Best of My Love (Fool's Gold, #20)

He drove without thinking and found himself pulling into his driveway rather than the office, where he’d left Charlie and she’d left her car. She looked around.

“I thought you were taking me home. Did you want to do something instead?”

An innocent question. He knew how she meant. He also knew exactly what he wanted to do.

“I’d like you to come inside,” he told her. “Then I’d like to make love with you.”

She swung her head back to meet his gaze. Her eyes were wide, her expression surprised. “But you said...”

“I was wrong.”

“About us being friends?”

“About me being able to resist you. I can’t. But I need you to be sure. It’s going to change everything.”

*

SHELBY KNEW HE was right. That their relationship would forever shift.

She wanted him. That much was clear. And she loved knowing he wanted her, too. But what about the risks? She liked Aidan so much—she liked how they were together. She most especially liked how he always looked out for her. Even now, he wanted her to be sure. If she said no, he would back off in a second.

“Do you have condoms?” she asked.

He laughed. “Yes. A large box.”

She smiled. “Is that a large box of condoms or a box of large condoms?”

“I guess you’re going to have to wait and find out.”

He turned off the engine and they both got out of the truck. Shelby waited for him to walk around to her side. In that heartbeat of time, she poked at her emotions to make sure she was completely comfortable with her decision. There were nerves, but they were the anticipation kind. More pole-dancing butterflies than frightened ones.

He reached her side and took her hand. Their fingers laced together with an ease that made her relax, even as his touch warmed her.

“About my reputation,” he began as they walked to the front door. “You seem to have a certain expectation.”

“I do,” she teased. “I’m going to see stars and touch the moon and all that stuff.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

“Pressure?”

He opened the door and let her go first. “Some.”

“So I shouldn’t expect too much?”

He walked in behind her, then closed and locked the door. He turned to her and pulled her close.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

The confidence in his voice sent a shiver through her. The feel of his body against her caused her to start melting from the inside out. And when he lowered his mouth to hers...well, thinking became impossible.

They’d kissed before. Friendly kisses, brief kisses, even a kiss or two with passionate undertones. But they’d never kissed like this. She hadn’t known what it was like to be claimed by Aidan.

He held her firmly, yet gently. His mouth moved against hers, exploring, teasing, promising. When she parted her lips, he moved his tongue inside and brushed against hers with a rhythm designed to take her from interested to aroused to begging.

He moved his hands down her back to settle on her hips. That was all—the possessive touch of his hands on her body. He didn’t move them, but the weight, the pressure, the firmness of the hold mesmerized her. Maybe it was the promise of what was to come. Maybe it was slight kneading of his fingers. Maybe it was all in her head, but she didn’t care.

She rested her hands on his shoulders, then moved them to his back, where she could feel his strong muscles and the warmth of his skin below his shirt. She liked the broadness of him, the scent of him, the way he tasted.

He drew back just enough to kiss each corner of her mouth, then her cheeks. He kissed his way along her jaw, then nibbled the lobe of her ear. The combination of warm mouth and sharp teeth had her catching her breath.

Heat burned hot in her chest and radiated out in all directions. Her skin grew more sensitive, as if nerve endings were pushing closer to be touched by him. She wanted to crawl inside him so she could experience all of him.

He continued to kiss his way across her neck. Her head fell back. At the same time, his hands moved up her sides, across her ribs, to her breasts. Through the layers of her T-shirt and bra, he cupped her breasts. His thumbs moved across tight nipples in a single, light touch. Pleasure shot through her and her breath caught.

He did it again, then again. It was as if he knew the exact way to touch her. As if he was part of the feedback loop in her mind.

He dropped his hands to the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it up and over her head, then he kissed her. His tongue plunged in deeply, and she met him with needy strokes of her own. At the same time, he reached behind her and unfastened her bra. The garment fell to the floor. She felt the cool air on her breasts seconds before his hands covered her.