“I suppose that was a poor choice of words. But do you really want to talk about my word choices now?” she asked, running her index finger down the shallow valley between his chest and navel.
“No.” He kissed his way from her cheek down her neck to her collarbone. “I fully intend to take the rest of your clothes off, lay you on that bed over there and spend the rest of today and tonight loving every inch of you.”
When he lifted his head, his gaze caught and held hers as he reached to release the button at her waist, then lowered the zipper. His smile held so much promise as he ran his index finger along the elastic waistband of her bikini panties, Karly thought she might melt right then and there.
As he began to ease her jeans and underwear over her hips and down her legs, the tantalizing abrasion of his calloused hands on her skin caused her heart to skip several beats and a delicious shiver to run through her. When she stepped out of the garments, the heated appreciation in his dark eyes took her breath away.
“Gorgeous,” he said, stepping forward to wrap his arms around her.
The feel of her breasts pressed to his hard, hair-roughened chest caused her knees to give way. But when he caught her and pulled her more fully against him, his strong arousal nestled against her soft lower belly. The feel of it made Karly’s head spin.
Without a word he led her over to the bed and pulled back the comforter. “I’ll be right back,” he said, walking over to where their discarded clothing lay on the floor.
As she watched, he picked up his jeans to get something from his wallet. When he returned, he placed a foil packet on the bedside table and stretched out on the mattress beside her.
Gathering her into his arms, he smiled. “I’m assuming you still aren’t on any kind of birth control.”
“There hasn’t been a reason for it,” she said honestly. She’d intended to talk with her doctor about it once she returned from Las Vegas, but when it seemed that their marriage had ended she hadn’t bothered.
“It’s not a problem,” he said, kissing her forehead. “It’s my job to take care of you and protect you, even if that protection is from me.”
“Thank you,” she said, touching his lean cheek. She’d been so caught up in the moment, she hadn’t given protection a second thought.
He stared at her and the look in his eyes was breathtaking before a slow smile curved his lips. He lowered his head to kiss her with a tenderness that brought tears to her eyes. No other man had ever shown her so much reverence or been as devoted to bringing her pleasure as Blake. And in that moment, she knew that no other man ever would.
When he deepened the kiss, he brought his hand up to cup her breast and tease her nipple with gentle care. Her pulse sped up as ribbons of desire coursed through every part of her and an ache began to form deep inside. A mixture of impatience and anticipation filled her as he moved his hand to caress his way down her side to her hip then her knee.
As he continued to stroke her tongue with his, he slowly moved his calloused palm along the inside of her thigh. When he touched her, it felt as if an electric current skipped over every nerve in her body and she couldn’t stop a tiny moan from escaping.
Needing to touch him as he was touching her, she moved her hands from his wide chest down his abdomen to his lean flanks. She felt him shudder against her and, encouraged by his reaction, she moved her hands lower. When she found him, she stroked his length and tested the heaviness below. He suddenly went perfectly still a moment before a deep groan rumbled up from his chest. He broke away from the kiss to take several deep breaths.
“Sweetheart, as much as I hate to say it, I think you’d better stop...and let me catch my breath,” he said haltingly. He trapped her hands in his and placed them back on his chest. “If you don’t, you’re going to be disappointed and I’m going to be real embarrassed.”
“It’s been so long,” she said, knowing that if they didn’t make love soon she was going to go out of her mind with longing. “I need you, Blake.”
“And I need you, Karly,” he said, reaching for the foil packet he’d placed on the bedside table earlier. Arranging their protection, he nudged her knees apart and rose over her. “I promise next time it won’t be as rushed.”