“They’re aphrodisiacs.”
“You are all the aphrodisiac I need.” He slipped his arms around her waist.
She sighed. “You’re really good for my ego.”
Despite the pounding in his blood, Liam dipped his head to take her mouth in a languid kiss. He’d dreamed of being with her for so long, he wanted to relish it.
“Liam,” she said, against his lips.
“Mmm?”
“You should unwrap your present.” She turned in his arms and presented her back.
With slow, deliberate hands, he slipped the zipper down. Through the narrow gap where he expected skin, he saw a row of laces. Intrigued, he spread the back of the dress and felt his mouth go dry. They were corset laces. Black satin ribbons running the length of her spine, from beneath her shoulder blades to her waist. The corset itself was cream-colored, with some kind of elegant black pattern woven in the fabric.
“This is the sexiest goddamned thing I’ve ever seen,” he said, aware that his voice had gone to gravel.
She looked at him over her shoulder, her eyes heavy lidded and hot. “Don’t stop there, Boy Scout. You gotta get the full effect.”
Liam ran a knuckle down her bare shoulder. “I was never a rip the paper off my presents kind of guy. I like to savor.” He dropped his head to the juncture of her shoulder and drew in her scent, something subtly floral and lemony. “Anticipate.”
Riley made a small, sexy whimper and melted back against him, sliding her hand around his nape, skimming her nails down the back of his neck in a move that made him want to growl. Her eyes drifted shut as she tipped her head to the side, a surrender that had his willpower fraying. He closed his own eyes and dug deep, looking for patience. They had time and he wanted to take it.
~*~
Riley’s skin came alive as Liam slid his work-roughened hands over her shoulders, pushing the dress down her arms, easing it past her hips to reveal the wisp of black satin that was her underwear.
He swore reverently and helped her step out of the dress. “Okay, I have to know. Were you wearing this when we went to Magnolia Heights?”
“I was.”
He knelt and unfastened her shoes. “If I’d known…”
“If you’d known?”
“I spent half that night mentally reciting weapons components to keep from being a giant walking hard-on.”
“Really?” Delighted, she turned to face him. “I spent the whole night thinking you weren’t affected at all.”
“If I’d known this was underneath, I don’t think I could’ve stopped myself from trying to seduce you.”
“I’d have probably let you.”
“I’m glad I didn’t know.”
Riley pouted a little. “Why?”
“Because that would’ve just been lust.” Liam cupped her face, stroking a thumb along her cheek. “This is more.”
Her heart trembled at the look in his eyes. Their relationship was so new, she’d meant this to be simple, fun. But it wasn’t new. Not really. And it wasn’t simple. In truth, it had never been simple.
Before she could reply, he kissed her again. She could feel him working at the knot in her laces, feel the whisper of satin against her legs as he began slowly unlacing the corset. For a moment she thought to stop him, explain how to loosen the lacing to unlatch the front because it would take forever to relace the thing correctly. But he’d said he wanted to take his time, so instead she reached between them to tug his shirt free from his pants. By the time she’d bared his glorious shoulders, he’d only made it about a third of the way up the lacings.
“Okay, seriously, how the hell did you even get in this thing?”
Riley chuckled softly. “Normally it stays laced. Just loosened.” She reached back, made a few tugs to ease the upper laces, then unlatched the steel busks.
Liam’s eyes went all but black as she shrugged out of it, standing before him in nothing but the panties. “Let me just say, that’s a glorious little piece of engineering. I’ll remember it for next time.”