It Must Be Your Love (The Sullivans #11)(59)

When she could finally catch her breath, she looked up his chiseled body and asked, “Feel better now?”

“No.”

Before she knew it, Ford had hauled her up his body, then shifted them so that she was lying in his place on the bed and he was levered over her. He nipped hard at her lower lip as he slid his hands through hers and held her immobile with one arm pulled up on either side of her head.

“Not even close to better.” His teeth found one of her earlobes next, right before he growled, “Not until I get my mouth on you, too.”

She nearly came apart right then and there, with her hands held firmly in his and his tongue tracing the tendon from her lobe to her collarbone. And when his mouth closed over her nipple, all she could do was arch up into him and beg for more.

“Please,” she said, even though she’d never been a woman who begged anyone for anything. Only Ford had ever reduced her to this. And when he gave her exactly what she needed by scraping his stubble from one breast to the other, her pleas gave way to just his name, which fell from her lips over and over again.

She would have wrapped her legs around him to pull him closer, but he didn’t just have her hands pinned, he had her legs trapped beneath his, too. Ford had been the most dominant lover she’d ever had, and for once in her life she’d loved letting someone else lead. But after they’d broken up, she’d never let a man lead in bed with her again.

Only, now that he had her exactly where he wanted her, she couldn’t deny that it was right where she wanted to be, even though just minutes earlier when she’d been touching and tasting him, she’d been the one in control of their pleasure.

Maybe, she found herself thinking with the few brain cells that were still operational, this time around neither of them would need to be in charge. And if this morning was any indication, this new balance between them—both as lovers and as real friends—would make things even hotter than they’d been before.

He kept her hands in his as he rained kisses along the undersides of both br**sts, then down over her stomach. “You smell so good,” he said between kisses. “I can’t wait to taste you again.”

But instead of rushing down over the rest of her curves the way she so badly wanted him to, he took his time to trace the lower edge of her ribs with his tongue, to taste the hollow just beneath her hipbone, and then to breathe her in when he finally made it down to the vee between her legs.

“Oh baby,” he said as he stared down at her, “you’re so wet for me. So ready.”

“Please, Ford,” she begged again. “I can’t wait any longer for you.”

“I can’t wait, either,” he said, and then his tongue was there, slicking through her wetness, once, then twice, then three times before he decided to stay put over her clitoris.

He was holding her hands at the sides of her hips now, and as Mia felt the earth begin to slide out from beneath her, she gripped his fingers tightly with hers.

“Come for me, Mia,” he said and between his urgent words and the sweet feathered touch of his lips over her core, that was all it took for her to come shuddering apart into a million little pieces.

He’d brought her up quickly to release, but he stayed right there with her as she came down slowly, his lips gentle on her oversensitive skin as he pressed kisses to the insides of her thighs and then the soft flesh at the sides of her hips. She was trying to catch her breath and her eyes were still closed when he moved back over her to pull her into his arms.

Just as she had when she’d awakened, she felt safe and warm.

And loved.

Yet again, thoughts of love were what brought her back to reality. Because it was one thing to become Ford’s friend who shared his bed. It was another entirely to fall all the way in love with him...and to trust that it would be forever this time.

Of course, he was so attuned to her that even though she’d barely stiffened, he brushed the hair back from her forehead and said, “I’m glad you came to Oregon and spent the night with me. Really glad. I asked Robert to take us to your place so you’d be able to leave when you needed to.”

“We’re in front of my building?” She slid out of his arms to lift up the shade an inch. “We must have been here for hours.” No doubt everyone in her building was wondering which superstar was blocking traffic outside. And judging by how high the sun already was in the sky, Mia knew she needed to leave to get ready for her appointments. “I should go.”

He got out of bed, gloriously naked and pulled her back against him. “One more kiss, first.”

Despite the fact that Mia knew she still had plenty to think about, their kiss was more unrestrained than ever. Because how could they possibly go back to the hellish control they’d been keeping over themselves when they’d just given each other heaven?

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

His kiss had her brain still mushy as she echoed, “Seven?”

“For our date tonight.”

Finally, she remembered. “Pizza and a movie.” From a stadium and a blinged-out tour bus to an evening on the couch watching a B-grade film—it shouldn’t have made any sense.

But, somehow, it did.

Chapter Twenty-five

Ford had never thought much about what he wore until he became famous. Over the years, he’d learned how to blend in when he needed to. Tonight he made sure his baseball cap came down low and his long-sleeved shirt covered up his tattoos. A couple of people did double takes as he walked into Mia’s building, but he just kept moving. At least, until she stepped out of the elevator and made his brain and body grind to an abrupt halt.