His smile faded, and a dark look passed over his face as his hand tightened around hers for a moment. Shaking his head, he said, “No particular reason. Just been feeling more serious lately. I’m sure I’ll get back to normal soon enough.”
Brow twitching, she turned a little on the couch to face him, studying him closely. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt strongly that he wasn’t being truthful. Hurt filled her for a moment, but she pushed it away. She was the last person who could get upset because he wasn’t being completely truthful. Besides, maybe it was painful, and he just didn’t want to talk about it right now. Maybe he’d tell her more some other time.
He turned to face her, mirroring her position, and brushed his fingers lightly down her face with the hand that wasn’t holding hers. His touch left tingles in its wake, and her eyes slid halfway shut as she leaned into his hand.
“Have I told you how gorgeous you look tonight?”
Shaking her head, she basked in his touch, not replying. Because if either of them was the gorgeous one, it was him. Especially as he was right now, his bare chest on display and temptingly close. If she were a bolder woman, she’d reach out and slide her palms down his chest. She wanted to caress him in the worst way.
“Well, you do. You’re always beautiful, no matter what you’re wearing, but there’s something about seeing you look so country that’s hard to resist.”
“So don’t resist,” she whispered, staring at his lips before looking up into his beautiful dark eyes.
His eyes turned heated, beginning to lighten in color as he closed the distance between them and took her mouth in a scorching kiss. This one wasn’t slow and easy like their previous kisses. It was instantly intense, and she moaned as she opened her mouth for his tongue.
Fingers tightening around hers for a moment, he untangled their fingers and cupped her face with both hands, his gentle touch at odds with the way he was conquering her mouth. Applying a little pressure, he angled her head to where he wanted it, and tangled his tongue with hers. He was seemingly intent on tasting every nook and crevice of her mouth, and she was okay with that. As long as she got to return the favor at some point.
Finally giving herself permission to touch him, she placed her hands on his shoulders and slowly slid them down. She caressed his pecs first, her palms brushing the flat discs of his nipples, causing them to form tight little buds. Smiling at his hissing intake of air, she reveled in the feelings coursing through her as the kiss intensified.
Sliding her hands farther down, her fingers traced over the hard ridges of his abs as they contracted at her touch. She spent a few moments exploring and then gave in to her longing to feel the V of his hips, running her fingers up and down, over and over.
With a strangled curse, he eased her down, kissing her the whole way, adjusting his position on the couch until he hovered over her. He eased his lips from hers and trailed them down her jaw at the same time his hand slowly moved from her hip. When he reached her ear, he sucked the lobe into his mouth, while cupping her breast.
Moaning, feelings coursing through her she never felt before, she arched her back, pushing her breast more firml
y into his hand. Her whole body felt like it was tingling, and her core was tightened to the point of pain as she waited to see what he’d make her feel next. His hot breath wafted in her ear, sending shivers racing up and down her spine, and he kneaded her breast as he traced the vein in her neck with the tip of his tongue, following it down until he reached the juncture of her shoulder.
Writhing underneath him, her neck incredibly sensitive to his touch, she silently urged him to move his hand under her shirt. She needed to feel him, skin to skin. Reading her mind, his hand traveled down and delved under her shirt before making its way back up. Her shirt was fitted, and when it stretched tight, several of the snaps holding it closed popped open, and she reveled in the feel of the air as it cooled her heated skin.
He didn’t hesitate as he reached her breast, immediately zeroing in on her nipple. Taking it between his fingers, he pinched lightly, and even through her bra, she felt the motion like lightning to her center. He played for a few moments like that, flicking her nipple while he nibbled gently on her neck. Pushing her hips up, she felt the evidence of his arousal, hard against her hip, and she groaned in frustration.
“Please, Seth, more.”
Not saying a word, he pushed himself back and took the edges of her shirt in his hands, tugging until all the snaps popped open. Leaving it hanging open, he shoved her lacy blue bra out of the way, immediately leaning down and sucking her nipple into his mouth. She gasped as sensation shot through her, moaning as he suckled softly at first, and then with increasing suction. Pulling back, he flicked it with his tongue, looking straight into her eyes before moving to her other breast and giving it the same treatment.
She was a needy mess by the time he leaned up and kissed her, his hand easing down and popping open the button on her jeans. He waited for a second, dueling his tongue with hers, and then he eased his hand inside her jeans and panties, cupping her mound.
Moaning, she thrust her fingers into his hair, gripping tightly, barely finding the presence of mind to kiss him back. Her whole being was focused on where his hand was cupping her most private place, a spot she herself rarely touched in pleasure, a place only one other person besides her had ever touched.
She thought she was prepared for him to move, but when he slowly traced a finger lightly up and down her center, she froze, fighting to not let his touch overwhelm her. And when he applied more pressure, and his finger slid inside, immediately finding her clit, she lost the battle. Moaning loudly, she arched her back, pleasure lighting up her nerve endings and making her more sensitive.
When he began circling her clit with a light touch, she bit down on his lip. It was intentional, but she didn’t mean to bite down so hard, and she almost drew blood. But he groaned in pleasure, pushing his erection into her hip, and started circling faster, with more pressure. His finger slid down, dipping inside her briefly, before going back to her swollen nub. Over and over he made the trip, kissing her wildly the whole time.
She was strung tight, on the edge of the precipice, the pleasure nearly painful in its intensity, and it almost scared her. She’d never felt like this before, and she wasn’t sure what would be on the other side when she finally fell. And then, with one firm rub directly over her clit, she was falling, her body convulsing as she gasped out his name.
Stars danced behind her tightly closed lids, and her grip on his hair had to be painful, but if it was, he didn’t let it show. He continued his assault, and just when she thought she was coming to the end of her freefall, he’d touch her just right, and she’d soar back up to the sky, and begin the fall all over again.
When she became too sensitive to bear touch, she jerked and put a hand over his, holding his hand still. Fighting for breath, she panted out, “Great balls of fire. That was… no, I have no words.”
“It was good, I hope,” he replied with a strained smile, voice gravelly.
Slowly untangling her fingers from his hair, she laid her head against the arm of the couch so she could look him in the eyes. His normally chocolate eyes were a muddy mixture of dark and golden brown, and they were lightening by the moment.
Not letting on she noticed anything out of the ordinary, she said softy, “It was beyond amazing.” Hesitating for a moment, she searched his eyes before speaking again. “Can we move this to the bedroom?”
He closed his eyes, and a pained look passed over his striking features. Opening his now fully golden eyes, no brown in sight, he said, “We don’t have to do that. This wasn’t about me trying to get some. This was about me trying to give you some pleasure.”
“Oh, you definitely accomplished that goal,” she replied with a satisfied smile. “But I don’t want this to be just about me. I want it to be about us, and I don’t want to stop here.” Seeing the hesitation on his face, she said, “Look at it this way. Going to the bedroom and finishing what we started would be for me, because it’s exactly what I want, what I need.”