Forgetting about the light, she unbuttoned his cuffs, then reached for the button below his open shirt collar. “I want to touch those rippling abs of your again.”
He laughed. “That’s what turns you on about me? My abs?”
She grinned as she released first one button and then another. “And your pecs and your biceps and your quads and—”
“I get the idea,” he interrupted when she released the button above his belt buckle.
Running her index finger along the top of it, she lightly grazed the warm skin just below his navel with her fingernail. “I also like your flat stomach and lean flanks.”
He groaned when she slipped her finger beneath his waistband. “You’re playing with fire, darlin’.”
“You want me to stop?” she asked, glancing up at him as she tugged his shirt from his jeans.
His wicked grin warmed her all the way to her toes. “I didn’t say that.”
She unbuckled his belt and released the snap at the top of his fly. “What are you saying, cowboy?”
“For every action there’s an equal reaction.” He shuddered when she played with the tab of his zipper.
“I don’t think that’s exactly the way Newton’s law of motion goes,” she teased.
“When you get finished with your brand of torture, I’ll show you.” The promise in his dark blue eyes thrilled her.
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said, trailing her fingernail down the metal closure holding him captive.
He suddenly took a step back. “Zippers can be dangerous to a man in my condition,” he said, laughing as he eased the tab down. “I’d hate for one wrong move to ruin all of your fun.”
“Aren’t you having a good time?” she asked, loving their sexy banter.
“Oh, yeah.” He leaned close to whisper in her ear. “But I’m going to have an even better time when I get to prove what I meant about Newton’s law.”
Mariah shivered with anticipation. “I’m looking forward to it.”
When she placed her hands on his shoulders to brush his shirt away, her breath caught at the perfection of his broad chest and bulging biceps. “Your body is flawless.”
“Like I told you before, looks can be deceiving,” he said, shaking his head. Before she could ask what he meant, he shoved his jeans and boxer briefs down his legs, stepped out of them and kicked them aside. “You’ve got my engine firing on all cylinders and it’s time for me to show you what I meant about that action/reaction thing.”
As he brought his mouth down on hers, his hands came up to push her dress over her shoulders and down her arms. When it drifted to the floor around her feet, he held her gaze with his and slipped her panties over her hips and down her legs to join her dress on the floor. Once she stepped away from the pool of her clothing, Jaron unfastened her bra, tossed it aside and pulled her to his wide chest. The feel of her breasts against all those hard muscles caused her knees to wobble.
“You feel so damned good, Mariah,” he said, burying his face in her hair.
If she could have found her voice, she would have told him she felt the same way about him. But since words were beyond her capabilities, she nibbled kisses from the strong column of his neck to his collarbone then down to the thick pads of his pectoral muscles. He went completely still when she kissed one flat male nipple, then the other.
“You’re trying to...give me a heart attack...aren’t you,” he said, sounding completely out of breath.
A feeling of feminine power coursed through her at the thought that she could instill that kind of desire in him. “I need you more now than you can possibly know, Jaron.”
“I need you, too, darlin’.” He took a deep breath. “Let’s lie down while we still have the strength to get into bed.”
Once they were stretched out on his king-size bed, he pulled her to him and kissed her with a passion that caused her to feel light-headed. When he broke the caress, he brushed his lips along her cheeks, her neck and the hollow behind her ear as he gently cupped her breast in his large palm. The delicious abrasion of his calluses on her sensitive skin sent tingles of excitement spiraling all the way to her feminine core.
Needing to touch him, to bring him the same degree of pleasure, she slowly skimmed her hand over his abs and taut stomach. When she felt the crisp hair below his navel, she traced the line with her finger until she found his persistent arousal.
She had no idea what she was doing, but as she measured his length and girth, a low groan rumbled up from deep in his chest. She took it as a positive sign that he was enjoying her exploration. But as she continued to learn his body, an impatience built deep inside her and she ached for him to make them one.