He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lips softly. “It’s okay, babe. Just say what you feel. Whatever it is, I’ll accept it.”
Heavy tears fell from her eyes and his mouth kissed each one away.
“Yes, I still feel it, every cell of my body is on fire right now. I feel drunk, exhilarated, as if I’ll explode if you don’t make love to me this instant. Is that what you want to hear?”
“Only if it’s the truth,” he answered, his tongue tracing the outline of her lips. “Is that what you truly feel, deep…down…inside?”
“Oh God, yes,” she replied breathlessly.
A full smile appeared on his face. “You have no idea how happy you just made me,” he said, hugging her tightly.
She pressed her face against his chest. She could hear the heavy beat of his heart thumping beneath his rib cage. “Michael, why don’t we go inside and I’ll put an ice pack on your arm. I’m sure by now it must be really hurting.”
She stood and tugged him to his feet. He slid an arm around her waist and they proceeded slowly toward the deck. Then suddenly he stopped in the sand.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, seeing the reluctance in his face.
“Annie, I’ve got to tell you, if I go inside that house with you right now, it will take a courtroom and a judge to get me to leave it again.”
She smiled. “I’m okay with that,” she replied, squeezing his hand. They took several more steps and he stopped again.
“There’s something else I should tell you,” he said, pulling her against his body.
“What?”
“There’s a strong probability that I will attempt to make love to you once we get inside.”
Annie lightly touched his cheek with her fingers and smiled. “I think I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”
Annie tossed his leather jacket across the back of the couch and headed for the girl’s bedroom. “Why don’t you take your shirt off so I can take a look at your arm in the light,” she instructed.
“They’re both still sleeping,” she announced, returning to the kitchen. Michael stood by the kitchen sink gazing out the window with his back to her, naked to the waist. Annie raised a hand to stifle the gasp that threatened to escape her mouth at the sight of him. His hair, long and wild, hung past his shoulders and almost seemed to draw the eye down the length of his muscled back. His skin was darkly tanned and smooth with a small outcropping of fuzz at the base of his spine that peeked from above the waistband of his faded jeans. Annie’s eyes lingered there, as she remembered the soft texture of it brushing against her cheeks and lips.
At the sound of her voice, he turned around. “You know, I don’t think I ever told you how much I like what you’ve done to the house,” he commented. “The extra room you had built makes the house look so much…”
Something about her expression made him stop in mid-sentence. “Is something wrong?” he asked.
Annie nervously shook her head.
“Are you sure? Your face is all flushed.”
She tipped her head and smiled at him. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you undressed like that,” she finally said.
He laughed and took two steps closer. “Actually, it’s only been about two weeks, Annie. Remember? You came home with Jay and found me sleeping on the couch with Angel on my chest.” His arms reached for her and slid around her waist. “And, if I remember correctly, you had the same expression on your face then, as you do right now.”
She playfully slapped his bare chest. “Don’t be so full of yourself. Now, sit down and let me take a look at your arm.”
Looking like the cat that swallowed the canary, he sat with his back facing her. With nervous fingers, she pushed his hair to one side, exposing the back of his neck. Her eyes immediately settled onto the skin there. Then, without thinking, her mouth shamelessly descended upon it. The tip of her tongue tasted first, then her whole mouth, as she savored every inch of flesh, progressing from the curve of his neck to the soft spot behind his ear. She was lost in her own world and thoughts until she heard him groan his appreciation.
“That feels really good,” he sighed.
Hearing the soft purr of his voice made her freeze. “I’m sorry, I was supposed to be looking at your arm, wasn’t I?”
He reached behind and took her by the hand, gently tugging. Then he straddled her legs across his lap. His hands pressed against the small of her back, tipping her hips forward against the growing hardness in his groin. “Annie, don’t ever be sorry for touching me. I love it when you do.”
The pit of her stomach fell. A heavy pulse began to beat in the heat between her thighs. “Michael,” she gasped, squirming against his lap. “Hearing you say things like that drives me crazy.”
He smiled with smugness. “I’m glad.”
Her fingers touched his shoulder. “Want me to take a look now?”
“My shoulder feels fine but I have another ache that you might want to take a look at,” he smiled, pressing her harder against the zipper of his pants, and kissing her mouth eagerly.
“Maybe I should get an ice pack for that,” she replied with a smile. Then she slipped her hand between their bodies and squeezed him affectionately. “It might help the swelling you have.”
He tipped his head back and laughed. “Actually, I was thinking we should apply heat to it instead. Do you have anything hot enough that might relieve my ache?”
When he emphasized the word, ‘hot’, every nerve ending in her body broke into a sweat. When he took her mouth with his, he possessed it, skillfully using his tongue to devour her. It was as if he were taking something back that he had lost long ago, and it left her lightheaded and breathless. He pushed a hand between them and cupped her sex in his palm.
“Michael,” she sighed, elongating his name to the point where it sounded almost lyrical in tone. “Let’s go to bed.”
“Are you sure?”
“My God, yes. I can’t take much more of this.”
She got off his lap and took him to her room, instantly melting into his embrace. Her lips and tongue kissed wet patterns across his smooth bare chest, lingering on the dark chocolate circles of his nipples. Each sensitive spot responded quickly to her touch and rose to tiny beaded peaks to meet the warmth of her lips.
“I love the glazed expression that reflects on your face when you touch me, Annie” he whispered against her ear. “It’s a sweet mixture of innocent exploration and carnal knowledge of a place you’ve visited on many occasions before.”
“And I love the way your body reacts,” she replied, using her thumbs to rub circles over his aroused nipples.
“Can I take off your sweatshirt?” he asked.
She nodded and lifted her arms. Casually, he dropped it onto the chair beside the bed. Then his eyes fixed themselves onto her breasts, firmly encased behind the fabric of a lacy bra. He pushed his face into the deep cleavage of her chest and inhaled the purity of her scent.
“God, your breasts are so full and beautiful. I could die quite happily resting right here.”
He took each breast between his lips, kissed them through the lace, and sucked until the fabric was saturated. When he finally removed her bra, he started the same manipulations all over again on her bare skin. Annie was delirious with lust and fumbled with the button and zipper of his jeans. Gently, he pulled away.
“Not so fast, babe. You first,” he said, dropping to his knees and kissing his way down the length of her stomach. His mouth was liquid fire on her skin, setting off tiny explosions with the connection each of his kisses made on her flesh.