“Yes.” When the word eked past her throat she couldn’t believe she’d actually said it. And when she reached for his hand and placed it over the knot on her trench coat, it was like watching a scene in a movie. “I want you to take it off.”
Hand resting over one of his, her heart thundering so loud she could scarcely hear her own erratic breathing, she watched as his other hand joined the first. As his fingers began to gently unknot the belt at her waist...
For once, the pragmatic side of Royce’s mind was as silent as if it’d been bound and gagged. There was another side of him, an animalistic side whose instincts trumped reason, that was in charge now.
Knot undone, he opened Taylor’s coat, his fingers twitching over what he’d found beneath. Black silk with a subtle shimmer glided over her barely dressed body. She shifted and the material slipped tantalizingly over her breasts, drawing his attention to their hardening peaks.
This was no dress. This was sex sewn together with lace.
He consulted her face for a beat and in her expression found approval—and a question. Did he like what he saw?
“This is a pleasant surprise,” he murmured.
Relief washed over her. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Was there another option?”
“You could tell me to put my coat on and go home.”
He couldn’t imagine a scenario in which he said that. He slowly removed her coat from her shoulders. “Is that what you want?”
Her head shook back and forth. No.
Good. That sure as hell wasn’t what he wanted.
Draping the coat over the back of the couch, he slid his fingers over the impossibly smooth material wanting to touch her bare skin beneath it, which he’d bet was equally smooth. She smelled good, like the bowl of lemons on his countertop—a light citrusy scent that reminded him of summer. She brought her own sunshine on this February night, her eyes bright and earnest, her body arching toward him as he pulled her closer. And when he set his mouth to hers, she responded in the best way imaginable.
She crashed into him lips first, her hands smoothing over his button-down shirt, moving from his pectorals to his shoulders and around to the back of his head, where she gripped his hair.
He sneaked his tongue into her mouth and encountered her equally eager tongue, and the rest of his body moved closer to her as well. Hips first, he ground his erection against her center. A sultry moan sounded in her throat.
He left the haven of her mouth to kiss the gentle curve of her throat before moving to the sensitive skin behind her ear. Hands smoothing over her ribs, he hesitated at the swells of her generous breasts, giving her a chance to push him away. To stop the forward motion that began with her showing up at his house in naught but a scrap of silk and the tallest shoes he’d ever seen her wear.
Instead of stopping him, she cupped his hand and laid it over one breast, tugging his mouth to hers and renewing her efforts to kiss him stupid. With the thumb of his right hand he brushed over her nipple, his left hand joining in so that her other breast wasn’t neglected.
She hissed his name on a tight breath, her eyes shut and head dropping back.
“Is this what you came for tonight, Taylor?” Confidence made his voice a growl.
Rarely did he indulge in decadence, save a tall slice of chocolate cake now and then when a craving hit. Taylor wasn’t unlike the sinful dessert, her layers exposed. He knew once he took that first taste, he’d devour all of her.
“Yes, but...”
“But?” He lifted his head to watch her.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d respond...favorably.”
Taking one of her hands, he pressed it against his crotch, straining forward so she could feel just how “favorably” he’d reacted. Her pupils widened, all but swallowing the soft green-brown irises.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” The beast he’d unleashed howled in protest, but he needed her to be sure before they went any further. He’d been swept up before and wouldn’t go in blindly again.
“Are you?” She stuck a finger in the knot of his bow tie and tugged. The rasping sound as she slid it from his collar sent goose bumps down his arms. She tossed the tie onto the floor, one eyebrow arched in question. “You didn’t seem interested earlier today.”
“I was at work.” And trying his damnedest to focus. “What did you expect me to do?”
“Fair point.” She smoothed her hands over his shoulders. He liked the way she looked at him, like he was a meal and she was starving.
His mind blanked of all thoughts save one: Take her. Show her how beautiful and brave she is for showing up for you.