Sweet Temptation (31 page)

“You trace my lines, stirring my soul,

Shoot sparks at the heart of the world and I watch it explode.”

—“Run” by Matt Nathanson

T
he extravagant cabin is even better than I'd hoped. Anna certainly seems to agree. She's rushing about the rooms in hyper speed, sighing and touching and exclaiming about every detail. The bed looks as if it's been carved from an ancient tree, complete with overhanging branches and wood beams in the ceilings. Everything resembles autumn, with fabrics of red, brown, and yellow, and rustic wood furniture. I want to kiss Anna every time she flits past, but I can't bloody catch her. Finally I nab her in the ginormous bathroom, and our mouths meet.

When she tenses, I pull back. “What's wrong?”

She glances down. “I don't know what I'm doing.”

Ah. She's already thinking ahead.

“Anna?” I ask.

“Hm?” She's gone shy.

“Have you ever felt as though you were fumbling around awkwardly when we're together?”

“Um . . . I guess not.”

“Exactly. Some things come naturally, so don't overthink it. I'm going to take care of you.”

She talks quietly, not looking me in the eye. “But I want to take care of you, too. You have to show me what to do.”

My lovely Anna is too kind. She has no clue how anything she does this night will only further satisfy my growing need for her.

“I'm not as hard to please as you might imagine. I'll show you anything you want.”

She swallows and nods.

“Also . . .” I clear my throat. “Two days ago when Father told me he was sending me to seek you out . . . I had a test done. Just in case anything were to happen with us—I just wanted to be sure.”

Damn good thing, too, because after Marna, I'd be paranoid as hell tonight.

“Oh,” Anna says. “To make sure you're really . . .”

“Sterile, yes. And I am.”

“Thank you,” she whispers. And she finally gets brave enough to look up at me. Her eyes widen and I feel a stirring in my belly. For so long I've held back with her. I will still have to hold back a bit, because she's not yet ready for it all. But there are things I can and will do tonight. Starting with seeing
every bit of her skin. I glance over her mouth, at the freckle at the corner of her lips.

“Anna . . .”

“Hmm?” Her voice goes high. She clears her throat.

“Remember when I told you I wanted to introduce myself to every freckle on your body?”

She nods slowly.

“Well, it's time.”

Her cheeks bloom with color. I close my eyes as a warm wave of pears and freesia permeates the air. “You smell so damn good.”

Though this moment feels long overdue, I know neither of us was truly ready until this night. This is how it was meant to be for us.

I take her hand and lead her back into the main room. I want to put on music, but mine's a bit dark. I dig through the bag from Marna and stare down at the music player she sent.

“Marna downloaded mood music as a gift,” I mutter. “I'm a bit frightened.”

Anna giggles at my apprehension. I set up the dock and turn it on. Sure enough, the first song is twangy.

“Country music?” Since when does Marna listen to this?

“I love this song!” Anna says, and I groan. Of course she does, Georgia girl. And I suppose it's not
that
terrible. But still. Who knows what the rest of this playlist will bring.

“Maybe we should listen to my playlist instead.” I reach for my device.

Anna gives her head a shake and takes a bold step toward me. “Come on, Kai . . . my freckles are getting impatient.”

Bloody hell . . . did my little vixen just tell me to hurry up? I forget all about the playlist. I advance toward her, wondering if she has any clue what she's sparked in me.

My freckles are getting impatient. . . .

“Well, then,” I say. “Let's not keep them waiting.”

I'm standing in front of her now and her chest is rising and falling rapidly.

Take it easy, mate.
I've waited too long to rush. I slip my hand under her hair and tilt her face up to mine. Her eyes close and I taste her lips. Softly at first, taking her bottom lip between mine and then seeking her tongue with a gentle swipe of my own. As our mouths tangle and play, I walk forward and she walks backward until we're stopped by the bed.

I need the dress off, now. I begin gathering it between my fingers, working it upward until the hem is in my hands. She lets me raise it over her head, and she's standing before me in her bra and silk underwear. Her eyes are still nervous, but she moves for my shirt and I raise my arms for her to pull it over my head.

I swish the hair from my eyes, then feel her hands on the buckle of my shorts. I take her hands away, saying, “Not yet.” It's been so long that I don't want to test my self-control. Right now, I need to see all of her. I slowly reach behind and flick open the clasp of her white strapless bra. As it falls, she covers her chest.

“They're . . .” She bites her lip and looks down.

I place my hands over hers. “I assure you, they're
perfect
.” I gently pry her hands away and look down at Anna, exposed before me.

My breath hitches like I'm a lad. I have to close my eyes and gather my wits before I can look at her again. Every curve, peak, and valley . . . I can't believe she's mine. All mine.

“Like I said,” I grit out. “Just right. On the bed with you now.”

She obeys and I know she'll do anything I say right now, because she trusts me, she wants me. It fills me with a masculine pride that makes me want to roar. I lie next to her on the bed and force her to stay on her back while I peruse every inch of her skin. Each time she attempts to touch me or pull me, or move closer, I stop her. It's driving her mad, and the delicious power rush makes me want to go even slower.

Shoulders, collarbones, breasts—she lets me kiss her and taste her and learn her—waist, belly button, hips, stomach, every inch of her as smooth and sweet as the next. She squirms and groans, grabbing sensually at my hair. When I get to her panty line, and go lower, down to her thighs, she lifts her hips and I firmly push them back down.

“Please,” she whispers.

“Not yet.”

I know what she needs, and I know I can make it even better by building that need within her, just as my own is building. I flip her to her stomach and start at the top of her body again, moving her hair aside so I can kiss her upper back. She gasps and cries out when I get to the base of her spine. I smile to myself, having found one of her zones. And when I get to her arse—the most perfect, round bit of flesh to ever exist—I nearly lose my head and rip the tiny piece of lace from her body. A low rumble emits from my chest.

Anna takes advantage, saying, “Take them off.” I am too lost to drag this out a moment longer. I sit up and pull the knickers down her smooth legs. What's left before me is my sexy little Anna's backside, completely naked.

“My
God
,” I whisper. She's more perfect than I imagined, and I imagined this a lot.

Anna turns over and I soak in the front image of her. . . .

Heaven.

She reaches for my shorts, but I grasp her hand and gently bite her naughty finger.

“I'm not done yet.”

She falls back with a moan as I make my way straight to her lower stomach again, this time with no barrier of fabric to block me. I kiss down her inner thigh, and Anna's breathing goes ragged. I kiss her again, right where she needs, and my sight shatters into a myriad of white shards.

Within seconds Anna cries out and I tighten my grip on her hips. She overwhelms my senses. Anna is the scratching of nails in my hair. She's the sound of high moans in my ears. The firm thighs against my unshaven cheeks. The sweet scent that surrounds us.

Her cries turn to tired breathing, and her grip on my hair relaxes. Only then do I relent and move up to place kisses on her flushed face and closed eyelids. I love knowing I've done this to her.

“You can nap, luv,” I whisper.

She sags further into the bed, murmuring. Then her eyes pop open. She pushes to her elbows and glares as if I'd said something offensive. I have to laugh. Her hair has gone a bit
poofy in the back, and she's a right gorgeous sight.

“It's your turn,” she says.

Oh. I go still, wondering exactly what she has in mind. Inside, my body claps like a damn seal, but outside I'm suddenly too nervous to move. She leans forward and kisses under my ear. Ah, yes. That's nice. She kisses my neck and I reach for her hip, pulling her closer.

“My sweet little vixen.”

She licks my earlobe, and a bolt of arousal forces me on top of her.

Anna is naked underneath me. All mine.

But she
tsks
and makes a little
uh-uh-uuh
sound, as if I've got it all wrong. She pushes me off her and continues pushing me until I'm on my back and she's beside me on her knees, looking down at my body as I did to hers. She bites her lip. Her hands are shaking as her fingers trail over my chest and down my abs. I want to tell her she doesn't have to do this, but she reaches for my belt, determined.

Oh, dear God. I could quite possibly make a terrible fool of myself right now. I grasp her hands and breathe out harshly. Her eyes fill with worry and I have to say something.

“Sorry . . . it's just that . . . it's been a while.”

“It's okay,” she whispers. It's as if she's relieved that I'm showing weakness, though I am not at all happy about it.

Once I've taken several breaths, I release her hands and she continues to undress me. I lift my hips for her and kick off the shorts.

“Um,
wow
,” Anna murmurs. She stares so hard that I'm about to lose it.
Damn it, Rowe, be cool
, I chide myself as she
takes her visual fill of me with an expression of awe and curiosity.

I close my eyes and swallow. I try to imagine non-sexy things, but it's difficult when she's hijacked all of my senses. I breathe, trying to regain control, but when Anna finally touches me, I have to wrap my hand over hers again.

“Just a sec,” I say. She bites her lip, and I hope like hell she's not about to laugh at how my voice cracked.

“Kai . . .” Her voice beckons me to look at her. I lift my eyes. “It's just me.”

This is Anna. This isn't work. She wants something genuine from me, not an act. I release her hand, and allow myself to feel her touch. To watch her face as she discovers me for the first time.

“Like this?” she whispers, sultriness underlying her voice.

She goes slow, and it's pure torture. Though I suppose it's only fair play after what I put her through.

I shut my eyes and flex every muscle. “Yes, luv. Bloody hell. Just like that.”

Heaven.

I talk her into taking an outdoor shower, and I promise to keep an eye out for whisperers, but there are a few moments as we wash where hands wander and I get a bit distracted. It'd be safe to assume the wandering hands belong to yours truly, but I'm happy to announce Anna was the culprit. Can't keep the girl's hands off me.

Afterward I wrap her in an oversized towel and take her inside to feed her berries and cheese and crackers.

She falls over with laughter when I turn on Marna's music and belt out the chorus of “You Don't Know You're Beautiful.”

“Oh my gosh!” she says through her laughter. “You sound just like them, and you know every single freaking word!”

“Bit hard to avoid that song, yeah?”

We laugh together and I happen to glance over and see the hilt, wrapped in its case by her bag. My smile falls and my pulse spikes.

I know Anna is ready, but that stupid fear rises up, clawing at me. I rip my eyes away from the sword and stand to stare out the window at the blackened night. If the Sword of Righteousness rejects Anna, it will be my fault.

“Hey,” Anna says softly, coaxing my eyes across the room to her. She stands on the opposite side of the bed, still in her towel, as am I. “It'll be midnight soon. Our wedding day is almost over.”

I want to tell her it's not too late to change her mind. That I'll understand if she wants to remain a virgin, but then she says in a seductive voice, “Come here,” and I know her mind is set.

I slowly walk to my side of the bed, across from her, and put my hands on my head. Her hair is damp and her cheeks have pink spots. I feel so bloomin' lucky for this entire day—the best day of my life.

In the next moment, when I blink, Anna opens her towel and drops it to the floor. Her chest rises and falls faster as she watches me. Then she climbs onto the bed and crawls, like a prowling cat, toward me. My body stiffens, in shock.

By the time she makes her way to me, rising up onto her
knees, I am awake and alert.