The nightgown she wore under it ended at midthigh, and Gavin took a long, slow look at what he’d uncovered. He dragged his index fingers over her collarbone before hooking them under the straps of her gown.
Ella wondered if he could see the pounding pulse point in her throat. Her question was answered when he leaned forwarded to touch his tongue to the spot in her neck that throbbed for him. Her legs wobbled under her. She was never going to survive this if that was all it took for her to go weak in the knees.
His hands followed the fall of the straps down her arms, leaving a trail of goose bumps behind.
She reached for the button on his jeans, but he stopped her.
“Tonight is all about you, Ella.”
“It should be about us.”
“Next time.”
Her hands fell to her sides in surrender, his tenderness her undoing. This man had owned her heart for so long. Now he wanted to own her body, too. Little did he know, she’d give him everything if only he’d let her.
The gown dropped to her waist and then to the floor, leaving her bared to him except for matching panties.
He took a step back, his hands on her shoulders, his gaze taking a perusing trip from her face to her breasts and below before coming back up. “Beautiful.”
She’d never felt more beautiful than she did standing before him, waiting to see what he would do next. A hint of trepidation worked its way down her spine, acting as a reminder that if it all went bad after this, there’d be no bouncing back. She’d never get over him.
Gavin dropped to his knees before her, pressing his lips to her belly and making her body sing with pleasure and anticipation. His hands slid up the back of her legs to her bottom, where he squeezed and molded her cheeks before pulling her in closer to him.
She gripped handfuls of his hair to keep from falling over.
For the longest time, he was still, holding her tight against him, his breath warm against the sensitive skin of her abdomen. He held on to her as if she were a lifeline, keeping him anchored.
She wanted to be that for him. She wanted to be everything to him.
He picked her up, effortlessly, and settled her on the edge of the bed. “Lie back.”
Since he’d knocked her breathless by lifting her the way he had, she focused on continuing to breathe as she did what he asked. Her legs were trembling madly and her entire body was on fire for him. All that, and he’d barely touched her. Then his hands were on her legs, sliding them apart as he dropped to his knees again and settled between them.
Good God . . .
With his hands cupping her bottom, he drew her to the edge of the mattress and buried his face in the V of her legs, breathing deeply, breathing her in. “You have no idea how often I’ve dreamed of being right here.” His gruff whisper, the scratch of his whiskers, the heat of his breath . . . It was too much. It wasn’t enough. “Even when I was pushing you away, I wanted to take you by the hand and drag you to the closest bed. You have no idea how badly I wanted that.”
Hearing those words from him brought tears to Ella’s eyes. Knowing he’d wanted her every bit as much . . . It made the difficult months leading up to this moment seem somehow more bearable.
He grasped her panties and dragged them down over her legs, tossing them aside before returning to his perch between her legs. His palms were flat against her thighs, his calluses rough against her skin. “So soft and so hot. You’ve had me wound up in knots for so long, Ella Abbott.”
Moved by his words and the emotion she heard behind them, she arched her back, hoping he’d take the hint to move things along.
He did, and oh God, he was good. Thrusting his fingers deep inside her, he drew her clit into his mouth and sucked hard.