He cupped her face, forced her to look at him.
“You are beautiful. How many times do I have to say it before you will believe me? Maybe I should show you while I’m telling you.” He lowered his hands to her waist, bent to kiss her collarbone. “You are beautiful, Carly.” He kissed the opposite collarbone. “So very beautiful.”
He bent to the tiny valley between her breasts. Her skin goose-bumped, pebbling her nipples.
His groin strained against his pants.
“You’re beautiful, Carly.”
“You don’t have to keep saying that,” she whispered, gasping a little when he kissed her puckered nipple then took it in his mouth.
“I’m going to keep saying it until you believe me.” He kissed her other nipple and showered it with attention while running his hands slowly down her sides. He lowered to kiss the tip of her sternum, her belly. “You’re beautiful, Carly Evans.”
He lowered further, dropping to his knees to stand before her as, holding her hips, he kissed her belly.
* * *
Not quite believing what they were doing, thinking she must be having another fantasy—the best one yet—Carly dug her fingers into Stone’s shoulders, whimpered as he brushed his hands over her hips, her bottom, as together they pushed off her yoga pants to let them pool at her feet.
She stepped out of them, kicked them away from where they stood, then rubbed her body against his.
Her thighs clenched at the absolute hardness pressing against her belly.
“Has anyone told you lately how beautiful you are?” he asked as he hooked his fingers into her blue cotton bikini panties to help them join her yoga pants and set about fulfilling his promise to kiss her all over.
Carly trembled, worried her legs were going to fail. She held onto his shoulders for dear life, sure if she were to let go she’d combust from the energy moving through her.
Never had she felt like this. Maybe because Tony had never shown her such complete attention, but she suspected it had more to do with Stone than just how her pleasure seemed to be his number one priority.
The man was an overachiever.
Her body tightened, arched into his touch, and she fought crying out as wave after wave of pleasure rocked her.
“Stone.” His name came out husky, sounding foreign to her own ears. Or maybe that was the sound of all those crashing waves muffling her voice?
He leaned forward, kissed the tender flesh he’d just done miraculous things to. “Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?”
“You’re crazy.”
“About you.” Then he set about proving it again.
Carly’s eyes closed and she gave up on holding in the sounds emitting from her throat.
Despite her need to hang onto him for support, her fingers refused to stay still, kneading into his shoulders, his neck, threading into his hair, only to grab hold of his shoulders and dig in deep when a heated spasm the size of a tsunami undid her insides.
Stone didn’t stop, not until she clamped her mouth closed to keep from crying out.
“Have. To. Be. Quiet,” she managed to say between gasps for breath, stroking her hands over his shoulders, loving the strength she felt there.
He stood, kissed her hard, pulled back, and stared into her eyes. “You’re beautiful, Carly.”
“Stop saying that,” she ordered, dropping her forehead against his chin to shield her eyes from his. He made her feel beautiful, made her feel so good, so unlike anything she’d ever known or imagined.
“Never,” he warned. “I’m always going to tell you how beautiful you are.”
Not always. She knew that. The day would come when Stone would move on to better things, to women who were free to love a man like him, to a woman who could give him all the things he deserved. The thought caused a painful stab in her chest, but he was touching her again and the pain vanished as quickly as it had hit.
For the moment, Stone was hers to touch, to kiss, to love.
So, she did.
* * *
His body collapsing against hers, Stone fought roaring with release, fought shouting out that Carly was beautiful.
But her mother was in the bedroom next to them, and although it was unlikely she’d awaken, Stone didn’t want to risk it.
Selfish of him, but he wanted Carly to himself tonight, to sleep with her in his arms, to wake her and make love to her again before the sun came up.
She didn’t have to work at the hospital tomorrow, but he was scheduled in the operating room at seven.
Leaving her bed wasn’t going to be easy and for the first time ever he considered taking a day off work and just spending the day with Carly.
A short-lived fantasy because he wouldn’t cancel a day’s worth of surgeries on a whim, but the idea of spending the day with Carly appealed.