“What did you say?”
He drew back, looked down at her.
Meghann.
This time, when he kissed her, he kept his eyes open. She kissed him with a ferocity that left him breathless.
She shoved her hands underneath his T-shirt. Her fingertips grazed his nipples. “Take off your pants.” Her voice was coarse. “I want to touch you.”
They broke apart. He slid off the bed and undressed, his fingers too shaky to unbutton his jeans on the first try.
Naked, they fell together on the bed again. He rubbed his erection against her, kissing her open mouth, her chin, her closed eyes. She wrapped her leg over his and pressed in close. He felt her moisture against his thigh.
Then she reached down and touched him, wrapped her fingers tightly around him. Up and down. Up and down. He felt the condom slide into place in one practiced move.
He groaned as he thrust into her grasp one sweet, aching time, then pulled away before it was too late. He slid down her body, kissing her chin, her throat, her breasts. He tasted one nipple, drew it into his mouth, and sucked its sweetness. His hands pushed her legs apart as he moved downward, kissing her navel, her pubic hair.
She tried to push him away.
He held her in place, lowered his kisses until he was inside her. Moaning, she clutched his head and spread her legs wider apart. His tongue explored her, tasted her, glided up and down and in and out.
“Oh. My. God.” She said it brokenly. “Now.”
He pulled her toward him in one swift motion and entered her.
She clung to him, arched up to meet him. She matched him thrust for thrust.
Joe’s climax was like nothing he’d ever experienced before.
“Whew,” she said, pushing the damp hair away from her face. “That was definitely an E-ticket ride.”
He leaned back against the wobbly headboard. His whole body felt weak, trembling.
She looked up at him, smiling broadly, still breathing hard. “What’s your name?”
“Joe.”
“Well, Joe. That was great.”
After a long minute, he dared to slide his arm around her, draw her closer. Holding her, he closed his eyes.
For the first time in years, he went to sleep with a woman in his arms.
When he woke up, he was alone again.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
“Whew!” Claire flopped back onto the pillows. “I can’t remember the last time I got lucky in the morning.” She pushed the hair out of her eyes and smiled at Bobby. “You must really love me if you’ll kiss me before I brush my teeth.”
He rolled onto his side. His handsome face was crisscrossed with tiny pink sleep lines. “You still wonder, don’t you?”
“No,” she said too quickly.
He touched her cheek in a caress so soft it made her sigh. “I love you, Claire Cavenaugh. I’d like to kick the ass of the man who made you so afraid to believe me.”
She knew her smile was more than a little sad. There was nothing she could do about it. “It’s not just men.”
“But I can’t beat up your mother or your sister.”
She laughed at that. “Just prove Meg wrong. Nothing will make her crazier.”
“She’s trying, you know.”
Claire sat up in bed. “Yeah. I noticed. She made that crack about me not loving people, then left the party early.”
“She also bought you a dress that cost more than my car.”
“Money’s easy for Meg. She’s got tons. Just ask her.”
Bobby leaned back against the headboard. The blankets slid down his naked chest and pooled across his lap.
“She grew up with your mother, too, and she didn’t have a dad to pick up the slack. It had to be hard on her, raising you all those years and then watching Sam step in to replace her.”
“I can’t believe you’re defending her. She told me I was stupid to marry you.”
He gave her that slow-growing smile that always made her go weak in the knees. “Darlin’, you can’t hold that against her. She’s just trying to protect you.”
“Control me is more like it.”
“Come here,” he whispered.
She leaned toward him. Her bare breasts breezed against his chest as they kissed. He slipped a hand around her neck and held her there, kissing her until she forgot their whole conversation. When she finally drew back, she was dizzy and breathing too hard.
“I’m getting to know you, Claire Cavenaugh-soon-to-be-Austin,” he whispered against her lips. “You had a headache after the wedding dress screwup and again last night. When Meghann hurts your feelings, you say you don’t care and start chewing aspirin. I’ve been there, darlin’. I know what matters is that she’s your sister. The only one you’ve got.”
Claire wanted to disagree but knew it was pointless. She did want to be close to Meg again. More and more often in the past few days, she’d found herself remembering the old Meg. The way they used to love each other. “I’m tired of the way we are together,” she admitted.
“Well?”