Shifting his hand fully between her legs, he cupped her.
EIGHT
Her gasp was almost silent this time, her body rising in a sinuous curve. Tempted beyond measure, he leaned in to steal another kiss. “The same way you do it to me.” She was so damp and hot under his palm that it was all he could do not to tear off her panties and slide his fingers into liquid-soft flesh.
Her hands tugged at his T-shirt. “Off.”
He considered it. “I’ll have to move my hand.” And he didn’t want to.
Ria’s lips parted. “Your eyes have gone leopard.”
“I can smell you, all slick and luscious and ready.” He pressed the heel of his hand against the enticement of her, teasing, playing, caressing.
Her eyes fluttered closed. “Emmett”—a husky order—“if you don’t get that T-shirt off, I’m not going to be responsible for my actions.”
Moving his hand with reluctance, he pulled off the T-shirt, then got rid of the rest of his clothing—he wanted no more interruptions. Ria’s eyes went wide as he came down beside her again, his hand closing over her thigh. “I want to rip off your panties.”
Those gorgeous eyes went impossibly wider. “If you promise to buy me a replacement pair.”
He froze, so aroused he could barely see straight. Burying his head against her neck, he breathed deep. It only twisted the coils more strongly around him. And those coils were soft, feminine, erotic beyond all measure. Fingers tensing, he tore off the scrap of fabric that had so tormented him.
Ria arched up and he took her mouth again, addicted to the sugar and spice taste of her. Under his fingers, she was pure feminine seduction, hot and slick with need. But he wasn’t ready to end this. Continuing to play his fingers between her legs, he licked and kissed his way down her throat, and over the satin to the hollow of her breasts. Her chest rose and fell in jagged breaths, her hand sliding through his hair.
“Emmett.” Her voice was husky, her passion unhidden.
Not yet, he told himself, and flicked his fingers over her clit, making her body jerk. When she tugged on his hair, he refused to go up. Instead, he closed his mouth over her nipple, sucking hard through the delicate satin of her gown. Her fingers clenched and unclenched convulsively, her entire body twisting as if it wanted to escape . . . and get closer at the same time.
Sensing that she was riding the fine edge of pleasure, Emmett slipped two fingers into her tight sheath, stroking her to trembling release. She bit his shoulder to muffle her cry, inciting the leopard to primal possessiveness. Petting her down from the orgasm, he moved to cover her body with his, one hand on the pillow beside her head, the other tangled in her hair as he tugged her back for an almost savage kiss.
She opened to him immediately, her arms wrapping around him. He nipped at her mouth and tore the straps of her gown, pushing down the material so he could close his hand over the sweet roundness of her breast. When he released her mouth, she pulled him back down. Growling low in his throat, he gave her what she wanted, molding her breast under his hand. She was so lush that he wanted to bite. Next time, he promised himself.
This time, his patience was at its limit.
Nudging apart her thighs, he nipped at her lower lip. “Put those pretty legs around my waist, mink.”
An exquisite slide of soft feminine flesh as she gave him what he wanted. Then she gave him more, pressing her lips to his throat, nibbling on him with delicate possession as he fought not to thrust inside her in a single hard push. Shuddering, he ran one hand down her back to tilt her at just the right angle.
And then he was sliding in, the liquid heat of her almost scorching. Gritting his teeth, he clenched his hand on the pillow and pushed, slow and easy. “Next time,” he choked out, “I get to go fast.”
Gripping his biceps, Ria drew in a deep breath. “So long as you don’t get any bigger . . . Emmett.” The last was a moan as he buried himself to the hilt.
He didn’t move for several seconds, knowing he was a big man. But then Ria began to shift beneath him in slow rolling movements that drove him out of his mind. The leopard took control and he only just had the presence of mind to take her mouth in a kiss before he surrendered to the driving hunger to take, to mark.
Mine, he thought, mine.
A moment later, even that thought was lost.
Ria stared at the ceiling over the muscled slope of Emmett’s shoulder. He was heavy, but she didn’t mind being squashed. Not right now. Not when her body was so loose and sated, she felt like a big lazy cat herself. Which, she thought, was exactly what Emmett was acting like. He sprawled over her . . . inside her.
Her cheeks heated. How could she still be shy after what they’d done? But well, she hadn’t expected him to start revving up for a second go so fast. “Fast recovery time?” she asked, not quite sure where she found the sass.
“Something like that.” It was a rumble against her throat.
She ran her fingers through his hair, smiling.
“Ria?”
“Hmm?”
“Were you a virgin?”
The question made her cheeks burn. “Technically.”
He sounded a little choked as he said, “Technically?”
“I’m twenty-two, Emmett. Just because I chose to wait for the right man doesn’t mean I wasn’t curious.” She thought she might have shocked him when he remained silent for several long minutes.
She should’ve known better.
“Where do you keep the stuff you used to satisfy your curiosity?”
Her throat dried up. “Never you mind.”
A squeeze of her hip. “Please?”
Her heart tumbled over. This man, she thought, could enslave her. “No.”
“Next time?”
“No.” She didn’t know if she could survive the eroticism.
Emmett grazed her throat with his teeth. “I’ll buy you some. And make you open them in front of me.”
Her mind overloaded. She felt her body ready itself for another ride, and dear Lord she wanted it. “Less talk, more action, pussycat.”
That got her a pinch on the butt, a low male growl, and all the action she could’ve hoped for.
Ria couldn’t meet her mother’s eyes the next morning. Not because she was ashamed—how could she possibly be ashamed of the glory of what she’d done with Emmett? The sex was one thing, but he’d been so affectionate afterward, not leaving until almost dawn. She’d felt petted and adored.
That was the reason she couldn’t meet Alex’s eyes. She was sure her mother would spot the bubbling joy in her, the certain knowledge that she was in love with a man who was almost perfect. And that almost, she thought with a frown, might yet be a big problem. She had more interviews lined up this week, and while Emmett had hinted that they were close to catching Vincent, that still left her with a bodyguard.
The phone rang as Alex was muttering about it being nine already. Since the shop opened at ten, she had plenty of time to get there, but Alex didn’t like being late. “I’ll grab it,” Amber said, having just walked into the room. “Hello? Yes, she’s here. One moment.” She held out the phone to Ria, mouthing DarkRiver Construction.
Ready to hear the bad news, Ria took the receiver, not bothering to step out of the kitchen/dining room—Alex, Amber, and Miaoling would simply follow her. “Ria speaking.”
“It’s Lucas Hunter.”
“Good morning.” Her eyes narrowed. “May I ask a question?”
A chuckle. “No. Ask Emmett.”
That was the problem, Ria thought. Emmett wouldn’t answer her questions. His protectiveness was starting to get on her nerves—even the nerves that loved the bejesus out of him. “Then what can I do for you?”