“Then don’t.” She lifted her hips to meet him, drawing him in. Closing her eyes, she felt him fill her. But then he stopped, holding his body still over hers.
“More,” she demanded, wiggling beneath him.
“Honey, I don’t want this to end. Not yet.” But he did as she asked, moving within her, thrusting in slow, measured movements.
She squeezed her hands, letting him feel her nails. “Don’t hold back. Please.”
His gaze met hers and she saw the truth in his brown eyes. He was keeping a rein on his desire. He pulled back, releasing her hands, and rested on his heels. He wrapped his fingers around her leg, gently guiding her limb. “Roll over, Katie.”
She did as he asked, shifting to her belly. Gripping her hips, he guided them up, positioning her on her knees. She moved her hands beneath her shoulders, rising up on all fours.
Holding her, he slipped inside and began to move. This time, he didn’t hold back. He claimed her. He made demands, no longer with words, but with his powerful body. Her fingers dug into the blanket, holding tight as she fought to maintain the position.
She felt his hand move between her legs, sending her spiraling into a second orgasm. Over the sounds of Liam moving against her in a now frantic rhythm, she heard moans, barely registering the sounds were coming from her.
“Ah, fuck,” he growled, pushing into her one last time. His fingers never stopped, demanding that sh
e come with him. She was so close . . .
And then the orgasm swept over her, swift and fierce. Lowering her head to the bed, she squeezed her eyes shut, not trusting herself to look back at him. As much as she wanted to close them out, emotions she didn’t want or need here rode in on the waves of bliss. Being here, with Liam still inside her, felt like coming home to a man who knew her—to a man who ignited her wants and needs.
But he wasn’t part of her plans.
Chapter 13
LIAM SLOWLY OPENED his eyes, his hands still holding tight to Katie. He didn’t want to let her go, not until he saw the look in her eyes.
“Katie?”
She slipped out of his grasp, rolling over until her back lay flat against the blanket. But she didn’t move to cover herself. Her cheeks were flushed as she stared up at him. But this time, it wasn’t the look of a wide-eyed, innocent girl opening up her heart. The woman looking up at him knew what she wanted. She’d gone after it, demanding that he abandon the slow and gentle path.
He sat back on his heels, studying her, when all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and never let go. Shit, maybe this time he was the one with the love-struck look.
“You all right?” he asked.
Slowly pushing up on her elbows, she grinned at him. “What do you think?”
Before he could answer, she slid off the bed, heading for the attached bath, her every movement smooth and self-assured. “Don’t answer that. If you don’t know the answer, I think you should try again after dinner. I’ll shower while you work your magic in the kitchen.”
He chuckled, allowing her words to push against the tension. He was ready and willing to try again. He would spend all night learning what she liked, how she’d changed. After all, this was just foreplay . . .
Minutes later, after he’d pulled on his spare pair of jeans—choosing to skip the shirt and shoes—and retrieved his phone from his bag, Liam headed for the kitchen. He needed to shoot Marvin a quick text and let him know about his boat. He also had to arrange for alternate transportation, but he figured that could wait until morning.
Locating a cutting board, he removed the tofu from the fridge, opened it up, and dumped it on the plastic surface. He stared at it. When he’d grabbed the package at the store, he’d assumed he could toss it on the grill alongside his steak. But it looked like a bar of wet, crumbling soap. He didn’t have the first clue what to do with it.
Down the hall, he heard the shower turn off. His mind abandoned the tofu, choosing instead to picture Katie reaching for a towel and running it over her naked body. He wanted to join her, dry her off, and toss her back on the bed. Forget dinner. He needed a second chance to prove the explosive connection between them ran too deep to walk away from—in and out of the bedroom.
She’d blown him away when she’d said those three little words: Don’t hold back. Her fire and her passion matched his, stroke for stroke. But they couldn’t spend the night in bed. He needed to feed her, care for her, and show her that he wasn’t here just for sex.
He withdrew a knife from the block resting on the island and began slicing the tofu. He’d picked up wooden skewers to grill the vegetables. Adding squares of tofu—if it didn’t crumble to pieces first—might work.
He finished with the soaplike substance and moved on to the vegetables. As he impaled the peppers and mushrooms on the wooden sticks, his thoughts shifted back to Katie. He’d given her every reason to keep her emotions under lock and key. He should have known she wouldn’t turn to him, her expression filled with young love. She’d grown and changed. And hell, he liked the woman she’d become more and more. But he’d hoped for some sign that she felt the same pull he did.
Liam gathered the food and headed for the door leading to the grill. “I sure as hell hope she likes tofu.”
“I do.”
He glanced over his shoulder. With her wet hair framing her face, forming ringlets, Katie stood in her jeans and fitted green tank. She moved to the glass door, sliding it open.