‘I—I can’t accept such an expensive gift from you,’ she said, twisting out of his grasp. ‘It wouldn’t be right.’
He captured her hand again and closed her fingers over her palm. ‘No, Hayley,’ he said. ‘I want you to have this.’
‘Jasper … I …’ She moistened her mouth with her tongue, her heart leaping about in her chest. ‘I don’t know what to say …’
‘How about for a change you don’t say anything?’ he suggested, pulling her a little closer.
She felt the buckle of his belt against the softness of her tummy, his strong thighs like tree trunks against the shivering leaves of hers.
‘W-what are you doing?’ she asked, trying to pull back, but her efforts only succeeded in bringing her pelvis closer to his, her yielding softness against his unmistakable hardness.
‘I’m thinking about kissing you,’ he said, his dark gaze dipping to her mouth, brushing it like a feather. ‘In fact I’ve been thinking about it for days.’
‘W-why would you want to do that?’ Her voice sounded more like a squeak than her usual even tones.
‘I kind of figure we’re going to have to do it occasionally,’ he said, still looking down at her mouth, his thumbs slowly stroking the undersides of her wrists.
Hayley unconsciously ran her tongue over her dry lips. ‘D-do what?’
‘Kiss each other.’
‘But … but why?’
‘Because we’ll be married to each other and people will expect it.’
She swallowed. ‘I don’t think we should take things to that extreme … I mean a quick peck on the cheek now and again will do … won’t it?’
‘No.’
Her stomach tilted. ‘No?’
‘If we are going to convince people this is a real marriage, then we’re going to have to put in some sort of effort to get the body language between us right.’
‘I don’t think I—’
‘You can go first if it makes you feel more comfortable,’ he suggested.
‘Me?’
‘Yes. You kiss me and then I’ll kiss you.’
Hayley’s eyes flicked uncertainly to his mouth.
‘Come on, Hayley,’ he said, the whisper of his words caressing her lips as he pulled her even closer. ‘Do it. I dare you.’
She stood up on tiptoe and pressed a brief brush-like kiss to the side of his mouth. ‘There,’ she said, her breathing a little shallow and uneven. ‘I did it.’
‘Now it’s my turn.’ His hands moved from her wrists to rest on her hips, the pressure of his hold just enough to tip her forwards as his mouth came down, as if in slow motion, until finally she felt the heated imprint of his lips along the softness of hers.
When she thought about it later, she realised there was nothing that could have prepared her for the feel of his tongue stroking the seam of her lips in its determined quest for entry. Heat exploded inside her as he thrust through when her mouth opened on her little startled gasp of response, the stroke and glide of him against her tongue sending her into a heart-stopping spiral of feeling. Her stomach began to crawl with desire, her skin prickling all over with it, her whole body alive with the need to feel more of his devastating touch. His tongue swooped and dived again for hers, calling it into a sensuous dance that mimicked the most intimate of embraces, her lower body responding with liquid warmth as he pressed her even closer to his hardness. She felt the ridge of his erection against her belly, its probing force a heady reminder of how incredibly experienced he was and how vulnerable she was to the temptation of his possession.
His hands moved from her hips upwards to settle just below her breasts, not quite touching but near enough for her to feel the aching tightness of expectation in her nipples pushing against the lace of her bra. She wanted to feel the warmth of his palms on her without the barrier of her clothes. She wanted to feel his hot, moist mouth sucking on her, his tongue rolling over each nipple in turn.
She whimpered softly as he deepened the kiss even further, his hard body pulsing against hers until her legs felt as if they were going to melt beneath her. Her arms moved to encircle his waist, her hands shaping the firmness of his taut buttocks in increasing boldness. She felt his leaping response against her, the sound of his deep groan rumbling in his throat signalling she was having much the same effect on him as he was on her.
He lifted his mouth from hers, his dark eyes glittering. ‘Well, I guess that clears up that little matter, then,’ he said with a little wry smile.
‘What do you mean?’ she asked, extracting herself from his hold with cold deliberation.