As the careless playboy who’d taken too many women to his bed. And for once, he was with a woman that he wanted to be different with, and it wasn’t going to happen.
He kissed her, and he meant for it to be a sort of sweet extension of everything that had gone on before, but his control slipped and he plunged his tongue deep into her mouth. His hands tangled in her hair as he urged her head back so that he could get even deeper.
He rested one arm on the wall and leaned in over her, surrounding her yet at the same time keeping some small distance between them. He needed to do that or he was going to rip her clothes off and be on her like a man who hadn’t had a woman in years. Instead of just a few hours.
Dammit.
He’d never been this close to the edge of his control. But Lindsey, with her wide-open, chocolate-brown eyes that gazed up him, searching his face for something—almost daring him to try to make this about something other than sex—goaded him on.
It made him struggle to find a balance between what she expected and what he wanted. That was the key. He knew what he wanted and he had to figure out how to walk that fine edge without revealing to her how desperately he desired her. Not just for this afternoon but for...
How long?
He tore his mouth from hers, reaching for the top of her snow bib and sliding the shoulder straps down. Then he pulled the sweater she wore underneath up and over her head. He tossed it to the floor and stepped back to look at her.
She stood there with the bib folded down from her waist with just a simple cream-colored bra covering her. Her skin was soft; he knew that from the night before. And he remembered how much he’d enjoyed caressing her. She stood there staring at him with that intense gaze that made him harden.
Lindsey took a step forward, grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled him back to her. She went up on her tiptoes to kiss him as she tugged the fabric up over his chest. He felt her fingers on him. Her nails scraping over his nipples and digging into his pectorals.
“Why do I want you?” she asked under her breath as she pulled her head back. “Why you?”
“There was always something between us, Linds. We both knew that.”
He unhooked her bra with one hand and pulled the fabric from her torso. Tossed it on the floor and then leaned down to kiss one nipple. He’d barely had time last night to taste them. They were pinkish red and hardened under his lips. He skimmed his hands over her ribs and down to her narrow waist.
Carter spanned it with both of his hands, pulling her from the wall and more firmly toward him. Then he turned so he could lean against the wall. Her hands roamed up and down, bringing every nerve in his body to red alert.
He wanted her now.
But he was trying to...
Why? Why was he taking this slow when he knew that Lindsey was a sixty-miles-per-hour girl? She liked the exhilaration of speeding through life. But he wanted it to take longer. Needed to tease it out for his as much as her pleasure.
This morning had showed him just how fragile his hold on her was, and he knew that every time he took her in his arms it might be his last.
He lifted his head from her tempting body and looked up at her. Her eyes were half-closed and her skin had a pretty rose-colored blush to it. She was lightly skimming her hands over his skin as she chewed her lower lip.
A moment later she pushed her hands into the waistband of his pants and shoved them toward his feet. He stepped out of them. Then she pushed his boxer briefs down, as well. Standing naked in her hallway, Carter realized he was where he wanted to be. She took his erection in her hand and stroked him up and down while he frantically shoved her clothes out of the way. Then, groaning low in his throat, he lifted her into his arms and turned so that her back was braced against the wall as he thrust into her.
He pushed himself all the way inside her and then rested his head on her shoulder. He took several deep breaths, but her fingers moving up and down his spine and then lower to cup his buttocks urged him on.
“Take me,” she said, whispering the words directly into his ear.
He was already there, moving his hips as she lifted her legs and wrapped them around him, forcing him farther inside her. She tipped her head back, her silky blond hair sliding over his shoulders as he plunged in and out of her.
His world narrowed to just her, and he couldn’t think beyond the urge to go deeper, to take her so completely that there wouldn’t be a Lindsey and Carter when he stopped, but just one being.
He felt his orgasm at the base of his spine and cursed as he tried to slow it or stop it. But it was too late. He was too close to the edge, and she dug her heels into his thighs, arching up against him as he came inside her. Realizing she wasn’t there yet, he reached between their bodies, finding her clit and stroking it while he kept moving in and out of her body.
She felt so good. He felt her tighten around him, and she called his name as she came. He sank to the cold, tiled floor, cradling her in his arms as they fought to catch their breaths. He rubbed his hands up and down her back, and she scooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder as his blood pounded in his ears.
“Wow,” she said.
Wow. Was that good? He had a feeling as quick as he was, he might not have given his best showing, but he was tired and he’d had that feeling all day that he might never have all he wanted from her.
“That good?” he asked gruffly.
“Yeah. I had no idea... My sexual experience isn’t as diverse as yours. I mean, mission-style, lights off is my usual thing.” He would’ve laughed if he’d thought that was what she wanted from him. “We’ve had the lights on every time.”
“Yes we have. You make me feel so comfortable in my skin,” she murmured. “Other guys seemed to just...”
Jealousy shot through him. The last thing he wanted to talk about were other guys she’d been with. But he was glad she felt comfortable around him. “I’m glad I didn’t disappoint you.”
“Me, too. So what now? I invited you back here so I wouldn’t have to feel awkward and wonder if I should leave, but to be honest, I still feel weird.”
He shook his head. Lindsey was never going to react the way he thought she would. She surprised him yet again, but really that was proving to just be her way. “I’ll take that hot drink you offered, and then we can figure out what to do—or I can leave.” Turning toward her, he slowly searched her face. “What do you want?”
She hesitated, and at that moment he knew she was going to send him on his way. Disappointment churned inside him, but he kept his game face on. “Okay. Let me clean up and then I’ll head out.”
Lindsey stood. She smelled of sex and regret, he thought. But then she offered him her hand. “Silly boy. I’m not done with you yet.”
He took her hand and got to his feet, making sure his body brushed against hers. Felt her shiver, saw her lick her lips. God, was he really willing to be her boy toy? Because that was how this felt.
“A hot bath would be perfect after all that playing, but my tub is smallish. What do you say to sharing a shower?”
“I say hells to the yeah.”
“Good. That’s one of the things I meant to put on my resolutions list from last night,” she said.
“I actually have it right here,” he told her, bending to pick up his pants and pull out the card he’d shoved in there before he’d left his hotel room.
She reached out to take it from him. “I have a lot of blanks.”
“So do I,” he admitted