Wearing pajama bottoms and a scowl, Christian threw open the door as if he intended to shout at whoever had interrupted him. In an instant his annoyance vanished. “Noelle?”
“I’m sorry how Marc took the news that you’re his father.”
Christian’s gaze flicked over her precarious updo, silk robe and bare feet. “You came here dressed like that to talk about Marc?”
“No.” She put her hand on his bare chest, savoring the warmth and power of him for a split second before pushing forward. “I just thought it sounded like a more civilized opening than I want you naked and inside of me before either of us knows what hit us.”
Taking two steps backward, he gave way before her determined advance. Then his long fingers snagged in the belt that held her robe closed and he tugged her hard against him. She reveled in his passion, anticipation searing along her nerve endings. But as his lips neared hers, she turned her head aside. His breath stroked along her cheek.
“First we need a few ground rules,” she murmured, fighting to keep her voice even as his fingers slipped her belt free and parted the robe.
“Ground rules?”
His hot breath against her ear made her shiver.
“This is about sex and nothing more. It doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind about doing what’s best for my son, and it’s not a promise that anything will happen between us in the future.”
“You’re pretty bossy for a half-naked woman.”
Her robe fell to the ground, and Noelle gulped as his palms grazed over her silk-clad hips and up her spine. “Just sex,” she repeated, her voice a hoarse rasp.
“So this is okay?” He cupped her breast, fingers playing over her rapidly hardening nipple while he watched her expression from beneath thick black lashes.
“Yes.”
“And this?” His free hand dislodged the pins in her hair. He sank his fingers into the thick mass that fell around her shoulders and tugged to drag her head back and expose her throat.
Noelle forgot to breathe as he placed his mouth over the pulse in her neck and sucked. Her heartbeat shifted into an erratic rhythm. “Sure.”
“So this isn’t off-limits?” Moving with slow tormenting precision, his hand left her breast and glided down over her belly to cup her, the heel of his hand applying the perfect pressure to weaken her knees.
“Yes.” She barely got the single syllable out before he began pulling his hand away. Frantic, she grasped his wrist and held him in place.
“But you said...”
“I meant no.”
“Ah.” The word sighed out of him. “I’m going to take you to bed now.”
“Lovely.”
She was off her feet an instant later.
Eight
Christian lowered Noelle onto the bed and stepped back to regard her. He’d seen her naked before. Made love to her too many times to count. But for some reason, every time held a special fascination for him. Bracing his hand on the mattress beside her, he trailed his fingers along her skin at the edge of the nightgown. When he reached one of the thin straps that held the gown up, he nudged it off her shoulder.
There was curiosity, not wariness, in Noelle’s eyes as she watched him. Uneasiness tangled with desire in his gut. Did she have any idea how the glimpse of one pink nipple peeking above the neckline of her nightgown made him crazy? Her power over him was complete. He would do whatever she asked, give himself over to her pleasure and wait to take his own until she was thoroughly spent.
His erection pulsed as she slid the straps down her arms, taking the bodice with it. As if understanding his weakness, she shimmied the blue silk over her hips and kicked it off. Naked, she lay before him, her gaze confident and direct as she waited for his next move.
“Gorgeous.” He ran shaking hands through his hair, savoring the moment. He’d waited five long years to make love to her again, and he’d be damned if he’d rush. “I’ve missed you.”
She sat up and hooked her fingers in the waistband of his pajamas. “Then what’s taking you so long to get started?”
The cool air against his naked flesh did little to reduce the heat pulsing through him. He stepped out of his pajama bottoms and caught Noelle’s wrists before her fingers could close around him. Putting her hands around his neck where they’d be safely out of the way, he leaned down to take her lips in an explosive kiss.