Page 76 of Strangers in Love

He stopped just outside the doorway to what I assumed was the bedroom part of the suite. He seemed to want to say something but pressed his lips tightly together instead.

“Say it.” I squeezed his hand.

“Do we need it this time?” He released my hand so he could cup the side of my face. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want anything between us, but I won’t do anything that’ll make you uncomfortable.”

He meant it, I saw. Every word. It was that as much as my own desire that had me shaking my head.

“I trust you.”

Maybe I was being stupid. Maybe I was just as irresponsible and childish as my parents and sister seemed to think. But I did trust him. He hadn’t needed to bring it up, not when I was a sure thing, but he had. Even when he’d been upset with me, he’d never done anything to put me at risk.

The other night, everything had been rushed, borne out of fear and need. My kiss at the bar had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, similar to the first time I’d kissed him. Now, however, he moved slowly, deliberately. His hands on either side of my face, his eyes locked with mine, as he lowered his head. I had time to change my mind. Though I had no doubt that he would be a gentleman should I put a stop to things at any point in time, I appreciated the fact that he was giving me the opportunity to truly consider what we were about to do before we even started.

I knew that I had been lucky to have had such a considerate and skilled partner for my first foray into sex. No matter how unusual the circumstances had been, I’d thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The only thing I would have changed was the ability to take my time and truly appreciate every aspect of the experience. To savor every sensation so that, rather than a blur of ecstasy, I could distinguish each sensual moment…from the feel of his lips on mine to the slide of his hair between my fingers.

To explore his body as thoroughly as he’d explored mine.

I hadn’t done that before, and it was essentially the only thing I actually regretted about what we’d done.

His mouth was familiar already, but no less thrilling, and I knew that I would forever measure every man I allowed a kiss against the one standing in front of me. Kisses wouldn’t be the only standard he’d set, either.

My lack of experience didn’t mean that I didn’t understand how unique and explosive our time together had been. I had no doubt that what we’d done would have blown even the most experienced woman away. For the first time, it had set the bar incredibly high. If that sort of encounter was as rare as I thought, I planned to make the most of every second I had with him.

So caught up in his kiss, I hadn’t realized we’d moved into the bedroom until he turned on the bedside light. I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it then if he hadn’t taken his mouth away from mine.

Fortunately, this also allowed me to state my intentions.

“I want you naked and on the bed.” I almost slapped my hand over my mouth at how bluntly I’d spoken. What was it about this man that disconnected my brain from my mouth half the time?

A smile played about his lips, and it made my momentary embarrassment worth it.

“You do, do you?”

I put my hands on my hips and gave him the stern look I normally focused on rowdy students. “I have light, a big bed, and a surprising amount of time free from being pursued. It’s my turn to exploreyou.”

His jaw dropped, and his surprised expression made me laugh. I’d rarely been consumed by thoughts of ‘what will sex be like,’ but I could genuinely say that I hadn’t imagined much in the way of laughter.

One more thing to compare all future experiences too.

“I’m not sure what the best part of that little speech was,” he ran his fingers down my jawline, “the fact that you want to ‘explore’ me, or that your explanation sounded like one of those essays I never wrote in high school. You know, the ‘make a declarative statement and provide three points of support’ kind of assignments.”

Somehow, it didn’t surprise me that he wouldn’t have completed such an assignment or that he could provide a near verbatim description of it.

Drawing on the boldness that had gotten me this far, I reached for him, sliding my hands under his shirt. He sucked in a breath as I ran them around his waist instead of up his torso. The movement brought my body right up against his, and I tilted my head back to watch the expression on his face as I made yet another unexpected move.

The moment my fingertips slipped under the waistband of his jeans, he grabbed my shoulders, but he didn’t tell me to stop. Under the soft cotton of his underwear, my hands slid down to grasp as much of his firm ass as I could. His muscles flexed, and he made a sound that I couldn’t really describe but knew that I wanted to hear again. Often.

“You. Naked. Bed.” I emphasized each word with a little dig of my nails. Judging by the considerable bulge against my stomach, he liked what I was doing as much as I did.

“Yes, ma’am.” He reached behind him and did that insanely sexy thing where he pulled his shirt over his head from the back.

I stepped away but kept watching as he toed off his shoes and socks before stripping off his pants and underwear at the same time. If I hadn’t felt the non-denim fabric, I might’ve thought he’d gone without. I had a sudden vision of what it would be like to straddle his lap as I had the other night, but this time, in a skirt or dress…with nothing underneath. A quick unzipping, and he’d be in me.

I let out a shaky breath and told myself to focus. I’d save that particular fantasy for another time. Right now, I didn’t need to imagine anything because every inch of that gorgeous man was stretched out in front of me, all mine for the taking.

I undressed before climbing on the bed, both to enjoy his gaze on me and because I didn’t want to have to stop for anything when I was ready for more. I started with his legs, the hair coarse under my palms as I moved over muscular calves.

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