Tall Dark and Hungry(33)

After several reassuring minutes spent kissing and rebuilding their passion, Bastien eased his mouth from hers and made a quick foray across her cheek to her ear. From there, he trailed his lips down her throat to her chest. He paused briefly in the dark warm dip between her breasts, laving until she shifted beneath him, arching and sighing in pleasure. Then he moved off the couch and settled on his knees between hers, urging her legs further apart to allow him to lean in to more comfortably reach her stomach and the sweetness that waited there.

The custard and cream were soothing to his tongue, and Bastien rasped it off of her-first licking the dessert away, then running his tongue in wider and wider circles. He was aware of the way Terri's stomach muscles jumped, and how her breathing sped up, coming in little panting breaths. He smiled against her skin, eyes closing with enjoyment at the little murmurs and groans as she arched farther, unconsciously urging him to follow the trail of food farther downward.

She was very responsive to his attention, and that natural responsiveness fanned his pleasure in what he was doing. He continued to follow the cherry path to her belly button. There, Bastien quickly dipped his tongue in and out of the small orifice-once, then twice-before continuing down to run it along the waistband of her jeans.

"Ohhh,"Terri moaned, and Bastien opened his eyes to peer up the length of her twisting body. She was incredibly sexy to him, despite the fact that she still wore all of her clothes. Her top was open and gaping, but her breasts were still decently covered by her scrap of lace bra. Bastien decided it was time for that to change. She was ready. They both were.

Rising up, he moved back onto the couch and pulled her into his arms to kiss her again. He enjoyed the way she scraped her nails through his hair and clutched him closer as her mouth opened to both welcome and devour his. Then he set to work on the task he'd set himself; he slid his hands inside her blouse and around to her back to find and work the snaps of her bra. He found it difficult to concentrate on the task, and was relieved when first one, then the second snap, slid free.

Continuing to kiss Terri, he brought his hands around to her front, and slipped them up to push the white blouse she wore off her shoulders. Terri gave a murmur of protest when he forced her arms down to quickly slide the soft top off. For a moment, he feared the reaction might mean she was going to stop him, but when she shook the sleeves off her hands and quickly returned them to holding and touching him, he realized the protest had been at the interference with what she was doing, not at his undressing her.

Relieved, Bastien returned his attention to the lace bra. Rather than distract her again, he didn't try to slip the straps off her shoulders, but simply reached under her breasts to grab the bra's soft cups by their bottom hems. Bastien urged the lace material forward until her breasts dropped into his hands like ripe fruit falling from a tree. He closed his eyes in pleasure at their warmth and softness, and at the way Terri moaned deep in her throat. Her fingers clenched in his hair, tugging almost painfully as she arched into the caress, but Bastien didn't mind. He was having this effect on her. He was making her tremble and shudder and moan and cry out. He wanted to cause more of that.

Ignoring her groan of disappointment, he let go of her breasts and grabbed the straps of her bra to tug it off. He had to break their kiss to do so, and once the scrap of material was off, he tossed it carelessly aside and stared at what he had revealed. Her breasts were round and full, with cinnamon nipples that were now erect and begging for attention. Rather than return to kissing her, Bastien answered their call. He bent his head to catch one hard nub in his mouth.

His mind was filling with all the things he wished to do to her, and this was just the beginning.





CHAPTER 12



Terri moaned as Bastien bent his head to her breast and took her nipple in his warm, wet mouth. She felt his tongue rasp the erect nub then press against it firmly as he began to suckle. Her head twisted on the back of the couch, a denial of what she was feeling. Her entire body had gone stiff under the sudden assault of sensation.

It had been so long since she had felt anything even remotely like this, so long since these now aching muscles had even been utilized. She wasn't sure if she could handle it. She'd thought his kisses overwhelming at first, but this-this was a sort of torture, a pleasure pain.

Her fingers, already tangled in his hair, curled clawlike and dragged at him. A moan of pleading slipped from Terri's lips as she tugged until Bastien finally got the message and released her.

"What is it, baby?"he asked. There was concern and question in his voice.

Terri stared at him helplessly. She wanted him to stop, but she didn't want that. In truth, she really wanted him to continue. Yet it had been so long for her, she wasn't sure she knew what to do to please him-or if she ever had. And Terri so wanted to please him. The need to do so was almost an ache in her heart. Bastien was giving her such pleasure, she wanted to be able to do that for him, too.

"I… It's been a long time since Ian,"she said helplessly at last. "I'm afraid-"

"Shhh."Expression softening, he drew her into his arms, his hands caressing her back in soothing motions. "There's nothing to be afraid of. I won't hurt you. I won't do anything you don't want.»

Terri pulled back at his words, her eyes wide. "No. I know. That's not what-I want to please you, too,"she blurted.

Surprise entered Bastien's eyes. He took her face in his hands, simply staring at her long and hard before saying solemnly, "Terri, you please me all the time. Just by being you.»

"But-"

He covered her mouth with one finger and shook his head. "Let me please you this time. I want you to just enjoy it and do what feels right. Do what you want to do.»

"But I want-,"she tried to say around his finger, but he shook his head again.

"You're always trying to please others. Let me please you for a change. I want to.»

Terri wasn't all that certain she could stand much more of his pleasing, but she didn't argue the point.

When Bastien returned to kissing her, she forced herself to relax and simply feel the softness of his lips moving over hers, the taste of him on her tongue, and the pleasure it all brought.

Soon enjoyment wiped all concerns from her mind. Moaning, Terri slid her hands to Bastien's shoulders, clutching the material there as she arched toward him. The action sent her breasts rubbing across the wool of his sweater, sending tingles racing through her body and rushing her toward the fever pitch she'd been at earlier. Liking it, Terri pressed closer and rubbed across the cloth again, chafing her sensitive nipples against the wool.

Bastien nipped at her lower lip, then slid his mouth across her cheek to her ear. Taking that plump lobe lightly between his teeth, he caught her breasts and cupped them with his hands, allowing his thumbs to flick back and forth over their sensitive tips.

She moaned into his mouth, the sound a half growl, wanting him so keenly it was a physical ache. If Terri had ever felt this particular need before, she couldn't recall it. She was pretty sure Ian had never affected her this way. It was doubtful she would have avoided sexual entanglements all these years had she known she was missing this heady, exciting, and desperate experience.

"Bastien."Terri knew her voice echoed the need she felt. She didn't care. She did need him. She wanted him. Now. And if asking would get, she would ask. If not, Terri felt she could be even more demanding.

"Shhh,"Bastien whispered by her ear, his hands gentling on her back. "It's okay. We have all night. We have all the time in the world.»

Terri groaned, her body shifting restlessly in his arms. He didn't understand: She didn't care if they had all night. She wanted him now. Now.

On that thought, she nipped his chin with her teeth, her nails digging through the material of his sweater and into his shoulder. Neither action was meant to cause pain so much as to get his attention. And they did; he pulled back to peer at her, his expression startled. "Terri, honey?"he asked.

"I need you,"she said on a plaintive note. "Please.»

Much to her relief, the desire in Bastien's eyes flared at her raw admission. Catching one hand in the hair at the back of her head, he pulled her forward for a kiss and the tables suddenly turned. Where there had been gentleness, now he was masterful, his tongue thrusting into her mouth with a passion unleashed, and the pressure of his lips forced her head back. Only then did Terri understand that he had a passion to more than match her own, but he had been holding back, perhaps not wanting to shock her.

Bastien wasn't holding back anymore, however, and a smile widened Terri's mouth beneath his at this sign that she affected him as deeply as he did her. Then she stopped thinking altogether, and simply lost herself in what was happening as he thoroughly explored every nook and cranny of her mouth.

Just as Terri thought she might drown in his kisses and be happy in the dying, his mouth left hers on a quest. She gasped and sighed, shuddered and trembled as his lips and tongue moved across her skin: first to her ear, her neck, then to the hollow of her throat. His teeth grazed her collarbone and she shivered with excitement, her hands curling in his hair again. When Bastien finally returned to her breasts, Terri didn't protest; she arched and cried out his name as he both fondled and suckled first one, then the other.