She was done. She wanted a shower and this man. Now.
Tate looked at Linc. “Shaw asleep?”
He nodded.
Tate gestured to the baby monitor. “So is Ellie.”
Linc, not moving a muscle, just looked at her, his eyes blazing. Oh, God, was she going to have to spell it out for him? Maybe she could write Let’s Strip on the counter with pale pink icing. Tate held her breath as Linc dropped to his feet to stand so close to her that her breasts brushed his chest. He picked up a strand of her hair and twirled it between his fingers. She sighed when she saw the green icing from her hair now smeared on his fingers. “You’re a mess, Harper.”
She agreed. “I know. I’ll go shower and—”
“You’re a hot, sexy mess,” Linc murmured, ignoring her interruption. “You smell of sugar and chocolate and some perfume that drives me insane. You aren’t wearing a shred of makeup, yet your face looks like it should be on the cover of a fashion magazine.”
Linc placed his hand on her cheek, and his thumb drifted across her cheekbone. Tate gripped his strong wrist as his sexy words flowed over her, into her, heating her blood and drying up the moisture in her mouth.
Linc’s thumb moved to her mouth. “I can’t wait to touch you, taste you, to see you naked. I know that my fantasies will not match the reality.”
Tate placed her hands on his chest and sucked in a deep breath. “All I need is a quick shower,” she begged.
Linc bent his knees and in one fluid, easy movement, scooped her into his arms. Tate wrapped her arm around his neck, as she absorbed the heat from his hard, lean body. “You can shower later, sweetheart, preferably with me. I’ve waited too long for you. I’m not waiting any longer.”
“But—”
Linc ignored her protest and strode over to the couch, holding her close to him before allowing her feet to drift to the floor. “I need you, Tate. Now.”
Since she sensed that Linc rarely, if ever, used need and you in the same sentence, she just linked her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes to brush her mouth across his. She couldn’t give him what he needed, deserved, on a long-term basis, but she could give him what he needed tonight. That she could do.
“I’m here, Linc. Take me.”
Linc, smart man that he was, didn’t need any further encouragement, and he quickly pulled her shirt up and over her head. Dropping the sticky garment to the floor, Tate watched his face as he looked down at her chest, his hands moving to cup her breasts in his big, masculine hands.
“So pretty, Tate.”
To Tate’s surprise, Linc lifted his hands from her breasts to tunnel his fingers into her heavy mass of hair, and he angled her face to receive his no-holds-barred kiss. Tongues tangoed as he devoured her mouth, learning her taste, her essence, silently telling her that he wanted more.
That he wanted all that she had.
Exhilarated by his passion and his low, guttural murmurs of appreciation, Tate undid the buttons of his shirt and pushed it open so that she could explore the hot skin of his wide chest, to discover the hard muscles underneath.
So sexy, she thought, pure masculine strength. Tate’s fingers traced the ridges of his stomach and moved on to the long muscles on either side of his hips and couldn’t resist the urge to dance her fingers across the powerful erection that tented his jeans.
Oh, yeah. He felt amazing, and, judging by Linc’s sudden gasp, he liked what she was doing as much as she did. And she liked it a lot. Teasing him, Tate traced his long length with the tip of her finger.
“Tate.”
He muttered her name against her mouth, but she heard the desire and the demand in his voice. Linc’s hands skated down her back to find her bra strap which he snapped open with a minimum of fuss. The cups of her lace bra fell away, and Linc pulled the fabric off her bare breasts, revealing her hard, pink nipples to his gaze.
“Yeah, so damn pretty,” Linc breathed as his hands moved to the waistband of her leggings, pushing the fabric down her hips to reveal her tiny panties to his hot, hungry gaze.
His hands gripped and released her hips as he looked down at her, past her flat stomach, over the neat landing strip showing through the transparent fabric to her long legs.
“You are sheer perfection.”
She wasn’t, but she appreciated the words.
“You’re not too bad yourself, Ballantyne,” Tate whispered, dropping a wet, open-mouth kiss on his bare chest as she attempted to undo his belt buckle.
Linc slid his hand between her legs and cupped her, his thumb immediately finding and brushing her sensitive spot through the fabric of her thong, causing her to moan into his chest. If she didn’t get her hands on him soon...
“Help me, Linc. I need to feel you,” Tate told him, looking up as she laid her flat palm on him, wishing that she had a spell to magically make clothes evaporate.
Linc’s hand pressed hers against his erection, and she heard his ragged breathing, his low curses.
“We need to slow this down. If we don’t, I’m going to toss you onto that couch and take you, right here, right now.”
And that would be a problem? “Since that’s exactly what I want—hot, fast, furious—I’m wondering why you are waiting.”
Linc reached behind him and pulled out a strip of three condoms from the back pocket of his jeans. He ripped off a packet with his teeth and allowed the rest to fall to the floor. He dropped the packet into her hand with a wicked, tempting smile. “You said that you want to get your hands on me,” he teased.
“If you helped me with your pants, I would,” Tate retorted, opening the foil packet.
Linc lifted an amused eyebrow. “Feeling flustered, sweetheart?”
Tate looked him in the eye. “Aren’t you? We have all this raging heat, and I can’t wait to stand in the ring of fire and burn with you.”
Linc undid his belt and, using just one hand, flipped open the buttons to his jeans. He pushed his jeans and underwear down his hips, and Tate caught her breath when she saw his big erection standing straight and proud.
She flashed him a grin. “Wow. Talking about pretty...”
Linc groaned when her small hand encircled him, and nipped her jaw with his teeth. “Pretty? Try another, more manly adjective please?” he teased, laughter in his voice.
“Impressive? Masculine? Bold?” Tate rubbed her thumb lightly over the head of his shaft.
“Those will work,” Linc growled, pushing her thong over her hips. When they were completely naked, he sat down on the couch and pulled Tate onto him, so that her knees straddled his thighs.
As his hands moved between her legs she curled her hand around his long and thick erection. She didn’t want to wait. She wanted to be pushed, possessed, filled, taken to the limit. She wanted to feel as if she like belonged here, with him, just for this brief slice of time.
As Linc tested her readiness by sliding his finger into her, Tate pulled out the condom and swiftly rolled it over him, sucking in her breath as he hardened even more.
“Tate, I don’t think I can wait any longer. I need to be inside you,” Linc said, his voice rough with need. “I know it’s our first time, and I should be taking it slow but...dammit, I don’t think I can.” Not giving her time to reply, Linc hooked his big hands under her thighs and lifted her up, spreading her legs so that the head of his shaft probed her wet, feminine core. Linc’s hands on her hips gently guided her down as he thrust into her with one long, confident stroke. Tate felt herself