Actual Stop (Agent O’Connor #1)(16)

Satisfied that she intended to comply with my unspoken command, I shifted my attention to other areas of her body. If the look in her half-lidded eyes was any indication, I didn’t have much longer before her fragile control shattered. Idly I made a bet with myself about how much more she could stand and, after she finished enduring my torture, whether she just took what she wanted or begged. It was a fool’s wager. Either outcome would more than suffice.

Using the lightest touch, I ran the tips of my fingers back down her arms to her shoulders, delighting in her shiver. Her nipples stood out clearly through the fabric of her shirt, making my mouth water. I held my impulse to taste them in check and continued my teasing exploration, working my way slowly over her collarbones and down her chest to trace the contours of her breasts, deliberately avoiding those hardened peaks.

Lucia’s breathing came fast now, and she squirmed as if to force my touch where she wanted it. The desire on her face was one of the most captivating things I’d ever seen, and my heart swelled with the knowledge that I’d put it there. I wanted nothing more than to give her the pleasure she deserved.

For the briefest of instants, thoughts of Allison threatened to intrude and splinter the intimacy of the moment. I closed my eyes, took a deep, shaky breath, and willed them away. Lucia. This was all about Lucia. I opened my eyes again to see her looking at me. She smiled, and my heart fractured, leaving a pronounced ache in my chest.

“Are you going to do something with those?” Lucia’s teasing tone was slightly breathless, and I couldn’t help smiling back.

I cupped her breasts and ran my thumbs over the hardened tips of her nipples. Lucia moaned and arched her back, pressing herself into my hands. Her heart was pounding against the pads of my fingers, which kicked my own heart into overdrive.

“Tell me what you want,” I whispered roughly, nuzzling the inner curve of her breasts with my cheek. Even after all this time, I still couldn’t decide what turned me on more: her facial expressions, the little noises she made, or her spelling out for me how she wanted me to touch her.

“I want you inside me.” Her sure, immediate answer robbed me of the ability to think momentarily.

I lifted my head so I could look into her eyes. “Already?”

That small smile was still gracing her full lips. “Unless you want me to go off without you.”

I quickly took off her shirt and tossed it across the room. Her warm skin was smooth and inviting, and I wasted no more time on teasing. I bent to capture one pebbled nipple between my lips as I worked furiously on the button of her jeans. Impatient now, I moved to shove them down off her hips. I groaned in the back of my throat when I realized she wasn’t wearing any panties and nothing stood between me and the silky wet heat of her sex.

Lucia stepped out of her denims and allowed me to maneuver her onto the bed. The sight of her stretched out naked there stopped me. The need in her gaze held me captive. I couldn’t help myself. I stared.

“What?”

I blinked like someone waking from a dream and carefully lay down on the bed beside her. I reverently traced the contours of her cheek with my thumb and rested my other hand on the back of her neck. “You’re exquisite.”

Lucia looked shy for a beat before regaining her composure. “And you really are trying to kill me.”

I shook my head, allowing my hand to stray and sketch a light trail over her collarbone and down the center of her chest. “Never.”

I drew tiny circles on her abdomen before inching my way over to her hip. Lucia’s breath hitched as I caressed the crease at the top of her thigh, but I purposely avoided going any closer to her sex.

Lucia growled, her face a mask of tortured frustration. She grabbed my hand, and I relented, allowing her to force my touch to go where she needed it most. I smiled at her impatience and silently promised to pay up on the bet I’d just lost to myself.

I gasped at the silken heat that awaited me. My fingers easily slid through her folds, and I regained what little control I had over the situation by slowly exploring her length without entering her, which the insistent tilt of her hips told me she clearly wanted.

“You’re soaked,” I whispered. I closed my eyes, wanting to fully concentrate on the experience. I loved the feeling of her arousal coating my hand. Knowing she was this wet for me caused a new flood of moisture to collect between my own thighs.

When I looked up, Lucia had thrown her head back and closed her eyes. Her bottom lip was pinned between her teeth, and the tendons stood out on her neck. She nodded. “Been thinking about you all day.”

“Really?” I drew my hand through her heat again, touching her more firmly. She was so ready.

“Uh-huh. Going crazy.” Her eyelids fluttered, and she gasped before emitting a low moan as I slipped my fingers inside her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I drew my fingers out of her at an agonizingly slow pace, enjoying the furrow of her brow.

“You seemed—oh, God—upset earlier.”

I pushed back into her just as slowly and let my thumb lightly circle the place that would make her come undone, enjoying the feel of her as much as her reactions to my motions. “So?”

“Jesus, Ryan!” Lucia was quiet for a few seconds. She took a long, deep breath and lifted her hips again. One of her hands wandered up to fondle her own breast, rhythmically rolling the taut nipple between eager fingertips. My mouth went dry at the sight. I loved watching her touch herself.