The Dragon Billionaire's Secret Mate(18)

The lacing on the back of her dress was complicated enough that it took Samuel a little while to undo it, but that only made it better. He felt as if he'd been given some absurdly precious gift to unwrap. He felt something like awe as he slowly pulled the ribbons through their eyelets, baring Theresa's skin inch by inch.

When he had the lacings all the way undone, Theresa took a deep breath, visibly bracing herself, and then she stood up, yanked the dress off over her head in one smooth motion and turned to face him. There was something defiant about her stance, but wary at the same time. This is me, take me as I am, screamed the way she squared her shoulders, but the way she crossed her arms tightly in front of her chest betrayed her nerves.

Samuel's breath caught at the sight of her: her beauty, but also her courage and her strength.

"You're gorgeous," he said.

Theresa wore a dark blue bra, broad straps supporting the generous weight of her breasts, two lush, perfect curves. God, he couldn't wait to touch her.

She also wore some sort of support garment that covered her from her thighs to the top of her stomach, shaping her body into a smooth hourglass curve by pinching her sides and squishing her belly. Samuel knelt down in front of her to peel it down inch by inch. The boning in the sides left red, angry welts on her skin. Samuel kissed the marks he'd revealed.

"You know you don't have to wear this stuff for me, right? I mean, you should wear whatever you feel comfortable in, of course," he added quickly. "But I like your body exactly the shape that it is."

Theresa looked down at him nervously. "Sorry. I know spanx isn't exactly sexy date underwear. If I'd known we were going to, um..."

"I really, really don't care what you're wearing," Samuel repeated. "I get to see you out of your clothes. I'm the luckiest man in this city right now."

Theresa was looking down at him as if she still didn't quite believe his words, but desperately wanted them to be true. Samuel kissed her rounded belly, the soft curves of her hips, the pale skin just above the waistband of her panties. God, she was so hot. He loved her softness, he loved her feminine curves. He wanted to kill anyone who'd ever made her feel like her body was something to be embarrassed about.

Theresa was breathing harder, looking down at him with wide dark eyes. He could smell her wetness.

"Do you want to move this to the bedroom?" Samuel asked. He didn't want to push too fast too far, but Theresa nodded immediately.

"Yes," she said. "God, I want you."

He stood up, meaning to give her just one quick kiss, but then he got caught up in her again, her lips against his, the feel of her soft body pressing against his, nothing between him and her skin now but her bra and panties...

He'd meant to take her to the bedroom, he reminded himself. But he didn't want to let go for her even for the thirty seconds it would take to walk there.

"Samuel, bedroom," Theresa said with a low, throaty laugh, but then she went on the tips of her toes and caught his mouth again, as if she had no idea how distracting it was when she did that; how was he ever supposed to make himself let her go?

He wouldn't, he decided.

Theresa gave a startled squeak when he swept her up in his arms. "Samuel!"

"To the bedroom, milady?" he asked, smiling at her, and her look of startled outrage turned into a laugh.

"Put me down, for God's sake! I'm much too heavy for you."

"You're the perfect weight for me," Samuel said. Actually, with the supernatural strength of a shifter, she was hardly more than a featherweight to him. But it was wonderful to have her in his arms, fully awake this time, safe and close and all his; inside him, the dragon wanted to purr in contentment.

He set her down in the middle of the bed and took a moment just to look at her: her breasts framed by her blue bra, her hard, tight nipples that he could just barely glimpse through the fabric. There was a little scattering of freckles on her chest that he wanted very badly to kiss.

Theresa was watching him back. "You're overdressed," she said, which was true enough. He was still wearing his shirt, although it hung crookedly where her exploring hands had pulled it loose from his pants, and the top four buttons were undone. His hard cock pressed painfully against the confines of his pants. Samuel worked his cufflinks loose, carefully set them aside, and then yanked his shirt off over his head, not caring that a few buttons went flying.

When he pushed his pants down, Theresa's eyes immediately went to the front of his boxer briefs, where his cock was making a very noticeable bulge in the fabric.

"Nice," she said, in a low, dark voice. She reached out one hand for him. Samuel came eagerly, leaning down to kiss her again, his hands braced on the bed beside her.