Forged in Steele (KGI #7)(32)

“How long are you planning to stay?” she asked, silently holding her breath as she waited for his response.

He looked uncertain for the first time. Almost as if he were nervous, though she couldn’t fathom anything making this man nervous.

“I have a few days,” he hedged. “But if you need me out of your hair before then, just say the word and I’ll take off.”

“I don’t believe I said anything about wanting you to leave,” she said lightly. “But I don’t want to make an ass of myself and ask you to stay if you had no intention of spending more than a night with me. Not fond of humiliating myself in front of a guy I’ve been lusting over.”

His hand tightened over hers, his thumb pressed to her knuckles. “Ask me to stay, Maren. If that’s what you want, say it.”

“Stay,” she whispered. “For as long as you have the time off.”

He lifted her hand, turning it so his lips pressed the inside of her palm. “I’ll stay,” he murmured against her skin. “But only if I get to stay in your bed with you in it and I’m inside you. And tonight? Those glasses stay on while I f**k you.”

CHAPTER 12

AS Maren prepared for bed, she ruefully acknowledged how strange it was for her and Steele to be acting almost like they were a permanent couple. Cozy dinner. Nice conversation. And now he was in the shower and she was climbing into bed to wait for him. It was a given that they’d make love and even though they’d had sex twice now, she was still nervous as she propped herself up against pillows, keeping an eye on the bathroom door for him to make his appearance.

She fidgeted with the sheets and then glanced down at her pajamas. It was pointless to have worn anything, but it seemed a bit much to be naked when he got out. Which was ridiculous because he’d made it clear they were having sex. But she wasn’t quite brazen enough to act like a siren temptress. Though she had left her glasses on. It gave her a tiny—okay, maybe a huge—thrill that he had a thing about her wearing her glasses.

A moment later, the door opened and Steele walked out with just a towel wrapped around his hips. His hair was damp and moisture still clung to the light smattering of chest hair. He paused when he caught her staring at him, and for a minute they simply stared at one another.

God, but the man was gorgeous. Not in a pretty, polished way. Not at all. He was rugged. He bore scars. He wasn’t what she’d consider a truly handsome man with perfect features. His face was hard and when he wasn’t smiling he looked absolutely intimidating. But when he smiled and those ice blue eyes warmed? He had a devastating effect on her. She couldn’t imagine a woman alive who could resist that smile.

“You checking me out?” he asked in amusement.

She nodded, not at all abashed.

“Too bad I can’t return the favor. Can’t see much of you in those pajamas with the sheet pulled up around you.”

“I can fix that,” she said huskily.

Her inner temptress was coming out. Forgotten were any inhibitions about waiting naked for him. She grabbed on to the temptress and embraced her full-on. Between the two of them they were going to seduce this mouthwateringly gorgeous man.

She rose up on her knees, letting the sheet drop. She tugged the top over her head and then lay on her back to shrug out of the bottoms. When she was done, she sat back up and faced Steele.

“Better?”

“Much.”

He let the towel fall to the floor at his feet, revealing a very rigid erection. It strained upward, nearly flat against his taut abdomen.

“That looks painful,” she said with a raised eyebrow.

“You’ll make it all better,” he said as he advanced toward the bed.

He planted his fists onto the bed and leaned toward her, fusing his mouth to hers. Then he pressed forward, taking her down onto the mattress beneath him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, anchoring him to her, and kissed him back.

“You taste so damn good,” he muttered. “Don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you. And getting to f**k you when you are wearing those glasses . . . definitely top five on my list of fantasies.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” she said lightly. And then she laughed because it totally fit his personality that he kept referring to a list of the things he fantasized about. Probably had his entire seduction of her mapped out to the nth degree.

“Didn’t say that. Not a bad thing at all. I can think of worse things to be addicted to.”

“I kinda like being someone’s drug of choice. It’s good for my ego. People usually aren’t very happy to see me since they only come around when they’re hurt or sick. Until recently, that’s the only time you ever saw me.”

“I can safely say I’ll never cringe at the thought of seeing you. Especially if you’re naked and I’m inside you when I’m seeing you.”

“You’re not inside me,” she whispered.

“I can fix that,” he said, echoing her earlier words.

“Mmm, why don’t you get right on that then.”

He reached for a condom, lifting off her long enough to roll it on. Then he spread her thighs and settled between them, positioning his c**k at her opening. He hesitated, though, sliding a finger inside and stroking through her wetness.

She sighed when he hit a particularly nice spot. Then he rubbed his thumb over her clit, and her entire body tightened in pleasure.