His lips traced the tender skin behind her ear. She whimpered and moved her hand down his back. Good. He kicked off his shoes and sank her down on the bed, their heads twisting in kiss after kiss; the bed’s wooden slats protested loudly all the while.
Ghosts of dead Kinkaids? Tough shit. If those old dudes and dames on the staircase hadn’t had sex at least once in their lives, Laurel wouldn’t be here today.
He rocked his forehead against hers, smushing their noses together. She moaned and rubbed the undersides of her arms against his shoulders as the tip of his tongue outlined her mouth, then sought entry to explore the inner rims of her lips and the sensitive flesh above her teeth. He couldn’t get enough of her.
He caressed her arms and hips—barely touching her skin to sensitize her, then using longer, stronger strokes for his own satisfaction. He dropped kisses on her nose, her eyelids, her cheeks, then licked at the circles of her ears.
She shuddered and clutched his head to bring him close for deep soul kisses. His sleepy Southern belle was demanding her just due. Her legs moved restlessly as her tongue twined with his.
He stroked her arms again, lightly touching the sides of her breasts at the same time. She opened her eyes and breathed in hard.
Undoing the cloth-covered buttons on her blouse, he played with the tops of her breasts, then sucked her nipples through her lacy, barely there bra.
Was he rushing her? He skimmed his mouth across her fevered cheeks and let his breath whisper in her ear. “You okay? We can slow down.”
“No. Don’t slow down.” Her voice was husky. She ran her hand up under his loosened shirt and buried her fingers in his chest hair.
His brain rocketed into outer space, and he took her mouth again, releasing the back hooks of her bra at the same time. Her sweet breasts tumbled free, and his finger circled one dusky pink tip before he tested it with his tongue.
She moaned and her eyelids closed. When he mouthed her other nipple, she uttered a short, sharp cry.
“That’s it, baby,” he breathed in her ear. “I want to know what you like.”
She stroked his arms. “You, Jase. I like you.”
His heart thumped in his chest so hard it hurt. He nipped at her neck and lowered his mouth to her breasts again, sucking first one crest, then the other, until they glowed like twin rubies.
She ran her hand along his jaw. He’d shaved before he came over, but probably had fresh stubble by now. The beard didn’t seem to faze her, though. In fact, from the way she was writhing against him, it seemed to turn her on.
Remember that, Jason.
He trailed his hand down her throat to the juncture of her breasts, then farther down, to the front closure of her slacks. The buttons, hook, and zipper opened easily, and he slid the slacks off her to the side of the bed, then pulled down her panties. She arched her breasts and gave him a come-hither smile.
Oh God, she was an erotic fantasy, her dark hair fanned behind her head, her blouse spread beneath her shoulders, her face flushed with passion, her mouth swollen with desire—desire for him.
“You’re beautiful.” His voice was so thick she probably couldn’t understand a word he was saying, but she was more than beautiful. She was glorious, his own goddess of delight. Her breasts, tipped by dusky pink rosebuds, were full and firm; her belly was flat, her hips rounded, her legs long and curvy, and her pale skin incandescent in the evening glow.
He tore off his shirt and ran a hand along the curve of her hip, tantalizing himself with the feel of her, then followed with a trail of wet kisses down to the spread of dark curls at the juncture of her thighs.
Lifting himself just enough to unfasten his belt, he used one well-practiced motion to push his slacks and briefs off to the bottom of the bed, jackknifing his butt backward so she wouldn’t get the full visual of his erection yet.
You could hang a flag on that guy.
Laurel felt a thrill pass through her as Jase shucked his pants. They were both naked now—skin to skin, body to body. This was a time for truth between them. There were no subterfuges, no places to hide. He was man, she was woman, and tonight they would merge their bodies and become one.
She reached a hand up to caress his stubbled jaw again, the slight irritation of her palm sending a ripple of heat racing through her veins. All in all, she was reacting with an ardor that would have astounded her ex-husband, an ardor she’d given up on ever experiencing.
Sex with Dave hadn’t been the rhapsody she expected after her experience with Jase, and certainly nothing like the love scenes in her favorite novels. In fact, it had been surprisingly dull, starting with a painful wedding night in which she’d bled through to the mattress. Dave had strutted around the hotel like a spread-tailed peacock afterward, but she’d been so embarrassed, she’d hidden out in their room for the rest of the week.