She bit her lower lip to hold back a scream, but there was no prolonging the exquisite pressure building within her. She was too ready, too primed, and he already knew what it took to send her over the razor-sharp edge to a stunning orgasm. All she could do was grip the comforter in her fists and ride on the wave of the hot, explosive contractions pulsing through her as she came long and hard.
Cole levered his strong, muscular body over hers, but didn’t enter her as she expected him to. Instead, he feathered soft kisses across her eyelids, temples, and jaw, seemingly sensing that she needed the comfort of his gentle touch in the aftermath of such an overwhelming climax. Her trembling eventually subsided, and Cole dropped his forehead to hers, heaving a long, drawn-out sigh.
“Damn,” he muttered, and started to move off her.
Startled, she caught his arms and curled her calves over the back of his strong legs, refusing to let him go. “Cole, what’s wrong?” They’d come so far, she wasn’t going to let him retreat so easily.
“I’m sorry, Mel,” he rasped, the disappointment in his gaze clear. “I don’t have any condoms, and there’s no way in hell I’d risk getting you pregnant.”
Grateful for such a legitimate excuse, relief poured through her, and she smiled. “I have condoms.”
He frowned. “Oh?”
“They’re in my purse,” she said, playfully skimming her fingers down his spine to his buttocks. “About half a dozen of them.”
He looked horrified at the quantity she named, and she laughed, easily imagining what was going through t
hat overly protective head of his—that she’d been on the prowl tonight at Paxton’s for a man to have sex with.
“I was hoping to get lucky…with you,” she added softly, making sure he knew that there was no one else she would have considered sleeping with. “And I wanted to be prepared.”
His gaze bore into hers. “How did you know this was going to happen?”
“I didn’t. It was pure wishful thinking on my part. Well, maybe not so pure.” She laughed and stroked the hair at the nape of his neck, loving the way the silky texture slid through her fingers, a direct contrast to the hard body poised above her. “And just in case you care, you’re seriously killing the mood with your twenty questions,” she teased.
He shook his head, a rare, genuine smile softening his features as he left her to retrieve the small purse on the floor. “We really are going to have to do something about that smart mouth of yours.” Finding a handful of condoms, he set them on the nightstand by the bed and tore open one to use.
Stretching like a content cat, she watched as he sheathed himself, his movements precise and very sexy. “I’m sure you can find some way to keep this smart mouth of mine busy.”
“Oh, yeah,” he growled and moved back to the bed. He spread her thighs with his own as he eased over her and braced a forearm along the side of her head. Caressing his other hand down to her hip, he positioned her, holding her open for his possession.
Wasting no more time on foreplay, he sank into her with one hard, driving thrust. Despite being wet and ready for him, she sucked in a sharp breath and arched against his hips, overwhelmed by the uncompromising maleness stretching her, impaling her to the hilt, filling her like nothing ever had. Slick and hot and deep.
Cole stilled, the pulse beating in his throat tripling. “Oh, fuck,” he breathed as he frantically searched her gaze. “Tell me you’re not a virgin.”
“I’m not,” she reassured him, welcoming the few extra moments for her body to adjust to the size of him. “It’s just been a while for me.”
He brushed tendrils of hair off her cheek, his touch so tender, his gaze brimming with so much concern, her heart ached. “How long?”
“It was over three years ago with an old boyfriend.” She shrugged, the incident an inconsequential one compared to being with Cole. “Besides, I don’t think it’s me so much as it’s you.”
He looked taken aback. “Excuse me?”
She smiled impishly. “You’re much bigger than what I’ve had before, not that I’m complaining. I’m getting used to the size of you real quick.”
“Thank goodness, because you feel incredible, so warm and tight and I can’t wait much longer…” He flexed his hips, forcing his way deeper, and groaned at the internal friction he caused.
Wanting him to lose that precious hold on his control, she raised her knees, wrapped her legs around the back of his thighs, and urged him to move.
His nostrils flared, his blue eyes blazed, and his legendary restraint finally snapped. He began sliding within her, lithe and strong, and there was nothing sweet, slow, or gentle about his possession. His body was on fire, and he fanned the flame with every stroke, taking her just as high.
He lowered his head and captured her mouth in a hungry, greedy, tongue-tangling kiss she returned just as voraciously. Her soft breasts crushed against his chest, and keen sensation curled down to where they were joined as he pumped faster, harder, a desperate urgency to his thrusts.
She writhed and arched and moaned, her passion as wild and untamed as his. The increasing tension surging through her stole her breath, and then she was coming, unraveling from the inside out, her inner muscles clenching in small spasms around his cock. He tossed his head back, and with a low, savage groan that vibrated its way up from his chest, and one final, frenzied thrust, she felt his own release rip through him in powerful, endless waves of pleasure.
He collapsed on top of her, muscles quivering, and she held him close, heartbeat to heartbeat, while his hot, panting breath fanned her throat. She closed her eyes, savoring the moment, suspecting it would be over much too soon. Reality would eventually intrude, as would Cole’s honorable, responsible streak.
Being with Cole intimately was everything she’d dreamed it would be, and she was all too aware of the fact that he hadn’t made her any promises. Not that she expected any from a man who avoided emotional commitments with women and had tried to warn her many times not to get involved with him. Even knowing that he wasn’t the type to let a woman tie him down, a troubling thought niggled the back of her mind.