Standing in the Shadows (McClouds & Friends #2)(53)

"Oh. Well. Mom's kind of… formal sometimes," Erin faltered.

Connor shot her a dubious glance. "Jesse called her Barb."

"Jesse was different," she said lamely.

"Yeah. Jesse never got busted staring at your tits." Connor pulled her closer and cupped her breast tenderly. Her nipple tightened. "I didn't blame her one bit. I'd feel the exact same way if I caught a man looking at my innocent young daughter the way I was looking at you."

"How… how were you looking at me?" she asked breathlessly.

He reached across her and flipped off the bedside lamp. "Like I wanted to throw you down onto the nearest bed and do… this."

He rolled on top of her and kissed her.



This was no good-night kiss. Connor's tongue deep thrust into her mouth. He nudged her legs apart and settled himself between them. Their dynamic had shifted since that wild scene in the shower. They had crossed over an invisible line, and there was no going back.

He reached between her thighs, bathing his fingers in the liquid pooled in her secret depths with a murmur of discovery. "Jesus," he muttered. "You're red-hot, Erin. You're ready for me right now." He guided his thick shaft to her tender opening.

She flinched as he nudged and prodded his way in and gripped his arms for ballast. "I thought you had to rest," she said breathlessly. "I thought it was a physiological necessity."

"It was," he said. "I rested."

He loomed over her in the darkness, overwhelming her. He'd used her body so hard, but with such terrifying skill. She would never have dreamed that anything so rough could give her pleasure. She was the one who had seduced him, she reminded herself. She had torn their barriers down, and there was no restoring them now.

"Is that all the rest you need?" she whispered.

"I want more of you, Erin. I want to be inside you. I'm not going to come this time, though."

She was startled. "You don't have to? I thought—"

"Nah." He grazed her throat delicately with his teeth. "Not this time. I can make it back off if I stop and concentrate. The next time I come, I want to be shoved inside you as deep as I can get. For that, we need a condom." He withdrew, and thrust heavily back in.

"Oh," she gasped.

"But you're a girl. You don't have to economize on your orgasms," he said. "No spending limits. An invitation to excess." His hips pulsed against her, pressing and circling against her every sensitive point.

"Ah…" Her fingernails dug into the hard muscles of his shoulders. "I… um…"

"I want to feel you come again. I love it when you clench up around me and explode. I want to feast on your pleasure. Will you give me that?" He did something wickedly marvelous, a licking caress up and down her labia with the head of his penis. "Pretty please."

Her moan became a gasp when he thrust again. "But you—"

"One thing to consider, though. If I don't come, that means there's no built-in stopping point. I could f*ck you all night long. Literally." He slid inside her a couple of teasing inches, then out, swirling around her clitoris. "So it's up to you to say when you've had enough. Because I'm never going to want to stop. Get that? My job, to make you come. Your job, to tell me when we're done. And don't worry about hurting my feelings. I'm tough. That clear?"

He waited for her signal. She hesitated, sensing yet another point of no return. One out of so many. She hardly noticed them anymore.

She arched back with a sigh, offering herself to him.

He seduced her with a lazy erotic dance, feeling his way into her inner self like a cat burglar stealing into a treasure trove. Once inside, he plundered her, conquered her with pleasure. They surged and writhed together until she was shimmering, liquid, mindless. A lake full of mist and moonlight. She had no borders left at all.

Another wave was building, bigger than any that had come before. She fought it. It was too far, too much. She couldn't control her body, it moved on its own, jerking up to meet him. He was driving her into chaotic madness, his hot mouth fastened on her breasts, his strong hands caressing her, his voice muttering rough encouragement. There was no end to how far he could push her. There were no limits at all.

It frightened her. To tell him to stop would be to admit defeat, but he wasn't tired at all. He was insatiable, triumphant. She lifted her hand and cradled his hot face. "Please," she whispered.

"Please, what? Please, more? Or please, enough?" She could barely move her lips. "Please, enough." He reached over and flipped on the light. "Why?" She blinked in the sudden glare, and shook her head. "Why, enough?" he demanded. "You were right there, on the edge of a big one. I could feel it coming on. Why stop? You still scared?"

"No," she lied.

He slid his arms beneath her, gathering her tightly against him. "Then give it to me," he urged. "Just one more."

"Connor, you promised you would stop if I—"

"Give it to me, Erin," he commanded. "I want it." His voice rang with all the force of his will. It was not just her body he wanted to conquer. He was grasping for a bigger prize.

He drove her ruthlessly onward, and took what he wanted with a shout of triumph. She shattered, and flew to pieces.