There. She’d said it. Pulled it out into the open. They might as well stop…well…dancing around it. She lifted her head slightly now and could almost see the message written in his eyes.
“It’s about whatever we want it to be.” He tilted her head back against his chest. “Right?”
His voice was warm syrup slowly wrapping her in a sensual cocoon.
Did she know what she was doing? Hell, no, but she wanted to do it anyway. Oh, my God. Was this her?
“I don’t know how to do this,” she finally answered, their bodies almost still, her cheek pressed against his shoulder. “I have no experience.”
The squeeze of his hand told her he knew exactly what she meant.
“You don’t need experience, Julia. You just go with the flow.”
The combination of the music and the drinks flooded her system with erotic sensations, transporting her into an almost hypnotic state. But his next words both thrilled and shocked her, not because she hadn’t been expected them but because she had.
“I want you, Julia.”
The words, spoken so quietly she almost missed them, made her body contract, her heartbeat kick into triple time, and her pulse race madly.
“I want to feel your naked body next to mine,” he went on. “Touch you everywhere with my hands.”
She shivered, heat flooding her, the walls of her cunt fluttering, and her nipples throbbing. She could almost feel his hands on her naked skin. So many conflicting emotions roiled inside her. “I’ll bet you say that to all the girls.” She attempted to lighten the mood.
His grip on her tightened almost painfully. “Now there’s where you’re dead wrong. I actually say it to no one these days. And haven’t for a long time.”
And suddenly, curled against Luke’s hard, lean body, she couldn’t remember why she’d thought even for a minute this might be a bad idea. She was nearly a free woman and the most exciting man she’d ever met actually wanted her. Wanted her! And with an intensity she’d never found with Charles. She was practically jumping into this with both feet, without any hesitation at all.
And somehow she felt a rightness to this, a powerful something pulling her and Luke together.
When the duo announced they were taking a break, Luke led her back to the table, still holding one of her hands. “Are you very hungry?”
“No.” She was aware of what he asked. “Are you?”
“Not for food,” he told her.
Immediate heat flashed through her body again and the pulse beating in her womb reverberated everywhere inside her. One last alarm bell clanged in her brain. If she didn’t stop now, it would be too late. But she could have more easily stopped a runaway train.
“This is more than a whim, you know.” His gaze was intense. “I want to be totally clear about this.”
“Yes.” She could barely get the word out.
He paid their bill with efficient speed and guided her to the elevator. As the car glided smoothly up three floors, he held both of her hands, kissing her lightly as if knowing she needed reassurance.
“It will be fine, Julia.” Luke moved his lips to her forehead. “Trust me.”
What else could she do?
Chapter 4
Her fingers fumbled so much with the key card Luke finally took it from her and swiped it through the slot. As soon as they entered her room, she began to tremble, and he drew her into his arms. Sheltering her. Reassuring her.
“Are you scared to make love, Julia? Does it frighten you?” He brushed his mouth against hers and pressed his warm palm against her back. “What kind of life do you have where sex is such an enemy?”
Illumination from the outside slanted in through the partially open drapes, providing enough light without turning on the lamps. The darkness made her feel more secure, insulated, but still her mouth couldn’t form any words to answer him. She was conscious of his maleness, of the feel of his body against hers, of the unfamiliar heat of desire rushing through her. Feelings she’d never known before gripped her and held her. She stood there, wanting his touch more strongly than she could admit.
“I’m going to kiss you,” he said. “We’ll take it from there.”
Slowly, Luke enfolded her in his arms again and began to stroke her back, to kiss the edges of her ear, the side of her neck, the line of her jaw. They were soft kisses, undemanding, and they eased the edge of her nervousness. His hands were warm; wherever he touched, little sparks of fire burned on her skin. He moved his mouth across her cheek to her lips and touched his mouth to hers in a gentle caress. His lips were strong and soft at the same time.
In moments, gentleness quickly flew out the window. He urged her mouth open, savoring her with his tongue, coaxing her to do the same to him. He tasted of whiskey and maleness, an earthy combination that teased her senses. A jolt of electricity sparked as he probed the hot, dark recesses of her mouth, seeking every inch. His tongue moved over every surface, traced a line across the roof of her mouth, rasped against her own small tongue. A different kind of dance took over, a more sensual one capable of fanning her senses to life. She shook with a kind of need she’d never experienced, and he did nothing more than kiss her.
The kiss went on and on. He licked at her lips, his mouth moving against hers as he slanted it first one way and then another. His large hands, with their long fingers, cupped her head with a touch both gentle and commanding. She could feel the imprint of each finger against her skull. His seduction on the dance floor paled compared to the impact of this kiss. Now Julia knew what it meant to be kissed breathless.
With a mind of their own, her arms crept up his back, pulling him closer, sliding her hands against the soft fabric of his shirt. She was in unfamiliar territory here, operating purely on instinct. Her breasts ached even more, silently begging to be touched and held. Her nipples tingled, fire built between her legs, and she didn’t know what to do with it. This was so new to her.
Without releasing her mouth, Luke slid his hands under her sweater, caressing the soft flesh with feather-light touches on her ribs and her spine, tracing lines and drawing patterns as he learned the curves and angles of her body. His fingers branded her every place he touched her as he impatiently drew her sweater over her head.
At last! She sighed with relief.
When his thumbs rasped against her nipples, she felt them harden—a delicious shiver ran through her body. With an easy deftness, he slipped the hooks on her lacy bra, releasing her breasts and cupping them at last in his hands. His lips were voracious on hers and the entire time his hands roamed over her upper body, his mouth never left hers. He kept her welded to him as he fed on her taste, stealing her breath.
He drew patterns on her with light touches of his fingers, caressing each bump and space. Pausing for a moment to skim the upper swell of her ass, he shifted his hand to trace a line up her ribs to her breasts.
Aroused by Luke’s stimulating touch and desperate to feel his naked skin, she brought her hands around and opened the buttons on his shirt. Yanking the tails from his trousers, she frantically pushed the garment from his shoulders and down his arms until it fell to the floor. She ran her hands over him, exploring his upper body, wanting to touch him everywhere at once. She skimmed his chest with her fingertips, relishing in the feel of the crisp hair curling on his chest and the hard buttons of his nipples.
The thickness of his cock pressed against her stomach, increasing her own heat. Her legs suddenly grew weak and shaky, and she clung to his lean body for balance. His hands dropped to her waist and slowly unfastened the button on her slacks. The rasp of the zipper sounded loud in the room. As he pushed her slacks down her hips and thighs,