Burn (Breathless #3)(34)

She smiled as he rolled off her and rummaged in his nightstand drawer. Then he came back to her and pushed his hands underneath her pajama top to the waistband of her bottoms.

“Been dying to see it ever since that first day in the park where I got just a glimpse when your shirt came up.”

“You saw it already?” she asked in surprise.

He smiled, pausing in his downward push of her bottoms. “Yeah. Drove me crazy. I’ve been thinking about it. I want to see just how far it extends.”

She lifted her butt so he could pull her pajamas the rest of the way off. He tossed the bottoms aside and then began working his way up from the last button, slowly opening her top to reveal the rest of her body.

When he loosened the last button, he pushed the material apart and over her shoulders. She hitched herself upward, wanting to be rid of the top every bit as much as he did. This time it was she who sent the piece of clothing sailing across the room to hit the floor near the bathroom.

His gaze was riveted to the tattoo. She watched as his eyes tracked downward, following the line of the design to where it flowed over the top of her thigh and disappeared between her legs.

She shivered at the intensity in that stare. There was a brooding possessiveness. A look that screamed, “Mine!”

Ash turned Josie gently on her side, wanting to see the entirety of the tattoo. It was startling in its vibrancy, a shock of color against pale skin. Done in pinks, oranges, aqua blues that matched her eyes and shades of purple and green.

It was, as he’d suspected, a flowering vine, but it was rendered in exquisite detail. This was no simple tattoo done in a few hours time. He couldn’t imagine the time it had taken. The patience exerted in getting the design done just right.

He let his fingers trail over her skin, tracing the lines to where it flared over her hip and then across the top of her thigh before dipping lower, on the inside of her thigh. He turned her again, to her back this time, his fingers resting next to the golden curls covering her mound.

“Show me,” he said in a low growl. “Spread your legs, Josie. Show me the tattoo and that sweet little pu**y.”

Her eyes blanked and widened, the pupils flaring and then constricting. But she obeyed instantly, her legs going slack and slowly parting to bare herself to his gaze. He stroked the soft curls, approving of her easy acquiescence.

“Beautiful,” he said, the words thick in his throat. The tattoo, all that sweet, pink, feminine flesh. Josie was beautiful.

The intricate design curved around the inside of her thigh, coming to a stop just at the back of her leg. It was a bright, floral blanket over her skin, vibrant like her, a perfect reflection of her personality and artistry.

There would be plenty of time to exert his dominance, to have her submit in all manner of ways. Today was about their first time together and establishing trust. It was about him taking care of her needs. Pleasuring her. He would be infinitely gentle, because before it was over with, he knew he’d take everything. He’d demand everything. So for this one time, he would give her an experience that would become the basis of their bond.

He leaned down, pressing his mouth between her br**sts. She arched into him, seeking more of his mouth. So he gave her more, kissing a line down to her belly. A soft moan escaped and her stomach clenched and quivered beneath his mouth.

The anticipation of tasting her intimately had him doing his own amount of quivering. He was walking a razor’s edge. The urge to spread her wider and plunge into her was overwhelming. He wanted to claim her. It was a primitive instinct, one that had ruled his thoughts since the moment he’d laid eyes on her. And now she was here, naked, in his bed. His to do with what he wanted.

He was going to damn well savor the gift and appreciate it for what it was worth. She’d given him her trust, and he knew how huge that was, given the circumstances.

He pressed a kiss to the silky hairs over her pu**y and then nuzzled deeper, inhaling her scent as he spread her further to his advances. He stroked his fingers through her velvety folds, spreading moisture from her opening up to her clit so his fingers slid more easily and he wouldn’t irritate the sensitive flesh.

“Ash!”

His name exploded from her mouth. He loved the way she said it, the sound of his name on her lips. And he knew he could make her even crazier with desire just as soon as he got his mouth where his fingers were.

Using his fingers to open her to him, he pushed in, swiping his mouth from her entrance to her clit, her wetness like honey on his tongue.

A ragged moan tore from her throat and suddenly her hand was in his hair, fingers clenching over his scalp. He sucked lightly at her clit, exerting just enough pressure to send spasms of pleasure through her legs. Then he licked downward again, wanting more of her silken, hot dampness.

His tongue slid inside her, f**king her in slow, sensual strokes. While he may have decided that this time would be all about her and her pleasure, making her writhe beneath him was also his pleasure. He was hard and aching, so aroused that his head was spinning.

“Give me one,” he said huskily, raising his head to look up her body. “In my mouth, Josie. Come all over my mouth. I’ll work you back up again. I’ll make it good for you.”

Her eyes were glazed with passion, her lips red and swollen from his kisses and the fact her teeth had found purchase there while he’d eaten her.

“You like my mouth, Josie?”