Part 28 (1/2)
”I'm sorry. I didn't realize how hard it would be to see you with other men. I was seething inside and wanted to commit cold-blooded murder. You're mine, and no one else is ever allowed to have you. Tonight I'll prove it. You asked for a relations.h.i.+p, a commitment,” he said. ”You insisted on both, in fact, and if that's the only way I can have you, that's the way it'll be. We're together. I won't ever lie to you, and I expect the same from you. Is that acceptable to you?”
Slowly she turned. Shock, wonder and hope stared up at him, razing wounds deep in his chest. ”Beck...”
”Say yes. Nothing else matters right now.”
”I- Yes,” she whispered.
Good. ”Now take off your clothes.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
SOMETHING ABOUT BECK'S words bothered Harlow. If that's the only way I can have you, that's the way it'll be. But at the moment, she reeled too wildly to care. She and Beck were an actual couple. He was in this, with her all the way.
”I know you're inexperienced in these matters.” The hot intensity of his gaze belied the low gentleness of his tone. ”But I'm on the verge of a meltdown. I need you naked as soon as possible. Take off your clothes, baby.”
With trembling hands, she reached for the top of her dress. All she had to do was slide the material down, but she hesitated. As vulnerable as she was feeling, she didn't want to do this alone.
She dropped her arms to her sides, whispering, ”You take them off me.”
An expert, he hooked his fingers inside the bustline and, with a single tug, had the material pooling at her feet, leaving her in undergarments and hooker heels. ”Step out of the dress.”
The moment she obeyed, he had her bra unhooked. The garment fell away, his fiery gaze locked on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s as her nipples puckered with painful precision.
”These sweet little jewels were made for me alone.” He cupped her, tracing his thumbs over the distended peaks. He'd always been a seductive force, but today, this moment, he was raw carnality made flesh-and utterly irresistible.
”They're small,” she said, knowing he'd been with big-chested beauties like Tawny.
”They're perfect. They're all I've wanted since I met you. You're all I've wanted.”
He dropped to his knees, reverently removed her shoes one at a time then tongued the waist of her panties until he had the material firmly between his teeth. He dragged the tiny sc.r.a.p of fabric down, down, finally reaching the floor.
Skin heated. Goose b.u.mps broke out. A quiver teased her deep, deep inside as languorous pleasure flooded her limbs. All she wanted to do was melt into him, meld onto him.
”I want to see you, too,” she said.
”You will. Trust me.” He stood, his hands sliding around her, one at her nape, the other at her lower back. He dragged her flush against him, lowering his head, claiming her mouth in a single swoop. His tongue thrust against hers, taking, demanding, and when she met him with a thrust of her own, he went wild, feeding her the most rapturous pa.s.sion. The kiss should have sated her in some way, but it only stoked her appet.i.te higher.
Beck backed her toward the bed, and when her knees. .h.i.t the side of the mattress, she went down. He didn't follow her right away but stood between her spread legs, his breaths coming shallowly, hollowly, tension tightening his features. His pupils were so large his eyes appeared black-twin stormy nights.
He gripped the collar of his s.h.i.+rt and yanked the material over his head, baring his gorgeous chest. His pecs were muscular, decorated with sinew, his nipples small and brown, his stomach roped with strength. She wanted to follow his golden-tipped goodie trail with her tongue.
”Let me.” She sat up and, with her gaze locked on his face, unfastened his pants. He wore boxer briefs, his erection straining past the top. She thought about the time he'd gone to his knees before her-thought about the things she could do to him-and moistened her lips.
His fingers curled more firmly around her nape. ”Kiss me,” he croaked, and she knew he yearned for her to do it. ”Kiss me and never stop.”
”Yes.” She pushed his underwear down, freeing the rest of him, then leaned forward and liiicked the tip.
He shuddered, his fingers combing through her hair, fisting the strands. She licked again and again before swallowing him down, as far as she could go.
A hoa.r.s.e groan left him. ”That's the way, baby. Just like that.”
Lifting her head, she said throatily, ”I've never done this before. Tell me if I do something you don't like.”
”If you're doing it, I'll like it.” He traced his fingertips over the rise of her cheek, his features infinitely tender. ”Take me down again and let your tongue ride the underside, then suck me hard on your way back up.”
She did as instructed and drew a deeper groan from him. Emboldened, she did it again and again, quickening her pace.
”Doing so good, baby. Making me so hot.”
His groans became increasingly ragged...until all he could do was pant, the air growing heavy with his arousal, and her own. His reactions caused a pa.s.sion fever to burn through her. But he fit her chin between the curve of his fingers and thumb, slowly lifting her head.
”I'm not done,” she said.
”That keeps up, and I will be. Lie back.”
BECK HADN'T BEEN with a woman he actually knew in-ever. He hadn't realized the tender feelings he'd already had for Harlow would add shocking depth to the experience, a layer of awareness he couldn't deny he relished.
She eased onto the mattress, her luscious body open and vulnerable to him. ”Beck...”
The purr of her voice did things to him. Maybe because he knew she didn't always sound that way. Maybe because he knew no one else had ever made her feel so needy, that he alone possessed the power to tempt her.
And she alone possessed the power to unman him.
He kicked off his shoes, stepped out of his jeans and underwear and crawled over her, peering down at her, drinking in the languid desire he saw s.h.i.+ning in her heavy-lidded eyes.
She ran her hands, those smooth, elegant hands, up his arms, and the touch meant more than any that had come before, affecting him deeper than skin, blood and bone. He trembled under that touch.
”Second thoughts?” she said, a bit unsure.
”Never.” Sweat trickled from his temple, dripped on her lovely shoulder. ”It's been a while for me, and I want this to be perfect for you.”
Her smile was pure sweetness, like sunlight in the middle of a raging storm. ”It's with you. It's perfect.”
She meant that. He knew she meant that. He trusted her in a way he'd never trusted another.
”But,” she said, nibbling on her bottom lip, ”what did you mean by 'a while'?”
He fed her the gentlest kiss he was able, one of reverence as much as pa.s.sion-pa.s.sion he barely kept banked. ”I mean since the day after I met you.”
When she gasped, he could hold off no longer. He kissed her again, letting all that pa.s.sion loose at long last. Her tongue sparred with his, not just accepting his aggression but returning it. He got lost in the kiss, thrilled in it as it swept him away and consumed him. He didn't have to worry that she would want too much from him. He'd already offered everything. He didn't have to watch the clock or wonder how he'd make his escape when the deed was done. He was right where he wanted to be with the only woman he wanted to be with.
”What do you need me to do?” she asked breathily. ”Whatever it is, I'll do it.”
”Just keep breathing, baby.”