“Sorry, it’s just nerves.”
“It’s okay, Emery.” My tone is soft and reassuring, but inside my hormones are raging and my body is on fire. “It was probably a stupid idea.”
She chews on her lower lip, her eyes fixed on mine. She’s lost in thought—she’s always thinking, but for just once, I wish she wouldn’t. “No. I’m sorry, I’m a little nervous. It’s just that I haven’t done this in a while. But I want to.”
Hearing her say those words, my pulse riots. “I’ll go slow. Just tell me if you want me to stop.”
She gives me a tight nod, and her shoulders relax.
“Come here.” I tug her to the bed and we sit down on the edge of it. I’ve never put this much thought into sex or seduction before, but I know I need to calm her down and get her ready, or this night’s going to be over before it even starts.
“What are you doing?” she asks, watching me curiously.
“We could talk first,” I suggest. I haven’t even asked her about her day.
She chuckles. “Somehow I don’t think that will help.”
“Right.” I run my hand along the back of my neck. “Elephant in the room and all that.”
She nods.
“I have an idea,” I say, rising from the bed. “Unbutton your top. I’ll be right back.”
Curiosity flashes in her eyes, but her fingers go to work on the buttons as I walk into the bathroom and grab a bottle of the hotel-supplied body lotion. I dump some into my palms and rub my hands together to warm it.
“A massage,” I say. “To relax you.”
Emery smiles and pulls her white shirt from her shoulders, tossing it on the floor. With the scent of mint and lavender hanging in the air around us, she lies down on the bed on her belly, her head to the side so her eyes are still on mine.
“Thanks for this, Hayden,” she says when my hands make contact with her skin.
I knead her stiff shoulders, pressing my thumbs between her shoulder blades to work out the knots I find. “Not a problem.”
I lose myself in the process, touching her shapely shoulders that I’ve admired for all these weeks. Pushing my fingers in along her spine until she’s nice and relaxed. She murmurs and lets out little grunts of satisfaction that are sexy as hell. I unclasp her bra and let the straps fall to the sides so I can continue rubbing her without the restrictive material in the way. Getting lost in my movements and her little groans, I realize I’m straddling her, my cock nestled against her ass cheeks, while my hips seem to be rocking against her on their own.
“Let me up,” she says, her tone suddenly stern.
Shit. I rise up onto my knees, and Emery lifts up too. I expect her to cover her chest with her hands, or to yell at me for being so presumptuous when I said it was only a massage.
But instead, she turns around on the bed so she’s facing me. Her chest is heaving wildly with heavy breaths and her skin is flushed. I can’t resist letting my eyes wander from hers. Beautiful. Her breasts are full and perky, with soft pink nipples that have puckered in the cool air-conditioning.
She’s looking at me hungrily, her eyes jumping between mine to where my cock is straining against my pants. In a heartbeat, everything has changed between us.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I ask.
She nods, biting her lip.
“Tell me.”
“I want it,” she whispers, inching her way closer to where I’m kneeling on the bed. As she brings her hands to my belt, her eyes stay locked on mine. “It’s all I thought about all day.”
“Me too,” I admit. Sending dirty texts all afternoon has left my libido in high gear. All systems are primed and ready to go. I must seek and plunder.
Undoing my pants, Emery works one hand into the front of my boxer briefs. My cock hardens even more as I feel her hand curl around me. I lean forward and take her mouth with mine. Once we begin, there’s no awkward fumbling, no hesitation. Her hand strokes up and down while I suck her tongue into my mouth and fondle the prettiest set of tits I’ve ever seen. When my thumbs graze her nipples, Emery moans and breaks from my mouth.
“Do you have any condoms?”
I nod. “’Course. I’m like a Boy Scout.”
She grins, pushing my boxers and pants down my thighs.
“But you’re getting ahead of yourself. I already told you I wanted to eat that sweet * of yours.”
She lets out a little groan, trailing her fingernails along my shaft and down to my balls. Goose bumps break out along my thighs. Christ, I want her.
“Is this going to change things between us?” she asks.
Ah. The real reason she went from horny to apprehensive in three seconds flat. “You’re really going to ask me that when your hand is on my cock?” And expect an honest answer, I want to add, but don’t. I meet her eyes and see fear and desire and confusion buried in those wide blue depths. “It doesn’t have to. Friends ’til the end. Okay?”