She drew in a sharp breath, mouth agape as she stared.
Shane August was not wearing underwear.
Mesmerized by her newfound discovery, she reached for him.
Shane made a strangled noise, moving her hand and rolling her onto her back.
“You’re killing me,” he said, gently pinning her wrists above her head.
Desire trickled molasses slow into her belly as a smile spread across her mouth. She’d weakened Shane’s knees, and that made her feel downright…powerful.
He must have noticed the bold look on her face because next, he cocked an eyebrow and released her hands. “I’ll be right back.” He lifted off of her, making quick work of shucking his jeans and relieving her of her skirt and her panties.
He returned a millisecond later. “I’m back,” he said, swallowing her laughter in a blistering kiss. He pulled away, his eyes roving over her like twin heat lamps, making her feel hot everywhere they touched. “I promise to take my time with you later, but, Crickitt…”
She clamped on to his arms, hauling him toward her, giving her permission. He came willingly, positioning himself atop her, kissing her slower, deeper, than before. When he pulled away, their gazes locked. Once she’d looked into his amber eyes and found distant warmth, but now she saw familiarity, friendship.
Love.
Her throat constricted, choking the words that threatened to rise. So she swept a shock of damp hair from his forehead, cradled his face in her hands, and silenced them with his mouth.
He sank into her, consuming her in the fire that had been burning between them since the moment they met. She clung to him as he moved inside her, crossing her ankles over the rough hair on his thighs. She grasped his rounded, muscular shoulders, savoring all of his male hardness, before sweeping down to mold her palms over his perfectly taut butt.
Shane worshipped her body as well, his talented fingers dancing over her skin, leaving sparks in their wake. And she let him do his worst, writhing beneath him while he lavished attention to her most sensitive spots.
“You’re gorgeous.” He brushed the tip of his nose over hers. “Absolutely gorgeous.”
She reached up and weakly clapped a hand over his mouth.
He shook it off. “And sexy.” He dodged her incoming hand this time. “Don’t muzzle me while you’re having the best sex of your life.”
She let her hand fall away. After all, he was right.
Everything was right. The way their bodies lined up and fit together, how easily she’d met and matched his rhythm. He glided over her, winding her tighter and tighter and tighter until she all but burst, unfurling like a cresting wave, Shane’s name on her lips as she bucked against him.
Palms tensing around her hips, Shane followed her over, his sounds of completion primal, guttural. He collapsed in a heap, pressing Crickitt into the carpeted floor. She welcomed his weight, feathering his hair with her fingers as his breathing grew heavier.
She didn’t know how long they laid there, their bodies cooling, heartbeats slowing. But finally, Shane pressed a kiss to her neck.
Crickitt flattened her palms and pressed against his shoulders. Shane pushed himself up but didn’t move away, hovering over her, a curious smile on his face. “Going somewhere?”
She had to think about that. Her body had sort of moved of its own accord. Then it hit her. She was about to gather her clothes and get dressed. Ronald never liked lying skin to skin, and for the past decade, she’d dutifully complied.
Old habits die hard.
“I was…um, I thought you might need a minute.” She gestured to the protection Shane had the foresight to put on.
He assessed her for a moment before rolling to his side and tromping to the kitchen. Crickitt watched his bare backside flex in the subdued light coming from the range hood. He extended one arm to point a finger at her, the muscles in his shoulder bunching. “Don’t move,” he instructed.
After the briefest moment over the trash can he returned, catching her reaching for her shirt.
He snatched it away and tossed it behind the couch. “No,” he said, pulling her flush against him.
Her breasts brushed against the hair on his chest, and she decided skin to skin with Shane was nice. Very nice.
Shane loosened his grasp on her to run a hand down her rib cage, over the swell of her hip and back up again. “We should have done this a long time ago.” He lightened his touch, dragging the tips of his fingers down her side again. Gooseflesh popped up on her skin and she shivered. “Cold?”
“Yes. Someone wouldn’t let me have my shirt.”