Chapter 22

Standing in her cluttered living room, Beth instantly regrets inviting Adrian in. He looks out of place among her second-hand treasures, like a fine work of art at a garage sale. He takes a leisurely gander around her living room before stopping on her face. She shifts on her feet but refuses to look away. She finally caves and looks down at her feet.

“Do you want something to drink?” She heads out of the living room without waiting for an answer.

He follows her, eyeing her collection of antiques. He picks up a small porcelain doll and flips it in his hands a couple of times before placing it down.

She walks to the bar cart, in the far corner of the kitchen, and pours them both something from a decanter. She holds out a glass to him.

He reaches her in two steps, his eyes locked on hers like a pair of heat-seeking missiles. He takes the two glass cups from her and places them beside the sink.

“Beth,” he says in a breathy voice that runs through her spine. “You have no idea how much I want you. I need to know that you feel the same.”

Gosh. She wants him so bad. No. She needs him. Even now, when she should be guarding her heart, all she can think about is leaping into his arms and telling him to go for it.

How can he not see it?

She lifts her hands, brushing a stray strand of hair from his forehead. “But are you sure we should do this?” she asks breathlessly.

“No. I’m never sure of anything with you.”

They stare at each other, both aware that they’re on a ledge from which there’s no turning back. She wills him to make the first move and without breaking eye contact, he slides his hand behind her neck, then his fingers tangle roughly in her hair. He pulls her close but doesn’t kiss her yet. He seems to be waiting for her permission.

Lost in the storm of his eyes, she feels herself leaning forward slightly, her lips parting.

He needs no further invitation. His arm slides around her lower back, pulling her toward him as his other hand tugs her face roughly up to his, kissing her lips roughly.

Beth’s mind goes blank at the touch of his mouth on hers, only to be filled a half second later with more emotions than she even knew how to register. Shock. Happiness. And a lust so acute she feels she’d die from it. His kiss is both demanding and gentle, as though he desperately wants her to need it but was prepared to back off if she didn’t. She feels his restraint in the way he holds his body back from hers, even as she feels the command of his mouth.

Her hands lift to the front of his shirt, fingers digging in and pulling him forward. She needs him. He groans against her mouth, leaning all the way into her as an arm slides down around her waist, his palm hot and insistent against her back. His lips nudge hers apart, his tongue claiming the inside of her mouth as though every part of her was his.

He slides his hand back up her side with little finesse, across her shoulder then forces it into the tresses of her still damp hair. His fingertips flex in her hair, and a cross between a whimper and a moan catches right at the top of her throat.

“Adrian,” she whispers emphatically.

She can’t seem to get close enough, her arms winding around his neck, holding him as close as she can get him. Right now, she wants Adrian. Needs him. No matter how short-lived. Regardless of the consequences.

A little gasp escapes from her as his teeth nip her earlobe, the gasp turning into a full-on moan as his mouth opens warm and wet over the sensitive skin of her neck.

His hands slip through the opening in her robe, his palms hot on her bare waist as his breath comes in laboured pants against her neck.

She reaches for his clothes with greedy hands but fails to undo a single button. A chair scrapes the floor as Adrian backs her across the room, his mouth sealed with hers. Her hip collides with the edge of the kitchen table.

“Sorry,” he says against her lips.

“It’s okay,” she answers around his kisses.

He navigates her through the living room, either not willing or unable to pull away from her for the seconds it would take to cross the room safely. The back of her knee hits the recliner and she loses her balance, clutching his collar and tugging him with her. He catches them both, bracing an arm on the chair and locking his other arm around her waist to keep her from falling.

He helps her to her feet, his breath shaky, and gives her a desperate look. “I don’t think I can make it to the bedroom.”

She stifles a laugh, though she can’t blame him. Her apartment is like a maze of furniture thanks to Iris’s hoarding tendencies. She takes his hand, and walking backward, leads him toward her bedroom.

In her room, she shrugs off her robe and tosses it aside. Her entire body blossoms with goose bumps as the cool air flowing from her slightly-opened windows settles on her completely naked skin. He groans as his eyes darken even further, and she slowly backs toward the bed and then eases onto it.

His fingers work furiously on the buttons of his shirt as he approaches the bed. She almost tells him to stop so she can unbutton them herself, but she’s too eager to see him, to feel his heavy weight on top of her.

Adrian kicks off his shoes, and she moves to the edge of her bed, pushing up on her knees to tug the shirt from his shoulders as he bends his head to claim her mouth in another heart-stopping kiss. He pulls back only long enough to pull his undershirt up and over his head. Beth’s hands are back on him before the shirt hits the ground.

“You’re more beautiful than I imagined,” he says gruffly as his palms skim up her rib cage before framing her breasts in his hands.

“You imagined this?” she asks breathlessly as his thumbs brushed over her nipples.

“You have no idea.” He kisses her again, slow and sweet as her hands find his belt buckle, unfastening his pants before slowly easing them over his hips.

He leans back slightly, holding her gaze as he ditches his pants and socks, tossing them to the other side of the bed and standing before her only in basic black briefs that show off his body to perfection.

He grins at her, clearly amused by her blatant admiration. He gently pushes her to the bed so that she’s flat on her back, his hands on either side of her head, bracing himself over her body. He’s hovering over her, his hot, naked body mere inches from hers. His body–good God. Lean, tight, toned muscles. So many fucking muscles. Washboard abs and that perfect V pointing right down to his magnificent cock.

Beth feels dizzy with desire as he fuses their mouths once more. She wraps her arms around him, needing to get closer. When she tilts her hips up, slightly brushing her pussy against his erection, he breaks off the kiss with a harsh curse.

Her fingers slide to the band of his briefs, but his hands find her wrists, slamming them back to the bed, holding her still as he bends his head to her breast, his tongue sliding warm and teasing over her nipple. She cries out and arches up, and he licks again. His lips and tongue tease her until she’s writhing, calling his name out, begging for more. Finally, he wraps his mouth around a nipple as his teeth scraped her lightly.

She claws at his head. It’s good, so good, but she needs more. Everything.

Beth doesn’t realize she’s said it out loud until she feels him smile against her damp flesh.

His hand slips down, sliding over her stomach until he cups her warm and wet pussy.

Adrian groans as he lifts his head and looks at her. “Do you have any idea what touching you does to me? How much I’ve fantasized about touching you here?”

She shakes her head, meeting his eyes as his fingers glide over her slick flesh. He teases her clit with circling, torturous movement before his hand slides lower and he puts a finger inside her. He drops his head to her shoulder, pulling her skin between his teeth as he slides his finger in and out of her, both of them breathing more and more raggedly.

He stops abruptly and pulls back, spurring a distraught moan to slip past her lips. He reaches over to the side of the bed where he’d thrown his pants and returns with a foil wrapper between his teeth.

Beth raises a brow at him but he just gives her a smile and shrugs. She watches in rapt attention as he kneels between her thighs and slides the condom on. He pulls back, his hands braced on either side of her head, pushing his hips forward and pressing the tip of his cock against my clit.

In answer, she parts her legs wider and runs her fingers over his back.

His hips press into hers and he starts to slip inside of her. The pressure builds as he slowly, so very slowly, slides deeper. He doesn’t rush, doesn’t hurry to claim her, just takes his time. He pushes himself a little farther, then stops to kiss her until her body lets go of the tension and relaxes into him. Her eyes glaze over, overwhelmed by the intensity—not just of the deed itself, but of the feelings that pass between them. Tiny inward gasps accompany her every breath.

Her muscles relax and she lifts her legs higher to her sides, allowing him to slide in farther.

He groans. “Beth, I’ve gone as slow as I can, but I don’t think I can be gentle.”

She digs her nails a little deeper into his back, and she tilts her hips up. “I don’t want gentle. I just want you.”

That’s all he needs. He shifts slightly, then thrusts inside her, filling her so firmly, so thoroughly that she gasps.

“Fuck,” he says, his eyes closing as he breathes heavily, sweat beading on his forehead. “Fuck me.”

He isn’t gentle. He’s rough and demanding, and Beth relishes every thrust, every gasp as he pounds into her.

She wants him as deep as he can go, so she rolls her hips, pulling him all the way inside of her. They both cry out from the overwhelming sensation of his cock fully sheathed by her heat, her thighs pressing against his hips.

“Fuck, Beth, you look so perfect like this.” His eyes turn fierce and determined like he wants to make her lose control and completely turn her world on its head.

All she can do is nod, too consumed with desire to answer. She grabs his ass, her nails digging into the toned flesh. His thrusts grow quicker, and he lowers from his hands to his forearms. One arm cradling her head, fingers tangled in her hair, while the other reaches downward, moving his fingertips across her clit with the perfect pressure, the perfect rhythm.

He continues slamming into her, taking her over the edge. She squeezes her eyes closed, mouth falling open, body bowing off the bed. She screams, explodes, bursts into flames. Her body arches into his touch, her hips rocking faster with his. “Adrian… I… Oh… God…”

Her thighs quiver, her pussy tightening rhythmically around him, and her hips threatened to cramp up from the strain. A surprised cry escapes her lungs as she comes hard and fast. Her head is thrown back into the pillow, and she wraps her thighs over his, pulling him forward while he rocks into her.

His eyes squeeze shut, lips parted as he chases his own release. His hair is mussed up, sweat wetting his brow. He stares down at her breasts moving with the force of his thrusts. And when he looks up and meets her eyes, she watches him lose control. His body slams into hers again and again until he tenses, growling her name as he bucks inside her. His mouth moves in slow motion with each soft grunt, each guttural moan.

When his breathing slows, he shifts, pulling away from her enough to brush her damp hair back from her face. His thumb brushes her bottom lip.

“Let’s stay here, wrapped up in one another until the sun comes up,” she whispers into his ear, once her burning lungs have cooled enough to fill with breath.

He lifts her chin, staring into her eyes. “I know you’re not ready to hear what I’m feeling, but just know, for me, tonight was everything.”

She closes her eyes, letting his words wash over her and wishing this moment would last forever.