Imaginary Lines (New York Leopards 3)

He pushed my shirt up, his fingers trailing fire, and I pulled them away. “Slow.”

“This is slow.”

“Hmph.”

His tongue slid against my lips and parted them, and he kissed the air away from me. My hands tangled in his hair, soft and fine, with just the slightest curl. Then they were frantic for the rest of him, running along his incredible arms, pushing beneath his jacket, his shirt, to touch the warm skin of his corded back. I laughed. I never knew people could actually feel like this.

As soon as my hand slipped below his shirt, his went under mine, and this time, I didn’t protest. In fact, I pressed closer, lifting one of my legs and wrapping it around him, pulling him to me. Then his hands were on my waist and they yanked me up until both my legs wrapped around him, and my arms were around his neck. I was shoved against the door, and we were melting, there on the rooftop, into each other.

“Let’s go back down.”

The word floated out of me, carried by a million minutes of hope. “Let’s.”

Chapter Seventeen

Abe’s room was all warm floorboards and shelves of books and photos mounted on the wall, but it all blurred by me until we landed on the king-sized bed. Abe had managed to keep kissing me the entire way here, and now he only drew away to shrug out of his suit jacket. My fingers went to the buttons of his shirt, sliding each one out with focused deliberation until I was able to push the fabric off his golden skin.

My mouth went dry and my hands glided over the broad muscles of his chest. I was astonished I was allowed to touch him, that for the night at least, he belonged to me.

He pulled me to my feet and ran his forefinger along my neckline. His smile was decisively possessive, but I didn’t mind as long as we possessed each other. “Did you wear this dress for me?”

I answered honestly. “I only wear red for you.”

He groaned and then he’d unzipped my gown. For a moment, it hovered between our bodies, and then I stepped back and it pooled at my feet. The cool air felt delicious against my hot skin. My entire body burned, the flame at my center curling throughout me until I was sure water on my skin would create steam.

His mouth crashed back to mine, and he dealt with my bra in short order. His lips traveled down me in a hot, sure path to my breast, his fingers moving confidently. They glided over my body, and everywhere they touched burned. When he reached the juncture at my thighs, I fell back on the bed with a gasp. He pulled aside that last scrap of cotton and lace, on his knees at the edge of the bed, and stared at me.

It was the first time I’d ever been naked in front of a guy, and I took in a deep breath, slightly nervous despite myself.

Abraham’s eyes were dark, his pulse rapid. “You’re beautiful.”

I smiled slowly. “It’s not fair. I’m naked but you’re not.”

He laughed, and like that he’d sprung to his feet and undid his belt. I watched his unabashed fascination as he unzipped his pants and pushed them off. Lounging on the bed, my lips bruised from kisses and my hair a tumbling riot of curls, I felt sensual and seductive.

His boxers followed, and my eyes widened. My smile grew even more, like the cat in the cream. I couldn’t have looked away in a million years, not from that extremely clear sign of his desire. I ached to touch him, to explore him in feel and taste.

He moved over me, his hard, long body suspended over mine. He was so large; he made me feel small and precious. And he’d never been more of a panther then he was now, powerful and sinuous. I was his pre

y, and I liked it.

His hand curved behind my neck and my head fell back as he pressed his lips to my sensitive skin. Each kiss drew heat, until it felt like a laced web ran below my skin, shooting energy back and forth until every inch tingled. I was so intensely aware of the caress of his mouth that I forgot everything else, forgot how my limbs and hands were arranged, only that I wanted them to be closer, to be everywhere. I hooked one leg around his waist. He groaned and moved against me, and exhilaration shot through me, more powerful than any drug.

There was something niggling at the back of my mind. Something I’d meant to mention, casually, in passing. I’d forgotten, but now it bubbled to the front of my mind, and since I didn’t want anything in my head, I decided to tell him. “Just so you know,” I said in a gasp, “I’ve never done this.”

He stilled. “Never?”

I smiled and moved against him. “Never.”

He sat up. “Never never?”

Now the smallest hint of embarrassment crept in, and I slowly followed him upright. “Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for.”

Now he stared at me with the strangest expression in his dark eyes. “Tamar...” He put a world into my name.

But I wouldn’t admit to it unless he spelled it out. “What?”

“Were you waiting for me?”