Sinful Longing

She nodded. “I feel much better.”

“Can I still hold your hand, though?” he asked, lifting his hand to hers then gently sliding his fingers through, lacing them together. Her heart danced a crazy jig. So much for that momentary panic. Now, the organ in her chest was engaged in a full-blown tango of joy.

“Yes,” she whispered.

He stepped closer, tenderly clasping her hand. “I’m sorry I said all those things. I didn’t mean it when I said I don’t know how I feel about you. Maybe for a few seconds, or a few minutes, I didn’t know which way was up or down. But then when I thought about it, I knew exactly how I felt about you.”

“And how do you feel?”





CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE


This was the real risk. Close your eyes, step off the cliff. No clue if there’s anything to break the fall, but do it anyway.

“How I feel is this.” He took a breath before he spoke. “That I wish I’d been there yesterday to help you up when you crashed,” he said, wrapping his other hand around her trim waist. She fit so well in his arms. “That I should have gone and talked to you. That I wanted to spend the afternoon with you and your son.”

Her heart tripped when he mentioned Alex.

He continued, “And I know I need to make it up to him that I didn’t show up, as much as I need to make it up to you. Because the two of you are a package deal. You matter so much to me, and I want to do right by your kid.”

“You will do right by him. You already are,” she said, her voice breaking as she inched closer, melting into him.

“I want so much more than what it’s been. I can’t pretend I just want this,” he said, raking his eyes over her from head to toe. “I do want your body. I do want to have you all night long. But I want the rest of you, too.” He let go of her waist and placed his palm on her chest, above her breasts. Such a temptation, but he was stronger than it. He was guided by the truth of his feelings for her, and the depth of them, too. “I’m falling for you.”

Instantly she grasped his hand, tugging it even closer to her chest. “I’m falling for you, too, Colin. I was going to tell you the other night at your house,” she said, words tumbling free in a mad rush. “I don’t want these lines between us anymore. I want to see what we can become. I told Alex that I’m dating you, and I want to have you in my life as more than just the man I sneak away to see.”

He nuzzled her neck, layering kisses on her skin, his heart beating hard and fast. “I want that so much, Elle. I want all of you.”

“You can have all of me,” she whispered then pressed her lips to his ear, making him shudder and turning him on. “Preferably now.”

Colin needed no more invitation than that. Scooping her up, he carried her through the living room and down the hall, finding her bedroom easily. He’d never been inside her house before, and if he didn’t have only one thing on his mind, he might have taken the time to notice fully the pictures on her wall, or the blinds in her bedroom, or maybe even the various shades in the sea of pillows on her bed. But nope. He was zeroed in on a mission—get as close as possible to her.

In seconds he’d stripped her down to next to nothing, tossing her shorts and tank on the floor. She scooted back on her bed, wearing only a pair of pink cotton panties and her tattoos.

She froze and held up her index finger. “Wait.”

He raised an eyebrow in a question.

“Close your eyes,” she told him.

He shrugged happily, figuring whatever was coming next would be worth the surprise. A drawer opened behind him with a squeak, then he counted the seconds as she moved around. Nineteen long ones later, the mattress dipped lightly and she told him to open his eyes.

Holy fucking fantasy.

The socks.

The roller skating socks. They were white with purple stripes at the knees, and they were so fucking hot. His dick was operating at a ninety-degree angle now.

“You are going to get fucked so good right now. In so many ways,” he growled as he crawled up on the bed, running his hands up her legs, from the socks to her knees, to those gorgeous thighs, which led to his favorite place in the universe. He kneeled over her, bending his face to her center. Kissing her belly. Her hips. Inhaling her. Fuck, her scent drove him wild. He pressed his lips roughly against the waistband of her panties, then tugged at them with his teeth.

She laughed lightly, but her laughter was swallowed up as he yanked them to her knees, and her hips shot up.

“Colin,” she whispered, surprise in her tone. But excitement, too, judging from the sexy little murmur she made.

Once he had the underwear to her ankles, he tugged them off.

“Just like I’ve always wanted,” he said, meeting her eyes. Hers were full of lust—a lust that matched his. “You in just these.”