Pushing aside her insecurities, pushing aside the little voice that told her she wasn’t good enough—that she’d never been good enough for anyone else, why would she be good enough for him?—Maggie went up on tiptoe and reached for him. Reached for what she never imagined could be hers. She cupped the back of Gideon’s neck with her free hand, dragged his head down and pressed her lips to his.
For a split second he froze again. He peered down at her as if he still couldn’t believe his senses. And then he exploded into motion all around her. One second his lips were unresponsive against hers, his hand clamped on her wrist like a vise, his other arm rigid at his side. The next instant, his lips were devouring hers, his tongue plunging greedily into her mouth, swirling over hers, demanding and voracious. His arms crushed her so tightly she could barely breathe.
The unforgiving ridge of his arousal pressed against her, demanding and merciless, and he rocked his hips, his lean body shuddering all around her. She moaned as an answering rush of melting warmth hit her, low and deep. Tunneling her fingers in his hair, she kissed him back, pouring every ounce of desire coursing through her into her response.
Gideon groaned into her mouth, the sound of it, the vibration against the delicate skin of her lips and tongue erotic beyond imagining. Changing the angle of his kiss, he deepened the intimate contact, dragging her under wave after wave of mindless passion as he pushed her back, pressing her up against the wall, pinning her, caging her. She fully understood there would be no escape. That realization made her giddy. His hand swept down her side to squeeze her hip before slipping back up beneath the hem of her T-shirt. The heat of his calloused skin upon her bare flesh was delicious. She trembled beneath his touch.
His thigh pressed between hers, intimate and unyielding. His fingers tangled in her hair, dragging her head back. Gideon tore his lips from hers and stared down at her for a moment, just for a slim second, as if to reassure himself this was really what she wanted. That she hadn’t changed her mind.
She hadn’t.
He swooped down and he seized the sensitive skin just beneath her ear. She shuddered. His mouth, so hot, so hungry, sucked and nipped, playing there, driving her crazy. Eventually, he slid down over her throat to torment the flesh where neck met shoulder. Maggie was helpless, could only whimper for more. He skimmed along the bare skin on her abdomen, and Maggie shivered in response. The rough pads of his fingertips spread over her ribs, skating up until he cupped her breast. With ruthless, aggressive motions, he rubbed his palm against her breast until her nipple budded beneath the friction.
A low, primal growl rumbled through his chest and into her. His movements were rough as Gideon jerked his hands free. Before she realized what he intended, he grasped the collar of her T-shirt and ripped it right down the middle. Her pretty, lacy bra suffered the same fate before he dragged the tattered fabric down her arms, pulling her away from the wall long enough to toss the material aside.
Gideon leaned back for a moment, his hungry gaze drinking her in. “So beautiful,” he whispered reverently, and she knew he wasn’t speaking to her. Not deliberately, anyway. It had been an unguarded thought that had slipped from his lips, and meant all the more to her for it.
But she was just as ravenous to feel his flesh. She reached for his shirt, but before she could grip the material, it disappeared.
She blinked in confusion. “Did you do that?”
He nodded, his dazzled gaze never leaving her breasts as his muscular chest rose and fell on an impossibly deep, shuddering breath.
“Why didn’t you just make my clothes disappear like that too?” Maggie asked breathlessly. “Why’d you rip them off?”
He finally looked at her, ensnaring her with those sparkling eyes. The grin that spread across his lips was so wicked, her throat all but closed.
“That was for me, Maggie.”
He moved into her swiftly then, shoving her urgently against the wall. The cool, textured wallpaper grounded her as his chest, smooth as silk, hard as granite, and blazing hot, pressed against her front. His lips slammed over hers as his calloused hands gripped her hips in a punishing hold. Her head swam as she lost touch with everything but Gideon and the way he kissed her, not only with his mouth, but with his entire body.
He took possession of her bottom, squeezing, flexing, squeezing. Without warning, he dropped to his knees before her. Deft fingers flicked the button on her jeans free. He jerked the zipper open and dragged them down her legs. Gideon balanced her with a hand on her hip while she stepped free.