His expression slipped, falling into a category more easily defined as carnal. It was delicious as he slowly reached out to slide one hand through the loose strands at her nape, and then she had a whole different problem as his touch electrified her skin, zinging through her core with heat that weakened her knees.
He picked up on that, too, easing his other hand to her waist and pulling her into his body. It was slow and sensuous and exactly what she needed in order to acclimate before things ratcheted up a notch higher.
And that happened quickly. Before she realized it, his arm had stolen around her, engulfing her in an embrace that aligned their bodies. He was hard in all the right places and all those places were teasing hers, particularly the ones covered by shockingly small scraps of silk. The fabric toyed with her breasts in combination with the rub of his body and it was the most turned-on she’d been in a very long while.
Without taking his gaze off her face, he brushed her hair back behind her ear, his thumb lingering far longer than the simple act required. It turned into a caress and her breath caught as she read the intention in his eyes. He wanted to kiss her. But wouldn’t unless she gave him the all clear.
“Is this part of the green-card interview?” she asked breathlessly as her lungs caught up with the rest of her body, clueing in that something momentous was going on here.
“No. This is because your hair is driving me mad,” he murmured, shoving his hand deeper into the recesses of the mass, his touch sensitizing the back of her head beyond anything she’d ever imagined. “If you like, I can tell the immigration department that.”
“That’s okay. We’ll count it as part of the secret.”
And now she and Warren had secrets. That, more than anything, solidified them as a couple. The smile her comment put on his face rushed through her with heat, enlivening her blood.
“As secrets go, I like this one.”
“It’s pretty tame,” she countered with a small wrinkle of her nose. “Perhaps we should add a few more. Just to keep the authenticity factor.”
His brows lifted. “I can’t find anything wrong with that. Though now I’m insanely curious what might count as a non-tame secret in your world.”
“You should kiss me, then, and find out.”
To his credit, he didn’t blink, just leaned down and laid his lips on hers in a cautious kiss that had none of the heat she’d envisioned when she’d made such a bold statement. Her fault. He was still feeling her out, exhibiting incredible patience that nearly made her weep with gratitude. And that was the sole reason she could twist her fingers into the soft material of his T-shirt and yank.
Their bodies slammed together and, instantly, the kiss intensified. Warren groaned, his fingers nipping into her neck as he angled her head, his tongue sliding into her mouth. The first demanding lick of it between her lips electrified her and she opened automatically, drawing him in, welcoming his mastery over her man-starved senses. But she wasn’t capable of letting him have complete control and switched the angle herself, dragging him along as she deepened the contact, sliding her hands up his back to acquaint her fingertips with the spread of muscles.
That galvanized him, her enthusiasm seeming to act as permission for Warren to let go. He spun her, backing her against the railing and shoving a hard thigh between her legs to rub at the tight, sensitized spot that was already enflamed. Heat erupted in her core, shamelessly flinging her into a miasma of sensuality.
His hands roved up and down her body as he kissed her and the railing bit into her back. His erection, so prominently pressing against her pelvis, awoke something primal inside her and her back arched, raising her breasts higher against his torso. He took that as invitation, sliding a hand beneath her suit jacket and blouse to cup her bare waist.
The shock of his fingertips against her flesh tore something open inside, and all of the things she tried to keep under wraps spilled out. Desire, longing, carnal needs—they all welled up, drenching her with a flood of damp heat, engulfing her so fast that in that moment, if he’d stripped her, she would have demanded he take her right there on the terrace, hands gripping the railing as he drilled into her from behind.
That was enough to jolt her into pulling away. The kiss ended abruptly. Warren took one look at her face and stepped back, running a hand through his hair with something akin to confusion. Of course he didn’t know what to think—she’d been into it and then she wasn’t.
“Did I overstep?” he asked cautiously.
Her lips stung as she stared at him. How was she supposed to explain that she’d forgotten for a moment that she couldn’t do normal? She was wanton and shameless, and when she let a man find out how truly wicked she could be, he changed, morphing into something monstrous.