Page 64 of Forty and Fighting Dirty
But when I flicked my gaze up to meet his, there was softness in his eyes. His hand came up to cup my jaw, and he bent down to press a tender kiss to my lips. It was slow and thorough, and it left me utterly dizzy. I clung to his shoulders, bent backward against the kitchen counter as he deepened our kiss. It was easy to melt against him when he stroked and petted like this, his hands moving down my sides and back up again under my shirt. When he cupped my breast, a shiver went through me and a soft exhale slipped through my lips.
“You want me to stop?” Rhett asked.
My reply was breathless. “No.”
I had no time to rethink my answer, because Rhett had his fingers wrapped around the hem of my shirt andhe was tugging it off a second later. Cool air kissed my skin, the warmth of Rhett’s hands a thrilling counterpoint. He touched me like he couldn’t get enough of me, tracing my curves with his hands and mouth. He pressed a kiss to my breast, just above the edge of my bra, and I arched my back at the touch. The back of my head nudged the upper cabinets as I closed my eyes and lost myself in the sensation of him.
I hadn’t realized how much I missed feeling a man’s warm skin against mine. I’d locked this part of me away a long time ago as I focused on being the perfect wife and mother, but it had never died. As Rhett tugged at my bra and exposed my peaked nipple to the air, I let go of the last of my inhibitions. His mouth was hot on my breast, tongue laving my flesh as he let out a low, tortured groan. His hands clung to my hips, pressing hard, as if he were trying to hold himself back.
I scraped my fingernails along his shoulders, then eased my palms over the same spot. Leaning my head back to expose my throat to him, I panted out the lust that threatened to drown me. I wanted him so badly nothing else existed.
“These pants have been driving me crazy since the very first day,” he said, thick fingers reaching for the fasteners behind the waistband.
I glanced down at my usual pinstriped work pants. “They have?”
“Pure torture every single day, Darling,” he said, and the fastening came loose. The zipper slid down, and my eyes flicked up to his. His irises had disappeared, and only darkness stared back at me. My breath caught—and his hand slipped between my legs.
We shuddered out an exhale at the same time. I closed my eyes, gripping Rhett’s shoulders as I leaned my head against the upper cabinets, my legs stumbling wider as my body begged him for more. He let out a low moan at the feel of me, slick and warm against his fingers.
Then it was my turn to drop my hands, feeling the hard bar of his erection pressing against the placket of his pants. His head ducked against my neck as he pressed a kiss below my ear, his body curled around mine as he trapped me in.
Pleasure shattered through me, drawing a surprised gasp out of me. My fingernails dug into his shoulders as I trembled.
His movements slowed as he lifted his head, gaze flicking between my eyes. “Did you…?”
“Yeah,” I panted. “That doesn’t usually…”
His utterly male, self-satisfied smirk stopped me from finishing my sentence.Happen so fast.
I smacked his shoulder and laughed. “Stop it. Your ego doesn’t need any more inflation.”
“Think you have another one in you?” Rhett asked in a silky, dark voice, his fingers moving against me once more.
I sighed and closed my eyes, unable to resist.
That was the thing about Rhett. He was magnetic. Even when I knew he was putting on a show for other people, my eyes still strayed toward him. When he smiled, it made my heart thump. When he laughed, I buzzed inside.
Having him touch me like this, all that attention focused on me, all that intensity directed solely in search of my pleasure…it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. He was patient and demanding and playful, touching and teasing and kissing me like there was nothing else he’d rather do and nowhere else he’d rather be.
And maybe that was the truth. Maybe he cared about me. It certainly felt like it.
As it turned out, I did have a second one in me. My pants ended up pinned around my thighs, my hands scrabbling to feel his arousal, all modesty gone. Rhett’s hands gripped my hips and slid down to my thighs, gripping all the flesh that I sometimes lamented in the mirror. He groaned and spun me around, pressing his clothed front against my bare behind. The fabric rasped against my flesh, and I laid my palms flat on the countertop to try to regain a bit of balance.
“Rhett—”
“I know. I’ll stop.”
“That’s not what I was going to say.”
His forehead came to rest on the back of my shoulder, both arms wrapped around my stomach. One hand slid up to hold my breast, sliding under the cup of my bra so his palm was against my skin. He pressed his chest to my back, warm and huge and all-consuming.
I never stood a chance. Maybe that was why I’d resisted him at first—because I knew how dangerous it was to open my heart to him.
Rhett slid his hands over my stomach and around my waist. He stroked me as he pressed a kiss to my shoulder, his voice low when he murmured, “I want you, Piper.”
I bit my lip. How could I possibly resist a man who was guarded and vulnerable? Who was arrogant and kind? Whowas all the complicated angles and shards that I saw within myself, wrapped up in a beautiful, male package?
“Yes,” I replied, and it took only a few moments to feel him behind me. His hand stroked down my spine as he positioned himself where I wanted him.
