He nipped her bottom lip. “I know how to have a one nighter, princess. Question is, do you?”
She thought about that for a second and realized that no, she didn’t. She’d never done something like this. Everything was scheduled, structured, and followed a plan. Everything was focused on establishing something safe and secure and permanent. Even when she’d decided to leave the city and open her own boutique, setting out on her own, she’d still had a plan. Goals. Logic.
But she could use that to her advantage now. For the sake of finding independence and being adventurous, she could check off a few bullet points from the sexual fantasy list.
She needed some kind of spark. Her ex, Brad, never had that spark. Yes, he was after her name and family money. He wanted her to fall into the role of the good wife all while chipping away at her self-esteem. Deep down, what hurt the most was realizing he was right. She wasn’t fun. Wasn’t spontaneous. Wasn’t adventurous.
And that was going to change. At least for tonight.
Instead of answering the sexy search and rescuer, her hands on his chest turned to fists, and she yanked him in for a hard, deep kiss.
He responded quickly. Opening and closing his own perfectly firm lips around hers. She’d never experienced a kiss like this before. Dex didn’t kiss; he played. But there was nothing lighthearted about it. It was a Hail Mary, everything on the line, final chance to score kind of play. Rough and consuming, deep and powerful. She could feel everything he was willing to offer in that one kiss. And she ate it up.
Whether it was from lack of sleep or the rugged manly scent that was coming from him and clouding her brain, she didn’t know. But she felt alive. Felt seen. Felt…adventurous.
Surely proper, boring girls didn’t make out with random men in the middle of the wild.
He wasn’t asking her to give up her independence. He wanted her to be independent. In fact he only wanted this if she didn’t commit to him.
Sold!
She smiled a little. Dex noticed. He straightened his shoulders, suddenly proud.
“Hope you’re not laughing at my kissing,” he warned and plunged his tongue deep to drink her down once before letting her answer.
Which was difficult, because now she was breathless.
“No, I’m happy,” she said. “And I was actually marveling at what a good kisser you are.”
“Hmmm.” He swooped in for another taste. “I’ll take happy. I’ll even take good. But I was going for hot.”
“Oh, I’m getting hot,” she admitted instantly and wiggled against him. “I was just thinking how fun this is.”
He looked at her for a moment, green eyes blazing as flecks of firelight skated across them.
“That’s me,” he said. “Fun time kind of guy.”
The way he said it made her pause for a second, but she couldn’t think much longer about it, because he was already kissing her again. And he took hot to a whole new level.
She was loving the moment. The sound of the nature living around them. Being lost to the masterful kiss of a strong man. Nothing about this situation was standard. She didn’t feel like a name, a failure, boring, or lacking. She felt like a woman. A woman he wanted. A woman who gave in to passion no matter where she was.
At least for tonight, she’d take all she could get and revel in the feeling.
“You’re smiling again,” Dex said against her mouth.
“You inspire tantalizing thoughts.”
“That right?” he asked. He rolled her over enough so that she was on her other side, back against his chest, as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the crook of her neck. “I want to hear these thoughts you’re having.”
She swallowed hard. Could she really tell him what was on her mind? Granted, at the moment it was him. His body. His taste. How he made her feel a little naughty.
“I’m waiting, princess,” he said, his deep voice rumbling against her neck.
“I was thinking of you,” she started honestly.
His hand that was resting on her hip started to move over her stomach while the other hand barely skimmed up her shirt. The smallest touch of his fingertips against her belly button made shivers break out over her skin. She was surrounded by him. Wrapped up in his strength. And his hands were coming at her from both directions. Question was, where would they land?
She was dying to find out.
“I was thinking about how strong you are,” she continued a little shyly. It was enough of an admission to get those hands of his on the move. One skimmed up her shirt, tickling her skin as he reached the lacy cup of her bra. The other moved back and forth, back and forth, along the band of her jeans.
She wiggled, silently trying to get those fingers to dip into her pants. He held firm, but when she wiggled again, her bottom pressed even harder into his erection, and he groaned.
She realized that she could use more of her surroundings to her advantage. Because for whatever reason, he was going slow, and she was already on the brink of internal eruption.
Time to be bold.