Tomorrow Will Be Too Late (20 page)

A kingdom for a napkin, she wanted to say jokingly as she looked up to Justin, embarrassed with her own messy mishap.

Yet as she
looked into his face and saw
his eyes darkened with emotion that couldn’t be misread, the words dried up in her throat, refusing to be brought forward. Heavy with desire, his gaze travelled down to her neck and lower still, caressing the delicate skin of her exposed breasts.
The traces of wetness the peach juice left on her skin dried almost instantly, the heat spreading under her skin scorching
them
with the infernal flames of desire.

‘I’m so clumsy sometimes,’ she said, her own voice sounding alien and hollow to her ears. But she had to say something, anything
,
to dim the fire in his gaze.
‘If you show me the way to the washroom
,
I’ll save your sofa from getting dribbled on. I don’t want to have juice stains on my dress
,
either. Do you have any idea how difficult they are to get out, once they really set in?’
s
he prattled on, beginning to get up. Suddenly his hand was around her wrist, stopping her midway
to
her exit.

‘Don’t.’

S
he had never thought that
such
a
short
command could have
that much of an
immediate effect. He wasn’t even demanding, she thought as she watched him, her heart ready to jump out of her chest. Rather, his soft low words
were more of a plea,
weaving its way into her heart and senses.

‘Don’t go,’ he repeated, the light pressure on her wrist not strong enough to keep her in place if she really chose to move. She could have broken the contact at any moment, Kate thought feverishly, knowing deep down that she wouldn’t do such a thing.
Time slowed, coming to a standstill as she waited for his next move, the space between them shrinking slowly
,
but steadily.

‘You
r skin
smell
s like
peaches
.’

S
he was too slow, she realized,
watching with fatal fascination as he
leaned
closer, inhaling deeply the fruity flavor clinging to her skin. ‘Sweet and tempting, just like the forbidden fruit of Paradise.’

His head bent, lips skimming over her skin in
a
slow steady caress. His warm breath fanned over the hollow at the base of her neck, her skin responding with a shiver. She looked at his dark hair, amazed by the sense of almost protectiveness she felt watching him from this unusual angle. He looked vulnerable and almost
reverent
, she thought as his tongue tip flickered over the already dried
-
on juice, sampling it from her skin.

His hands holding on to her wrists abandoned their
prey
, moving deeper to her forearms and over the elbows and finally coming to rest on her upper arms. The pressure of his mouth intensified, the thistledown
-
like kisses
adding
to
the almost drugging sweetness that silenced her into helpless submission.

‘You taste even better than you smell
.’ H
e looked up, his dark eyes meeting her gaze as he smiled
the
wolfish smile of a conqueror ready to deal with his spoils. Suddenly they were face to face, the heat in his gaze finding a corresponding echo in the very core of her femininity.

‘We should clean up this mess
,
’ she insisted in a weak voice, the sticky
peach still
in her hand. His smile widened as he took the fruit from her fingers and rested it on the table, completely unconcerned with the droplets of juice smudging the perfect stainless steel top.

‘
Later
, maybe
.’ H
is silky tone melted her insides, even before he finally kissed her, his previous self
-
control shattering into
a
thousand pieces. What was calm and slow before was replaced with urgency that left little doubt about his intentions.

Suddenly she found herself lifted off her feet, the cradle of his arms pressing her to his broad chest the only real thing in the world of sensuous delight. As if she had left the atmosphere and floated weightlessly in the dark vast expanse of the universe, his mouth and his hands were the only lifelines still attaching her to what was
genuine
and solid. He was her lifeline, she thought as she felt him carry her down the corridor
, her weight not slowing him down one bit.

A door opened, a draft of cool air brushing against her skin and cooling it down
little by little
. She lifted her heated face from his chest, her breath catching as she saw the interior of the rather
Spartan
room large enough to host half of her
entire
home. The light from the hallway illuminated the dim interior, the huge king
-
size bed the first thing she noticed.
Low and sprawling, it gleamed in the low light, the white bedding pristine and pure.

Justin lowered her gently onto its wide surface, his tall body following her instantly. Blue eyes watched her carefully, his white teeth flashing in the darkness as he asked, some measure of control in his voice once again
,
‘Am I going too fast?’
His
expression
unreadable
,
he waited, his fingers weaving their way into her long hair and caressing the sensitive skin of her already tingling scalp.

‘No, not at all
.
’
Her
voice sounded almost like a croak
. Dismayed
,
she tried again, making an effort to be stronger. ‘It’s fine, really. That was what we had agreed on, right? Sex without too much hassle.’

‘Exactly
.
’
A
tiny grim line appeared on his forehead, instantly smoothed out as he added, the predatory tone back in his voice
,
‘
I’m glad we see things the same way.’

She didn’t get the chance to respond, his mouth coming down on hers in a passionate kiss that silenced the voice of reason in her head for good. Hot and demanding, his lips moved against hers,
exploring the trembling contours with haste that was at odds with his cool statement. Her pulse le
a
pt and danced, desire c
o
ursing through her veins like wildfire impossible to be contained.

She felt the softness of the pillows against her back, the silky sheets caressing her skin and adding to the surreal sensation of total bliss. Her arms reached up around his neck, her desperate need to have him even closer winning the short battle with her brain.
He obliged instantly, his hard frame covering her as he
leaned
over her, his steady hand reaching for the zipper on the back of her dress. The swoosh of it being opened barely registered in her brain, her
shoulder blades
lifting on their own accord to make it easier for him to pull it to her waist. His fingers skimmed over her naked skin, tracing lines of fire all the way from her collarbone to her navel.
She heard him hold his breath
,
and
she
opened her eyes, sweet weakness invading her whole
body.
Nobody
had
ever looked at her like that, his totally arrested expression making her dizzy.

He took an unsteady breath and let his warm palm cup one of the full, firm mounds, her erected nipple tightening even more at the contact with the slightly rough skin of his
hand
. In a slow, rubbing motion he massaged the tip, his eyes glued to her face.
Her body lifted instinctively in response to his caress, demanding more of
the
sweet torture. He seemed to know exactly what she wanted, his mouth replacing his fingers as he suckled gently
at
the pebble
-
hard peak. Over and over again, his tongue circled the sensitive, puckered flesh, each flicker sending hard shards of almost painful desire through her entire body.
With
a stifled sob
,
she let her hands travel to his hair, her fingers threading through the silky, short strands as she held him close, her body on fire.

He moved against her skin, the crispness of his shirt making her aware of the fact that he was still totally dressed. Her shaky fingers reached for the small buttons,
eager to remedy this oversight. She wanted to feel his skin against hers, she thought dazedly, every glorious inch of his rock
-
hard, tight muscles imprinted against her soft flesh without a barrier of any kind.

‘Wait.’ His hand captured her wrist and brought it back to her side, immobilizing her momentarily. ‘
Not
yet, Kate. I want to see you first, all of you
.
’

She
would have bargained or simply disobeyed, if only he
hadn’t decided
to let his lips travel lower, from the swell of her breast to the heated skin of her midriff and lower still, his tongue tracing the slight indent of her navel. Where his mouth went,
a
trail of blazing fire followed, burning to ashes any of her initiatives.
T
hings weren’t going accordingly to the plan
.
They were
supposed to be
equal participants, both giving and taking
,
instead of him pleasing her with selfless restrain
t
.

‘
Let
me,’ she demanded, unwilling to be silenced as she reached for the belt of his pants, the cool metal of the buckle reassuring against the
heated skin of her dry
hand
. ‘
I want to do something too
.
’

‘
You
will, I promise
.
’
His
head lifted again, his eyes burning with fire that
found an echo deep inside her, the inferno threatening to turn her to ashes.

‘I want to feel your skin, Justin,’ she said hoarsely, some untold instinct telling her that total honesty would work best right now to obtain her goal. She wanted him
,
and
she had
absolutely no need to pretend otherwise, his fingers
travelling
up her thigh to the juncture of her legs bound to find out the truth at any moment. Her body felt slickened and honeyed with her need, ready to welcome him into her hungry heat
in an act
that he so deliberately delayed.

It worked. However slow he planned to take it, his resolve shattered as he watched her slide out of her dress completely, a pair of silk and lace knickers her only
covering. With an impatient gesture he shrugged off his shirt, his fingers making quick
work
of opening the tiny buttons.

Kate could hear the thunder of her quickening heartbeat, his masculine beauty stoking her hunger even more. Because he was beautiful, she thought, unable to come up with some other, more adequate adjective. His broad shoulders and muscular chest with a dusting of dark, silky hair could have been chiseled in a workshop of a
renaissance
master
, the perfect proportions and lines elegant and strong at the same time.

She wanted more, much more, suddenly greedy beyond belief. Her eyes followed the dark line of hair disappearing under the buckle of his belt. She knew the shape of his hardness, feeling it imprinted against the soft skin of her belly only moments ago. Iron
-
hard and demanding, it pressed against her flesh, the sensation almost too much to bear. She wanted to feel it again, she thought feverishly, without the barrier of his clothes, her fingers aching to wrap themselves around his thick shaft and feel the life pulsating under her fingertips.

‘More,’ she said hoarsely, her fingers hooking under the delicate hem of her panties and pulling them down in one, fluid motion. He didn’t stop her, his hot gaze glued to the shadowy juncture of her
thighs
.

‘Take off
the rest,’
she commanded, exhilaration racing through her veins as she watched him obey. It felt good to be listened to and to matter enough to have an impact on what happened around her. The last
twenty-four
hours had definitely made her think about
such things
, her bleak prognosis putting into perspective everything she had taken for granted.

She didn’t want to think about
that
, she decided, the chill that penetrated her body and froze her into a statue of misery, ready to pounce back and reclaim its victim. It felt too good to lose herself in this ocean of desire, where nothing really mattered save for Justin’s hands and mouth. She would be damned if she spoiled it, she thought
,
reaching for him and pulling him closer, her mouth seeking the safety of his kiss.