She Can Hide (She Can Series) (17 page)

Slow and steady. Do this right.

But his heartbeat had moved from his chest to his groin, and it called Abby’s name with every throb.

“Ethan,” she breathed. Her hands clutched his shoulders, her fingers squeezing in urgency.

She was wearing a thick sweater over her jeans. Ethan’s free hand slipped under the hem and splayed on the smooth skin of her belly. She pressed closer. Ethan moved his hand up to cover her breast through her bra. “Are you sure?”

A small noise of frustration escaped her lips. She leaned away and made direct, undeniable eye contact. She reached out and grabbed the hem of his shirt, lifting it over his head and dropping it on the floor. Her gaze roamed over him. Her pupils were dilated, and she was breathing hard. “I’m sure.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Abby couldn’t believe she’d just done that. She’d always dated older men and had let them take the lead. Could she have been more of a stereotypical fatherless woman? It didn’t matter now. Apparently those days were over.

She let her gaze roam over Ethan’s naked torso. Definitely not an older man. He was a male in his prime. His chest was broad and nicely muscled, with just a dusting of dark hair that swirled down a defined stomach in a thin line into his jeans. She reached out and traced his pectoral with a fingertip and smiled in blatant approval.

Ethan’s face split in a sexy grin. “I like the way this is headed, but you’re entirely overdressed.”

“Maybe.” Abby sat up. She lifted the hem of her sweater a few inches. “I do get cold, though.” She stopped, teasing him.

Desire gleamed in Ethan’s eyes. Power flooded Abby.

“There are better ways to stay warm.” Ethan edged closer. “You know, the more clothes you wear, the more I want to take them off you, like unwrapping a fancy present on Christmas morning.” He reached for her sweater with greedy hands.

Sliding just out of reach, Abby stopped him. With a playful shove, she pushed him back onto the sofa cushion. Then she stood, turning to face him.

With slow, deliberate movements, she lifted the hem of her sweater, moving it up her torso, revealing the bare skin of her belly one inch at a time. Ethan’s eyes were riveted on the moving fabric. When she reached her breasts, she hesitated just for a second then pulled the sweater over her head and dropped it from one fingertip.

Ethan sucked in a harsh breath. “Abby…You’re playing with fire.” His tone held both promise and warning.

Thank goodness she’d worn a decent bra. It wasn’t anything fancy, just simple white with a pretty lace edge. But the way Ethan was staring at her made her feel like this year’s
Sports Illustrated
swimsuit issue cover model.

How would he react if…

She unzipped her jeans.

He licked his lips. The playful light in his eyes shifted to raw hunger as she slowly slid the denim over her hips, revealing the white lace panties that matched her bra. She stepped out of her pants, flipping them to the side with a flirty kick.

Ethan’s breath caught. The sound that rumbled from his chest didn’t remotely resemble a laugh. His groan was primitive male hunger. He reached for her.

Abby backed up a step. “Patience.”

“You’re killing me,” he moaned.

But Abby had never been so turned on. And Ethan hadn’t touched her body with anything but his eyes.

She played with the front clasp on her bra for a few tantalizing seconds before flicking it open. Her breasts spilled out. The straps slid down her arms.

“Oh Jesus.” Ethan sat up. His hands were on her waist, holding her in place. He leaned forward and kissed the smooth skin just above her navel. His lips trailed to her hip bone. His tongue played with the lace. Abby’s nerve endings rose. Every touch of his mouth sent a tiny current of pleasure right to her core. But she wanted this night to last. Forever if possible. She tried to back away.

“Oh no you don’t.” With one movement, he swept her feet out from under her. “That’s enough teasing. I’m only a man. I can only take so much.”

Abby tumbled into his arms. “Oh.”

“I want you.” Primal need roared from his eyes, and the brilliant blue darkened and sharpened with desire.

He shifted, laying her down on the couch and stretching out next to her. Their bodies pressed together. Heat shimmered from his skin in waves like a sultry day in August. She definitely wasn’t cold now. Her blood heated and flowed through her body as slow and thick as warm honey. The man had hot hands. Those heated palms kept moving. Callused fingertips trailed up and down along her ribs, alerting the skin on her sides that something good was going to happen to the rest of her body.
My God, the way this man could make her feel with a simple caress was amazing
. Her bones turned to liquid whenever he touched her.

He lowered his head, and she felt his warm breath wash over her face before his mouth even made contact, and she trembled slightly. He kissed her cheek then her temple, right along the nearly faded bruise. When his lips brushed a sensitive spot on her neck, her head automatically fell to the side to give him more room. Her body leaned into his all on its own, quivering in anticipation.

His fingertips stroked her collarbone and hovered over her breast. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? Maybe we should wait.”

“What?” Abby moaned softly. “No.”

Ethan lifted his head to grin down at her. One look at the mischievous glint in his eyes and she knew she’d lost. Or won. She wasn’t sure yet because her brain was now the consistency of oatmeal, but a little voice in the back of her head told her that despite her earlier striptease, now she was the one being thoroughly, expertly seduced.

“Oh, forget it. You win. I can’t hold out any longer.” Ethan dipped his head and caught her nipple in his mouth.

Abby arched back as every brush of his lips on her breast sent warm waves of want rolling through her. Tension built as his hands and lips traveled the length of her torso, not leaving an inch of skin untended. His legs intertwined with hers.

Wait. She ran a foot up his hard calf. “When did you take your pants off?”

“A minute ago.” He stroked a hand up her thigh.

“How did I miss that?” Abby asked. “Are you some kind of magician?”

“You tell me.” His hand was between her legs. What happened to her panties? Oh, who cared? His fingers were nimble all right. They stroked and circled, building her pleasure in overlapping waves, until Abby could barely breathe. She pried a hand off his shoulder, where her nails had left marks in his skin.

“I’m sorry. I scratched you.” She took him in her hand.

“I know,” he hissed. “It’s so hot.”

She stroked him from base to tip. He twitched in her palm. “You find me scratching you a turn-on?”

His body stiffened. “You losing control is a total turn-on.”

“Like this?” Her hand dipped and cupped.

“Jesus.” His erection jumped toward her.

She wrapped one leg over the back of his thigh. “Ethan, now.”

“Yes. Now would be good.” He lifted his head. Their gazes met.

Unexpectedly nervous, Abby swallowed hard to ease the fluttering of her stomach. What was wrong with her? She was no virgin. But something in the back of her mind suspected this was going to be a whole new experience. Her blood had certainly never surged through her veins at this temperature. Nor had every nerve ending in her body ever stood at attention quite like this. Never had a man looked at her as if he couldn’t take his next breath without her.

Her entire body was waiting, anticipating, strung as taut as a tightrope.

Because she also knew to her very soul that sex with Ethan would be more than physical pleasure. They were joining more than their bodies tonight. The last week, they’d been dancing around this moment, this culmination of vulnerability and trust.

“Hold on.” Ethan reached for the floor. He came up with his jeans and fished in the pocket one-handed. He pulled out a foil packet and ripped it open with his teeth. A second later, he settled between Abby’s legs. Wow. The man had magic hands.

He slid inside her, filling her with an aching slowness. The internal stroke set a new bundle of nerves alight. Abby arched backward as pleasure speared her. But Ethan seated himself deeply inside her and held completely still. In the firelight, sweat glimmered on his skin.

“What, now you’re in no rush?” she panted.

“I want this to last as long as possible.” Ethan rested his forehead against hers. “I feel like…” He seated himself deeply in her.

“Like what?” Unable to resist another stroke of pleasure, Abby’s hips rocked. It wasn’t enough. She needed him to move, to finish what he’d started.

“Like I’ve been waiting for this my whole life.”

Her heart stammered.

“But I can’t do it.” Ethan pulled back and slid in hard again.

Abby’s body tensed. His admission sent a fresh burst of heat through her. Pleasure coiled, tighter and tighter with each thrust of his body. She wrapped her legs around his waist and bowed backward.

“No. Don’t close your eyes.” Ethan thrust faster. “I want to see you.”

They locked gazes. Tiny dots swirled in Abby’s vision as her body soared and crashed. Energy pulsed through her body. Ethan’s eyes went dark and lost as he followed her over. Breathing hard, he dropped his forehead to hers. Abby could feel his heart thundering against her breasts, mimicking her own racing pulse.

They lay still for several minutes. The fire crackled. Wood shifted. Zeus snored.

Abby gave his shoulder a tap. “You’re heavy.”

“Oh, sorry.” Ethan lifted his upper body off Abby. “So, you didn’t answer my question.”

“Which one?”

“Am I a magician?”

Abby laughed. “You’re a regular Houdini.”

Ethan woke to a dark and empty bedroom. He swept a hand over the indent in the mattress next to him. The sheets were cool. Where was Abby? He threw back the covers and stepped into a pair of sweatpants. The hardwood was chilly under his bare feet.

He went downstairs and turned into the kitchen. Abby was standing at the window, but with all the lights blazing, she wouldn’t be able to see much except her own reflection. She was dressed in flannel pajamas and a heavy, floor-length robe. The dog at her feet stretched and sighed heavily.

Ethan stepped up behind her. He reached out to touch her shoulder, but her stiff posture stopped him. Their reflections were both visible in the window, but she was so lost in whatever she was seeing in her own head, she didn’t notice him. “Can’t sleep?”

She gasped and blinked, one hand rising to her throat as she whirled to face him. The fingers of her other hand clenched the edge of the countertop behind her. “I didn’t hear you.”

“I’m sorry I scared you.” Ethan paused. Something was off. This wasn’t the same playful, in-charge woman who’d thoroughly seduced him. Instead of confidence, fear and helplessness shone in her eyes. An internal alarm went off inside Ethan. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She leaned backward, putting more space between them, but there was no way Ethan was letting her pull away from him. He took two steps forward, bringing their bodies into contact. Her eyes misted.

“Bullshit.” He searched her face.

Her gaze shifted to the window. Her eyes closed. Her shoulders slumped. “I thought that maybe now that Faulkner was dead, it would go away.”

“You thought what would go away?”

“But tonight I was just as afraid as always, maybe even more.”

Ethan drew her closer. He stroked her back through her thick robe. “What are you afraid of?”

With a defeated sigh, she leaned her head into his chest. Ethan’s arms slid around her.

“The dark. I sleep with the lights on.” She lifted her head. “And I’m not talking about a nightlight. At home I usually keep every light in the house on all night. They’re set on timers. Even if I’m not home, it’s as bright as an operating room in there all the time.”

Ethan stiffened. “You said it was dark in that well.”

She nodded. “He’d nailed plywood across the opening. I couldn’t even tell if it was night or day.”

Ethan’s gut twisted. She’d spent ten days in a dark hole in the ground drinking out of a puddle to stay alive. How could anyone do that to another human being? How could anyone take a beautiful woman and treat her worse than an animal? If Faulkner wasn’t dead, Ethan would kill the bastard all over again. He ached to take away all her pain. But that wasn’t possible. The best he could do was help her through the night.

“Come back to bed,” he whispered into her hair.

“I can’t sleep in the dark.”

“Abby, we can light up the house like the Meadowlands. All I care about is having you in my bed.” He took her hand and tugged her toward the stairs. He flipped wall switches as they walked down the hall. In the bedroom, he turned on the lights on both nightstands and the overhead fixture in the bathroom. He made sure the blinds were closed tightly. Not that there were any houses nearby, but so that Abby wouldn’t be staring at the black windows all night long.

She stood in the middle of the room. Looking lost. Adrift. He went to her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close.

Pressing her cheek to his chest, she shuddered. “Make love to me, Ethan.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. Terrified women weren’t really his thing. “I’m perfectly happy just to hold you all night.”

“I need you.” Her voice cracked.

Those three words stirred his heart in a way he couldn’t articulate. The thought that only he could get her through the night was powerful. The need to chase away her fear coursed through him. With a gentle smile, he slipped the robe from her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Then he slowly unbuttoned her pajama top. When he spread the fabric apart and looked at her, she blushed from head to toe, pink heat spreading across her pale skin and wiping away her pallor.

He voiced his male approval. “You are amazing. Why on earth do you hide under baggy clothes?”