Stay with Me (Cowboys of Crested Butte 4)

s, and she slid them off her hips, her eyes never leaving his. She stood before him in her bra and panties, waiting.

“All your clothes, darlin’.”

When she unfastened her bra and let it drop to the floor, Jace took a deep breath.

She wrapped her fingers under the sides of her panties, shimmied them down to her knees, bent her leg, and stepped out of them. “Your turn,” she whispered.

He pulled the pearl snaps on his shirt open, and shrugged it off as he watched her climb onto the bed. Her eyes still hadn’t left his. His hands lingered at the top of his jeans, waiting to see if she’d say anything, as she had that night.

“Come to bed, Jace,” she smiled.

Those were the words he wanted to hear.

Bree closed her eyes when Jace lifted the blanket to crawl in next to her. He slipped his arms around her body and his tongue inside her mouth. Their kiss was soft at first, then it deepened, lengthened, growing more urgent.

His hand slid to her breast, cupping it, harder, until he could feel her heartbeat quicken underneath.

She moaned softly, the way she did in her sleep—a sound he loved. He felt his control slipping away; he couldn’t be gentle with her any longer. He had to take her.

“Open your eyes and look at me,” he growled.

Bree looked up at Jace, heat pulsing through her veins as she watched his eyes wander over her body. His mouth followed. The way he used it made her purr.

When Jace slid inside her, Bree felt her body imploding. Every part of her trembled as he brought her to the brink of bliss, and then eased off, only to take her back to the edge again. He did this over and over until she gripped his shoulders, digging her nails into his back.

“Please,” she begged him. “Please, Jace.”

He stopped instead and dragged his hungry gaze over her body again. “I want you to remember this moment,” he leaned down and whispered into her ear. “And who made you feel this way.”

His mouth fastened on hers, hard, and he began to move again, taking her body back to the precipice. If he stopped again, she’d flip him over and take what he was unwilling to give. This time, though, his buildup wasn’t gradual. He forced her to the brink and pushed her over with the strength of his body.

She tried to rip her mouth from his, so she could breathe, or gasp, or even scream, but he was relentless. With one hand, he held her, kissing her roughly, owning her, possessing her. As the wave of pleasure slowly rolled to a quiet stillness, she looked into his eyes. His gaze penetrated the same way his body had.

“What?” She tried to hide her face in his shoulder, but he wouldn’t let her.

“No hiding from me. Let me see it.”

“See what?” She tilted her head slightly, just not far enough that he could look into her eyes.

“The look you had on your face when you came, sweetheart. I could get used to seeing that look. I want to see it, again and again.” He lowered his lips to hers, this time softly, gently, lovingly—not with the hunger he’d had just a few minutes ago.

He ran his tongue over her bottom lip, and grazed it with his teeth. “Bree,” he murmured. “Open your eyes, darlin’. I want you to see me, and no one else.”

Would he see regret? Or sadness? Had she been thinking of Zack when their bodies were joined together? Did she imagine Zack’s hands caressing her body, instead of his?

The look on her face when she came was one he’d never forget. Or the sound of her begging him, not Zack, to bring her there. He couldn’t wait to see that look in her eyes again.

He forced himself to look, to see what her eyes said now that their passion was spent. What he saw reignited the fire in him. He whipped the pillow from beneath her head, so she lay flat on the mattress. This time she didn’t close her eyes.

Instead of letting his gaze wander as it had before, he kept his eyes on hers. Waiting, watching, wondering. When he saw her heat match his, he kissed her. Her soft moans reverberated in his mouth. Her lips were warm, willing, eager. He let his kiss linger, drawing out the exquisite feeling of being this close to her.

When her hand caressed the side of his face, he shuddered. How long had he waited to feel her hands on him?

“I want to touch you,” she said. “Everywhere.”

He groaned and rolled onto his back, letting her take her time exploring his body. Her fingertips swept from his Adam’s apple, across his shoulder, and down his arm. Her touch was so soft it almost tickled.

When she ran her lips across his sternum, he groaned again, willing himself to give her this time to explore, and not ravage her body the way he was so tempted to. He ran his fingers through her hair, weaving it so he could stop her if he needed to. And soon he would, or she would unman him.