“I can’t allow you to be traded because of me.”
“I want you to let me handle this.” He had a plan and he’d figure out how to implement it tomorrow. “For now, I’d just like to help you celebrate your good news. Your good health.”
She shook her head, ready to argue. He kissed her to press his point. He didn’t stop until she softened against him, her body boneless as she molded herself to him.
“I must be crazy,” she whispered, when he finally broke the kiss.
“No. You’re just living on your own terms, remember?” His heart slugged hard against his chest, his adrenaline cranked at the thought of being with her. Seeing her burst into the dark locker room in her bright colors tonight had been like someone turned on a light switch in his head. “Are you okay with this?”
He skimmed his fingers along the top of the sarong and tugged gently on one end of the knot.
She swayed toward him.
“You’re very convincing.” Her eyelids fluttered and closed by a fraction.
“So are you.” He pulled the end of the fabric and unfastened the knot, unveiling the lemon-yellow bra he’d glimpsed earlier and releasing a hint of her scent. “The sarong almost gave me a coronary when you strolled into the locker room in that thing.”
She placed a hand on his heart.
“How about now?”
“Do your worst.” He could feel his pulse spike at her attention, his blood rushing through his veins with the heat of knowing he’d have her soon. “I’m all yours.”
He wrapped her tight in his arms, fitting her curves to the aching heat of him. Any reservation he’d had about this in the locker room had incinerated, leaving only desire and possessiveness for this shy, sharp woman who could have any man she wanted and chose him.
Unbelievable.
Capturing her mouth with his, he kissed her hard. She tasted so sweet he couldn’t possibly get enough. Not in just one night. But that didn’t stop him from exploring the slick, smooth surface of her teeth or the velvet glide of her tongue at length.
The temperature in the office flared hotter than a sauna. His skin pricked with a primal need to clear her desk with the sweep of his arm and take her here. Now. Instead, he lifted her out of the chair, standing with her in his arms to cross the dimly lit room where a long, low couch awaited. Her computer and a small desk lamp cast a bluish glow around them as they fell onto the sofa, her back cradled in his arm when they dropped into the cushions.
He levered back enough to look at her. She made a mouth-watering picture, her eyes glazed with passion and her lips red and plump from his kisses. Her silky dark hair fanned out around her shoulders, an inky-black background for the brightly colored undergarments he couldn’t wait to take off.
“I would like a better look, too,” Delaney whispered, her hand moving to his belt buckle. “You have a few fantasies to live up to, you know.”
With a roll of his shoulders, he had his shirt off since the buttons had been undone earlier.
“Is that right?” The thought of her fantasizing about him singed any restraint he might have had. “I like the idea of you lying in your bed thinking about me.”
He unfastened his fly and stepped out of his pants. Her eyes never left his body, her gaze following his every move.
“I’m glad I can do more than just think about you this time.” She reached for the waistband of his boxers, one shiny red nail dipping below the black cotton elastic.
He stopped her, unsure how much foreplay he could withstand given the long drought in his sex life. He’d barely dated in the last two years. There’d been a couple of girls in all that time, but they’d been mutually casual hookups that had barely taken the edge off.
“I’m going to be honest. I’ll need to be inside you about two seconds after you touch me, so maybe we should make plans for protection first.” He had nothing with him since he’d had no reason in the world to guess the sensual feast he’d walk into today when he arrived at work.
“You didn’t feel this earlier?” She reached into her bra and withdrew a foil packet from the left cup. “I didn’t have a pocket, so I was forced to work with what I had.”
“Very resourceful.” He took the condom and laid it on the coffee table before pushing the glass-topped piece aside. Kneeling beside her, he positioned himself near her hips. “I’ve got a few hidden surprises myself.”
He saw her eyes widen as he bent to kiss the patch of satin that covered her mound. And then he didn’t see anything else, his world narrowed to the scent and taste of her as he kissed her intimately.
Delaney gasped at the feel of his tongue taking shocking liberties with her. She’d never—well, she’d just never. Even her one long-term relationship had been more cerebral, the sex more restrained. But oh. The way Rick touched her, kissed her, was exquisite.
She heard her own harsh cries, but was powerless to contain them as he swept aside her panties for better access. She considered protesting for the space of a heartbeat, but then she remembered her original quest for the night.
No more tiptoeing around the fringes of life. She planned to dive right in.
And as Rick laved every inch of her with languorous kisses interspersed with strong strokes, she knew she wasn’t on the edge anymore. He’d thrust her into the eye of a sensual hurricane, her nerves overwrought and swirling with raw sensations that threatened to drown her in a blissful delirium.
Her head thrashed from side to side, as if she contended with some darkly sensual force within. But whatever the encroaching feeling was, it seemed determined to have her way with her. She tried to be still, to let it happen and let Rick do as he wished with her body but—
“Oooh!” The climax hit with the force of an oncoming freight train, rocking her body at its very core with lush spasms.
Her fingers sank into his shoulders, holding on for dear life as he gave her the first man-induced orgasm of her life. She could scarcely catch her breath in the aftermath, the residual shockwaves blindsiding her even after he released her to undress them the rest of the way.
“I’ve never—” She shook her head, at a loss for words. Licking her lips, she started again. “Let’s just say, you have far better tools at your disposal than me.”
“Glad to hear it.” He’d rolled on the condom at some point. Now, he positioned himself between her thighs. “That means you’ll have to come back if you want more.”
“I’m ready for more right now.” Still trembling from her release, she rubbed herself shamelessly against him.
He obliged, entering her by slow, heart-stopping degrees. Her back arching, she wrapped her legs about his hips, sealing them together.
He supported her spine with one arm, his fingers tunneling into the back of her hair to hold her steady for his kiss. With his deft mouth, he reminded her subtly of the pleasure he’d provided her moments ago in that most intimate of places. The slide of his lips on hers became all the more erotic, all the more intoxicating to her overloaded senses.
The pressure built inside her, both from being impossibly stretched and from her own mounting pleasure. He found a rhythm that sent her reeling, the glide of their bodies a seamless union.
Vaguely she wondered if a woman had ever fainted during sex. Lights flashed behind her eyes and a sweet light-headedness made her cling all the tighter to him. Next time she would cater to the man’s every carnal desire. But right now, all she could do was hold on and ride the wave as another orgasm seized her. She cried out as her heels dug into his back, her hips tilted to meet his fully.