She took his hand and pulled him close again. “You’re a romantic at heart, Ryan McKinley. But somehow I’d envisioned you being a little wilder than that.”
He couldn’t help smiling broadly at that.
She ran her fingers over his cheek as he rested his hands on her hips.
“You didn’t send me flowers like all the other men did.”
“See how well it worked?” he said, raising her face to his.
Her eyes were shadowed pools of blue, filled with anticipation, liquid with desire. Her lips parted, and he kissed the fullness, the softness that was all Carol, while feeling her arms go around his neck as she anchored her body against him.
“Besides,” he said, whispering the words against her lips, his hands shifting lower on her back, “I don’t follow trends.”
He reached for her waistband and slid her scrub pants down her legs, bending lower to slip them off completely, and kissing her belly down to her waistband. She pressed against the heel of her tennis shoe to remove it, but he crouched to take off that one and then the other. Then he slid his hands up her bare leg, kissing her on the inside of the knee.
She shivered.
“Cold?” he asked, rising, his hand sweeping up her thigh and touching her intimately between her legs. The only thing stopping him was her sheer silk panties, like a see-through chastity belt protecting the treasure. But not for long.
He slid the panties down her legs, pressing his mouth against the inside of her knees and pushing them apart to gain entrance. Then with her legs spread, he slipped his fingers into her wet hot cleft, and she immediately arched against him. Her body already screamed for release, the earlier unconsummated sex having been only the beginning.
“Hot,” he said, describing the way she looked and felt.
“Exquisitely hot.” She reached for his belt and struggled to unfasten it while he ran his hands up under her scrubs shirt and massaged her breasts, which were covered in the sheer silk bra without an ounce of padding. The pads of his thumbs stroked her erect nipples, and she closed her eyes, her fingers hesitating at his belt, her full lips parted in wonderment. She moaned softly and then quickly opened her eyes and jerked his belt open. After she slid his zipper down, she trailed her fingers along his rigid length, making it jump to her touch.
He pulled her scrubs top over her head, dropped it on the back of the couch, and then stared at her bra. It was better than lace or opaque material or anything else she might have worn. Her lingerie was sheer delight with her darkened nipples peaked against the fabric. He grasped her waist and licked the tantalizing peaks, first one through the silky fabric, and then the other as she speared her fingers through his hair, none too gently. Another soft moan from her lips stirred him on.
Fully aroused, he wanted her now before anything stopped him from taking her as his mate. She was playing with his buttons, so he quickly kicked off his shoes, his tongue still teasing a nipple. Then she had his shirt off and on the floor, and his trousers went the way of his shirt.
He attempted to unfasten her bra but couldn’t manage, so she grabbed for the fastener while he lifted her and carried her to the couch.
“Do you want to be on top or underneath?” he asked.
“The couch is scratchy. I have very delicate skin.”
“I’ll say.” Ryan nuzzled her soft cheek.
“Besides, I’m a take-charge kind of girl.”
He grinned broadly at that. She might think she was, but he had other plans.
Carol loved the way Ryan listened to her wants. With him, the ritual went so much deeper than mere sex. It was a commitment to cherish, to protect, to stand together forever—and forever was a very long time, given the lifespan of a werewolf.
She was ready for the commitment, to be with the man who would risk his neck for her, who embraced her psychic quirks and patiently understood her reluctance to shift. She knew he was the one for her. She only hoped she wouldn’t disappoint him as she struggled to accept the changes.
He set her next to the couch before he lay down on it. Naked, muscular, and ready, he smiled with lusty fascination. She crouched next to the sofa, brushing the light hair on his chest and moving lower, down the trail that led to his erection. The edge of her hand touched the velvet tip, already wet with anticipation and fully aroused. Now he shuddered with expectation as his erection pulsed with craving.
The smile still lit his face, although his eyes were dark with desire. She slipped her leg over his and moved until she was straddling his thigh. He placed his hands on her thighs, stroking and waiting to see what she’d do next.
She felt driven to take charge of her life. To choose Ryan for her own. For once in her life, she wanted to feel in control. Maybe not of her shape-shifting problems or her psychic abilities. But right now, she was in charge of a hunky alpha male that she’d be committed to for the rest of her life. And that felt good.
She moved her hand down his arousal, gliding over the stiff rod, memorizing the feel of every velvet ridge, and only stopping when his erection moved under her light touch. She reached her leg across his other one, spreading herself for him, her belly brushing gently against his heavy arousal.
He moaned. “Carol…” She swore that if he didn’t have such a husky, rushed voice, he might begin to beg. Begging was good.
Paused in a partial crouch, hovering over him with her hands planted on either side of his body against the soft couch, she held herself aloft, planning to sit and take hold of his sex and stroke until he was unable to stand the sheer pleasure another second. Until the back of his fingers swept up her inner thigh and she bit her lip, his touch sending a tremor of need through her. And then his fingers chafed against her thigh again, whisper soft, heating her core, and making her blood burn for him. His hand touched the short curly hairs at the juncture of her thighs and paused there.
She leaned against his hand, pressing her mound against his tormenting fingers. Her arms were giving out, so she decided to forgo stroking him and situated herself over his arousal to take the plunge. But she also wanted to draw out the experience, so she lowered herself against his hand again, stirring him into action. His fingers slipped into the wet folds, and she nearly died— a wonderfully exquisite death.
Every fiber of her being, wolf and human, craved having the alpha male. Nothing else mattered. She was beginning to move higher, to line herself up with his arousal, when his hands grasped her inner thighs, and she swallowed a gasp. He wasn’t going to let her take control.
He pulled her closer, his thumbs directed toward her woman’s core, and then reached up and began to stroke her. Her whole body felt like vanilla pudding in his hands, and she didn’t think she could stay like this for very long without collapsing on him. His smile said he knew it, too. His strokes became faster, bringing her to the edge and stirring her passion until… she felt the sun and moon collide—and she cried out at the first time she’d ever felt so wildly intoxicated, her body still quivering with the rush of adrenaline.
Ryan should have warned her that if she thought to entice him with her feminine wiles, she’d better be prepared to accept the consequences.
The smell of her sweet arousal and the way her legs straddled his, opening herself to him, were driving him mad. Holding onto his sanity, attempting control while she touched him, had to be the hardest thing he’d ever done. Hell, as soon as she climbed on top of him, leaving herself ripe for penetration? He’d wanted to take the plunge right then and there. He sighed. The little red wolf would be the death of him.
He released her thighs and reached up to take hold of her waist. She gasped as he lifted her away from him and switched places so that she was on her back, her sweetness bared to him. Alpha male on top, in control, he slid his hands up her arms, lifting them above her head so her breasts were ready again for his tongue.