The thought made her chest constrict.
Get the damn pillow and get it over with.
She turned for the closet and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of Colton leaning against the doorframe. He’d put his dry shirt on, but that fact didn’t calm her racing pulse. When he stepped inside and shut the door behind him, anticipation and excitement threatened to overwhelm her. All she could do was watch as he advanced.
He stopped inches away. Heat emanated from his body, enveloping her like a blanket as his essence filled her senses. How did he manage to still smell like the mountains when he was over a thousand miles away in the biggest city in the country?
“Kendra, I…” He cleared his throat. “I…um…wanted to talk.”
Heart pounding, she lifted her chin to look into his eyes. “About what?”
His gaze roved over her face, then dropped lower. “Gimme a minute…I’m trying to remember.”
Her breath hitched at the flare of desire in his eyes. She caught the faint scent of mint candy he liked to suck on and a shiver of awareness coursed through her. Her eyes closed. She didn’t want to talk. She didn’t want him to leave. And she wasn’t about to ask him to again.
The light contact of his fingers as they trailed up her arms was so sensual it nearly buckled her knees. She swallowed audibly, opening her eyes in time to see his head lower. His green gaze captured hers as his mouth hovered less than an inch from her lips. His hands continued over her shoulders to the zipper at the back of her dress.
Anticipation built as he slid the fastener down with agonizing control, the sound rasping over her sensitized nerves. She wanted his kiss so bad she ached, but her breathing had grown shallow, and she wasn’t sure she could speak. Especially when he gathered the material to ease it off her shoulders.
Ever so slowly, he lowered the dress down her arms. She wanted to groan in frustration when he left her lips desolate to take a step back and watched the progress his hands made. Her nipples tightened under her lace bra. It was as if he touched each inch of skin he exposed with the intensity of his look.
His hands stilled and his eyes darkened. When he finally released her dress, it whispered down the length of her body to settle in a black pool around her feet. She stood before him in her black bra, matching bikini underwear and black heels. Exposed. In a way she’d never been before, physically or emotionally. Afraid he might read too much in her eyes, she dipped her chin, and reached forward to link their fingers together before raising their hands to chest level.
“Who is he?”
She blinked at Colton’s rough question. “Who is who?”
“The guy in the lobby,” he demanded. “Who is he?”
“A lawyer.”
His grip on her hands tightened. Based on their current relationship, she didn’t owe him any explanation. Yet a smidgeon of guilt prompted her to quickly add, “We’re setting up a charity investment plan for my trust fund. He only gave me a ride because of the rain.”
“He asked you out,” he accused, as if it were her fault.
A brief fare of indignation was doused by an unexpected realization. He’s jealous. A tremulous smile tugged her lips as she lifted her gaze once more. “I was about to say no—although, I planned to word it more politely than you did.”
He stared into her eyes, then glanced down again. “God, Kendra, I’ve never wanted anyone like I want you,” he admitted, his gruff voice lower than ever.
Her smile faded. “I might actually believe that if you kissed me.”
He gave a sharp tug on their twined fingers, drawing her against him. Then his mouth slanted across hers as if his control had snapped. She wasn’t sure if the light flashing behind her eyelids was the storm outside or her seeing the proverbial stars, but either way, she relished his powerful response and met it with her own.
A stumbling two-step backward, coupled with a half-spin and a push, buckled Colton’s knees and sat him hard on the bed. Damp denim brushed her bare thighs when she positioned herself between his legs. The resulting shiver did nothing to deter her desperate fingers from grasping the hem of his shirt while her mouth devoured the seductive curve of his lower lip. She broke the kiss just long enough to drag his T-shirt over his head and toss it to the side. Returning her mouth to his, she reached for the button of his jeans. His stomach contracted under her touch.
A negative murmur vibrated against her lips and his hands halted hers.
“Slow.”
The husky command only served to fuel the need to feel all of him against her. She’d longed for him for weeks. Maybe later they’d do it his way, but not now. Thunder rumbled long and loud as she clasped her hands behind his head and took control of the kiss until he had to drag his mouth from hers for a breath of air.
“Don’t know where you learned the definition of slow, but that’s definitely not it,” he informed her with a half smile.
Kendra held back a sigh of frustration. He wanted to go slow? Okay, fine. Leaning back slightly, she reached behind to unclasp her bra. His attention shifted from her face as she ever-so-slowly slid the silky strap down one arm an inch at a time. She took even longer with the other side. Finally, she arched one eyebrow and dangled the lacy garment in front of him by a single finger before dropping it onto his lap. “Slow enough for you?”
He never even glanced down at the lace that covered the front of his strained jeans. Instead, one large hand on her back yanked her closer while the other cupped her breast, lifting it to his mouth. She inhaled sharply at the first touch of his wet, hot tongue on her nipple, then tunneled her fingers into his hair as the throbbing ache between her legs intensified.
When he moved to the other side, she couldn’t contain the sound of pleasure that escaped from deep in her throat.