This had to be a dream. Gabe, the man who tried his damnedest to be a robot, was surely not tugging her blouse slowly but surely up her torso as he grinned his wickedly sexy grin. She grabbed his hands, stopping their progress north.
“Trust me, Reggie,” he whispered, so close she could feel the hot puff of his breath caressing her face.
She wanted to, God knew she wanted to. He kissed her then, gently, coaxing her mouth open, as though now that he knew her concerns, he was willing to take as long as he needed to convince her.
Not that it would take much effort. She sighed into his mouth, tracing his soft inner lips with the tip of her tongue, luxuriating in the delicious rasp of his beard against her fingertips. Her sex wept and throbbed inside her jeans. All he’d done was kiss her and already she was dripping.
He drew back, cupping her face in his big calloused hands. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, and kissed her so gently tears stung her closed eyelids.
She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about this time was different. This wasn’t the guy from Hawaii who wanted a simple night of great sex with no strings, nor was he the out-of-control sex maniac from last week. It was different,
he
was different.
Everything in his touch, his kiss, told her he knew exactly where he was, exactly who he was with, and exactly what he was doing. And that he had no desire to be anywhere else.
Tracing the sharp contours of his cheekbones, she opened to the luscious penetration of his tongue. “Are you sure?” she whispered between kisses. “I don’t want to wake up tomorrow and have you acting all cold and distant again like you don’t know me and there’s nothing between us.”
“Reggie,” he whispered, “shut up.” He pressed his forefinger against her lips.
She couldn’t resist. Closing her eyes, she sucked the digit inside her mouth, flicking the tip with her tongue. When he groaned she released it with a smile. Any lingering misgivings retreated in the face of white-hot need.
Electricity trickled down her spine as he unfastened the clip holding her hair up and threaded his fingers in the heavy strands. His hands slid to her waist, then back up, snagging her blouse along the way. This time she let him pull it up over her head.
Her own hands flicked open the buttons of his shirt and pushed it off his gorgeous broad shoulders. Really, the man should be an underwear model if he ever got tired of being a bodyguard. His torso was tanned golden bronze, highlighting his bulging pecs and the rippling muscles of his abs. Dark hair dusted his chest, converging in a silky trail that disappeared seductively below his waistband. Several scars nicked his torso, souvenirs of the dangerous life he’d led.
He tugged impatiently as the cuffs snagged on his wrists, then pulled her hard against him and made short work of her bra. “Mmm, I love the feel of you naked against me,” he whispered, rubbing his chest luxuriously against her breasts. His hands traced down her back, and he pressed his wet, open mouth to her bare shoulder. “Your skin is so unbelievably soft.”
The contrast of hot, smooth skin and the crisp abrasion of his chest hair sent sparks of sensation straight from her nipples to her groin. She was swollen and wet, chafing against the heavy fabric of her jeans.
Gabe scooped her up in his arms and walked the few steps to the bed, laying her back with a soft kiss to her belly. “I can’t wait to get inside you.”
She smiled.
He must have noticed, because he paused. “What?”
“Did you know that when you get turned on, your accent gets more pronounced?”
The heat in his dark gaze sent shivers pulsing through her. He settled his knees on either side of her hips and toyed with the snap of her jeans. “Is that so?”
She wriggled beneath him and ran her hands along the smooth sides of his torso. “Yeah. When you get angry too.” She licked her lips with a sly, catlike smile. “Problem is, it always makes me think of sex. With you. So now I get turned on whenever you get mad too.”
He unfastened her jeans and slid his palm in the front of her panties. Arching her back, she moaned as his middle finger slid between her plump lips, flicking the sensitive bud of her clit. “That sounds kinda kinky,” he said, exaggerating his drawl. “And here I took you for a nice girl.”
“Oh, I’ll be really nice if you keep doing that.”
His smile faded as he palmed her sex, dipping his middle finger into her slippery wetness. He leaned down and took her mouth in a hungry, thrusting kiss, then abruptly levered off her. Grabbing each leg in turn, he pushed up her pant legs and stripped her of her boots and socks. He paused for a moment, contemplating one spike-heeled Jimmy Choo with a naughty half smile. “Someday, sweet thing, I want you to cook me dinner wearing just these.”
Reggie stretched luxuriantly, feeling the heat of his gaze on every naked inch of skin. “That doesn’t sound very sanitary.”
He cocked his head as though considering that for a moment. “I’ll let you wear a hairnet.”
Reggie giggled as he stripped her of jeans and panties, then lifted her up the bed, until she rested against the oversize down-filled pillows. Then he turned and walked to the bathroom.
She levered herself up on her elbows. “Where do you think you’re going?”
He glanced back over his shoulder. “Supply run.”
She grinned and eased back against the pillows. Rummaging noises came from the bathroom and he emerged moments later, triumphantly brandishing a handful of foil wrappers.
Her eyebrow cocked as she shot him a speculative gaze. “Now if you were so dead set on keeping your distance from me, what are you doing carrying condoms around?”
He smiled sheepishly, his cheeks blazing with telltale color. “I suppose the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And as my grandpa always said, you gotta be prepared to take the heat.” He placed the condoms on the bedside table.
Her eyebrows raised another notch when she counted a half dozen. “Feeling energetic?”
“Ohhh, you have no idea what you’re in for, sweet thing.”
He flipped open the tab of his slacks and Reggie licked her lips as every nerve stood up and sang in anticipation. The throbbing between her legs increased in pace as he stood over her, rippling muscles gleaming in the lamplight.
She couldn’t keep from staring at his big, long-fingered hands at his fly, at the huge, cylindrical shape of his cock fighting the confines of wool gabardine.
Her tongue swept her bottom lip again.
To her frustration, instead of taking off his pants, he stood there, unmoving. She looked up and met his laughing, lust-filled gaze. “Reggie, darlin’, you keep lookin’ at me like that and I’m not liable to last long.”
Sitting up, she pressed herself against him and pushed his hands out of the way. “I haven’t exactly demonstrated amazing staying power with you.” Unable to resist the temptation, she leaned forward and nipped the taut skin of his belly as she jerked his zipper down and shoved his pants and boxers down off his hips. Grasping his surging cock in her fist, Reggie traced her tongue along the rigid curves of his abdomen, eliciting a soft rumble from his chest.
With a teasing smile, she eased up on her knees and rubbed the engorged heart-shaped head against the silky skin of her breasts. A pearly drop of pre-come oozed out of the tip, and she drew his cock to trace around her nipple until the dark pink bud was shiny and wet.
“You are askin’ for all kinds of trouble,” he growled in his sexy Southern drawl. Her pussy fluttered and clenched as his hands covered her breasts, plumping and squeezing the soft flesh around the steely length of his cock.
He held himself still, quivering with the effort to hold back. She couldn’t resist the temptation and bent her head to swirl her tongue around the silky tip. “Baby, I don’t know if that is such a good idea.” He swore softly as she traced her tongue along the vein that ran down its side, stroking and kneading him in her fist as her other hand fingered and teased his balls.
Her lips closed once again over the thick head of his cock, her tongue swirling against the sensitive ridge of flesh on the underside. She slid her mouth down, taking as much of him as she could into her mouth, then released him millimeter by millimeter, tongue following in a teasing path. His hands twined in her hair, strong fingers kneaded at her scalp as they guided her with firm but gentle pressure to take him deeper, until she could feel him pressing against the back of her throat.
She moaned around him as one of his hands stole down to pinch her nipple, sending a shock of heat through her abdomen. She’d never been so turned on performing oral sex, but his soft groans of pleasure and whispered encouragement made her feel almost as though she were sharing his pleasure along with him.
She looked up to find him watching her and released him for a second, shooting him a naughty smile as her lips closed over him once again. Watched him watch her as her lips lovingly devoured his pulsing cock.
“You have the sexiest mouth I’ve ever seen,” he said through clenched teeth. Groaning, he reached for one of the condoms and pressed it into her hand. “Suit me up, darlin’.”
With shaky hands, Reggie ripped open the condom wrapper and tried to remember the tips from her freshman dorm safe-sex workshop, the only other time she’d put a condom on anything. Back then it had been a banana, not nearly so distracting—or impressive—as Gabe’s gorgeous erection. She couldn’t help it. She had to give him one more kiss. His breath hissed out on a soft curse as her lips closed over him, her tongue savoring his heady, salty taste.
Then she slowly, carefully, rolled the condom down his oh-so-majestic length.
Breathing hard, Gabe flopped back against the pillows and pulled her on top of him. “You drive me absolutely fuckin’ crazy,” he rasped.
The thick hardness of his erection prodded the pliant flesh of her buttocks. Her knees fell wide over his hips, and she reached down to guide him into position. Bracing her hands against his chest, she savored the long, thick slide of him, toes curling as he sank as deep as he could go.
They moaned in unison as she began to move, leisurely strokes up and down that he met with a rocking counter-rhythm. He watched her through slitted eyes as his hands and fingers traced down her back, stroked and pinched her nipples, grazed her legs, teased the sensitive crack of her ass.
Reggie threw her head back, moaning as his fingers circled the plump bud of her clit. She ground against him, holding him deep inside her as her pussy pulsed and clenched around him. “Oh God, I’m coming already,” she whimpered, swallowing him as deep as she could. He leaned up and captured her nipple in his mouth, sucking hard, flicking with his tongue until the sensation of his fingers and tongue on her and his cock throbbing inside her became unbearable.
Gabe struggled to hold himself in check as Reggie shuddered and spasmed around him. Her brow furrowed and her gorgeous lips parted as she sobbed in orgasm. Spent, she sank down against his chest. He kissed her flushed face, tasting the salty tang of sweat. Her heart pounded so hard he felt it vibrating throughout his entire body. He arched helplessly as the last shudders of her climax stroked him, nearly sending him over the edge.
He rolled so he was on top, bracing his weight on his elbows as his hands cupped her face. Her dreamy, satisfied look threatened to send him into overdrive. Holding himself motionless inside her, he bent and tasted her mouth, savoring her as she drew his tongue into her mouth.
Of their own accord, his hips began a slow thrusting, rocking inside her hard and deep. Her cinnamon and sex scent intoxicated him as he curled his fingers in her hair. She seemed to imprint him everywhere. Skin on skin, mouth on mouth. And deep inside, where she held him so sweet and wet and tight.
He swallowed her shuddery moans in his mouth and gave her his own as he strained against her, never wanting this to end.
For the first time since he’d discovered what an orgasm was, he didn’t want to come. Didn’t want this to end. Didn’t want to lose this feeling of being deep inside Reggie, her arms and legs wrapped around him like she would never let go.
She cried out, high and soft around his tongue, and he felt the firm, helpless contractions as she came again. This time he couldn’t stop himself as firm pressure built at the base of his spine. Head thrown back, teeth bared, his orgasm bore down on him with surprising, gut-wrenching intensity. He was momentarily blinded, his vision awash in color as his whole body trembled and throbbed with the force of it.
He collapsed against her, so spent he couldn’t move for several seconds. Rolling to the side, he cradled her against his chest and placed a soft kiss against her tousled hair, smiling at her sleepy, contented sigh. He tilted her chin up to meet his kiss, fighting the surge of emotions suddenly roiling in his chest.
He cursed his loss of control even as he savored her soft warmth nestled against him. He fought the urge to close himself off, to run and hide from Reggie and the surging, overwhelming emotions that left him shaking and vulnerable. All his life he’d struggled to keep himself under control. As a kid, he’d been easily carried away and paid the price for it by getting teased for being a crybaby, and when he was older, getting in trouble for kicking someone’s ass, regardless of how much a bully might deserve it.
His father, a career military man, had taught him the importance of controlling his emotions, channeling them into work and other appropriate outlets. Gabe’s own years in the military, particularly as a member of the elite Delta Force squad, had required an immense level of self-discipline. Now, at the age of thirty-two, his head shouldn’t be struggling to impose its will over his heart. Or any other sundry body parts.
But the incident with Marly Chase and the paparazzi had reminded him that he was still susceptible, that he had to remain vigilant. He thought he’d wrestled himself back under control.
Until he’d stepped into Reggie Caldwell’s apartment three weeks ago. Though he’d fought it, his head lost the battle the second he laid eyes on her. Now he was raw and exposed, every irrational impulse surging for the surface.