Just as soon as he figured out how to stand again he was going to have to peel her out of the few things that still remained on her body.
Maybe with his teeth.
Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. One he was distracted from a moment later when she crawled onto his lap again.
“Glad you enjoyed it.”
His hands were on her thighs, moving up and over the curves of her body. Tracing her hips, the dip of her waist, the rise of her chest. “No.” He shook his head. “I enjoy a beer after a long, hot day. I enjoy watching a good movie. I enjoy getting to work on my truck. That was…that was something else entirely.”
She was something else entirely.
* * *
Harper sat perched up on the breakfast bar wearing an oversized T-shirt and her panties. Liam was standing between her thighs wearing gray boxer briefs and nothing else. A spoon hovered in front of her lips, another bite of bread pudding waiting to be devoured. She opened her mouth and closed her eyes as the richness touched her tongue.
She savored it for just a second, humming around the spoon before opening her eyes. Liam’s gaze was focused on her mouth, his eyes dilated.
“Watching you eat this might be the most erotic thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
She swallowed, deliberately licking her lips. “Really? Out of everything, this is at the top of your list?”
“With you, my list runs horizontal, so everything is at the top.” He scooped up another bite of the pudding and brought the spoon to his mouth.
Hmmm, of that she had no doubt. They’d added a few more things to that list of his when they’d managed to make it to his bedroom. He’d laid her out and taken his time, running his mouth over her body for a good long while. When he’d gotten her truly mindless he’d just started the process all over again.
It was a fact that Harper wasn’t one to sleep with men she’d just met—the man in front of her an obvious exception to the rule. And contrary to her current actions, it took a lot for her to let a man into her bed. All that being said, she was no stranger to good sex.
Brad had never left her wanting for anything, and he’d most definitely been the best she’d ever had…
Until Liam.
She didn’t really understand it, either. When it came to men in general—even before being dumped by her fiancé—she didn’t get in over her head. She tested the waters of a new relationship. Dipped her toes in and waited before slowly submerging herself. She never just jumped right on in…
Until Liam.
It had been a lost cause to even attempt to keep up her defenses when she was around him. He was breaking them down left and right; case in point she’d come back that night. She’d almost chickened out. Almost hadn’t come over. But she kept telling herself she had nothing to lose with spending another evening with him.
For the first time in three months she could see a light at the end of the very dark tunnel she’d been traveling down. And the thought of what she was leaving behind wasn’t nearly as debilitating as it had been.
She was barely aware of her mouth opening, didn’t know what possessed her to start speaking, but the words were out before she even knew it. “I was supposed to get married this weekend.”
Liam froze, the spoon in midair as it made its descent toward the bowl of pudding. “You…you were?”
She nodded, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth and chewing on it. You can’t go back now. You’ve already opened your mouth. Good job.
“What happened?” He dropped the spoon in the dish before he reached up to her mouth, pulling her lip from her teeth with his thumb. His other hand moved from her thigh, to her hip, and around to her lower back. Turned out her body craved the firm, steady weight of his palm.
“He left. Called it off three months ago.”
He nodded, cradling her jaw in his hand, his thumb brushing across her cheek. “So you came here to…”
“Get away from it all. I live in a very small town. Pretty much everyone knows. The looks of pity everywhere I went were getting to be a little much, and I just didn’t want to deal with it. Not this weekend.”
“I get that. So you came here to spend it with your aunt?”
“Yeah.”
“And then ended up spending it with me.” His eyes didn’t leave hers as his hand moved from her jaw, running down her neck and tugging her shirt down to reveal the very top of her breasts. He traced the swells with his fingertips before he palmed the full weight of one, his thumb rasping over her nipple through the material.
“Yeah,” she repeated, now more than slightly breathless.
He leaned forward, pressing his lips to the side of her neck. “Your ex is a moron.”
She laughed, a different kind of warm settling in her belly and mixing with the heat that was the constant result of his hands on her body. “Really? You’ve known me for all of about twenty-six hours.”
He pulled his mouth from her throat and looked at her, shaking his head. “I could’ve told you that after twenty-six seconds. I’m sorry you had to go through that, I really am, but all I can think is, thank God he was an idiot. Because if you’d married him, you wouldn’t be right here.” He leaned forward, pressing his mouth to hers. “Right now.” Another quick touch of his mouth that was just a little more than a taste of his lips. “With me.”
Well, damn.
“How is it that I just had you and I already want you again?” he whispered, sounding more than a little baffled.
“I don’t know. But you should go with it.”
“Yes, ma’am.” This time when his mouth touched hers he didn’t pull away, his tongue finding hers as he tilted his head and deepened the kiss.
His hands were at her hips, pulling her from the counter as her legs wrapped around his waist. He was carrying her through the house again, his mouth not leaving hers as he navigated around the furniture and made his way to the bedroom.
The second she was on her back the weight of his body disappeared. The drawer of his nightstand was pulled open and then slammed shut. She sat up, pulling the shirt over her head while he lost his boxers and put on the condom. He knelt on the bed, hooking his fingers in the lace at her sides and dragging her panties down her legs.
And then he was pushing her back onto the mattress, climbing up her body and trailing kisses across her skin.
“Slow,” he said as he settled between her thighs. “I want to take my time. Need to take my time.”
“Yes,” she whispered breathlessly; it was the only thing she could manage to say. Slow sounded glorious. Slow sounded perfect.
He placed one of his arms by her head, leveraging himself up as his knees moved out, pushing her legs farther apart. And then he was sliding inside of her and her back was arching up off the bed.
She wrapped her legs around his thighs, placing her feet flat on the mattress and giving herself just a little bit of leverage herself, moving with him.
His free hand went to her head, palming the side of her face as he leaned down and kissed her. His tongue thrust into her mouth, matching the delicious pace that their bodies were rocking together.
It was a slow build. Torturous and perfect, starting at her toes and climbing up her body with every push and pull of his hips. Her mouth fell away from his, her eyes closing as she gave way to the pleasure.
“Harper.” He whispered her name and her eyes opened again. All she could see was the green gold of his gaze, the adoration clear. Adoration for her. “Just wait.”
She wasn’t sure if she could; it was all coming to the surface. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. She couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. Couldn’t hold off the release that was building at the very core of her.
It was all too much. Too much to take. Too much to understand. And the way he was looking at her? Watching her? Seeking her pleasure with every move he made? How could she wait?