“You bet I am,” Kieran said, leaving Faith to wonder if she’d voiced her thoughts out loud. “Now that I’ve finally got you, there’s not a chance in hell I’m letting you slip away again.”
He chuckled softly when Faith said she really needed to take a shower, granting her a generous hour to do whatever she needed to do, but warned her that he would come in and get her if she wasn’t out by then. Faith wasn’t sure if the thrilling shiver that ran through her body was a result of anticipation or nerves.
She used every minute of her allotted time. She scrubbed, shaved, plucked, exfoliated, flossed, and brushed until she was hairless, smooth, and glowing from the neck down. With five minutes to spare, she spritzed a soft musk along her pulse points. Spotting Kieran’s shirt hanging from the hook on the back of the door, she decided to slip it on.
She swore Kieran’s eyes glowed when she stepped somewhat shyly out of the bathroom. He was propped up on the bed, shirtless and barefoot, remote in hand. He stilled when he saw her. Only his eyes moved; she felt them on her as keenly as a caress. With every step she drew closer, the sheer hunger on his face intensified.
“I need a shower, too,” he said, his voice somewhat strangled. Kieran leaped out of the far side of the bed just as she approached the other and sprinted into the bathroom, leaving Faith looking uncertainly at the back of the door.
She heard the water come on. The muted sounds of a zippered bag opening and closing. A few muttered curses (the reason became clear shortly afterwards).
In less than five minutes, Kieran emerged from the bathroom, his hair towel dried, a few nicks along his jawline (she guessed he had shaved a bit hurriedly), and a towel slung low on his hips. It really had been an eight-pack she’d glimpsed that one day so very long ago. An eight-pack that was nestled into the most perfect “V” of muscle and dark hair she’d ever seen.
“Lord have mercy,” she whispered.
Kieran slid into the bed beside her, dropping the towel on the floor as he did so. He sat next to Faith, his left leg rubbing up against her right. It was all she could do not to stare at the very prominent erection he sported, but what she glimpsed in her peripherals was enough to have her core burning and preparing itself for him.
They sat in silence for several minutes. Faith felt like a pubescent teen, jumping slightly when Kieran made the first move by placing his hand lightly on her thigh.
“Matt’s in the next room,” she breathed, her heart fluttering like a hummingbird’s.
Kieran exhaled slowly before turning toward her. “I guess we’ll have to be extra quiet then.” His hand reached up under the shirt she wore – his shirt – and skimmed across her flesh. “No matter what happens,” he said softly, his voice a sensual caress in itself, “don’t scream.”
*
Faith whimpered. Kieran moaned softly when his fingertips soon discovered she had neglected to put on panties. His lips met hers, capturing her outcry when his fingers found her slick wet center.
He was going to do everything he could to bind her to him. He’d already openly laid claim upon her heart, now it was time to imprint himself on her soul.
“How I’ve dreamed of touching you like this,” Kieran breathed as he kissed his way down her jawline, her throat, stopping only to place his fingers upon his tongue. “Like the sweetest honey,” he murmured.
He made quick work of the two or three buttons she’d fastened, opening the sides slowly and with anticipation, as if he was unwrapping a present. “So beautiful...” he praised, the only words he managed before drawing one hardened tip into his mouth. At the same time, his hand found its way back down to her molten core. Faith hissed loudly, arching beneath him, her hands tangling in his thick, silky hair.
“Sssshhh,” he scolded, nipping the underside of her breast and then licking away the sting.
He made sure to treat her neglected breast with the same attentiveness, while his fingers continued to strum along her center. Without warning, he began to ease a finger inside her. Reflexively, she tensed all over and clenched hard on his fingers.
“Damn, baby,” he choked around her breast. “You’re going to unman me before I even make it inside you.”
Faith was too highly strung to even consider penetration any time soon, he realized, which did very little to ease the horrible ache that had taken root deep in his groin. His cock was thick and heavy with need, the tip already wet and slick. If he tried to take her now, as his body was screaming for him to do, he would hurt her. He needed her softer, more pliant before he could even consider claiming her.