Playing With Fire (29 page)

Tipping her chin up so that he could look in her eyes, he
smiled at the patches of color flaming her cheeks. God, added to her puffy
lower lip that he’d been biting just moments before, she looked like a woman
who wanted to be fucked. No, he reminded himself. She wanted and needed to be
loved.

He stroked her cheek, a gentle touch to calm her.

“Erin, honey. We have a problem.”

She frowned a worried expression marring her lovely face.

He shook his head and broadened his grin.

“You have entirely too many clothes on. I’m concerned with
the fire and all that you will get too warm.”

She managed a shy smile.

“What do you suggest, Nate?”

“Since I never want to be presumptuous….”

He laughed at her snort and raised brow.

“How about if I step back and watch while you take off these
rather unusual clothes you are wearing.”

Her frown deepened.

“You… you want me to strip for you?”

His voice was soft. He knew the memories his request might
invoke, and took a chance. He needed to replace her ugly memories with new ways
of looking at intimacy. Rather than an order meant to diminish her, he wanted
her to know how extraordinary her body was and how he craved it.

“No darlin’. I want you to unwrap the gorgeous present that
is you and let me revel in every breathtaking moment. How about it, Erin? Will
you give me that gift?”

She hesitated. He saw her fear. He wanted to tell her it was
all right. She could undress in the dark. Under the covers. But he needed to
break through, to let her know he was different.

“You’re beautiful Erin. And you owe me one.”

When she frowned, he winked at her.

“When you dropped your pants in the other room and sprawled
on the floor and flashed your naked butt I didn’t so much as
peek
. Hell,
I didn’t even cop a feel.”

A tiny smile tugged at her mouth. Nate breathed a sigh of
relief. His corny humor worked. She visibly relaxed.

He watched her loosen the belt holding the robe closed. She
opened the robe, and with a little shrug eased it off her shoulders and dropped
it to the floor. She stood dressed in a pair of his sweats, and a long sleeved
t-shirt that hung to her knees. It should have made him laugh but instead the
sight of her breasts swelling beneath the too-large shirt made his groin
tighten.

With a slight flick of his hand he signaled her to take it
off. She tossed her head and reached for the hem off the shirt. In a slow
controlled movement she inched it over her hips, her taut abdomen and up over
her head. For a breathtaking moment she held the shirt high over her head
revealing the most beautiful breasts he’d ever seen. With a little flip, she tossed
the shirt to the floor and shrugged.

“Are… are they all right?” Her question was meant to tease,
but he heard the anxiety that hovered beneath.

He shook his head and couldn’t suppress a low groan at the
sight of astonishing full globes with dark rosy nipples he ached to touch.

“Yes, Erin, they are so goddamned fucking ‘all right’ that I
could spend the rest of my life feasting on them.”

She flushed and gave him a grateful smile.

“Now, darlin’, put me out of my misery. Drop those pants and
let me see in the flesh what I’ve been imagining in every erotic dream I’ve
conjured up since I first saw you.”

Erin’s eyes widened in disbelief, then glowed with what
looked like anticipation.

She undid the knot she’d tied to keep the pants from falling
off. She slid them over her hips letting them glide down her legs to the floor.

Nate gasped. She was gorgeous in clothes — but naked she was
a work of art. He wasn’t exaggerating when he said he could spend a lifetime
feasting on her breasts. But now seeing her standing proudly before him, he
knew two lifetimes would never be enough. Her long slender legs showed the firm
muscled results of miles of hardcore running. But nature had been kind, and
softened her hips with an overlay of feminine curves. Her small waist only accentuated
the flare of her hips and from what he could see was a stunning ass. The nest
of dark curls between her thighs glistened with the promise of dampness that
made his mouth water.

His voice was a low husky rumble.

“Turn for me, love.”

She hesitated for the barest moment and then turned in a
slow circle. He’d been imagining her ass since he’d first ogled it. But like
her breasts, the naked reality surpassed even his most lewd imaginings. Like
her hips, the taut muscles were sheathed in mouthwatering curves that only
emphasized the intriguing crack separating them.

His heart squeezed at the sight of her gorgeous body and his
iron rod dick threatened to explode.

“Let your hair down, Erin.”

She started in surprise, then reached up and removed the
comb holding the heavy mass. A riot of dark curls fell over her shoulders,
contrasting with the creamy smoothness of her skin. His prick leapt at the
sight.

She turned to face him then frowned slightly. He realized
that he was staring at her, not speaking.

He snagged a breath. He wanted to reassure her, but he
needed to look at her, to imprint the sight of her on his primitive brain. At a
primal level, he knew that he had found his woman.

“If you would, just stand there darlin’. Let me look at you.
Just a little while.”

She stammered.

“You’re embarrassing me, Nate.”

“Oh no, Erin. There isn’t a thing in the world you should be
embarrassed about. You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

Erin scanned his face, hunting for signs of disgust, of
derision, but all she saw was his admiration, wonder and desire. Her heart
thrummed with hope. Then, as if a dam broke, she was consumed with the need to
see him. To touch him. She understood the passion in his eyes. She felt it too
— for him.

“Can I see you, Nate?”

He quirked a brow and a smile tugged at his lips.

“I’m hard to miss, Erin. But yeah, you can look at me.”

He stripped off his shirt and tossed it on the ground.

A flurry of sensation washed over her at the sight of him.
His imposing height only emphasized his corded neck and broad shoulders. His
rock hard biceps mimicked the muscles on his chest and stomach. His tanned
bronzed skin spoke to hours in the sun. Dark gold hair on his chest trailed
down his flat belly, tapering below his pants that hung carelessly over his
slim hips. She closed her eyes and then nodded, signally him to keep going. At
his responding grin, the sun lines around his eyes deepened. With a cocky
flourish he pulled the string on his pants dropping them to the floor.

Erin gasped, shocked at the sight of his naked body. He was
a stunning male animal: sleek, perfect, confident in his power and beauty. And
his cock. Good God. He was big, impossibly big.

Her teeth worried her bottom lip as she stared at him,
overwhelmed by his commanding presence.

“Nate… I’m scared. Not just because you’re so big but….”

He moved toward her, and pulled her into his arms. She
hesitated, then leaned into the astonishing comfort of his hard, muscled body.

He whispered in her ear.

“It may be hard for you to believe, darlin’, but I’m scared
too.”

He held her for a long moment then drawled, “But I can think
of a couple of things we can do to take the edge off — get better acquainted.”

She put her hands against his chest and looked up at him,
not hiding her insecurity.

“Nate, I don’t know how to think of ‘this’ as pleasure.”

When he raised a disbelieving brow, she continued. Even if
she shocked him, she needed him to know.

“You don’t understand. Men have always treated me like
food…or like property….I’ve only ‘done it’ with men who just wanted to fuck me.
To do what they needed to get off. And once they did, they pushed me away. They
were done with me. They only wanted their own ‘pleasure.’ And… and to be
honest, they disgusted me.”

When he started to speak, she shook her head and pressed her
finger against his lips.

“No, Nate, wait… let me finish. I’m embarrassed to say it,
but that day against the wall in my house… that was the closest I’ve come to
having an orgasm.”

He grinned. “Just close, huh?”

“Good grief, Nate. Don’t you remember? Ettie Mae… and all.…”

His low involuntary chuckle vibrated against her throat.

“Oh, yeah. That was an interruption.”

He pulled her closer, his strong masculine scent sizzling
across her frazzled nerves. He laughed at her response and murmured in her ear,
“We’re gonna remedy that, Erin.”

When he tipped up her chin, his expression was surprisingly
serious.

“I have a confession to make as well. One I’m not proud of.
I’m a little like those other men, Erin. I’ve done a lot of mindless fucking in
my life. But that’s not what I’m going to do with you.”

She gazed up at him.

“What are you going to with me, Nate?”

He pulled her up so tight against his chest, she lost her
breath.

His low growl was fierce.

“I’m going to make love to you, Erin.”

He held her tightly then chucked her under her chin. His
eyes danced with mischief.

“Oh, and, Erin. About that orgasm issue? You might want to
get a calculator. Or maybe a chalk board. I promise you, baby, you’re gonna
lose count before the night is over.”

She choked, stunned at the rioting sensations pouring over
her. Anxiety and excitement warred within her. She wanted to do what he asked,
give into the pleasure of him. Just his sexy words and heated gaze sent riotous
sensations zinging through her. But she was afraid. She didn’t know how she
could resist. OR why she would want to.

He took the decision from her with his next sentence. His
arrogance should have annoyed her, but instead, it excited her.

“I wanted to take you first in my bed. But there is
something about this spot right here on this fur rug in front of the fire that
appeals to me.”

Reaching over to the bed, he grabbed two pillows and threw
them on the floor.

“What… are those for, Nate?”

“This one is for your head. And this one is for that
gorgeous ass.”

He gently laid her on the plush rug. He stretched out beside
her, a lean coiled animal, his eyes dark with hunger.

He stroked her throat with his tongue, fanning a flame that
made her moan.

His teasing tongue tickled the soft sensitive place beneath
her ear.

“Now about those orgasms, Erin. Let’s start with these.”

He cupped her breasts in his big hands and lifted them up
close to his mouth.

She started, surprised at his outrageous claim and more
surprised at the way her breasts ached for his touch. She was incredulous.

“You… you think you can make me come just by touching… my
breasts?”

“Piece of cake, honey.”

He settled over her, his eyes flashing.

“But, yeah. I’m gonna do more than touch. I’m going to lick
you like this.”

She moaned at the stroke of his tongue circling her tingling
nipples.

“And, when your nipples get all hard like this, I’m going to
suck on them to make them even harder.”

Erin cried out, shocked at the pull of his tongue. Stunned
at how his strong mouth suckling her sensitive nubs sent a spike of heat to her
core.

“And then, honey, when you are shaking like you are now, I’m
gonna bite down like this,” he grinned at her shriek. “And then, baby, I’m
gonna do it all over again until you are begging me to let you come.
Yeah
.
Just like that.”

Erin gasped, then trembled, blinded by the exquisite blast
of pleasure that rocked her.

He held her trembling and panting in his arms until she
could catch her breath, and then drawled in her ear, “That’s one.”

To her surprise and then shock, he lowered himself so that
his mouth was on her quivering thighs, perilously close to her soft folds.

“No, no, Nate. I don’t know if you should do that.”

“I do.”

He raised up and met her troubled gaze.

“You are beautiful Erin. Everywhere. So incredibly
beautiful, you take my breath away.” He moved back down and inched her legs
apart with his hands.

“Here, darlin’, spread your legs. Don’t think, Erin. Just
feel. Let yourself feel how good it is when I make love to you.”

Erin struggled against her fears, then gave into simmering
heat rising within her.

His voice was dark, low, impossibly sexy.

“Ah, yeah, baby. That’s the way. Let me love you
everywhere.”

He gave a low growl of pleasure.

“Damn, Erin. Your scent. I want to inhale you. Your scent
alone could make me come.”

He stroked her with his expert fingers, triggering a tsunami
of pleasure inside her.

“You’re wet, Erin. So very wet. I need to taste you, baby.”

She knew she should resist. Push him away. But his beard
stubble rasping against her sensitive folds was tantalizingly abrasive, so much
so that she wanted more. She wanted to open to him. Do anything he asked. If
only to allow these sensations rioting over her to explode. When she didn’t
think it was possible to go any higher, to feel any more, he flicked his tongue
over the quivering nub of her clit and bit down. She screamed an agonized cry
as waves of unimaginable pleasure crashed over her.

He brought her down gently, then took her again and again,
making good on his promise. Finding hidden places of pent-up pleasure, he
exploited every reserve she had, sending shocking, terrifying waves of desire
through her hungry body.

When she didn’t know if she was capable of another minute of
excruciating pleasure, he nudged his prodigious member between her legs.

“Oh yes, Nate. Please. Now. Please come inside of me.”

She sensed his hesitation.

“Please Nate, I want you. I want you as badly as you want
me.”