Head spinning, her mouth moved against his, loving the slick slide of his tongue and the warm press of his muscular body. He tasted sweet, like the juice he’d been drinking, and a little spicy, like the cinnamon in the bar he just ate. But mostly, he tasted like Jackson, and she doubted she’d ever get enough of him.
Essie’s soft curves melted against his hard muscles, and she couldn’t help but notice that he was already fully aroused. She needed this. Needed him. So much, she ached for his touch. She was tired of playing it safe, tired of living in fear of repeating her mistakes. She’d rather learn from experience and use that knowledge to build a rock-solid foundation for their relationship.
On the heels of a growl, he tore his mouth away from hers and blazed a trail of red-hot kisses down her neck, sucking gently, and then not so gently when he reached the tender muscle that connected her neck to her shoulder. Lost in the feeling, her eyes drifted shut, while her hand cupped the back of his head to silently urge him on.
Jackson’s hand moved from her waist to the hem of her shirt, and the brush of his fingers along her bare skin sent tingles of excitement through her. She nudged him back so she could whip the shirt over her head and toss it aside. The bra came off next, and her nipples hardened at the feel of cool air on her bare skin.
Eyes smoldering, he looked her over. “You’re so damn perfect. You realize that, right?”
He didn’t wait for an answer, just kissed her again—a slow, decadent slide of his lips that sent spirals of heat curling through her body and settling between her legs.
She wanted more, so much more, and she wanted it now. But she didn’t want it against the refrigerator, at least not this time around. “Maybe we should move to the bedroom.”
“I like the way you think.” Hands cupping her ass, Jackson lifted her into the air, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He strode to the bedroom, where he placed her on the bed and began to remove his clothes.
For a few long moments, she couldn’t do anything but stare. It took some effort not to drool. He had a magnificent body, heavily muscled yet beautifully proportioned, with a broad chest and a ripped eight-pack that was masculine perfection. Tattoos adorned much of his upper body, each one representing a significant person or event in his life. He’d added a few since their time together, and she couldn’t wait to hear all about them. Her gaze drifted lower, to his trim hips, sculpted thighs, and the undeniable evidence that he was into this as much as she was.
“I’m up here,” he said, and her gaze flicked up to find him grinning at her. He reached down to palm his erection, and everything inside her clenched. “Like what you see?”
“You know I do.”
“Then what are you waiting for? I want to see all of you. Now.”
She stripped off the rest of her clothes in record time, and then he was there on the bed beside her, voracious in his need, using his mouth and hands to drive her out of her mind.
God, how she’d missed this. For the first time in years, she felt truly alive. She skimmed one hand down the length of his torso, past his waist, over his hip, but before she could wrap her fingers around his cock, he gripped her wrist and eased it away.
She made a low sound to voice her displeasure. “Why can’t I touch you?”
“’Cause it’s been too damn long, and I’ll go off like a rocket if you do. You can touch me all you want next time.”
“What makes you think there will be a next time?”
The wolfish smile that formed on his face could only be described as carnal. “Now that I got you back in my bed, I’m going to keep you so damn satisfied you’ll never want to leave again.”
Anticipation whipped through her. Craning her neck, she nipped his lower lip. “That’s a pretty high bar you’re setting.”
“I’m up for the challenge, if you are. Now, don’t move until I say so.”
After one more scorching kiss, he worked his way down her body, lavishing attention on one breast, then the other, and her whole world narrowed and focused on his talented mouth and hands. He knew exactly how she loved to be touched, what it took to bring her to climax. And even though he knew how to get her there quickly, he drew each moment out to give her as much pleasure as possible.
A ragged moan pushed past her lips when one of his hands slipped between her legs, where she was slick and wet. She rocked her hips against him. “Mm, that’s good.”
Jackson’s voice was a low, deep rumble. “Just good?”
It was hard to string a coherent thought together while his fingers were teasing her clitoris. “You set the bar, not me.”
He laughed softly. His teeth grazed her belly, her hip, and then lower, and for a moment or two, she forgot how to breathe when he nudged her legs farther apart to accommodate the broad expanse of his shoulders.
Drunk with desire, she stared down at him, her pulse throbbing in every single erogenous zone in her body. It felt like being at the top of a roller coaster just before that first huge plunge.
Jackson’s fingers continued to work their magic as he kissed her left inner thigh. Then he dipped his head and drove his tongue into the heat of her, and her back bowed off the mattress.
“You taste even better than I remembered,” he murmured, and went back to driving her wild.
Focused, relentless, he devoured her with a possessive hunger that made her toes curl and had her holding the sheets in a death grip. Liquid heat raced through her veins as she struggled to catch her breath. The pressure built, coiling tighter, and her body trembled with the desperate need for release.
She threw her head back against the pillow. “Russell, please…”
