“This kind of more?” He slid another finger into her and she took a ragged, shaken breath, and turned her hot face into his neck, inhaling the scent of him as the pleasure blinded her.
“Oh, Cal…” The movement of his hand was slow, tantalizing. God. If he kept this up she was going to go insane.
“What now, darling?” His voice was a low, sensual rumble. “Where would you like me now?”
This time need overcame her embarrassment. “Caleb Steele,” she panted against his skin, “if you’re not inside me by the time I count to two, I’ll wring your freaking neck.”
His laugh sounded like liquid sin. “Well, far be it from me to argue with a lady.”
He shifted, reached for his clothing on the floor, and extracted a condom out of his wallet. Deftly, he rolled it onto himself then caught her hand, lacing his fingers through hers, bringing it up and down onto the black velvet above her head. He moved over her and she shivered with desperate excitement.
His other hand slid beneath her hips, lifting her. Then he pushed into her in one deep, hard thrust.
She gasped, stiffening at the unfamiliar feeling, her body struggling to accommodate him. Oh God, she hadn’t remembered him being quite that big.
He frowned, the expression in his eyes was sharp with concern. “You okay?”
“Yes,” she said shakily. “Just…it’s been a while.”
His fingers tightened on hers and he began to move slowly. Her body adjusted, the discomfort disappearing, pleasure returning. Expanding. Such a wonderful, glorious feeling. So unbelievably good. So incredibly right. So perfect.
Her heart began to fill with emotion, tightening, pressing against the walls of her chest. Her throat hurt. She wanted to look away from him, separate herself, take control of it somehow. But he was inside her, around her, and the pleasure had her by the throat and wouldn’t let go.
Caleb bent his head, his breathing harsh. He caught her free hand, held it up above her head with the other, pinning them there. She’d never felt so helpless, so vulnerable in all her life. And it scared her. She wanted to trust him so badly but always there was the doubt. She’d been let down too many times by too many people.
There was nothing she could do to protect herself from the intensity of the feeling that swept through her.
All she could do was look up into his night-dark eyes as the pleasure began to pull her under, and let herself drown.
…
He couldn’t drag his gaze away. Her eyes were wide, her lovely face flushed, and she was staring up at him the way she had that night they’d spent together. As if he was the most amazing thing she’d ever seen in her life.
He’d never felt so close to another human being before that night and had never felt it since. Until now.
“Oh…Jude…” The words came out choked and desperate, the pleasure winding tighter as he moved inside her, harder, faster, chasing the release they both needed.
She arched up against him, her fingers curling around his, crying out as her eyes shut, her body convulsing. And at last he let himself go, ecstasy swamping him, carrying him away for a few moments of bliss so intense he was blind to anything else.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears, his breathing loud in the silence. He could still hear the echo of her cry in the air around them, feel the tight clasp of her body around him.
He opened his eyes. She’d turned her head away, her black hair a much softer, silkier version of the velvet of the chaise they were lying on.
“Jude.” He put a finger under her chin to turn her head. “Jude, darling. Are you okay?”
She turned and for what felt like a whole minute she stared back at him, blue eyes dark and mysterious as sapphires. Then black lashes veiled her gaze.
“Of course,” she said in a thick voice. “Could you please move? You’re extremely heavy.”
No, that wasn’t right. That odd, disconnected note in her voice. And the way she’d turned her head again, like an anemone withdrawing into itself. Not right at all. Not after she’d just cried out in his arms, abandoned and free and so utterly beautiful she just about stopped his heart.
“What’s the matter?” He couldn’t stop the edge of demand creeping into his tone. “Did I hurt you?”
“Caleb, move.” She shoved at him, her body sliding out from under his as he shifted. And he had the feeling that he was losing something precious, that it was slipping away from him.
He reached for her, not wanting her to go just yet, sliding an arm around her waist and holding her against him.
“Damn you, no,” he murmured against her hair. “At least have the decency to tell me whether I hurt you or not.”