Patience was something he was good at, and if she wasn’t ready to admit she had feelings for him, he’d wait. And he’d worry about tomorrow when tomorrow came.
She relaxed her arm, her palm sliding over his chest, and he turned his head to capture her mouth. Her kiss tasted like hot chocolate, with a hint of minty toothpaste, and he ran his tongue over her bottom lip.
Her fingers curled in his shirt and her other hand slid into his hair, holding him to her. He ran his hands up her back, hating the bulky dress that had amused him earlier.
He savored the kiss, wanting more, as she unbuttoned his shirt. Her hand slid under the fabric, only to encounter the thermals.
“You have too many layers on,” she muttered against his mouth.
He’d been thinking the same thing. Unbuttoning the outer shirt and peeling it off didn’t take long, and then he yanked the thermal shirt free of his jeans and pulled it over his head.
The feel of her palms gliding over his bare chest practically seared his skin.
“That’s better,” she whispered, and then she took his hand and led him toward the bed.
*
Tori pushed thoughts of tomorrow out of her head as she crossed to her bed, Max’s hand in hers.
The turning point had come hours before, when he’d touched her and she’d let him. When he’d put his arm around her and she hadn’t laughed and found a reason to step away and shrug him off. Definitely when he’d offered to drive her home and she’d accepted.
She threw back the sheets, wishing she’d made her bed for once, and then turned to face him. “Still too many layers.”
He put his hands on her waist, drawing her close. “Are you in a hurry?”
She laughed. “A little bit, yeah. It’s been a while.”
“I’m not a man who likes to rush things.” He hooked his finger in the neck of the dress. “This thing has a lot of tiny buttons.”
“I’m lazy, so when I put it on, I only undid enough so I could pull it over my head.”
He popped the top button open and then another. It was enough so he could dip his finger into the hollow of her throat. A third button and he could part the fabric enough to kiss the same spot.
She threw her head back and he sucked gently, undoing two more buttons. Then he lifted her and set her on the bed, where he gently pushed her back onto the mattress.
“I’m starting to really like this dress,” he murmured.
“More than black leather?”
She could tell by his sharp intake of breath it only took one more button for him to realize she wasn’t wearing anything under the dress anymore. “I don’t think black leather would be nearly as fun to take off.”
Tori wasn’t going to argue with that sentiment. As he undid enough buttons to push back the fabric and bare her breasts, she raked her nails over his back.
Then his mouth closed over her nipple and she arched her back off the bed. Burying her hands in his hair, she moaned as he sucked gently at first, and then harder. When he gave the same attention to the other breast, and he flicked his tongue over each nipple in turn, she squirmed.
As each button revealed more skin, he stroked her and kissed her. Never hurried, he took his time exploring her body until she wanted to scream.
Then he got to the buttons below her naval and she sucked in a breath as his mouth followed his trailing fingers from her stomach to...
“Undo that button,” she pleaded.
“You’re rushing me.”
“You’re killing me.”
His chuckle vibrated against her skin. “I thought my attention to detail was one of the things you liked about me.”
“Bigger picture, Max. Let’s think big picture. Like the fact you still have your pants on.”
He sighed and moved back up her body. Looking down at her, he smiled a wicked smile. “You made me lose my place. Now I have to start over.”
She groaned, whacking his shoulder. “I know where you left off. I’ll show you.”
Resisting easily when she tried to guide his hand to that button at the junction of her thighs, Max bent his head and kissed her throat. Then he ran his tongue over her collarbone before blowing lightly across the moistened flesh.
By the time he reached her naval again, Tori was almost burning with a hunger she thought would consume her. She was used to sex that was fast and hard and sweaty. This slow, excruciating exploration of her body was new and she reveled in it.
The sweet ache was almost too much, though, and she whimpered when his fingers freed that pivotal button. Then another.
“You’re like my favorite book. I linger turning the pages because I don’t want to reach the end, and I want to read passages over and over, savoring the words.”
“Turn the damn page,” she said, her voice pleading.
He made quick work of the rest of the buttons and the dress fell away. She pulled her arms free, and then fisted her hands in the sheets as his mouth closed over her mound. His tongue flicked over her clit and she groaned, opening her legs to him.