She glanced down as she shrugged her shoulder. “Instinctive defensiveness.”
“That’s understandable. But you don’t have to be with me anymore, Roxanna.”
A soft sigh escaped. “I’m still getting used to that.”
His hand slid up her arm until he cupped the nape of her neck. He used his thumb to tip her face up so he could lean in to caress her lips with his. “I guess I need to apologize again.”
“No,” she assured him. “That’s not what—”
He rose up over her, the increased pressure of his kiss rolling her onto her back again. He kissed her until she was breathless and aching for him to be inside her once more. She didn’t have enough experience to know if that was normal or not, and for once she didn’t care.
Loyal was braced on one elbow, and his other hand cupped her breast, kneading and fondling until he dragged his mouth from hers and leaned down to suck the tip into his mouth. She whimpered her approval as she clenched her fingers in his hair.
“I’ve decided to work on numbers tonight after all.”
Her brain scrambled to catch up. “What?”
“I’ll be up for apology number two in about ten minutes.”
Heat pulsed through her when she figured out his meaning.
“And in the meantime…” His hand took up where his words trailed off, his fingers skimming down her belly, tickling her navel, then sliding lower.
Orgasm number two was tallied in the reading room, and a third in the bedroom up in the second floor apartment where she’d accidentally climbed into bed with him a few short weeks ago.
Minus the boots this time.
Chapter 23
Waking up with Roxanna Kent in his arms was something Loyal had never even considered to be a possibility. But for the first time in six years, he wanted more than one night of release. Specifically, he discovered, he wanted a hell of a lot more than one morning of her in his arms.
She apparently didn’t sleep with the light cancelling shades drawn, and he found himself squinting against the first rays of sunrise while she still slept. Her long, glorious hair spilled across the pillow as her sooty lashes rested against her cheeks. He had to fight the urge to tug her closer so he could suck on that full bottom lip of hers.
A deliberate shift of his shoulder moved the sheet enough to expose her breast closest to him, and he drank in the sight. Small and pert, they were the perfect size to fit in his hands. When she was aroused, her hard nipples pressed into his palms, turning him on even more.
Hell, simply looking at her right now had his morning erection throbbing with need.
He warred with that need versus the consideration of letting her sleep after how late they’d stayed up last night.
The decision was taken out of his hands when she shifted, and the arm she rested over his across her stomach tightened. A smile curved her lips, and her eyes opened as she turned her head toward him on the pillow.
“You’re up,” she murmured.
Wry humor twisted his lips. “Yeah, I’m up.”
Her gaze sharpened, the languid sleepiness giving way for heated awareness. “What time is it?”
“A little after six-thirty.”
She gave a soft groan of protest and closed her eyes. However, at the same time, she rolled onto her side away from him, then scooted back to spoon against him. “Why are you awake so early?”
“The shades are open,” he complained.
“I like to see the morning when I wake up,” she explained. “Not darkness.”
Of course she did. With the dawn light illuminating her beautiful face, he shouldn’t complain. He wouldn’t ever again.
Seeing her cheek crease from her smile, he lifted his hand to cup her breast and lightly pinched her nipple. “It also doesn’t help that there’s a naked witch beside me.”