He wanted to remember. The effort was beyond impossible.
Caro’s lithe body vibrated beneath his. He’d collapsed onto her, still rammed deep inside her. Still stone hard. Pulsing with aftershocks.
He was too big to stay on her, weigh her down. Let her breathe.
He lifted himself, felt her inhale. She lay there, flattened on her belly, cheeks flushed poppy red. A flower that had been beaten down to the earth by rain.
But her sig glowed around her, soft and diffuse. It looked happy.
He rolled to his side, fumbling for the cover. Pulled it up over her. Best he could do. It wasn’t cold, after sex that hot. But the AVP hadn’t totally burned away what gentlemanly gallantry he could lay claim to.
He got up and headed to the bathroom to get rid of the condom. When he returned, Caro rolled over and watched him as he grabbed another one from the bedside drawer. He suited up again, hard as rock. It had been forfuckingever, and no woman had ever wound him up like Caro did. She gazed, nonplussed, at his unflagging hard-on before he dimmed the light to make the AVP ease down.
“Seriously?” she said, with a quick smile. “After that?”
“Yeah. Just won’t quit.”
Her mouth curved in a quick smile. “I see that.”
“You OK?” he asked. “I got a little carried away.”
“Absolutely fine,” she assured him. “It was intense. But great.”
“Did I scare you?” He hoped not.
“Not at all.” She propped herself up and brushed dark wavy ringlets off her face.
Data scrolled in his head as he assessed her. She didn’t seem traumatized. He pulled down the cover and clambered onto the bed, settling between her legs.
She looked startled. “Uh, Noah—”
“Just let me look,” he coaxed. “I was a little too rough with you. I lost control. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I told you I was OK. Why don’t you just believe me?”
“Maybe I just need an excuse to put my face between your legs. Stop wiggling.”
“But—”
“Shhh. I’m concentrating.” And so he did, holding her graceful thighs wide open, staring at her muff. He needed no light to see every detail. He lost himself in rapt, horndog contemplation. She looked beautiful. Hot and rosy and fuckable.
Temptation overwhelmed him. He spread her lips gently with his fingers, holding them open, and thrust his tongue deep into her.
She cried out in startled pleasure, arching. She was so lithe and strong. Noah stilled her with his hand, resting it on her belly until she lay back with a gasp of fresh pleasure and submitted to his hungry lavish licking.
He lapped upward, trailing his tongue lazily over her slit up to the hood of her clitoris, caressing the taut, pearly bud with his lips and assessing how her sig reacted. A hot pink glow edged with violet pulsed with delight as he tongue-fucked her. Oh, yeah. More of that. Give it to him. He got back to the clit, suckled it. Long, gentle pulls. She convulsed, with a gasp. He could do this for hours. Cheerfully.
She shivered and gasped, whimpering with pleasure at each eager plunge of his tongue into her tight, slick hole.
Didn’t take long. In fact, it was over way too soon. After just a couple of minutes she went rigid as a long, violent orgasm throbbed through her.
He drank it in. Waited for the pulsing shimmers to ease down.
“My turn.” He settled between her legs. “I want to look at you while I’m inside you.”
Her muscles tightened. “Noah . . .”
He froze. “You still can’t bear for me to look at you while we have sex?” he asked. “After what just happened?”
“I . . . I don’t know why. I can’t—”
“I want to see your eyes. I want to watch your tits bounce, I want to play with your clit and watch the colors change on your skin. I want to tongue kiss your mouth while I fuck you. I want it all.”
“I don’t understand why you’re suddenly so angry,” she whispered.
“I’m not.” He ran his hand through his sweat-dampened hair, frustrated. Tempted to just mount up, push her past the fear barrier, deal with the aftermath later. He was confident he could make her come again.
But even as the thought flicked through his mind, she sensed it. He saw it in her eyes, her sig.
He’d promised that she was safe with him.
He lifted himself off her, fists clenched. “Roll over then,” he said harshly.
Her eyes widened at his tone. “I don’t respond well to orders.”
Shit. Asshole alert. Grab a hook.
He closed his eyes, latched on. Counted slowly down from ten. Frigid waves, lapping on the icy shore. Glacial ice caves. Sea birds. Cold. Numbing cold.
“What are you doing?”
“Chilling . . . out.” After a brief pause, he added. “Hoping for a second chance.”
“Dick move,” she said.
“I know.”