The hand at her waist slid up her back, finding bare skin beneath her top. The night was warm and as usual, she wore a tank top and the yoga pants she preferred for comfort at the end of a long day. He used the pads of his fingers to stroke long caresses over her skin while he devoured her. The more he kissed her, the more he was addicted to her taste. To her fire. He wanted more. He even needed it.
Reluctantly, he let her raise her head, both needing more air than he could give them. He kept his palm curled around her nape, his eyes looking into hers. Drowning there in her. “Baby, you know you’re not getting away from me tonight.”
“I’m not?”
That little twinge of amusement was back in her voice, and those eyes of hers were lit like twin sapphires.
“You’re not.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and reached with his other hand to find the little jeweler’s box beneath the futon mattress. “Got this for you.” He didn’t know how other men did this sort of thing, but she might as well know he was awkward when it came to expressing himself when it counted. He might think poetry, but he wasn’t about to say it out loud.
She looked at the box as if it might bite her.
“It’s not a snake, babe.”
Her gaze lifted to his. She didn’t lift the lid.
“Babe. Seriously. It isn’t going to bite you.”
“It might.” She took a deep breath and pushed the lid up. The ring was nestled in the velvet box, a glowing natural star sapphire to match her eyes, surrounded by small diamonds all set in a platinum band. Her breath caught in her throat.
Malichai found himself relaxing. She liked it. There was no question, he could see it on her face. She wanted that ring. He’d chosen the right stones and setting. He’d talked to the jeweler early in the week, looked at designs, stones and bands. He’d paid an enormous amount of money to get to the front of the line to have the ring made.
“Tell me what this is, Malichai.” She flicked him a glance and then her gaze went right back to the ring.
“You’re my fiancée. You need a ring on your finger. That’s the one. Marie got me the right size, so it should fit.”
“I’m your fiancée?”
He was beginning to get tense again. He took the box out of her hand, pulled the ring out and put it on her finger. “Yes.” He said it firmly. “Apparently everybody in San Diego and the entire state of Louisiana knows but you.”
He caught the hem of her tank and pulled it over her head. She wasn’t wearing a bra and her breasts spilled out. He took advantage, cupping them in his palms and leaning in to cover her left nipple with his mouth, pulling her breast in deep while he kneaded the right one. She was soft, full and her skin tasted of exotic strawberries. He feasted, moving his body over top of hers, pinning her under him while he used the heat of his mouth, his tongue and his teeth to devour her. He tugged and rolled her right nipple and kneaded her breast, until he heard her soft little moan and her body moved beneath his.
He kissed his way over the top curve of her breasts, leaving his mark everywhere. Scraping with his teeth, nipping, soothing with his tongue, claiming every inch of her breasts for his own. Making certain there was no mistake whose mark was on her. It was primitive, but he felt more than primal. He felt almost feral. He didn’t even care if it was the animal DNA in him or the man, his body was hard, hot and in urgent need. He wanted her more than he wanted to breathe.
Then his mouth was on her right breast and he used his teeth and tongue to drive her up, needing her wanting him with the same intensity he wanted her. He wasn’t taking any chances with rejection. Not now, not ever. She was his woman. He knew that with absolute certainty. Her hips bucked and he swept his hands down her body, stripping the yoga pants from her, taking her panties with the stretchy material down her legs. He had to give up her breasts to take them all the way off.
He’d been smart enough to be prepared, already removing his boots and not bothering with a belt. He knew he was going to seduce her any way he could. Kisses seemed to work with her, and he always lost himself when he kissed her. She took him to another world where there was feeling. Pure feeling. No demons crept in. Nothing but sheer pleasure.
He kissed his way down the valley between her breasts so he could nibble on the underside curves, leaving his mark there as well. He explored her rib cage, taking his time, easily pinning her smaller body beneath his so he could find every inch of her with his teeth and tongue, with his mouth so he could continue to get that exotic flavor he craved. He spent time on her belly button, kissed his way down her belly to the blond curls that lay tight there like a little landing strip. He appreciated that. He made certain to find each color, the gold, the silver and platinum.