The baffled hurt in his voice pained her. “You didn’t,” she blurted out. “You haven’t. But I can’t just let myself go like you want me to. Or at least…I shouldn’t.”
“You did a pretty good job of that at my house last night. I’ve thought of nothing else. You were…amazing. I’ve been hard on and off all day thinking about every breathless moment,” he murmured, his voice low and textured like raw silk—rough and smooth at once, beckoning a woman to reach out and touch him, tempting her, luring her closer.
He pressed his nose against her stomach and breathed deeply. “Last night, the way you felt. It scared you.”
“Down to my toes. I’ve never felt so turned on, so lustful.”
“Ever?”
“It’s you, Jericho. I want to turn myself on for you.” Since he refused to stand, she slid to her knees. “The way you looked at me. The way you wanted me. I’ve craved that for years before I ever knew you. It was you I wanted.”
“Damn,” he breathed. “I’m wondering how we waited so long.”
“I don’t know.”
“Fear? Stupid inner rules. Who knows? It ends now, Kate.”
“Yes, please. I can’t wait for you any longer.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his rough face. The temptation to let herself go tugged harder on her.
As his lips found her throat and he began to kiss her with teasing little taste-testing kisses, the temptation grew stronger.
“Jericho, you have the most beautiful—” she broke off at the breathless sound of her voice “—mouth.”
He chuckled wickedly against her neck, sliding a hand up and down her upper arms, his thumb brushing seductively against the side of her breast. “Wait until I show you what I can do with it.”
CHAPTER9
Ajolt of pure longing shuddered through her, and her hands went into his hair. The strands were so soft. She twisted in his grasp and clasped his hand, guiding him to her breast. She had ignored her physical needs for so long, she had forgotten what it was to want a man.
No, that wasn’t quite right. The realization flashed through the haze of her desire. She hadneverknown what it was to want a man. Not the way she wanted Jericho. She had grown up suppressing her sexuality, avoiding the unknown quicksand of desire and want, using her mind to forge ahead.
She’d been wrong. As Jericho placed tantalizing kisses down her slender throat to the tender curve of her shoulder, desire ignited inside her like tinder to an out-of-control flame. It excited her, drew her even as it frightened her.
“Show me,” she pleaded, her muscles melting with the warmth of desire.
“It’ll be my pleasure,” he murmured, kissing his way back up her neck to her ear. He traced the tip of his tongue around the rim of the delicate shell, took the lobe between his lips, and sucked gently.
“I burn for you, Kate.” To prove his point, he caught her hand and pressed it to the front of his jeans, thrusting her palm against his erection, holding her there while he brushed kisses along her jaw to the corner of her mouth and explored her lips skillfully with the tip of his tongue. “I want you,” he whispered seductively.
Kate shivered like a woman in the grasp of a raging fever, hot then cold, on the verge of incoherence. Logic evaporated in the wake of Jericho’s sensual assault. He covered her hand with his and molded her fingers over the proof of his words. He was hard and throbbing, and an answering pulse pounded in the pit of her belly. She stole a breath and felt her knees wobble beneath her.
“I don’t usually have casual sex.”
His expression grew serious, intense, as he stared down at her and a tremor went through her. This Jericho looked like a dominant male, a predator, capable of anything.
“There’s nothing casual about this.” He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek, the fire in his eyes flaring. “About us.”
Then he lowered his head and kissed her, insistently, demanding and provoking. His lips, firm and smooth and oh, so clever, moved against hers, rubbed over hers, seduced hers into her own ravenous response. He inched a step closer. Raising his other hand and sliding his fingers back into her silky hair, he tugged her head back for a better angle.
“Yes, Kate,” he murmured. “I want it all. Give it to me. Kiss me harder,” he commanded on a phantom breath. “Take me, taste me.”
Jericho’s mouth moved relentlessly over hers, claiming, beguiling, seducing, giving so much pleasure her head swam.
With a deep groan, she obeyed his command, working her lips frantically against his. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, pressing up against the steely muscles of his chest.
Jericho stood abruptly and brought her with him. He groaned at her surrender and deepened the kiss. With firm, sensuous strokes, he eased his tongue into her mouth, probing deeply, brazenly. She responded to him with an enthusiastic maneuver of her own, her tongue tracing his lower lip, dipping inside his mouth.
He sucked at her gently, and need overwhelmed her like a vise as she trembled strongly against him.