Her tongue slipped out to lick her lower lip. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“You still want me?”
“You know I do.”
He understood this part of the beautiful woman in his arms. The physical part. He’d make sure he mastered the emotional part too by figuring out how to make her happy. For now, this was a step in some direction. And right now, he’d take any direction.
“Fine,” she said. “In the bigger scheme of things, right?”
“Right.” He cupped her throat, feeling her pulse under his palm. “Now what, Katherine?” The question was a challenge as much as a desperate need for direction. On emotional matters, he was out of his depth.
“Kiss me,” she said.
“Is that your answer?”
She held his eyes bravely. “Yes.”
“Then I aim to please.”
Lowering his head, he took her lips in a slow, deep kiss. Exploring her mouth felt new every time. He took his time to enjoy her taste and run his tongue along the familiar curve of her lips until she moaned and wrapped her legs around him. He swallowed her sounds as he slid a hand down between their bodies to the center of her legs. For the next thirty days, this would always be his destination. She gasped when he traced her folds with the tip of his finger before slipping a digit inside. She was tight and hot. Wet.
Sleep. She needed to rest. No, his body wouldn’t let him. Too soon, his mind warned. No. They had too little time.
When she arched her back and rubbed her breasts against his chest, she made up his mind for him. He’d love her. He’d love her now, and at every opportunity he could. With one hand planted next to her face, he supported his weight on his arm. He abandoned her mouth to kiss her neck and the hollow at the base. Moving lower, he gently kissed one nipple, nearly coming undone at how the hard, little button contracted in his mouth, and then the other.
Shamelessly, like an inexperienced adolescent, he palmed her curves. Her breasts were bigger, and her skin warm to his touch. It drove him even wilder, but he ignored the building need and took his time to kiss a path to her navel. He stroked his palm over her stomach and cupped the inside of her thigh. Pushing her legs apart, he buried his head between them. This part was always the sweetest reward. He planned on savoring it. He tasted her folds first. At the sweep of his tongue, she whispered his name. Yes. Before this night was out, she was going to say it many times over. When he speared his tongue inside her, she threaded her fingers through his hair and held him to her.
“Let me come,” she whispered.
Not yet. Tonight, he needed to love her slowly. She clenched her thighs when he nipped at the pretty little pearl hidden beneath her folds, but he grabbed her knees and spread them wide.
“Lann, please.”
She drove him crazy when she told him how much she needed him. “Just a little longer, krasavitsa.”
He wanted to take his time. The turmoil that tormented his soul calmed. As she lost her control in his arms, he found his. Her muscles tensed. She was close. Her release was always sweet to him, but never as sweet as now. When he pushed her over, she submitted herself to him freely. In that moment, she trusted him, if only with her body.
Her cry was soft and pure. He wanted to make her come for him all over again, but he couldn’t wait. It had been too long. Grabbing the base of his cock, he positioned the head at her folds and entered her slowly, giving her enough time to adjust after each inch he worked himself deeper. She gave him the sounds he wanted, soft whispers of ecstasy that twisted his mind. Slowly, he pulled out before pushing back in. She tried to rush him by lifting her hips, but he grabbed her side and kept her still.
“Not yet,” he said. “Wait for me.”
Her inner muscles gripped him like a fist when he moved. She was silken hot, and so damn tight he couldn’t think straight.
“Not hard enough,” she moaned.
He wasn’t going to pound into her with the baby in her belly. He cupped her face and kissed her to the rhythm of his lovemaking—slowly, with tender strokes of his tongue. She dug her nails into his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his ass. He eased the kiss, trying to calm her, but his feisty Katherine wanted more. He was never one to deny her. Letting go, he filled her with everything he had. They were both moving fast. She met every thrust, until he had to pull back, worried he’d hurt her, but she locked her arms around his neck and held him to her. He gritted his teeth, but all for nothing.