Beast Brothers 2

I feel a little ashamed now, but I can’t deny it. “Well, yeah,” I say. “Everyone told me you were a player.”

He puts his free hand on the cabinet beside my head, crowding me, but still not touching me, except for the strand of hair, which grows shorter as his finger twists closer to my face. “Maybe I am,” he says. “But it’s you, Amber. I only want to play with you.”

I’m not sure I’m still breathing.

“It’s been you since I met you,” he continues. “I think about you. I fantasize about you. About all the things I want to do to you.”

I may not be breathing, but my heart is beating fast against my ribs. I feel dizzy with wanting him. “Is your dad at work?” I manage to say.

Aidan’s eyes grow darker still. His mouth is only an inch or so from mine. “Yeah,” he says. “Normal work day for him.”

“And you don’t have anywhere to be?”

“Band practice later,” Aidan says. “Much later. You?”

“Nothing. Schedule today free.” My words come out in short breaths.

He’s still not touching me, and I realize he’s letting me take the lead, letting me make the call. Instead of that adding to my nerves as it probably would have done a few weeks ago, knowing that he’s holding back pushes me over that final edge, and lets me know that this is right.

“Lock the door,” I say.

Chapter 32

Aidan

I turn the latch on the front door before Amber can even finish her sentence, and I’m back at her side before she’s moved an inch. Her cheeks are flushed pink and her eyes widen when I return.

I lock eyes with her and take her hand in mine. Moving slowly, I take a step back and draw her with me, but I give her plenty of time to change her mind and say no.

She’s been through a lot today; we’ve been through a lot. I’m almost glad those idiots accused her of cheating, because it got us talking again. But I don’t want to rush her into anything she’s not completely ready for. Of course, I don’t plan to rush at all.

Amber shows no hesitation. She squeezes my hand, in fact, and follows me down the hall to my room.

“Sorry the bed is a mess. I left in a hurry this morning, but the sheets are clean.”

She lets out a nervous giggle; her palm is sweaty in mine. I close the bedroom door behind us and pull her against me. With my mouth at her ear, hoping to soften the question, I say gently, “You’ve never done this before, have you?”

She stiffens slightly against me and shakes her head. I’d suspected it, I’d been fairly certain, in fact, but the confirmation of her virginity has me sharing a little of her nervousness.

But then Amber caresses my jaw and pulls my cheek against hers. “I want it to be you,” she says, and I feel something burst open inside me, a dizzying feeling, a stronger rush than I’ve ever felt, even during my best night on stage.

I pull her tighter to me, and just hold her for a long moment. “You are so special,” I say as I take in her warmth and her sweet fragrance.

She stiffens again, and I pull back to look into her eyes, which are bright but look uncertain. “About that…” she says. “I don’t want to break the mood, but I really don’t get it. All those girls … you could have anyone. Why me?”

Her question makes me ache for her. How could she have to ask this?

“You’re not like all those girls,” I say. “They see me on stage and they just want a piece of me, of whoever they think I am, whatever they’ve made up in their heads about me. You see me. You always have.”

As she searches my eyes, the little furrow on her forehead relaxes and her face brightens. “You’re right. I do see you.” She breaks into a smile. “And right now I want to see you naked.”

Her body softens against mine, and I grow rock hard.

Amber slides her hands down to the bottom of my shirt, but I move my hands to stop her. “Whoa now. One thing at a time.”

“What? Isn’t getting naked the first step in the process?”

The sexy grin on her beautiful face makes me want to tackle her and ravage her, but that’s not how this is going to go. Not today, anyway. “The first step is getting you naked,” I say.

Her arms come up to cross over her chest, as if her clothes were already off. “That’s not fair. I don’t want to be naked by myself.”

I notice her eyes flicker to my window. The blinds are drawn, tilted only enough to let in soft light. “No one can see you,” I say.

“You’ll see me.”

“That’s the point,” I say, laughing. Then I realize she’s not just joking around. I take her face in my hands and make her look at me. “Please don’t tell me you don’t like your body.”

“I don’t know. I’m nervous.”

“Amber, you’re beautiful.” She shakes her head and looks back toward the window again but I wait for her to meet my eyes. “Believe me. You caught my attention that night at the bar, and I haven’t been able to look away from you since.”

And I don’t look away. I hold her gaze until I see her eyes soften, and then I kiss her. Gently, softly, slowly, I kiss her, and I try to put everything I’m feeling into it. I’m nearly overflowing with desire, with need, and — it hits me hard all at once — with something that feels a lot like love. I try to put it all in my kiss.

Chapter 33

Amber

Aidan’s kiss burns with such intensity that any feelings of self-consciousness I had are gone. He kisses me deeply and thoroughly until I melt into him, weak with need.

His mouth travels down over my jawline and nuzzles my neck while he eases the hem of my top up. I reach down, pull my shirt over my head and toss it aside.

He kisses me again as he cups one breast, his thumb flicking over my nipple through my bra. His mouth traces the shell of my ear, then skims down to the spot where my neck and shoulder meet. His teeth close over the delicate flesh there as his fingers lightly pinch my nipple.

I gasp and arch toward him and he does it again, teeth and fingers working in tandem, and sensation arcs through me like a lightning strike. I moan and Aidan kisses the spot where his teeth had been. He sucks the flesh into his mouth while his fingers stroke the curve of my breast, then draw together over my nipple.

Even through the haze of lust, I’m hungry to touch him too. I slide my hands under his shirt, over his amazing abs, across his ribs, up to his chest. I cover his nipples with my palms, and mirror his motions, wanting him to feel the same sensations he’s causing in me. I draw my fingers together and pinch lightly.

Aidan lets out a soft growl against my neck. I push his t-shirt up further, and he obeys the unspoken command and peels it off. We kiss again, more urgently now, as his hands unhook my bra. He does it smoothly, easily, with no hesitation. This evidence of his experience would have fueled my doubts before, but now it excites me.

This is happening, finally, and everything about it seems so right. I thought I’d be nervous, but I feel like I’m exactly where I should be.

We’re still kissing as he removes my bra, then he pulls me closer and deepens the kiss. The sensation of being pressed against him, bare skin to bare skin, is amazing. My nipples immediately go tight and send sparks shooting down into my core. My arms are wrapped around him and I can’t help digging my nails into his back.

Aidan jerks under my hands, and at first I’m afraid I’ve hurt him, but before I can draw back he crushes me against him and kisses me like a starving man. His mouth is ravenous; his hands seem to be all over me at once.

I hang on, kissing him back just as ferociously. My nails dig into his muscles again but it doesn’t matter; it’s just fuel for the fire.

When we finally break off, I’m drunk on arousal, drowning in my hunger for him. I reach for the snap of his jeans but he stops me. “Not yet,” he says.

“I want you. I need you,” I say, as if he doesn’t know that and I need to explain.

He cradles my face in his hand. “I need to make it good

for you.”

I’m so impatient, nearly overwhelmed by my desire for him. “I don’t care,” I say.

“I do.” His voice is suddenly firm.

“You’re being awfully bossy.” I’m not complaining, but I am learning yet another side to this complex man.

He brings his other hand up to frame my face. There’s a hint of humor in his eyes, but something very serious running beneath it. “I will always be bossy about taking care of you.”