Since her bold and assertive advance hadn't worked, she opted to handle the situation by taking a more humorous approach that would undoubtedly get some kind of reaction out of him.
She tipped her head to the side and schooled her features into a mask of seriousness. "Are you gay?" she asked, even though the fierce erection straining against the fly of his jeans made his sexual orientation a non-issue. Still, the transformation in Joel-from controlled and collected to severe shock-was too comical, and she had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing out loud.
"Jesus! Of course I'm not gay!" Joel stared at her in horror, his expression appalled. "What in the hell would make you ask that?" he demanded.
Clearly, he wasn't amused by her question, but she was enjoying herself, and his response, immensely. Enough so that she decided to keep up the pretense a bit longer. "Well, you've been avoiding any kind of physical contact between the two of us, and you don't seem very interested in kissing me." She sighed, trying to sound and look dejected. "Do I just not do it for you?"
He exhaled a long, harsh breath and curled his hands into tight fists at his sides, still not allowing himself to touch her. "I've got a goddamn raging hard-on that states otherwise."
"Yeah, you do," she agreed as she stroked her palms up his jean-clad thighs until her fingers grazed that very impressive bulge. "So, since we've established that I do turn you on, what's the problem?"
"I'm trying to be chivalrous," he said through clenched teeth.
"Who asked you to be?" Certainly not her! God, she was doing everything in her power to entice him, all to no avail. "Not only does chivalry not suit that risk-taking personality of yours, but you strike me as the type of guy who has no qualms about taking what a woman offers, no questions asked. So why are you fighting what we both want so badly?"
Pale moonlight washed across his gorgeous features and gleamed off his black-as-midnight hair, making him appear every inch the rebel. But it was the candid, caring look in his eyes that captured her attention the most and made her realize just how serious this moment was to him.
"Because I don't think I can stop at just one kiss," he told her.
His words were so real and honest, they made her heart skip a beat to think he found her that irresistible. "I guess that's a risk I'll just have to take."
Smiling, she leaned toward him and nipped gently at his bottom lip, teasing him with the promise of something hotter, deeper, sweeter. "Kiss me, Joel," she breathed against the corner of his mouth while she brazenly tugged his shirt out of the waistband of his jeans so she could slip her hands beneath the warm, soft cotton material. "Touch me," she urged as she splayed her palms on his rock-hard stomach and glided them upward, aching to feel his hands on her, too. "Take me, please."
A low, untamed growl ripped from his chest, and that stubborn, unyielding control of his finally, finally, gave way to all the pent-up desire and hunger he'd been struggling against all evening long. His hands, which had been so idle before, now came up and tangled in her hair, and in the next moment he crushed his mouth to hers. Her lips parted on a gasp of surprise, and he took advantage and slid his tongue inside, reckless and demanding, sweeping every one of her senses into overload.
His response was absolutely, positively heavenly.
She'd managed to unleash his lust, and now all that alpha male aggression was spilling over into the hottest, most erotic kiss she'd ever had the pleasure of receiving. Returning the kiss with equal abandon, she wrapped her arms around his waist beneath his T-shirt and jacket, trying to get as close to him as she could.
Judging by the restless shift of his body against hers, he seemed to want the same thing. She felt the impatient tug of the scarf from around her neck as he unraveled the strip of knitted material and let it drop to the ground, revealing her neck to the chilly evening air. She shivered, then moaned in pure delight when he buried his face against her throat and warmed her skin with his breath and the hot, damp press of his lips nuzzling just beneath her jaw.
Closing her eyes, she let her head fall back to give his mouth better access, while one of his hands skimmed down her back to the base of her spine and the other gave a gentle tug to the snaps securing the front of her top. One, two, three, four… they popped open, exposing her bra and the full upper swells of flesh nearly overflowing the lace-edged cups. He lifted his head, watching as he pushed the stretchy fabric down and released one of her breasts, then the other, to his dark, avid gaze. Her nipples hardened instantly, and he saw that, too.
An involuntary sound escaped her lips, a whimper of need that Joel recognized and understood. He covered both of her bare breasts with his hands, the slight roughness of his palms abrading the sensitive tips as he gently kneaded the soft mounds of flesh. Then the lazy friction of his thumbs joined in on the action, stroking and swirling around her areolas, rasping across her nipples-gentle at first, then harder, firmer, creating a firestorm of sensation that spiraled straight down to the pit of her stomach, and lower.
She groaned, in surrender, in anticipation of feeling his mouth on her. The wanting made her weak. The waiting made her impatient. Sliding her hands into his hair, she pulled his head down and arched her back, silently begging him to take her into his mouth-and ready to strangle him if he refused.
Obviously done denying her, or himself, he licked at her stiff nipples, a wet, velvet swipe of his tongue over each tender peak. A slow, lazy lap designed to torment and tease. A soft, heated stroke that made her tremble and moan. The gentle scrape of his teeth was both sweet bliss and exquisite pain. When he finally sucked her deep into his mouth, the pleasure was so immense, her entire body shuddered and she cried out.
Her wanton response tore a groan out of him, too, and his mouth came back to hers in a desperate, needy kiss that made her mind spin. The deep, assertive stroke of his tongue echoed the decadent, erotic rhythm of hot sex. He circled his strong arms around her and pulled her close, but when that didn't seem like enough-for either of them-he skimmed his flattened palms all the way down her back to her hips. She was still straddling his thighs, but that didn't stop him from tucking his hands beneath her bottom and hauling her up onto his lap, then gently tipping her backward, until she was laying on the metal gas tank with her legs all but wrapped around his waist.
Her top gaped open, and pale moonlight painted her naked flesh and lush curves with an opalescent hue. She'd never felt more beautiful, or more desirable, than she did at that moment with Joel staring down at her, worshipping her with his reverent gaze. Soon, though, the chill of the evening washed over her, causing her to shiver.
Keeping the bike stable with his feet braced on the ground, Joel bent over her, pressing his muscled body intimately, insistently into hers with his thick erection fitting naturally in the crux of her thighs. Threading her fingers through his silky hair once again, she welcomed another deep, drugging kiss, and sighed against his lips as his hands caressed her breasts and warmed them in his palms. His mouth eventually followed, trailing a searing path from her neck to her tight, puckered nipples. With the wet heat of his tongue, he lavished each one with a generous amount of attention before kissing and nuzzling his way down to her soft belly. When he reached the low waistband of her jeans, instead of unsnapping her pants and continuing the journey, which she would have more than welcomed, he instead stopped and laid his head on her stomach.