He kissed her then, a slow slide of his tongue past her lips, soft and sensual. When he lifted his mouth from hers, he lingered, breath mingling with hers, teasing her with the wait of another taste.
“You know what I want?” he whispered, his breath a warm, sultry trickle against her skin.
“What?” she asked, a bit breathless.
He framed her face with his hands. “To make love to you. Nice and slow and all night long.”
Zoe absorbed the intimacy of what he said, the deep meaning. She wanted to believe they weren’t just flowery words spoken in a moment of passion. That this was more than sex. For the first time in her life, she really wanted to make love. To feel this man beyond the limits she’d placed upon herself and every other who’d ever touched her.
Yet, still, she didn’t know how to respond to the inferred question. To say yes. Make love to me. So instead of speaking, she kicked off her shoes and pushed to her feet. She stood in front of him and began undressing. He watched her, his eyes smoldering hot. His hands were on his thighs as if he had forbidden them to move. To touch.
In a few flicks of her hands and a brush of material, Zoe was naked. Exposed. He was fully dressed. It was meant as a sign of trust. A willingness to be the one without the barrier of clothing. “Make love to me,” she said softly.
A flash of passion and emotion so intense it darkened his eyes crossed his features. He pulled her to him, onto his lap. She straddled him and instantly his hands and mouth traveled. Explored. Induced ravishing charges of electric heat that felt as if they would consume her with a cloud of instant desire.
Claiming her mouth in a passionate, hungry kiss, he swallowed her moans and palmed her breasts. Then, he pinched her nipples, rolling and tweaking with a technique born of a man who knew how to please a woman. Her fingers slid through his dark hair, over his arms, enjoying the flex of muscle beneath her touch. But even as she explored the fine lines of his body, he did the same to hers. Every caress of his hand, his mouth, his body, sizzled. Every inch of her skin tingled and warmed.
She worked the buttons of his shirt, struggling to stay focused on the task as he arched his hips upward, pressing his aroused cock against her core. God, he was so hard, so ready. Urgency grew and she slid the shirt over his skin and across his shoulders. Finally, she had him partially undressed. He pulled her close, pressing her warm skin to his, her nipples settling with tantalizing perfection into the dark hair on his chest. Her lashes fluttered as his lips touched her neck, her jaw, and her ear. And when he drew back and stared up at her, his blue eyes so dark with passion they appeared black, her heart skipped a beat. For there was more than the heat of the moment in his gaze. There was true yearning. There was…love. At least that’s what it felt like. Dangerous, wonderful, love. An illusion, she knew. It couldn’t be. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Still, it sent a shiver from head to toe. It made her wish for things she thought she didn’t believe in.
Declan whispered her name and kissed her, and whatever she’d seen in his eyes, she heard in his voice. Even tasted as his tongue caressed hers. She sank into the kiss, arms sliding around his neck, savoring the seduction of the moment. After several seconds, Declan flipped her to her back, pressing his long, hard body against hers, still kissing her with deep, probing strokes. She clung to him, legs wrapping around his calves as she fought to get him closer. The need to have him inside her growing with each passing second. The absolute yearning to feel the steel hardness of his cock buried deep in her core demanded to be heard. To be acted upon.
Abruptly, Declan moved, untangling himself from her body and pushing to his feet. She wanted to argue the loss until she realized he was undressing. Leaning up on her elbows, she watched as he toed off his shoes and then shoved his pants and underwear down in one movement. And there he stood, tall, broad, and sexy, allowing her inspection. Her absorption.
His body was perfection. Head to toe muscle. Not too bulky but not too lean. Her eyes traveled from his broad shoulders to his tapered waist and defined abs…lingering. Taking her time and enjoying. But when her gaze settled on his erection, long and hard, her body sizzled. His hand circled it as if reacting to the heat of her stare.