“Oh, yes.”
He’d never been this intimate with a woman before-never looked into her eyes as he brought her to the edge, or asked her how something felt. Hell, if he were honest with himself, he’d never cared before. Yeah, he got a woman there-he at least gave it that much effort-but before it had been about the pure physical satisfaction of sex.
Now he wanted Angie to feel this-really feel this. To know that it was him giving her this pleasure. And the selfish part of him wanted it to be better for her than it had ever been with any other man.
The room was filled with the sounds and scent of her, the heady aroma of her desire, the feel of her undulating beneath his questing hand and fingers. It was a unique experience, and he was drunk with the pleasure of it. All he wanted to do was touch her, taste her, and make her fully his.
But first, he wanted to make her come.
He slid his thumb over the swollen nub at her center, using soft, coaxing movements to draw her closer to the edge. When she tensed, then cried out, he held her, watching her face as she climaxed.
“Ryder.” His name left her lips in a long, slow shudder. She kept her eyes open, her gaze directed at him. She gave it all to him and he’d never seen anything more beautiful than his woman coming apart for him.
He’d never felt closer to a woman before. But he wanted even more. When her trembling died down, he drew her panties off, then spread her legs, mesmerized by her utter softness, the way she glistened as she opened up to him. He drew her tank top up, dragging it over her ribs, then her breasts, revealing a matching black lacy bra. He unhooked the clasp in the center and freed her breasts.
“You’re staring.”
He slid his gaze to her face, then quirked his lips. “Yeah. You’re beautiful.”
A pink blush stained her cheeks and chest. “Thank you. So are you.” She held out her arms to him, but he took her wrists and placed them at her sides.
“Let me.”
She let out a soft, rippling sigh.
Resuming his visual feast, he focused on the plump peaches of her breasts, centered by ripe, pink nipples. They were hard, tight points peaking upward toward his waiting mouth.
Did she have any idea what just the sight of her did to him? He was tied up in knots, aching to be a part of her.
“Ryder.”
“Yeah.”
“What are you waiting for?”
“I’m just lookin’ at you, babe.”
“I can see that. You know, one of the things I love most about you is your intensity, the way you throw yourself into everything you do with full force.”
He shook his head. “Not this time.” Dammit, couldn’t she see how much he was trying to hold back for her?
“Just love me.”
He sat back on his heels, cocked his head to the side, and said, “I do love you.”
He’d never seen a more serene smile. Her eyes glistened with tears. She tilted up, reached for his face, and pulled him down on top of her. “I love you, too. Now make love to me. Hard. Passionately. Be yourself and give me all of you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He didn’t have to be told twice.
Suddenly his clothes were a hindrance. He had to pull away from her long enough to get rid of them, while she removed her tank top and bra. When they were both naked, skin to skin, he slid on top of her, savoring the feel of the length of his body along hers. But he couldn’t appreciate it for long, because the driving need to be inside her had taken over, and with one push he seated himself fully, feeling her pulse and tighten around him.
He shuddered in his next breath as he drove in harder, deeper, wanting to push himself fully inside her. She surrounded him with wet heat, her hands moving skillfully over his back with soft, gentle movements.
She was killing him from the inside out, looking up at him with liquid pools of green and gold eyes, completely open to him. He dug his fingers into her hair and pulled her face to his, kissing her as deeply as he moved within her.
It was like a fierce battle, an internal war waged with the dark side of him and this newly found emotional side that was new and raw. One he hadn’t yet come to grips with. Part of him wanted to hold back, to do what he normally did and just go for the physical. The other side of him dove into Angie with everything he had, merging with the old Ryder. It only served to intensify his passion.
He was losing his mind, his grip on sanity, and at the core of everything he used to be and all he was about to become was Angelique. She drove him, writhing underneath him, both sweet and yet demanding him to give her all that he had.
And he was scared to death he was going to hurt her.
“Don’t stop,” she breathed against his mouth, taking his bottom lip between her teeth and tugging even as she raised her hips to take more of him. “Please, don’t stop.”
She knew. Somehow, she sensed his hesitation, this conflict of darkness and light within him, and she realized he wanted to back away from the animal need spiraling up and threatening to rear its ugly head and tear her apart.
But he couldn’t stop it now. She’d given him the green light and he was going to go for it. He grabbed hold of her hair with one hand, jerking her head back so the creamy column of her throat was open to him. He licked his way along her neck, feeling her shudder underneath him, feeling her walls clench around his cock, which only served to drive him even more into the darkness.
He slid the other hand underneath her, gripping her buttocks and drawing her closer so he could rock inside her, against her. She splintered, crying out as she climaxed, her body trembling, racking with spasms both inside and out.
Now he couldn’t hold back. He dug his fingers into her and buried his face in her neck as he came apart, pouring himself into her, growling out her name against her skin.
Sweating, it seemed hours before oblivion became reality again, though he was sure it was only a few minutes. Angelique lay limp underneath him, her own breathing erratic.
He lifted his head to scan her face. She looked at him and her lips curled.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah.” She swept his hair off his forehead.
He rolled to the side and pulled her with him so they faced each other. “You do strange things to me.”
“Strange good or strange bad?”
“A little of both, I think. I don’t know what I’m doing when I’m in bed with you.”
She arched a brow. “Seemed to me you knew exactly what you were doing.”
He laughed. “Not what I meant. I just. . lose it with you.”
Her soft little hum made his dick quiver. “That’s not a bad thing. I like you losing it. I like losing it with you. I’ve never abandoned myself so freely with anyone before you.”
“Good to know.”
She pressed her lips to his. “It’s not a crime to lose control, Ryder.”
“I’m just not used to it.”
“I understand. You still worry about who you are, what you might do.”