No One But You (Silver Springs #2)(68)

“I don’t care about the risk,” she said. “I’m tired of fighting everything in my life. I need a time-out, the chance to experience something breathtaking. As long as we both want this, what will it hurt? I mean...I may not be all that attractive to you, but sometimes the way you look at me makes me think—”

“Don’t say that,” he interrupted before she could even finish. “You’re wrong. I think you’re beautiful.”

“Then what’s one night? Why can’t we let ourselves have a few hours of mind-numbing pleasure before we go back to the battle that has become our regular lives? In the morning, we’ll pretend it never happened. We’ll be responsible and cautious again. Just...not right now.”

Dawson wasn’t sure they could ignore having crossed such a line. But he couldn’t bring himself to argue anymore, not when she came off so earnest. And once she straddled his hips, he knew he’d lost the ability to refuse. The pressure of her bottom against his erection set off an atom bomb of sexual energy that made him want to rip off her clothes.

“Okay. Sure. One night. We can forget about it tomorrow. Now let me taste you,” he said, and a moment later they were kissing deeply, frantically, and fumbling to reach bare skin.

*

It didn’t take long for Dawson to find the latch on the lacy bra he’d bought her earlier and snap it open. Sadie felt the tension give right before he peeled off the coat she was wearing as well as her shirt. She’d never had another man’s hands on her breasts. As Dawson’s fingers slid lightly over her nipples—seeking, exploring, enjoying—she gasped and heard a guttural sound come out of him in return.

“We’d better take it slow, or I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you,” he muttered. The pounding of his heart, which she could feel beneath his solid chest, indicated he wanted to take it anything except slow. But she wasn’t worried either way. She didn’t care how he “performed.” She just needed to feel close to someone—a man she could admire—for a few minutes. And, in that regard and many others, this was exactly what she craved, even if she never reached climax. In this moment, she was no longer isolated, no longer alone.

“All I need is to feel your body and let you feel mine,” she told him as she pulled off his shirt. “To get drunk on desire. To pretend as if I’m someone else, someone who hasn’t screwed up and missed all the good things in life.” She didn’t want him to feel any pressure. She preferred he let go and enjoy himself as she was doing—allowed himself to get carried away. He deserved a time-out as much as she did...

The earth felt cool and moist as he rolled her onto her back. She guessed they’d be filthy when they were through, but, as he stared down at what he’d revealed when he removed her coat, shirt and bra, she didn’t care. Although she couldn’t make out his expression, not with it being so dark and the moon creating a halo around his head, she didn’t need to. She could tell he liked what he saw and that he wanted to see more, because he stripped off the sweats he’d loaned her next and ran a finger over her new panties—where the thin fabric covered the most sensitive part of her.

She shivered at his touch.

“I knew you’d look beautiful in these,” he said. “I almost hate to take them off.”

“I hope you’re not going to let that stop you,” she said with a breathy laugh.

“Hell no,” he responded and slid them down over her hips so she could kick them off.

Sadie was literally throbbing with the desire to feel him inside her. Had she ever been this eager for Sly? If so, it’d been years ago. For the first time in ages, she was choosing who she wanted to touch her. That felt as liberating as it was intoxicating.

After he spread out his coat for her to lie on, she reached for the zipper of his pants, but he stopped her. “Not yet,” he murmured and bent his head to kiss her neck, her collarbone and then her breasts.

Sadie could hardly catch her breath for the excitement pouring through her. The smell of the earth around them, the cool night air wafting over her bare skin and the moon shimmering high above made the experience almost surreal.

Maybe she was dreaming, she told herself—except a dream had never felt this good.

“That’s out of this world,” she said as he took her nipple in his mouth. The warm wetness of his tongue sliding over her nearly melted her bones...

He moved to the other breast, but he didn’t only focus there. While one hand continued to stimulate the nipple he’d just left, the other traveled lower.

Sadie jerked when he touched her. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been so aroused. And he’d hardly done anything yet.

“You like that?” he murmured.

“I’ve never wanted anything more,” she said.

His teeth glinted in a smile as he lifted his head to watch her while he slipped a finger inside her.

Sadie gripped his wrist. She wasn’t sure why. What he was doing was just so...intimate. She felt the need to hang on to him, especially as the tension began to build in her body. She was going to climax quickly and easily, which hadn’t been the case in several years. Sly hadn’t been a terrible lover. He’d insisted she come every now and then. But those encounters had almost been worse than the ones where he simply took his pleasure and went on his way. She’d had to work so hard with him, and he got so angry if she couldn’t achieve what he wanted. The effort and energy required on both their parts often made him cross before they were through. Rarely did she feel any closer to him after.