Standing in the Shadows (McClouds & Friends #2)(44)

He wound his hand into the hair at the nape of her neck and tilted her head back. "Would you tell me something, Erin?" he asked. "Because it's driving me crazy, not knowing."

She met his searching gaze. "What?"

"The sex you say you've had, was it with Georg Luksch?"

She wrenched out of his arms. "I never let that horrible man touch me! How could you even ask me that?"

"Don't get pissed off," he soothed. "I wouldn't blame you if you had. Nobody would. A guy who looks like that—"

"Like what?" She lunged for her suitcase, rummaging for some clothes with trembling fingers. "He looked like a gigolo! He didn't interest me in the least!" She found some cotton panties and yanked them on inside out.

"Oh, come on. He looked like a goddamn Calvin Klein ad."

"Not after you were done with him, he didn't!" He winced. "I'm sorry you had to see that. But I'm not sorry I did it."

"Whatever," she snapped. "Think what you want, Connor. I don't care. I was ravished, soiled, dishonored. I did everything there is to do with him. I am absolutely ruined. OK? Now deal with it!"

She wrenched a pair of pants out of her suitcase and sat on the bed to pull them on. Connor yanked them out of her hands, flung them away, and pushed her down onto her back. His hot, half-naked body sprawled heavily over hers. "Bullshit. Look me in the eye, Erin."

She struggled wildly against him. "Get off me!"

"Look me in the eye," he repeated. "That's all I ask."

She glared at him for a moment. "Satisfied?"

He relaxed, and nodded. "Yeah. You never let him touch you."

"Oh yeah? How do you know? Maybe I lied!"

"You can't lie to me," he said calmly. "I can read you."

"Oh! That is so arrogant! You don't know me, Connor! And you think you can look into my eyes and read my mind?" She swatted at his chest. "I can't even read my own goddamn mind!"

"I do know you," he said stubbornly. "And you never let him touch you."

She turned her face away, her throat quivering. "No," she admitted. "He wasn't my type. And he made me nervous."

He rolled off her and propped his head up on his hand. His other hand splayed possessively over the curve of her hip. "Good," he said.

"I don't see how it changes anything."

"It doesn't," he said. "But it does make me feel better. I had nightmares for months about that bastard touching you."

She sat up, startled. "You did?"

His direct, silent gaze was her answer. His hand stroked, settled into the curve of her waist, pulling her until their bodies touched again.

"So did I," she whispered. "It was bad. For a while."

He pressed tender kisses against her neck and jaw. "We were discussing, what was it? Oh, yeah. Sexual possibilities that don't include intercourse," he mused. "Now there's an interesting topic. I think we should get back to it" He plucked at the elastic of her panties and gave her a wistful look. "I liked it better when you were naked."

"That was before you made me mad," she said.

"I could make you forgive me." He covered her face with soft kisses. "Let's get those panties off you, and I'll show you what I mean."

Cold fear tightened in her belly. Face the facts, babe. One hurting puppy. Lousy lay. Bradley's boredom and frustration at how long she took, how difficult she was. She let out a nervous giggle. "Oh, I'd rather concentrate on you first. You're the one who needs to—"

"The rules are real clear," he said. "Ladies first. It's the law."

"But I'm not, ah…" She trailed off, miserable.

He gazed searchingly into her face. "I thought this was what you wanted," he said slowly. "You having second thoughts?"

"Good Lord, no! It's just that I… it's not that simple, to make me have an orgasm. I'm not… very responsive, and I don't want to bore you, and I get so anxious when I'm under pressure, which makes me tense up even more, so I was hoping we could skip that part and try some other things, and that way maybe I'll have a chance to loosen up—"

"Erin. Shhh." He cut off her anxious babbling with a kiss. When he lifted his head, she was dazed and breathless. "No pressure. And I won't get bored. I have a really long attention span. You have no idea."

"But I—"

He covered her mouth with his, and all her doubts and fears melted into a vortex of tender confusion. His lips were velvety, coaxing and insistent. His tongue flicked against hers, and he deepened the kiss, sweet and clinging, like he wanted to draw the soul from her body.

He slid his hand into her panties, his fingertips brushing over her soft thatch of hair. She pressed herself against his hand, and his fingers parted her tenderly.

"Oh, yeah. That's so beautiful," he murmured. "You're already wet and soft. There's nothing wrong with you, sweetheart. You're plenty responsive. Feel this. You're almost there, right now, and all I did was kiss you. I've barely started touching you. You were made for this. You're melting for it, like hot caramel. Feel this, put your hand right here. Feel how this beautiful clit is sticking out, all swollen and tight like it just can't wait for me to suck on it. Feel this?"