Southern Pleasure (Southern Heart 1)

This kiss is different than all the others. I feel this one all the way to my toes, like a bolt of lightning thrashing through my veins. I was scared as hell to ask for this, afraid that when—not if—when we cross that line and this . . . arrangement ends, we won’t ever be able to go back. Back to being Evan and McKinley, two good friends who did what they had to do to keep a little girl with her daddy. Two friends who have shared laughter, intimacy, and . . . love.

I don’t ever want to lose that.

Evan pulls us away from the door, his lips never leaving mine. I feel the soft mattress hit the back of my legs, as he climbs onto the bed, me still wrapped around him like a monkey. I pull my hands from his hair and start working on the buttons of his shirt. He sits back on his knees and rips the last two free, pulling his arms from the sleeves and tossing it across the room. Leaning down, he kisses just above the hem of my thong, a wet open-mouthed kiss before sliding off the bed and making quick work of discarding his pants. With one knee on the bed, he freezes.

“Shit,” he mumbles and looks up at me. “I don’t have a condom.”

“Oh.” I want to tell him it doesn’t matter, that I want him inside of me anyway I can get him, but I don’t. “Check the nightstand,” I say, hopeful that maybe the hotel started leaving condoms in the nightstand instead of mints on the pillow.

Evan pulls open the drawer and his eyes go wide. I watch as he pulls out a box of condoms with a note card attached. He reads the card with a look of awe on his face.

“What’s is say?”

He hands me the card.

“Holy shit!” Aaron knows how I feel about Evan, and he thought ahead. I’m sure this was hard for him, watching us get married, knowing my heart is on the line. I don’t know many older brothers who would do what he did. I’m shocked, embarrassed, and grateful all at the same time.

“One of a kind, my best friend.” Evan grins.

“Brother-in-law,” I correct him. His eyes lock on mine.

“That’s right.” He rips open the box. “Enough talk about brothers. I promised my wife I would make love to her.”

Finally!

Evan grabs a strip of condoms from the box and tosses them on the bed before throwing the box back in the nightstand. A shiver of anticipation runs through me. “You cold, babe?” He doesn’t wait for me to answer; instead, he reaches back and pulls the quilt, which was folded at the foot of the bed, over us.

I notice right away it’s not something that fits in with the décor. “Where did that come from?”

He chuckles. “My guess is my mother and grandmother. They go to Quilting Bee’s on a regular basis.”

I run my fingers over the stitching. “It’s a wedding ring quilt,” I say.

“Yeah, Mom’s made them a few times as wedding gifts growing up.”

“It’s ours,” I say, trying to fight back tears.

“It is,” he says, burying his face in my neck.

I fear he has changed his mind with all of my chatter, until I feel his lips against my skin. His tongue traces the column of my neck, and I tilt my head, allowing him better access. He hums in appreciation.

“I need you naked,” he whispers in my ear. He sits back on his knees, his hands finding my hips. “Lift.” I do as I’m told as he moves his body down the bed, my panties sliding down my legs like a magnet being pulled with him. I feel the material slide over one foot and then the other. I watch as he tosses them over his shoulder, his eyes roaming over me. Closing my eyes, I will my racing heart to slow its rhythm.

I shudder when I feel his lips against the side of my foot. I keep my eyes closed tight as he places open-mouthed kisses up my left leg. When his lips leave my skin, I take a breath, exhaling loudly when I feel them on my right leg, repeating the same slow torture.

“Evan.” My voice is pleading.

“I’m not going to rush this.” He rises above me, his eyes locked on mine. “Never thought I would be inside you, I would get to taste you, and I would be with you like this. I’m taking my fucking time.”

I have no reply for that. If I could speak, I would say hell fucking yes! However, his words have rendered me speechless.

I bury my hands back in his hair as his lips slide over my breasts. I bite back the moan that lingers at the back of my throat. His tongue works over my nipple, his teeth gently nipping as he soothes it with his tongue. His fingers pinch and roll the other, sending electric currents throughout my body like a damn on and off switch.

The room is quiet except for the sound of my rapid breaths and his lips against my skin. It’s erotic and paired with the feeling of those lips as they devour me, yeah, I’m ready for him.

“Please,” I whisper. I need more; more than what he’s given me to this point. We’ve had months of foreplay, and I’m ready for the grand finale.

He releases my breast with a pop, his eyes finding mine. “I want you, McKinley. More than anything or anyone, I want you. I want to know how it feels to slide inside of you, to feel you from the inside. I want to watch you and feel you as you come apart for me.” He leans down and kisses me, soft and slow. “I want all that, but I also want to cherish you, show you . . . I want this to be a night neither one of us will ever forget.”