“Don’t leave.”
Wade looked over his shoulder, for the first time in his life unsure what to do. “You want me to stay?”
She clutched the blanket in a white-knuckled fist. “I-I’ve been denying myself for so long, and I’m just so tired of it. I’ve let him dictate my every move, Wade.”
Knowing he should let her sleep, but unable to ignore the pleading in her voice, Wade covered the distance in two strides. He sat down on the bed, and their bodies touched. He had to grit his teeth against the need to pul the blanket away so he could be closer to her. The green fire in her eyes pul ed at something in him, something basic and primal. Even in the dark he could make out the need in those gorgeous green eyes. He fingered one of the straps on her gown and murmured, “I’ve been thinking about you al night. This nightgown . . .” He wasn’t sure how to put his thoughts into words. He sucked at poetic, romantic moments.
Her shoulders seem to slump. “It’s shapeless and blah, I know.”
“Hmm, maybe. But it’s also see-through in the right light.”
Her eyes grew round. “It is?”
He smiled, tracing the delicate line of her col arbone. “Every curve was on display for me earlier. It’s a look that’s been burned into my psyche, baby.”
She bit her lower lip and looked away. “I didn’t intend to entice you.”
Her sweet innocence made him want to hide her away from the big, bad world, even as he imagined al the wicked things he wanted to teach her. “I know. But you need to understand something, Gracie.”
“What’s that?”
“Everything you do entices me,” he admitted, his voice hoarse with emotion. “I see you walk, and my cock gets hard. You tear strips off my hide with your wicked tongue, and it’s al I can do to keep my hands to myself.”
“I’ve wanted you, too, Wade. Turning you down has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
He lowered his head until his lips brushed hers. “Then I propose we make up for lost time.” He kissed her, careful to go slow, to be gentle, but when he licked over her bottom lip and her taste hit his tongue, everything in him shifted, changed. So soft and plump and delicious. Christ, wild horses couldn’t drag him away from her now.
7
“Sweet as sunshine,” Wade whispered. He let his tongue tease the seam of her lips until final y she sighed and let him in. Mint, and the warm flavor of Gracie. Hel , a man could become an addict. He lifted his head and stared down at her. Gracie’s eyes were closed, and her tongue swiped over her bottom lip, as if reliving their kiss. When she started to lift her injured hand toward him, her eyes flew open, and he could see the pain there.
“I forgot about my wrist.”
I should not be here. “You’re in pain. I should let you get some rest, sweetheart.” He had to force the words out between clenched teeth.
She quickly looked away. “You didn’t like it.”
He didn’t have to guess at what she meant. He cupped her chin in his palm and forced her gaze back to his. “I loved it. I want more. I want al night. I’m so damn hungry for you I’m about to self combust.”
She lifted her good hand and pressed it to his chest. “Then why do you want to leave?”
“Only an asshole would try something with you right now.”
A spark of fire lit her eyes. “I know what I’m doing. You aren’t taking advantage of me. Injured or not, I would stil be lying here aching for you.”
His cock leaped with joy over the bold admission so quietly uttered. Stil , he tried one last time to do the right thing. “You’l be pissed at me in the morning, Gracie. When we come together I want you smiling the next day, not fretting over whether it was the right thing to do or not.”
She placed her palm on his chest, directly over his heart. As if she held some sort of power over him, his heartbeat accelerated. “You aren’t listening, Wade. I’ve wanted you from the moment you came into Serene Comfort. Even before you asked me out. I’ve kept my hands to myself for so long. Now, I want to know what I’ve been missing.”
Something inside Wade snapped. Hearing the ache, the desire, in her husky voice was too much. Hel , he wasn’t a damn saint. “You’re sore and bruised, sweetheart, and nothing on this earth could convince me to make that ache worse.” When she started to speak, to continue pleading her case most likely, he plowed on. “But I can give you a taste of what’s to come.”
Gracie had a sexy little smi
le on her lips, and her hair was like satin. The perfect red halo. It covered the pil ow and gave him a perfect view of her slender, delicate neck. He might wel have been a vampire in some other life because the need to taste her pulsing vein with his tongue and bite into her pale, ivory flesh there, marking her, was nearly overpowering.
Wade leaned closer and whispered, “Looking at you in this bed is turning me on right now, baby.”
“Good. That means we’re on the same page then.”