Part 9 (1/2)
This kiss was just as deadly, even more potent than the last, and her head began swimming in pa.s.sion. She felt that drowning would soon follow. Blood was rus.h.i.+ng, fast and furiously, through her veins with every stroke of his tongue. He was lapping her up in a way that had her entire body shuddering from the inside out.
Callum had encouraged her to ask for what she wanted and was delivering in full measure. He wasn't thinking about control of any kind and neither was she. He had addressed and put to rest the only two concerns she had-his relations.h.i.+p with her brother and her relations.h.i.+p with him as a client. Last night, he'd let her know that those two things had nothing to do with this-the attraction between them-and she was satisfied with that.
And now she was getting satisfied with this-his ability to deliver a kiss that was so pa.s.sionate it was nearly engulfing her in flames. He was drinking her as if she were made of the finest wine, even finer than the one he'd just consumed.
She felt the arms around her waist tighten and when he s.h.i.+fted their positions she felt something else, the thick hardness behind the zipper of his jeans. When she moved her hip and felt his hard muscles aligned with her curves, the denim of his jeans rubbing against her bare legs, she moaned deep in her throat.
Callum released Gemma's mouth and drew in a deep breath and her scent. She smelled of the strawberry bubble bath she had used and whatever perfume she had dabbed on her body.
He brushed kisses across her forehead, eyebrows, cheeks and temples while giving her a chance to breathe. Her mouth was so soft and responsive, and it tasted so d.a.m.n delicious. The more he deepened the kiss, the more responsive she became and the more accessible she made her mouth.
His hands eased from her waist to smooth across her back before cupping her backside. He could feel every inch of her soft curves beneath the material of her skirt and top, and instinctively, he pulled her closer to the fit of him.
”Do you want more?” he whispered against her lips, tasting the corners of her mouth while moaning deep in his throat from how good she tasted.
”Yes, I want more,” she said in a purr that conveyed a little catch in her breathing.
”How much more?” He needed to know. Any type of rational thought and mind control was slipping away from him big time. It wouldn't take much to strip her naked right now.
He knew for a fact that she'd rarely dated during the time he'd been in Denver. And although he wasn't sure what she did while she was in college, he had a feeling his Gemma was still a virgin. The thought of that filled him with intense pride that she would give him the honor of being her first.
”I want all you can give me, Callum,” she responded in a thick slur, but the words were clear to his ears.
He sucked a quick gulp of air into his lungs. He wondered if she had any idea what she was asking for. What he could give was a whole h.e.l.l of a lot. If he had his way, he would keep her on her back for days. Stay inside her until he'd gotten her pregnant more times than humanly possible.
The thought of his seed entering her womanly channel, made the head of his erection throb behind his zipper, begging for release, practically pleading for the chance to get inside her wet warmth.
”Are you on any type of birth control?” He knew that she was. He had overheard a conversation once that she'd had with Bailey and knew she'd been taking oral contraceptives to regulate her monthly cycle.
”Yes, I'm on the pill,” she acknowledged. ”But not because I sleep around or anything like that. In fact, I'm...”
She stopped talking in midsentence and was gazing up at him beneath her long lashes. Her eyes were wide, as if it just dawned on her what she was about to reveal. He had no intention of letting her stop talking now.
”You're what?”
He watched as she began nervously nibbling on her bottom lip and he almost groaned, tempted to replace her lip with his and do the nibbling for her.
He continued to brush kisses across her face, drinking in her taste. And when she didn't respond to his inquiry, he pulled back and looked at her. ”You can tell me anything, Gemma. Anything at all.”
”I don't know,” she said in a somewhat shaky voice. ”It might make you want to stop.”
Not hardly, he thought, and knew he needed to convince her of that. ”There's nothing you can tell me that's going to stop me from giving you want you want. Nothing,” he said fervently. he thought, and knew he needed to convince her of that. ”There's nothing you can tell me that's going to stop me from giving you want you want. Nothing,” he said fervently.
She gazed up into his eyes and he knew she believed him. She held the intensity in his gaze when she leaned forward and whispered. ”I'm still a virgin.”
”Oh, Gemma,” he said, filled with all the love any man could feel for a woman at that particular moment. He had suspected as much, but until she'd confessed the truth, he hadn't truly been certain. Now he was, and the thought that he would be the man who carried her over the threshold of womanhood gave him pause, had him searching for words to let her know just how he felt.
He hooked her chin with his fingers as he continued to hold her gaze. ”You trust me enough with such a precious gift?”
”Yes,” she said promptly without hesitation.
Filled with both extreme pleasure and profound pride, he bent his head and kissed her gently while sweeping her off her feet into his arms.
When Callum placed her on his bed and stepped back to stare at her, one look at his blatantly aroused features let Gemma know that he was going to give her just what she had asked for. Just what she wanted.
Propped up against his pillow, she drank him in from head to toe as he began removing his shoes. Something-she wasn't sure just what-made her bold enough to ask. ”Will you strip for me?”
He lifted his head and looked over at her. If he was shocked by her request, he didn't show it. ”Is that what you want?”
”Yes.”
He smiled and nodded. ”No problem.”
Gemma s.h.i.+fted her body into a comfortable position as a smile suffused her face. ”Be careful or I'll begin to think you're easy.”
He shrugged broad shoulders as he began removing his s.h.i.+rt. ”Then I guess I'll just have to prove you wrong.”
She chuckled. ”Oooh, I can't wait.” She stared at his naked chest. He was definitely built, she thought.
He tossed his s.h.i.+rt aside and when his hand went to the zipper of his jeans, a heated sensation began traveling along Gemma's nerve endings. When he began lowering the zipper, she completely held her breath.
He slid the zipper halfway down and met her gaze. ”Something I need to confess before I go any further.”
Her breath felt choppy. ”What?”
”I dreamed about you last night.”
Gemma smiled, pleased with his confession. ”I have a confession of my own.” He lifted his brows. ”I dreamed about you, too. But, then, I think it was to be expected after last night.”
He went back to slowly easing his zipper down. ”You could have come to my bedroom. I would not have minded.”
”I wasn't ready.”
He didn't move as he held her gaze. ”And now?”
She grinned. ”And now I'm a lady-in-waiting.”
He threw his head back and laughed as he began sliding his pants down his legs. She scooted to the edge of the bed to watch, fascinated when he stood before her wearing a skimpy pair of black briefs. He had muscular thighs and a nice pair of hairy legs. The way the briefs fit his body had her shuddering when she should have been blus.h.i.+ng.
All her senses suddenly felt hot-wired, her heart began thumping like crazy in her chest and a tingling sensation traveled up her nerve endings. She felt no shame in staring at him. The only thing she could think of at that moment was that her her Aussie was incredibly s.e.xy. Aussie was incredibly s.e.xy.
Her Aussie?
She couldn't believe her mind had conjured up such a thought. He wasn't hers and she wasn't his. At least not in that that way. But tonight, she conceded, and whenever they made love, just for that moment, they would belong to each other in every way. way. But tonight, she conceded, and whenever they made love, just for that moment, they would belong to each other in every way.