She shot a look over her shoulder. “Your patio of seduction?”
“H
ardly.”
Rogen was no monk. That was for damn sure. But he’d never brought a woman here. Whether he was on his own or pairing with Vin, Rogen only ever scratched the itch with one-night stands. He didn’t engage in serious involvements, relationships, whatever. The mere notion seemed false, because he was wholly hooked on one woman.
He said, “I had the house built last year, when I made plans to come back to River Cross and run operations from the mansion.”
“But you didn’t want to live in the mansion?”
“Too many memories in that bedroom.”
She turned to face him. “Yeah,” she said in a quiet voice. “I have that problem, too.”
She stepped toward him, and her manicured nails skated over the line of buttons on his shirt, up to where he’d undone the first few. Her fingers brushed the inner swells of his pecs. It would have been a light, flirty touch, but he caught the tremble in her hand. He covered it with his. Gave a gentle squeeze.
His head dipped head and he kissed her. Softly at first. Tasting her, teasing her, tempting her.
Passion sparked instantly and Rogen let it consume them both. He raised her arm to wrap around his neck. His other hand slid to her ass and he palmed a cheek, pressing her body firmly to his.
He deepened the kiss, their tongues tangling, their breaths becoming one.
Adrenaline pumped through his veins. His cock thickened, straining against the confines of boxer briefs and his tuxedo pants.
When they finally came up for air, Jewel gazed at him with an urgency in her eyes that likely mirrored his own. She worked the buttons on his shirt, then shoved the material over his shoulders and down his arms. It dropped to the pavers.
Her hands splayed over his stomach.
“Jesus, Rogen,” she said in a husky voice, “you are so gorgeous.”
His muscles flexed beneath her touch and admiring gaze. She traced a fingertip over the ridges of his abs, then reached for the fastenings at his waist, unbuttoning, unzipping, while he toed off his shoes.
His raging pulse echoed throughout his body and his cock throbbed in wild beats. His heart pounded erratically.
God, he wanted her. More than ever before. And that was saying something, because he’d always had it bad for her.
Jewel shifted away as he divested himself of his clothing. She released the clasp at her shoulder and eased her dress downward, revealing her teardrop breasts with taut, rosy nipples. Then her stomach, her shapely hips, her long legs.
Holding Rogen spellbound.
She stepped out of the sparkly ice-blue garment and draped it over the back of a chair. Then kicked off her sandals.
Rogen hadn’t thought his dick could get any harder. He’d been wrong.
She was stunning. He was captivated.
With the crooking of her finger, she said, “Take my panties off.”
“Always willing to.”
Rogen knelt before her. He curled his fingers behind the thin strands at her hips and dragged the thong down her thighs. He leaned in close, at the apex of her legs, and inhaled the scent of her.
“Fuck, you smell good,” he told her in a rough voice. His tongue swept over her slick folds. “You taste even better.”
Her flesh quivered. Her fingers threaded through his hair. “You get me so hot.”
He glanced up at her. “What do you think you’re doing to me?”