Inside, she hung their coats up and led him to the sitting room. Her heart was beating double time. She knew what she wanted, but was it what he wanted, too?

“Did you want a nightcap, or a coffee?”

Nolan only shook his head and reached for her, pulling her into his arms. “No, I only want you.”

“Then we’re in agreement,” she said softly, feeling a run of excitement deep inside. “Because I want you, too.”

She cupped his face and pulled it down to hers and kissed him with all the pent-up longing she’d harbored since their kiss on Thursday night. Instantly her body leaped to life, her nipples tightening into hard nubs and her breasts growing full and heavy. She pressed against his chest, as if that could somehow ease the aching demand, but instead it only heightened it.

Nolan’s hands splayed across her back, holding her to him as if they could be molded together forever. One hand drifted to her lower back and pulled her body more firmly against his. The hard ridge of his arousal pressed against her, sending a thrill of anticipation throughout her entire body and ending in a pulse of longing that centered at her core.

“I want to touch you,” she whispered against his mouth. “All of you.”

She tugged at his shirt, pulling it from the waistband of his trousers and pushing her hands underneath. His skin was smooth and hot, and he shuddered at her touch. Raina forced herself to draw away slightly so she could work his buttons loose. Eventually she succeeded and she pushed the fabric wide open, exposing his tanned skin. A light dusting of hair peppered his chest before narrowing in a tempting path down his abdomen and lower. She traced that line with her fingers and felt his stomach muscles contract beneath her touch.

“Raina, I—”

Whatever he’d been about to say was lost as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to one nipple, her tongue swirling around the smooth disc and teasing its tip into a taut bud. She raked her nails lightly across the other, eliciting a groan of need from deep inside him. The sound gave her a sense of power and she took her time exploring his upper body with her hands, her mouth, her tongue. When Nolan pulled her up to kiss him again, she was one hot mess of need, and when his hands drifted to the waistband of her top she didn’t hesitate to let him remove it for her.

Nolan backed her toward the couch and gently guided her down before joining her there. He held himself up on one elbow as he traced the lacy cup of her bra. His eyes looked darker than usual, his pupils almost consuming the brown of his irises, and a light flush of color stained his cheekbones.

“You are so beautiful,” he murmured before leaning down and tracing a line in the valley of her breasts with his tongue.

It was what she wanted and yet it still wasn’t enough. Raina squirmed against him, desperate to ease the insistent demand of her body. Nolan reached behind her, unsnapped the clasp of her bra and gently tugged the garment away from her before dropping it to the carpet.

For a moment Raina felt self-conscious. She had stretch marks all over her body, silvered now, but a continuing reminder of the son she’d borne. But her insecurity soon vanished as Nolan paid homage to her breasts, teasing first one tip, then the other, with his mouth and tongue. As he drew one into his mouth and suckled hard, she felt a spear of pleasure drive through her body, almost sending her over the edge. She’d never felt so responsive.

She murmured his name as he worked his way down, tracing the lines of her rib cage with his strong fingers and following each touch with a kiss, a lick, a suck of his mouth. Her nerves were screaming for more and she squirmed under his sensual assault. She’d never felt this much before. Never wanted another human being like she wanted him.

Her body felt empty, demanding to be filled, to be led to the precipice of the pleasure she knew she’d find under his touch. Nolan pulled away and she made a sound of protest, which he silenced with a swift kiss.

“Just making you more comfortable,” he said, and then he reached for her boots.

He undid first one, then the other, easing them off her feet and peeling away her stockings and tossing them to the floor to join her top and her bra. When Nolan reached for the fastening on the side of her skirt and eased the zipper down, she lifted her hips, allowing him to slide the garment off.

Dressed only in her panties, she was assailed by a sense of awkwardness and moved her hands in an attempt to cover herself. Nolan merely caught her wrists in gentle fingers and pulled her hands away.

“Don’t,” he admonished. “I meant what I said before. You’re beautiful. Every. Inch. Of you.” He punctuated his words with a kiss on her belly. Her hips. The edge of her panties.

Last visited: Page 48 of Lone Star Holiday Proposal

Lone Star Holiday Proposal - Page 48