. Kate kept her legs wrapped around his hips and held on while he carried her to the great room. At any other time, she might have objected to being toted around, but she was too busy enjoying the feel of his hard body pressed against her center. She went hot and wet, her own body trembling in wild anticipation. She wriggled against him, and he sucked in a gulp of air.

“Keep moving like that and we’ll never make it to the fire.”

“There’s plenty of fire here already,” she told him.

He glanced at her, his features tight, his eyes flashing with purpose, then quickened his steps. Kate grinned because she felt the same way. Hurry, hurry.

Now that she’d made the decision to be with him, she didn’t want to wait another second. She wanted him on her, inside her. She wanted him to claim what she’d only given to one other man before him.

A brief flicker of guilt sprang up in the recesses of her mind, but she smothered it. There was no room for thoughts of anyone else, of other times, other lives and loves. For this moment, there was only her...and Sean.

Sex. She hadn’t been with a man in more than two years. That had to be the reason she was reacting so wildly to Sean’s caresses. Always before, the best part of sex for Kate was the closeness, the snuggling that came after. She’d never before known this kind of hunger—hadn’t really believed she was capable of it. Now, Kate had to fight her sense of guilt for admitting even to herself that Sean was making her feel more than her husband ever had—but that was for later. For now, all she wanted was an end to the driving demands within.

And that’s when it hit her. They couldn’t do this. “No. No, wait.”

“Oh, no,” Sean said with a dramatic moan. “Please don’t tell me you’re changing your mind.”

“No, it’s not that,” she said, licking her lips, swallowing the knot of disappointment that seemed to be lodged in her throat. “I’m not on the pill, and we don’t have protection—”

In the great room, he made straight for the rug in front of the hearth. He set her on her feet, grinned down at her and reached into his back pocket for his wallet, then pulled out what looked like an entire string of gold-foiled condoms.

Her eyes widened, then she smiled and shook her head. “Are you a teenager? You carry condoms in your wallet?”

“Since I met you—” he grinned “—yeah. You bet.” He handed the condoms to her, then reached down for the sleeping bag she’d carried in earlier. “You have your emergency supplies... I have mine.”

Kate didn’t know whether to be flattered or worried. He’d planned this. Came prepared to have sex with her several times—judging by just how many condoms he’d tucked into his wallet. Her stomach jittered with nerves. She’d only ever been with one man. Her late husband, Sam. She remembered being stirred by his kisses, his caresses. She remembered the climbing tension inside her, and she remembered the soft pop of release that was both fulfilling and somehow disappointing.

And now, she was willingly racing down that same road with a man she barely knew. She must be crazy, Kate decided. It was the only explanation.

Sean snatched up the sleeping bag she’d carried inside earlier. Untying it, he flipped it out onto the rug, then bent to unzip it and open it to its full width.

“Not a king-size bed at the Ritz,” he told her, “but it’ll do.”

There were those nerves again, skittering wildly in the pit of her stomach. Firelight danced and shifted across the sleeping bag and sent twisting, writhing shadows around the empty room. She watched him, caught by his steady, direct gaze, and felt the last of her doubts, her hesitation, slide away. Kate had made her decision and she wouldn’t second-guess herself now. Sean was right in that they’d come too far to stop—and more importantly, Kate didn’t want to stop. “Works for me.”

She put all thought aside and eagerly went into his arms when he reached for her. With the fire crackling and sizzling behind them and warmth slowly filling the massive room, they frantically pulled at each other’s clothing. A wild, clamoring rush of need nearly choked her, and Kate couldn’t even imagine why she’d been so nervous only moments before.

Sweaters were tossed to the floor, her bra was tugged free and dropped. His hands covered her breasts, his thumbs and fingers pulling and tweaking at her already-rigid nipples until Kate groaned and arched into his touch, silently demanding more. She didn’t think. Couldn’t have, even if she’d wanted to. There was only feeling now. Deep wells of sensation opening up inside her, spilling through her bloodstream like liquid gold.

Nothing in her memories of times with Sam could have prepared her for what Sean was doing to her. She’d never been this electrified before. Never known the sizzle of her own flesh or the burn at her center.

“You feel even better than I thought you would,” he whispered, magic fingers still showering gentle torture on her breasts.

“Oh, I feel great,” she agreed and leaned into him, sliding her hands up under the hem of the black T-shirt he’d worn beneath his sweater. His body was sharply defined muscles and warm, soft skin. She pulled at the shirt in frustration until he let her go long enough to yank it off himself. Then he drew her close, holding her against him tightly, skin to skin, body to body.

She wouldn’t have thought there was more to feel, more to want, but there was. Sean showed her just how much. Kate had never felt like this before. Hadn’t known she could. Her brain was muddied, her breath coming in short, hard gasps. A tingling sensation crept through her veins, making her body feel alight. Tension tightened inside her, and she yearned for that soft, delicious shimmer of release she knew was waiting for her. It would ease the unbearable pressure building within and take the edge off the desire pumping through her. She didn’t want to wait another minute.

Tugging at him, she pulled Sean down to the sleeping bag with her. And the icy feel of the black nylon against her heated flesh was a counterpoint to what he was doing to her, adding yet another layer of sensation to the feelings driving her wild.

He leaned over her, stared down into her eyes and Kate’s system jolted into overdrive. The man had a great face. And an amazing mouth that he fused to hers in the next instant. A muffled groan tore from her throat as she met every twist of his tongue against hers. She took his breath and gave him hers. Her hands scraped up and down his bare back, loving the smooth glide of hot flesh beneath her palms.

The fire snapped, hissed. The snow pelted the windows and the wind moaned beneath the eaves. And all of it was background music to what was happening between them. Here, in this room, there was no place for cold or ice. There was only the building heat.

He cupped her core and even through her jeans, her body responded with a jolt. Her hips lifted, rocked into his touch as she pulled free of his kiss and gasped for the air her screaming lungs demanded. This was so much more than she’d expected. That tiny shimmer of release she was hoping for couldn’t come soon enough.

“You’re amazing,” he whispered, dipping his head to kiss the side of her throat, to drag the tip of his tongue up and down the pulse point pounding with her response to his touch.

She could hardly hear him over the hammering beat of her own heart. It was thunder in her ears, muffling the world around her. But she didn’t care. All she cared about was this man’s hands on her and the pleasure she knew was waiting for her. When he unzipped her jeans and swiftly tugged them down her legs and off, she was frantic.

All that stood between her and his touch were the black lace panties she wore. Helpless to do anything else, Kate lifted her hips again in invitation, in silent plea. Her body was buzzing, throbbing with a desperate need that only he could meet.

“Well, now,” Sean said, smiling, “if I’d known you had something like that hidden underneath those jeans, we might have gotten to this point sooner.”