“Don’t. Let me continue. I’m never going to have as much money as you do. And we’ll never really be social equals. But—”
He stopped the wild flow of words with his mouth. His lips moved over hers with surety and strength, making her feel as if everything was irrelevant except him touching her.
He lifted his head but dropped several small nibbling kisses on her neck before taking her hand in his again. “Follow me.”
She bit her lip and let him tug her along. She realized that her panic with the mask wasn’t only due to the insecurity she’d felt earlier but also had to do with trust. She didn’t trust herself. Didn’t trust that the woman she’d become was real. Didn’t trust that she’d really left behind the young girl she’d been.
Did she trust Hayden? She hadn’t when she’d been twenty. But now…? She’d trusted him with her body; she’d set up her shop here based on the success of his casino. Obviously she was leaning that way, but to have the choice taken from her…To have to trust him to protect her while she couldn’t see wasn’t something she’d been prepared to do.
He stopped walking. She heard him pushing some buttons and then the release of a gate. She was surrounded by the scent of roses and night-blooming jasmine. Hayden wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back so that she was sitting on his lap. He nibbled at her neck and she surrendered to the feelings he always aroused in her.
“What’s in that little bag?” he asked.
“What little bag?” she asked, turning on his lap so that she rested her head on his shoulder. His aftershave was strong at his neck. She scraped her teeth across the nerve-rich area and felt him stir under her hips.
“You know very well which bag I’m referring to,” he said.
His hands roamed up her torso, settling over her breasts. He palmed both of them and she felt them swell and grow heavy under his touch. She reached for the buttons on his shirt, finding them and releasing the top three until she could slip her hand under the cloth and feel his strong, warm pecs. She scraped her fingernail in a random pattern over him and felt his muscle flex under her.
“Stop distracting me. I want to know what’s in that bag. I never did get to see you in the red leather.”
His thumbs were tracing her distended nipples through the material of her blouse. It felt so good that she couldn’t speak for a minute.
“I know. I figured since you were so big on competition, I’d provide you with your own leather.”
He groaned. “Damn, woman, I’m not wearing leather underwear.”
“Come on. I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Like you did with the stripping contest?” he asked. His hand was on her waist and then she felt him pulling her shirt slowly up.
She panicked, gripping his wrists. “Hayden, we’re in a public place, aren’t we?”
He stopped though she knew he was stronger than her and could have pushed her shirt up despite her protests.
“It’s time to decide if you trust me or not.”
She felt a million things at once—nervous, excited, aroused and a little bit upset that she was so aroused. She shifted on his lap, pressing her thighs together and wondering if she could pretend this was just about sex. But she knew it wasn’t. Hayden wanted her trust and if they had any chance of moving forward, she had to give it to him.
With a sigh, she dropped her hands, knowing that Hayden would always keep her safe. It was him trusting her that had always been the issue. She acknowledged she’d never given him a chance to really trust her because she’d been lying to him. But this time Shelby realized she needed to learn to trust herself and stop lying about what she’d been running from.
Hayden knew they were completely secluded here. The garden was his private place to escape from the busy casino. He’d deactivated the cameras to this section and opened the security gate earlier. They were now in a private section of the maze. She was perfectly safe.
He knew he was pushing her, but couldn’t help himself. He wanted—no, needed—to stake his claim on her and he wasn’t going to wait any longer. Making love to her two nights ago had made the fact that she didn’t trust him into a sharp ache. He knew he’d done little in the past to earn her trust, but this time…this time he was determined to do things right.
She let go of his wrists and he slipped his hands under her shirt. Her stomach clenched as he moved his hand over her. She turned to straddle him, draping her thighs over his, and held him with a fierceness that felt right in his soul.
Slowly, inch by inch, he peeled her shirt up and over her head. He let his hands trace down the center of her body, stopping to free the front clasp of her bra as they went. She wore a pale pink bra with lacy demi-cups.
“I love your underwear.”
She smiled at him and he couldn’t resist kissing her one more time. With the mask on, her skirt up around her thighs, her shirt gone and that bra open, she looked like a fantasy come to life.
“Offer your breasts to me,” he said.
She ran her hands up her stomach, slowly caressing her own skin, and he realized that Shelby was becoming more comfortable. She covered both of her breasts with her hands, then slowly peeled back the lace to reveal her pink nipples. She cupped her breasts, lifting them toward him. Her hand encircled the bottom and sides but left a small gap between each finger.
With his tongue he traced the gap and felt her hands tighten as he got closer to her nipple. He teased her by outlining the areola first then laved her entire nipple.
He attended to her other breast with the same care. He couldn’t stop touching her, needed to caress more of her skin. He loved the way she felt as arousal spread throughout her body. Her hips shifted on the bench. Her hands moved restlessly over her own body, reaching out to hold his head to her as he scraped his teeth down her side.
“Lift your skirt for me,” he said, his hands busy at her breasts.
The fabric of her skirt was gossamer light, as he’d noticed when they’d walked through the casino earlier. Ever since then he’d obsessed about it.
Slowly she brought her skirt upward to reveal her thighs and then the matching pink lace panties. Her tight auburn curls were visible under the light material.
He leaned back to study her. Awed that she was his. And she was his no matter how stubborn she was about living with him. Shelby belonged to him. A red haze settled over him and he was determined to prove it to her.
He set about arousing her using every bit of knowledge that he had but couldn’t remember where he’d gained it. All other women dropped away. The experiences he’d had with them were only to enhance what he had with Shelby now.
He tugged on her panties, and she obliged by removing them. When she came to him again, he parted her with his thumbs before lifting her to taste the engorged bud he’d uncovered. He suckled her gently, her hips bucking, her hands fluttering to his head to hold him closer.
He brought her to the edge then backed off. He wanted to build a fury within her so that she’d feel the way he did. Out of control.
He kissed her stomach and dipped his tongue into her belly button. He skimmed his hands over her breasts, rubbing them in a circular motion.
Her hips lifted into his chest and he felt her moisture there, realizing he couldn’t wait any longer.
“Hayden?”
“Yes, baby?” he asked. Lowering his hands between their bodies, he unzipped his pants and released himself. He slipped on the condom he’d put in his pocket before joining Shelby earlier.
He pulled her forward so that her hips were fitted to his. Now her back was arched and