Awk-Weird (Ice Knights, #2)(69)

Her eyes snapped open and she looked down at him, her glasses askew on her nose, her curly hair going every which way, and a lazy smile on her lips. “When have we ever done that?”

She was right.

The die had been cast the minute he’d spotted her at that wedding. Her glasses had been smudged and had kept sliding down her nose. It had taken him a minute to realize that she hadn’t been talking to herself there on the edge of the dance floor but had been getting every single trivia question right. Then, there was the way she’d looked at him and dared him to even try to tell her no to throwing the game so the rookies wouldn’t have to foot a bar tab that would take a far bigger percentage of their bank account than it would his. He’d fallen for her the minute she’d thrown him under the bus by saying he’d given her the wrong answer.

His world had changed so hard and so fast, he hadn’t even realized it. Who the fuck believed that could happen? It certainly hadn’t been on his schedule for that day. But then Tess happened and everything changed. And now? Well, he had now, and whatever she wanted, he was going to give her.

Eventually.

First, he kissed her belly, her natural roundness soft under his lips, and then he went lower, taking his time and teasing her with every touch and taste until he was circling his tongue around her swollen, sensitive clit. She shivered in his arms, her grip on his head tightening as he lavished his attention on that one spot, tormenting her with slow pleasures that left her squirming against him, begging for more with her needy moans.

God, was there anything better than having her like this, happy, wild, totally and completely in the moment? He’d won the cup before. He’d had his dreams come true when he was drafted. He’d thrilled at hard-fought victories. This was better because it mattered more, Tess mattered more than the plans he’d made for himself, the schedules he kept, the routines he followed.

He glided the tips of two fingers along her folds as he tongued her, keeping his attention focused on her responses, learning when to go faster, slower, harder, softer. Giving her what she needed so that when he finally slid his fingers inside her, she let out a groan of pleasure and tightened around him.

“Please, Cole,” she panted. “Please.”

He didn’t answer in words—his mouth was busy—but he did so in actions, pushing her higher and closer to the edge she was so desperate to fall over. And when he sucked her clit and then lapped at it with his tongue while he brushed the sensitive bundle of nerves just inside her opening, her thighs tensed on either side of his head.

“Don’t stop,” she cried out, rocking her hips and arching her back to change the angle just the slightest bit. “That’s it.”

As if he would when she was so close, he could feel it in the tension of her body and the desperation in her voice. He rolled his thumb over her clit while still using his tongue, and she went still, a tightness locking her body, and then she came with a harsh moan that made his dick ache with the need to be inside her.

Rolling back on his heels, he kept his hands on her hips, keeping her steady as she slid down the wall until they were eye to eye, catching their breath.

“You turned my legs to jelly,” she said, a satisfied smile on her face. “I’m not sure I can stand for the next part.”

“Don’t worry.” He picked her up, drawing her close to his body as he stood and relished the feel of her legs as she tightened them around his waist. “I’ve got you.”

And I always will stayed silent on the tip of his tongue because the truth of it was that he wouldn’t—she didn’t want that—but he’d have today and he’d have to make that be enough, because he knew there wouldn’t be any more. He couldn’t stay. If he could have, he would tell Tess everything. He would beg her to come home. He would fuck up everything for her even more than he had already.

She deserved better than that, but if this was all she wanted from him, then he’d give it to her without any regrets.

…

Tess’s knees were wobbly, her heart sluggish, her brain buzzing with post-orgasm bliss, and melting into the ground seemed like a distinct possibility—but then she looked at Cole, and the whole world righted itself and everything fell into alignment. Damn the man for making it so easy to love him because that’s exactly what this was.

She tightened her legs around his waist and curled her arms around his neck, letting them rest easily on top of his shoulders. “Where are you planning on taking me?”

“Nowhere,” he said, his hands cupping her ass and pulling her against him. “I’m not sure I could even wait until I’m across the room to bury myself inside you.”

“We’ve got a slight problem, then.”

“Oh yeah?” Cole asked, the blue of his eyes turning dark with desire. “What’s that?”

She dipped her gaze down from his face. “You still have all your clothes on.”

Laughing during sexy times wasn’t always appreciated, but when Cole’s face went from baby-I’m-gonna-do-you-right-here to are-you-fucking-kidding-me in a heartbeat, she couldn’t help herself. She threw back her head and laughed.

“I guess I got distracted by the crazy-hot naked woman,” he said, joining in on her amusement.

“So you’re going to have to put me down to fix this.”