“I didn’t mean to kill the mood,” I say with a heavy sigh.
He caresses down my back, over my ass to the backs of my thighs, then back up in that same unhurried way. It’s soothing yet somehow stokes the cravings building inside me.
“You trusting me with this is no mood killer.” He combs through my hair and brushes it to one side, then lifts my chin. “It’s the opposite. I want you to feel safe with me, Meg.”
I smile. “I do.”
He leans up and kisses my forehead. “Anytime you want to share, I’m here for it.”
“You can trust me, too.”
He gives me a hint of a smile, but there’s an edge of something I can’t place in his eyes. It’s that invisible barrier again. Or is it a shadow of doubt, even fear?
With a sigh, I rest my cheek on his chest and stroke his shoulder while he caresses up and down my body. His erection beneath his soft cotton briefs presses against my bare flesh, thick and firm. There’s no mistaking his state of readiness, or his size. Two things that should not make the hollow between my legs cramp with longing, and yet, my heart is thudding into my ribs and anticipation is galloping through my bloodstream.
I shift a little lower, parting his thighs with my knees, then plant a kiss in the center of his chest. Moving an inch at a time, I close my eyes and savor the softness of his skin and the gentle glide of his fingers through my hair while I caress and kiss my way down. The lower I go, the warmer his body and the more urgent my hunger becomes.
“You don’t have to prove anything to me, Meg,” he says, tilting my chin so our eyes lock.
My competitive side gives a withering sigh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
A flicker of heat passes through his eyes as I lean down and press a kiss to the flat of his belly, swirling with my tongue. I trace the line of soft hair from his navel with my lips and feather my fingertips back and forth above the waistband of his briefs. He gives a soft groan and caresses from my shoulder down my spine with the flat of his palm. It’s not forceful but hints at an urgency that matches the one building inside me.
I rub over his erection, and he sucks in a breath. The thick, smooth tip of his cock is peeking above the elastic waistband, and it’s impossible not to close my fist around him. My god, he’s thick and hard, like a hot stone.
“Fuck,” he groans.
I slip the waistband lower, kissing each inch of exposed skin as I go, and slide the briefs the rest of the way off. Then I shift more to my knees so I can balance, and stroke up his length. He combs through my hair with both hands and gathers it behind my head.
“I want to watch that pretty mouth of yours,” he says in a sultry tone that spears a current of heat straight to my toes.
I risk a glance through my lashes. “And what is it you want this pretty mouth of mine to do?”
His smile is that sly, mischievous one I’ve seen before. The one that saystrouble coming. Only now, I’m looking forward to whatever trouble that might be.
“Surprise me,” he says.
My pulse throbs between my thighs and renewed heat climbs up my spine. I close my eyes and glide him between my lips. So many wonderful sensations light me up at once. His low groan echoing through me. The smooth hardness of him gliding past my wet lips. The salty-sweet taste of his arousal on my tongue. The warmth and the wildness crackling to life inside me.
“Yes, sweetness,” he praises, arching his hips as I take more. “Fuck.”
I grip him at the base as I work up and down, taking more ofhim, my senses overloaded with howgoodhe feels. How firm and solid and warm. It should not turn me on like this. Is it because in this moment, with him, I feel powerful? Trusted?
His grip on my hair tightens, sparking another rush of heat through my body. With a groan, I take a little more.
“That’s my good girl,” Linden says, his tone thick with lust.
The praise plucks every single one of my heartstrings with a hardtwang.Renewed desire coils up from my core. I know his eyes are on me, taking me in, but it just makes me feel more centered, more confident.
“Your mouth is a fucking dream,” he says, breathing hard.
I swirl with my tongue and glide with my lips.
With a groan, he urges me off him.
Panting, he rolls up and takes my face in his hands. We kiss, both of us breathless. My lips feel swollen and extra sensitive, but his soft tongue gently teasing mine feels like a reward. He urges my thighs over his so I’m straddling his lap. Lowering down, my sensitive, aching flesh makes contact with the base of his bare cock, making me whimper. My thighs tense, giving me a hit of friction exactly where I want it. But it’s not enough. Not even close.
Linden rubs up my back and flips open the clasp of my bra, then tugs it from my shoulders. The look in his eyes is pure heat.
