It had seemed like a smart, modern thing to do, taking control of her sexuality. Obviously, she would make love at some point. Best to get the contraception started and see if she had any adverse affects like hormonal swings or weight gain. After all his rebuffs, she hadn’t dared hope her first partner would be Taye.
Brow furrowing, he paused beside her bed, and it was so good to see him there. “That’s birth control, right?”
“Yep.”
“That means—”
“You can go bareback.” Thinking he’d laugh, she put her arms behind her head and executed a slow grind, nothing more than club dancing. It wasn’t erotic; it was funny, her trying to be all sexy.
But a groan escaped him. “If you don’t stop saying shit like that—and working your hips—I’m going to come in my pants.”
She thought he was kidding, until she saw his pained expression. He had an enormous bulge in his jeans, and he rubbed it absently as if to ease the ache. Gillie longed to respond in kind, moving in slow circles as she recalled how it felt to have him thrust against her. A deep breath restored some equilibrium.
She turned down the covers on her bed. “Dirty talk does it for you, huh? And I remember you like watching. Pretty soon, I’m gonna own you.”
“You already do,” he said huskily.
If she had planned for this encounter, she would be wearing better underwear. They had a satin bow in front, but they weren’t sexy enough. At least she thought that until she shimmed out of her yoga pants, and caught his avid expression. When she pulled her baby T-shirt over her head, his eyes went incandescent.
Ohhh. It was worth the wait for him to look at me like that.
“Working for you?” She posed in her panties, hand on hip.
“No bra? I bet Brandon couldn’t keep his eyes off your tits.”
Honestly, she hadn’t even thought of it. Her breasts weren’t huge, so she often went without, particularly at home. But in retrospect, the kid might have noticed, and she didn’t mind; it was a turn-on to be found desirable, and Taye’s jealousy was . . . delightful.
“I didn’t pay attention,” she admitted.
“Do something for me.”
If he wanted another private show, she’d scream in frustration. She was good at playing with herself; she had been doing it for years. But it was time to add to her carnal repertoire.
“What?”
“Take out your contacts. I need to see your eyes.”
Oh
. Something in her melted a little. Gillie hurried to the bathroom so he wouldn’t realize just how completely he owned her heart. It was too soon; he had only just accepted the inevitability of a sexual relationship between them. At least according to TV, guys didn’t always leap to the conclusion that physical rapport equated to happily ever after. She would have to ease him into the master plan.
After I fuck his brains out.
As she came back, blue-eyed once more, Taye scrambled out of his clothes so fast she thought he might break a window with his boots—and she didn’t care. Once he got naked, she saw he had lost weight, but this wasn’t the time to ask if he’d been eating right. Now he had a gaunt and irrefutable beauty, strength refined to its essence. His muscles flexed as he lifted her into his arms, his heat shocking and delicious.
“Mine,” he whispered. “Finally. Oh, God, Gillie.”
CHAPTER 20
Taye trembled with
need. Her angel blue eyes contrasted beautifully with her dark hair, though he missed her red curls. Gillie was every bit as lovely as he recalled, slim and shapely with small, pert breasts and gently flaring hips. Her thighs were thicker, but it was pure muscle, probably from the bike he’d seen in the foyer.
Get hold of yourself. You can’t just ravish her. It’s her first time. You have to make it special.
Inwardly, he whimpered at the idea of controlling his lust, but at least the raw feeling tempered the constant agony in his gut.
“No,” she said softly.
“What—”
“I don’t need rose petals and moonlight. It’s three in the afternoon on a Thursday, and I will die if you don’t kiss me.”
Freedom.
Her words took all the pressure away, leaving only the longing. He closed the distance between them in two strides and drew Gillie into his arms, nothing between them but her tiny panties. She stretched up, and he leaned down; she made him feel irresistible, even though he was just an averagelooking guy, and less than the romantic ideal of six feet tall. But since she was only five-two, he figured she didn’t miss that last inch.
Her mouth brushed his as she wound her arms around his neck, a butterfly kiss. Taye refused to let her tease him, so he deepened it, parting her lips with his own. He nipped her lower lip and touched his tongue to hers. She murmured in pleasure, seeking more. He lost control when she sucked, and the kiss turned into ravishment, long drugging moments where he thrust his tongue between her lips in a delicious precursor to sex, symbolic and irresistible.
Every man in the world should understand how thoroughly she belonged to him—and she would until he bit it. Maybe that wasn’t fair but he cared fuck-all for that now; he believed her. She was the strong one, damn near unbreakable, for all he’d worried about protecting her from harm. Losing him wouldn’t end her. As it turned out, she was stronger than him because three months without her had wrecked him, stolen his will to do the right thing.
Got to have you. Can’t die without being part of you.
He gazed down into her eyes, and thought,
Gillie, Gillie-my-love. Stay with me.
Taye ran his mouth along her jaw to her throat and took special pleasure in biting down; he sucked to create the bruise that would mark her. The next time she saw Brandon, he’d know. A little growl rose up.
She whimpered, arched her neck—such a graceful curve—and dug her hands into his back. Her whole body had a dusting of freckles now, the most delicious cinnamon and cream. He imagined her lying in the sun, drowsily soaking it in for the first time in years. In his mind’s eye, he put himself in the picture beside her, lazily rubbing sunscreen on her.
Mmm, yeah. Time to pay attention to those pretty breasts.
He lifted her and tossed her on the bed. She landed with a startled laugh and a bounce, but there was no trepidation in her look, only avid hunger. It shone from her blue eyes, clear as the heaven she offered him.
You don’t deserve her,
he thought. But that lack didn’t stop him from following her down. Taye swept his hands lightly over her body, barely grazing her nipples with his blunt nails. Her breath caught; he watched her face as he touched her. Surely there was nothing so beautiful in the whole damn world. He skimmed his thumbs back and forth, bringing each nipple to a tight point.
Silently, she drew his head down, and he teased her with delicate kisses and flicks of his tongue. Gillie gave his hair a tug, so he relented, sucking one sweet peak into his mouth. She arched and moaned, hips lifting. Soothing her with gentle strokes to her belly, Taye worked his fingers downward until they found the fabric of her panties.
“Touch me,” she whispered. “See how wet I am.”
Invitation or order, he couldn’t resist. Inside, he found her smooth and divinely slick. His touch faltered, and then he had to see to believe. With her help, he worked her panties off and slid downward, parting her thighs in a motion that was pure masculine demand. But from her happy little wriggle, it seemed to work for her. Taye’s eyes confirmed what his fingers had discovered; she was completely bare. She’d been right, all those months ago. Gillie was no shy, backward virgin, and she knew what she wanted.
“I had it waxed off.” Her smile offered pure temptation. “I was curious how it would look. Sometimes I like to get off in front of the mirror, and I can see better this way.”
Too powerful, that mental image—he knew just how she did it. Raw lust careened through him, and it shook him from head to toe. Goddamn, for all his fears about her socialization, he might be the maladjusted one. He didn’t know if he was allowed to study the way her body was made. If he’d ever done so, he couldn’t remember, and it was fitting that her pretty pink sex would be emblazoned on his memory going forward. She was the only woman he’d ever want; his need for her had reached obsession levels, and he didn’t even care.
“Can I look at you?” The question came out as a growl.
“Please. But no touching. If you play with me . . . or lick me . . . I’ll come. And that’s not on the agenda unless you’re inside me. I’ve flown solo enough.”
Aw, Christ.
She might as well have a playbook telling her what buttons to push. The idea that he could get close and look but not touch? The heat ratcheted up to dangerous levels; for a moment, he was afraid he’d start drawing metal objects and pulling juice from the light sockets. Taye shook silently for a moment while fighting to separate sex from power. Gillie didn’t make it easier when she parted her lips, showing him. Like the rest of her, she was small and compact down there, shiny with lust, her clit already tight.
“So you’re saying I can either play with you elsewhere . . . or fuck you.” He licked the inner curve of her thigh, adhering to the rules she’d set forth.
Her breath caught. “Is there a problem?”
“No, just clarifying my options.”
“Have a clear picture n—
ohhh
—” Her teasing words turned into a moan when he caught tender skin with his teeth.
“Yeah, I think I’ve worked it out.”
“I hope this story has a happy ending.”
Oh, Gillie.
The ache spread all over his body, and he couldn’t tease either of them a minute longer, not when those moments were numbered and so precious. Taye slid upward, widening the space between her thighs.
“Tell me if I hurt you. Or if you get scared.”
She gave a husky laugh. “Yes, the naked version of you is terrifying.”
“Don’t you know you’re never supposed to laugh at a man in bed?” But he should have known it would be like that with her. Even imprisoned, she had been all light and sunshine, the one bright spot in the darkness. And that was why he’d known he had to set her free.
“Oh? Is that a rule? I don’t read
Cosmo
. Too busy with my psych textbooks.”
He grinned down at her, propped on his elbows. “You’ll probably learn more about me in there anyway.”
“So you’re a deviant, then?”
Talking helped his self-control, permitting him to focus on her, not the pressure building in his balls. He angled his body, slid his hands beneath her ass, and tilted her to meet his thrust.
Dear God.
Taye had no experiences to compare it to, but this was the best thing he’d ever felt. She was sweet and small, hot and slick.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “I love to fuck innocent girls.”
“Damn. And here I thought you wanted
me
.”
More than anything. More than life.
He didn’t say so aloud, but she saw. God, she always did; she always knew. The only thing he’d managed to keep hidden from her was the cost of his gift, and if they hadn’t spent the last three months apart, Taye had no doubt she’d know that by now, too.
“Good to go deeper?”
At her nod, he pushed, a slow and torturous penetration that threatened to melt his bones. The need to come boiled higher. Soon he wouldn’t care at all if he felt good inside her, only that she was his. Merely thinking the word nearly undid him; Taye thrust three times, four, before reining himself in, shaking from head to toe.
“It doesn’t hurt,” she whispered. “I have toys. I used them and thought of you.”
He remembered her saying,
Sometimes I like to get off in front of the mirror, and I can see better this way
. Too much stimulation, combined with the luscious heat on his cock. He lost his mind. Taye pounded into her with long, demanding strokes, angling her to meet them. In answer, she wrapped her legs about his hips and drew him deeper still. He had no yardstick to measure her expertise, but she felt perfect, each movement orchestrated to jack him higher.
As he got closer, everything faded but the heat of her body, the softness of her skin, the apple scent of her hair, and the unearthly blue of her eyes. He fell into them, drowning, and then breathing for what felt like the first time in his life. Beneath him, she shuddered and came, his name a broken song on her lips. Only then did he let go. The orgasm cracked him wide open. Too much pleasure, too much, and he was keeping such a secret from her. He almost wept, except it would be such a fucking pussy thing to do, and it would ruin the moment. Somehow he fought it all down as he got his breath back.
She went lax beneath him, her skin glowing with sweat and satisfaction. He rolled off, but carried her with him. They had too little time for him to take a single second for granted. After all, he had to live a whole lifetime with her in eighteen days.
Hours later, Gillie
stretched like a contented cat. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but after having mind-blowing sex with the man of your dreams, it came naturally. He was awake when she opened her eyes; the light had gone, painting the room in shadows. From what she could tell, he hadn’t moved at all, except for his hands stroking her back.