Lifting her head, Mara looked at him, astonished. “But you’ve had a lot of women—”
“I’ve fucked a lot of women, Mara. But not a single one of them has ever wanted to go down on me.” Usually, Jared figured they just wanted to get off and collect whatever they could from him. That was the type of woman he usually sought out. They were safe. He knew what to expect, and he knew what he had to give in return. He had no idea exactly what to do with a woman like Mara. “And I haven’t screwed every woman I’ve ever been pictured with. A lot of them are just casual dates for charity functions or acquaintances. Contrary to what a lot of people think, I’m not a total man-whore. I’ve had my fair share of women, but I usually stay far away from women as sweet as you.”
She gave him a puzzled look. “Why? You deserve a woman who cares about you.”
Jared didn’t have an answer, and he stared at Mara darkly. It took him a moment to form a reply. “Maybe I don’t think I deserve that kind of woman.” Subconsciously, he’d probably always sought out exactly what he thought he deserved after being responsible for the deaths of two people.
Kissing him on the forehead gently, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “You do,” she muttered tenderly. “I think you need it, and you’re probably even more entitled to it than a lot of men. You’re special, Jared.”
He stood, taking her with him before lowering her to the floor and sprawling his body on top of hers. “What about you? You deserve so much more than I do. You’ve spent most of your life taking care of other people, ignoring your own needs.” Hell, Mara was the most selfless person he’d ever known, male or female.
Recovering from the change in position quickly, she smiled up at him. “You’re a lot hotter than I am,” she joked, twining her arms around his neck again. “And much too hard to resist.”
Jared swallowed hard as he came to his knees between her thighs and shrugged out of his shirt impatiently, tossing it aside. “If you think that, you aren’t seeing what I’m seeing right now.” Everything about her was impossible to ignore. She was a temptress and an angel. She was wicked and an innocent. Her dark eyes were fathomless, deep whirlpools filled with emotion, and she touched Jared in ways that terrified the hell out of him. She was a temptation beyond his ability to control, and she belonged to him.
Mine.
Evan was right, he needed to claim her completely before someone else did.
“I need you naked. Now.” Possessiveness filled him, and he needed to make her tremble with need for him until she could think of no one else except him.
She didn’t protest as she sat up and he made short work of her clothing, his heart thundering when she was finally sprawled out on the carpet, completely nude.
“Like I said . . . I’m not as hot as you are,” she mumbled, her entire body flushing pink as Jared looked his fill.
“Sweetheart, you have no idea how sexy you really are.” His mouth was dry as his eyes swept over her body lovingly. Her raspberry-colored nipples were hard, the peaks beckoning him. Her ivory skin was flawless, and her curvy body beckoned him to explore every portion of it. “I want to lick every inch of you with my tongue.”
Standing up, he shucked off his jeans and briefs, kicking them to the side impatiently.
“Jared, I—”
“Shhh . . .” He put a finger over her lips as he came back down on top of her. Mara looked embarrassed and beautifully aroused. “I want to taste you as much as you wanted to taste me. Probably more.”
“I haven’t—”
He pressed his finger harder against her lips. “You will. And you’ll be moaning my name while I’m doing it. I need to make you come.” He’d already known that no man had ever had his head between her thighs, and he loved knowing that he’d be the first. No doubt the only thing she’d experienced in the past was a fumbling boy who would let her give him head but offered nothing but an inept screw in return. “Lay back and enjoy it, baby. I know I will.” He couldn’t wait to touch her soft skin, lick her into orgasm. This generous, smart, gorgeous creature in front of him was now his, and he’d make damn sure she was begging for mercy before he was done. He needed her to remember nothing except him from this day forward.
No other man was going to touch her—ever!
She. Belongs. To. Me.
The words repeated in his mind over and over as he began concentrating on making her forget that anyone ever existed before him.