It felt very difficult to draw a breath, as if the air in the room had become too thick for her lungs to process. She was very aroused, but still . . . she hesitated.
“How many times have you said that to a woman after removing a costume or makeup?” she managed to ask because her tongue had gone very thick.
“Seriously?” he asked, eyebrows arched. She nodded. “Never. Do you believe me?”
“Yes,” she whispered. Naïve or not, she trusted her instincts. Plus, she knew about Seth from Liza. If this were par for the course for him, Liza would have told her. “Would you believe I’ve never agreed to something like this before?” she croaked, her fingers playing with the bottom of her tank top.
He took another step and came to a halt. “It never crossed my mind to doubt it.”
She gave him a shaky, grateful smile.
Shocked by her uncharacteristic brazenness, she pulled her tank top up over her swollen lungs and aching breasts.
* * *
His breath stuck as she dropped the tank top to the floor. She stared at him, seemingly transfixed. He stepped closer, drinking in the ima
ge of her. He laid his hand on the smooth expanse of skin above her left breast. She trembled beneath him. He felt the delicate beating of her heart. His gaze leapt to meet her stare.
“You’re very lovely,” he muttered, his voice breaking slightly.
Her lips parted. It was the sweetest temptation. He couldn’t remove his eyes from the vision of her mouth, or how desire glazed her springtime eyes. His hand lowered over a firm breast. Her skin was like warm silk. He cradled her breast and lifted it slightly, arousal shooting through him at the sensation of her firmness and weight. A soft moan slipped past her lips. He feathered his thumb over her nipple and felt her bead against his fingertip.
“Seth?” she whispered, sounding almost as awed as he felt. He heard her wonder, but also her need for reassurance.
“Shhh,” he growled. “It’s going to be okay.”
He’d never touched a woman so intimately without having even kissed her first. Gia’s mouth was an indescribable temptation. He was enjoying prolonging the anticipation of tasting her, of sinking into her sweetness . . . of debauching that innocent mouth just a little. The thought made his cock twitch and stiffen into a heavy ache.
He continued to caress her breast and finesse the nipple as he ran his other hand over her smooth shoulder and arm. He spread his hand along her back and made a study of the graceful slope of her spine and petal-soft skin. Much to his satisfaction, he felt her skin roughen beneath his touch. She leaned forward, her mouth craning up toward him.
“Stay still,” he said. She blinked, and he realized intense arousal had made him sound harsh. He’d been chaining himself like never before as he sat on the couch with her, waiting on a knife’s edge for the addictive vision of her smile. Removing the costume and having her exquisite body revealed to him bit by bit had been a fierce trial. He’d needed the moment of carefully packing the costume to bring himself under control. Turning around and seeing her standing there, so lovely and vulnerable, had smashed that control to bits. She’d called it like a pro earlier. He was about to explode in unregulated lust.
She reached for him, but he gently placed her arms back at her side. He resumed stroking her soft skin and taut curves.
“Let me touch you for a moment. I’m enjoying this,” he explained quietly when he saw her bemusement. “Are you?”
“God, yes,” she whispered.
He leaned down until their faces were only inches apart. “You’re so beautiful,” he said gruffly, as if telling her an intimate secret. He felt her tremble beneath his hands. “Your mouth is killing me. I can’t wait to taste you.” He held both her breasts in his hands and lifted them slightly, peering down to examine the fat, pink, erect nipples between his dark fingers. His cock lurched against the confines of his clothing. “Everywhere,” he assured her, as hunger clawed at him deeper.
She gave a muffled moan and reached up to touch his hair. Her fingers delved into the strands greedily. His scalp prickled in awareness. A cascade of sensation flowed down his body, tickling the root of his cock. Blood pulsed into his flesh. He growled and encircled her in his arms. She cried out softly in surprise when he lifted her off her feet. He set her atop a nearby low ottoman. She steadied herself by grasping his shoulders.
They were at the same height now. He ran both his hands along her back and the sides of her ribs while he stared directly into her face.
“Look at you,” he whispered thickly.
She blinked and glanced to the side into one of several mirrors. He stared at her face while she watched the reflection of him massaging and caressing her back and waist and breasts. Her skin was incredibly smooth, pale with peachy-pink undertones. His hands couldn’t seem to get enough of touching her taut planes and lush curves. The blush on her cheeks deepened as she watched in the mirror while he molded her to his hands.
“You’re so big,” she whispered, trailing his hands with her gaze, as though caught in a spell. He captured one of her breasts and shaped it to his palm.
“You’re so little. But you fit me perfectly.” He feathered her nipple with his forefinger, and she gasped.
“Your fingers are calloused.”
He paused, worried he was making her uncomfortable, his rough fingers against her silky skin—
“It feels so good,” she said in a rush, and he resumed stroking her, stepping closer. He pressed his cock between the juncture of her thighs. She was a sweet, soft harbor, and he was hard. So hard. He gritted his teeth as the hurt in him mounted. Her grip tightened on his shoulders.