“Yes, but—”
“And after the steamy sex we shared last night, I would’ve thought you’d be the last guy to blush at a few pairs of underwear.”
Christ, she was good at manipulation. Jonas hated shopping. Damn it. Come to think of it, what man enjoyed it? Still, he’d insisted that he wasn’t an oversexed playboy, hadn’t he? That he wanted to get to know her on this trip. And wasn’t this something a regular couple would do?
He was about to give in when Deanna shimmied up against him and rose on her toes. Jonas braced himself, wondering what she’d do next. “I thought you said you wanted to buy me some lingerie,” she whispered. “I was sort of hoping to have something that would always remind me of this trip.”
Right away, Jonas had an image in his head of Deanna in nothing but a lacy red thong. His dick hardened, and since the only thing he wore was a pair of flimsy black swim trunks, a hard-on was the last thing he wanted. “You’d better watch it, kitten,” he warned, “or you’re liable to find your pretty ass up against a wall.”
Deanna bit her lip and started to speak, but he slammed his mouth down onto hers, effectively cutting her off. When he lifted away, they were both breathing a little heavy and people were staring. Shit. Without saying a word, Jonas grabbed her hand and walked into the store. Deanna stayed silent, too, he noticed with no small amount of satisfaction.
As Jonas maneuvered around racks of silky teddies and satiny nightgowns, taking in the colorful array of fabrics, bits of silk, and scraps of nothing, he realized he did want to buy Deanna something. Something sexy. Something that would make her think of him every time she wore it against her soft skin. He only had to pick that perfect something. He remembered the red lace she’d worn the night before. She’d said her favorite color was red, but he knew she’d look beautiful in any color. Jonas glanced around, and his gaze caught on a walled-off section at the back of the store. Curious, he tugged her in that direction.
The back of the store was set up like a separate room that stored a collection of items with a more wicked slant and a naughtier scheme. Ah, yes, he found just what he was looking for on a hook jutting out from the back wall. It was a minuscule pair of black and red striped satin thong panties, with a matching bra. Jonas picked the set up and turned them around. He pictured Deanna wearing them and his hard-on grew to a painful length inside his trunks.
Jonas shoved them at her. “Here, try this on.”
“Uh, Jonas, they’re probably not even the right size.” She checked the tag. “Good Lord, that’s a lot of money for something so tiny.”
He looked at the bits of material and asked, “Are they the right size?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then try them on.”
“They’re expensive,” she said in a hushed voice.
“I’m buying them, remember?” When she started to protest, he stopped her with a finger to her lips. “You dragged me into this bloody store, and if you know what’s good for you, then you’ll get your cute ass into the fitting room.”
“You’re being bossy again,” she muttered as she continued to glare at him.
“I’m barely restraining myself from jumping your lovely bones.” He looked around, spotted a line of fitting rooms on the far wall, and pushed her toward them. “Go, kitten, and don’t even think of not letting me see them when you get them on.”
Deanna walked, but Jonas noticed her back was a little too rigid. She was pissed at his high-handedness, no doubt. What was it about the woman that tore away all the layers of his civility? She got to him. Turned him into a damn Neanderthal. It was friggin’ annoying.
As she moved, Jonas’s gaze unerringly went to her ass. She still wore her white one-piece bathing suit, but she’d pulled a black mesh cover-up over it. It hindered his view, but not by much. When her bottom jiggled a little, his heart kicked into overdrive. As she slipped through the curtain and disappeared, Jonas took a moment to calm down. Going at her like a deer during rut was not the way to the woman’s heart, he told himself. If he could just remember that later, once they were alone, maybe he’d be able to save a sliver of his dignity, but he wasn’t holding his breath.
When his cell phone started to vibrate, Jonas pulled it out of the pocket on his white T-shirt and checked the caller ID. Wade. Christ, he was probably checking to see if he’d turned Deanna into a mindless sex slave yet. When it vibrated again, Jonas knew he’d have to answer it or the entire cavalry would converge on them. He took a deep, fortifying breath, then flipped it open.
Deanna couldn’t figure out why she was letting Jonas have the upper hand. Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. Part of her knew exactly why she was giving in to him. It was Jonas’s lack of control around her that had caused Deanna to hold her tongue. Jonas was always so charming. Joking and flirting. Not so much today, though, and she had a feeling it was because he wanted her so badly. It helped to know she wasn’t the only one aching.
Deanna slipped her cover-up over her head, then tugged at the straps of her bathing suit. Soon she was naked. As she stared at her body in the mirror, she was shocked to see the little love bites on her breasts and belly. She turned around and saw a few on her bottom as well. The slight purplish bruises around her hips where Jonas had grasped on to her were all signs of his loss of control. And even as gentle and easy as he had been, his desire had still left its marks. Her body flushed when she realized just how thoroughly he’d made love to her. It was that thought alone that had her putting on the sexy thong and bra with total confidence.
Deanna wiggled and adjusted until she had the two pieces in place. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she wondered what Jonas would think. The shiny stripes looked good against her ivory skin tone, she thought, but would Jonas like it? Only one way to find out.
Deanna pulled the curtain aside a few inches and peeked out. Jonas quickly appeared, taking hold of the curtain and moving it out of the way. She noticed the way he used his body to block the entrance, effectively keeping the other customers from seeing her in the skimpy outfit. His gaze took a slow route over her body. Down, then up. Then he repeated the process two more times.
“Damn.” He closed his eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath before opening them again. “Turn around.”
He hadn’t said please, but Deanna obeyed all the same. As she gave Jonas her back, Deanna watched him in the mirror. His gaze appeared glued to her butt. It never wavered, and for a long time she feared he didn’t like the striped set. She was about to tell him they could skip the whole idea, but then he looked up. Their gazes met in the mirror, and Deanna felt singed by the wild, out-of-control blaze in Jonas’s eyes.
“You’re stunning,” he said finally.
Deanna felt her cheeks heat at his unabashed praise. She was about to thank him when he lowered his head and kissed her neck. She bent her head to one side to give him better access, and whimpered when he bit her. He settled his lower body against hers, and Deanna could feel the evidence of his arousal pushing into the cleft of her buttocks. He rotated his hips, rubbing himself against her while he licked at the place he’d bitten.
“Jonas,” she moaned.
He kept his hands in balled fists at his sides as he raised his head. “You need to get dressed.” Deanna nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. “If I stay here another second, I’ll be inside of you, kitten.” Without waiting for a reply, Jonas stepped back and closed the curtain, leaving Deanna utterly breathless.