“So, what do you think?”
Natalie hesitated, trying to find the right words. She turned to Colin, who was leaning against the railing with his arms crossed over his chest. “The deck is amazing.”
“What about the rest of the house?”
“It’s very nice.”
“Nice, huh? You don’t like it at all.”
Natalie avoided the question by stepping back into the bedroom with him on her heels. “It’s a beautiful home, really. The view alone is worth the price you paid for it. The aesthetic is just a little modern for my taste.”
Colin nodded. “Me, too. To be honest, Pam picked this place. If I hadn’t been so mad about Shane, I probably would’ve let her keep it.”
Natalie stiffened at the mention of his ex-wife and the son who’d turned out not to be his. She still wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, but prying seemed rude. Since he brought it up... “Does she ever let you see Shane?”
Colin shook his head once, kind of curt. “No. I think it’s better that way though since he’s still a baby. If he’d been any older, it would’ve been harder to help him understand where his daddy was. He’s probably forgotten who I am by now.”
“I don’t know about that,” Natalie said, stepping toward him until they were nearly touching. “I know I’ve never been able to forget about you.”
“Is that right?” Colin asked, wrapping his arms around her waist. The pain had faded from his face, replaced only with the light of attraction. “So, did you fantasize about what it would be like to kiss me?”
Natalie smiled. How many nights had she hugged her pillow to her chest and pretended it was Lily’s handsome older brother? “An embarrassing number of times,” she admitted.
“Did our first kiss live up to those expectations?”
“It did, and then some. Of course, when I was fifteen, I didn’t know what was really possible like I do now.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes. And now I want more.”
Colin didn’t hesitate to meet her demand. His mouth met hers, offering her everything she wanted. She ran her fingers through his hair, tugging him closer. Natalie wasn’t letting him get away this time. He was all hers tonight. She arched her back, pressing her body against the hard wall of his chest.
He growled against her lips, his hand straying from her waist to glide along her back and hips. He cupped one cheek of her rear through the thin fabric of her skirt, pushing her hips against his until she could feel the firm heat of his desire.
Natalie gasped, pulling from his mouth. “Yeah,” she said in a breathy voice. “There’s no way I would’ve imagined a kiss like that.”
Pulling back, she reached for the collar of his jacket. She pushed his blazer off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Her palms moved greedily over his broad shoulders and down the front of his chest, touching every inch of the muscles she’d seen in that tight T-shirt. Starting at his collar, she unbuttoned his shirt, exposing the muscles and dark chest chair scattered across them.
Colin stood stiffly as she worked, his hands tightly curled into fists at his sides. When Natalie reached his belt, he sprang into action, grasping her wrists. “That’s not really fair, is it?”
“Well,” she reasoned, “I’ve been fantasizing about seeing you naked for years. I think it’s only right I shouldn’t have to wait any longer.”
Colin gathered the hem of her blouse and lifted it slowly over her head. Natalie raised her arms to help him take it off. He cast her shirt onto a nearby chair. “I don’t think a few more minutes will kill you.”
He focused on her breasts, taking in the sight before covering the satin-clad globes with the palms of his hands. Natalie gasped when he touched her, her nipples hardening and pressing into the restraining fabric. He kneaded her flesh, dipping his head down to taste what spilled over the top of the cups. Colin nipped at her skin, soothing it with the glide of his tongue. Tugging down at her bra, he uncovered her nipples, drawing one, then the next into his mouth.
Natalie groaned, pulling his head closer. The warmth of his mouth on her sensitive flesh built a liquid heat in her core. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could take this kind of torture.
“I need you,” she gasped. “Please.”
In response, Colin sought out the back of her skirt with his fingers. He unzipped it, letting it slide down over her hips. She stepped out of the skirt and her heels, then let Colin guide her backward through the room until the backs of her legs met with the mattress. She reached behind her, crawling onto the bed.