Giving In (Surrender Trilogy #2)(48)

It screamed intimate and quiet. Cozy and perfect. An ideal prelude to what she hoped would be more. She was nervous and yet edgy with impatience and anticipation to see where the evening would take them. She planned to talk with Jensen, to query him further on the control issue and whether he was truly willing to go through with it. It was a testament to her will that she didn’t question whether she was willing to go through with it.

Her heart wanted it. Her body wanted it. She just had to pray that her mind went along for the ride.

They ordered drinks and shared lingering glances over the rims of their glasses. After they placed their food order, Jensen rose and extended his hand down to Kylie.

“Time to see how well you dance in those heels and how well I’m able to hold you up,” he said teasingly.

She went readily into his arms, absorbing the intense masculine warmth and strength his body offered. He wrapped himself around her so that she barely had room to move. Not that she minded a bit.

They stood, swaying slightly in rhythm to the music, her head tucked securely underneath Jensen’s chin. She closed her eyes and leaned further into him, allowing him to hold her.

Her breath caught when she felt the firm imprint of his erection against her belly. Even underneath the denim of his jeans, his c**k was rigid and straining outward, bulging and pulsing strongly.

He let his hand drift up and down her back, stroking, caressing, his fingers whispering over her skin like a dream. She made a low contented sound in the back of her throat, a hum of pleasure that vibrated against his chest.

“You’re killing me, baby.”

The whispered words just against her ear sent shivers of need through her body.

She lifted her head and leaned up so she could return his whisper. He bent his head lower to dip his ear to her lips.

“You’re killing me too.”

His smile was instantaneous. Predatory. It should have scared the bejebus out of her, but it didn’t. It was a smile that told her she was in trouble. The good kind.

He palmed her nape, his fingers curling around the slender column. Every feminine instinct was on high alert. Her body was taut with desire, her br**sts heavy and aching.

Then, holding her in place, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He was infinitely tender, so exquisitely gentle that tears burned her eyelids. Nothing was more perfect than right here, right now. In his arms, the soft strains of jazz surrounding them.

Intimacy was a heavy cloak over them, enveloping them in its lulling embrace. She swayed in his arms, completely caught up in the moment. She wanted time to stand still. For the mood to never be broken.

He seemed as reluctant as she when he pulled away and glanced toward their table with a grimace.

“Dinner is here, baby.”

“What dinner?” she asked huskily.

He smiled and kissed the corner of her mouth. “Come. Let me feed my baby.”

She was gripped by a ridiculous, giddy thrill over the endearment. His baby. As if she belonged to him and she was his to take care of.

She was acting like a stupid teenager barely in control of her hormones.

He led her back to the table where their entrées awaited them. But Jensen slid her plate toward him while he edged his chair closer to hers. He cut into her steak before forking a bite to her lips.

At first she was embarrassed by the fact that she was a grown woman being fed by a man. She glanced hastily around, but no one was paying them the slightest attention. They were too wrapped up in their own environments and conversations.

“Relax, Kylie. Let me feed you. I enjoy it very much.”

Put that way, she felt shrewish to allow her brief discomfort to interfere in their ever-growing intimacy.

She forced herself to heed his dictate and relax, allowing him to continue the intimate act of feeding her each bite.

“There, that’s not so bad,” he coaxed, his tone raspy.

She shook her head and then glanced down at his own untouched food. “Do I get to feed you?” she teased.

He looked startled and then pleased. “If you like.”

She scooted forward and picked up the fork and knife to cut into his steak. Then she began feeding him bites, his gaze stroking her face the entire time.

What was at first an awkward experience for her was transformed into something decidedly intimate. The sensual haze between them was thick, tangible. Building like a thunderstorm, waiting only to be unleashed.

She wanted it. She wanted him. It was new for her, this desperate need for a man. She’d never wanted to overcome her past as badly as she wanted to now. She’d used it as a protective barrier, not wanting those barriers to ever be breached. But now she wanted to break them down herself. She didn’t want him to do it for her. She wanted to own it. Wanted them to come down at her instigation.

“Are you ready to go home?” she whispered.

She realized it could be unclear whose home she meant. But she’d been staying with Jensen and she realized she had no desire to go back to her own house. It was where she’d freaked out before. Maybe in Jensen’s home, a place she already felt safe and secure, she would finally be able to overcome her demons.

“Hell yes,” he muttered.

He pulled out several bills from his wallet and tossed them on the table next to their plates. Then he rose, holding out his hand to her. She took it, allowing him to pull her up next to him, and the two hurried out to his car.