Kiersten
Wes placed the card back on the table, and his hands had a slight shake to them as he leaned his weight against the wood.
The room was silent, except for our breathing.
“You.” Wes nodded wi
thout looking at me. “Are a gift.”
It was one of those moments where I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to answer him, I wasn’t sure if he needed me to or if he was going to say more. All I knew was that I already felt the need to cry and I had no idea why!
“Historically, gifts were brought to kings in order to honor them.” Slowly, Wes moved away from the table and approached me, sinking to his knees on the floor. “People would travel all over the world, bringing their most prized possessions to place them at the feet of king they wanted to honor.”
He gripped my hands, his blue eyes flashing with determination. “It’s weird, wanting to honor the gift rather than the recipient. But here I am, on my knees, in front of the most beautiful gift I’ve ever received. If a king was placed behind you, if an entire monarchy was watching me fall to my knees, I’d still fall. I’d still lay down in front of the gift rather than the ruler, because the gift is that precious to me. More than gold, more than diamonds, more than the most expensive jewels in the world. You are more rare…” He cupped my face, brushing a kiss across my lips. “…than the rarest of jewels. I’d search the world for you. If I lost you, if you lost me, I’d never stop searching…for the gift, for you, not the King, because the treasure is you.”
Tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t…. Did this happen to people? In real life? The most beautiful man I’d ever laid eyes on, one of the richest men in the world, an NFL player was on his knees in front of me telling me that I was the most precious thing in the world.
Every girl should be told her worth the way Wes was telling me of mine. In that instant, my heart soared and I experienced true security. All because he told me I was important, special…a treasure.
Sniffling, I joined him on the floor, moving closer until we were chest-to-chest, both of us on our knees. “Then you’re my gift.”
Wes’s gaze never wavered from my face.
“If there was a king behind you, an emperor, a czar, I’d still honor the gift before I honored the recipient.”
Wes’s forehead touched mine.
I reached out and touched his skin. The shirt he’d been wearing was in pieces in the other room. “Should I honor the gift now?” I asked breathlessly.
Wes’s brow furrowed as if he was confused. And then my hand moved to his belt, easily slipping it from his pants.
“Yeah.” His smile was warm, inviting. “I think—” His voice cracked. “I would like that.”
Wes’s mouth was on mine, coaxing it open with his tongue before my hands were able to move any farther. My fingertips paused on his skin, feeling his warmth, memorizing the way his every exhale responded to my touch.
“Sweetheart…” he whispered, lips grazing mine over and over again like he was nibbling and tasting rather than kissing.
“Hmm…” My hands were seriously paralyzed, as if I wanted to peel back every layer of clothing separating us, but I could only focus on one thing at a time, and right now, he was tasting me and that was all I could think about. The way his tongue pressed against the inside of my mouth, the way he kissed, it was like he was trying to make love with his mouth—before anything else ever even happened. No wonder I had fallen hard and fast for the man—he was, incredible.
“I’m going to help you take off your dress.” His mouth moved to my ear, kissing my neck and then returning to my ear to whisper, “And then…” his voice trailed off.
My heart pounded. And then? I waited, but Wes was already working with the zipper of my dress. In a swift movement, he had me pulled to my feet as my dress fell to the floor.
He stared at my silver stiletto heels and then slowly, his gaze rose from the heels to my knees, where he stopped again. I fought the urge to hide, his stare was so…hungry, so possessive. When his eyes reached the garters, he cursed softly, tore his gaze away, then cursed some more.
Wes reached out and pulled my hips towards him. “I have this really stupid, male desire to just…” He shook his head. “Damn, to just rip apart every stitch of clothing you have on. With my teeth. Then put it back on you, only so I can enjoy the feeling of my teeth grazing your skin as I rip those garters back off again. Over and over again. I doubt I’d tire of the process. Then again, it just prolongs the inevitable.”
“The inevitable?” I pressed my body against his.
“Hell.” He closed his eyes. “The inevitable, when I’m inside you.”
Inside.
The word itself caused my entire body to flare to life. Adrenaline surged through my system. “So, what are you waiting for?”
Wes chuckled. “Oh, I’m not waiting, I’m…taking a time out.”
“A time out?” I repeated. “Like in Football.”