Promise Canyon (Virgin River #13)(44)

He put his hand on her hip. His hand was so large on her small frame that his fingers splayed around to her flat belly. He gave her a second to protest or shove him away and when she didn't, he put his lips on the side of her neck, kissing, inhaling the scent of her. Sucking gently. Then his other hand found her other hip and he massaged with his palms and fingers, kissing both sides of her neck.

She turned her head so he would hear her. "You shouldn't..."

"I should..."

"Do not leave a mark on me," she warned.

"I would die before I would mark a beauty like yours."

And with that she was undone; she turned in his arms and tilted her face up. "You have to know something. I'm very afraid of you."

He stiffened and frowned. "Of me? Why?"

"I'm afraid you're going to hurt me."

He shook his head gently, still frowning. "Lilly, I'm not going to hurt you. I swear, I'm going to be good to you."

She inhaled, exhaled with a slow sigh and gently let her eyes drift closed in submission.

He didn't need any more invitation than that; he lowered his lips onto hers and when she parted her lips slightly, he took full advantage. His tongue entered the soft, slick velvet of her mouth and he moaned. He ran his tongue around her lips, tasting and pulling slightly, then welcomed her tongue into his mouth. He let his eyes open a slit, just enough to see that hers were still closed, her sooty lashes lying on her cheeks. "You're so beautiful," he whispered into her opened mouth. His large hands pressed against her firm butt, pulling her hard against him, and he devoured her mouth, entering, receding, entering....

Her hands moved from his shoulders to his neck, to his head. Her fingers threaded into his hair, moving to the tie that held it back, loosening it. He growled softly; he was already hard. "I could do this right here, right now," he whispered. "But I don't want to. I want to go slow with you."

Her answer was to hum softly and take his mouth again. And again.

He pulled back a tiny bit, enough to look down at her and see her hard ni**les pressing against the soft fabric of her top. He slowly moved one of his hands from her butt to a breast, covering it, teasing the nipple gently with his thumb. He chuckled sensually against her lips. "Some things men and women can't really hide from each other." His thumb gave her hard nipple another soft tweak. He hated to let go of that breast, but he momentarily removed his hand to reach over and turn off the flame under the boiling water before he returned to it again. The loud music had picked up a drumming beat that he could feel in his veins. He put his lips against her ear and said, "I want to go slow with you, but I don't know if I can. I'll try, I promise."

He felt her small hand slide down his back to his butt, pulling him even harder against her. He let himself enjoy that for a moment, then he whisked her up in his arms. "You're light as a feather. I'm going to carry you to bed, sweetheart."

"I haven't said yes yet," she whispered in his ear.

He rested her on the counter, put a hand on her breast, ran a thumb over her erect nipple. "I thought you had."

"That's just nature."

"I worship nature. And I'm going to worship you...." He grabbed her in his arms again and carried her through the small house. He passed by the front door as he went, kicking it closed and throwing the dead bolt, and headed to the bedroom. This was just a cracker box, this tiny house, but it was a house that made sense. It was like her--efficient, compact, suited to her. This was a house made for her, not made for others who might visit it. He silently cursed himself--he had nearly let the memory of Isabel in and that was the last thing he intended. Right now his mind and his body were full of Lilly. Deliciously full.

He set her on her feet beside the bed and pulled her shirt up over her head. It was barely tossed aside when his mouth found that nipple and drew on it. "God," he said. "God."

Her hands were opening his shirt as she thought, This is going to happen, ready or not. She had spent about two seconds thinking about how long she had waited to bring a man into her life, her body; she remembered how afraid she'd been. But when Clay touched her she was done with that. Her body responded instantly with hard ni**les and a wetness between her legs. And she thought, oh, hell, as she unbuttoned his last button.

"Do you have a condom?" she asked.

"Exactly one," he said, unlatching his belt. "Believe it or not, I didn't plan this. But when I'm close to you, Lilly, I don't want a breath of air as much as I want you. I don't know if this has ever happened to me before."

"Bull," she said, slipping her small hands along his h*ps to lower his pants. And then she had a look at him, hard and erect, and said, "Oh, my God."

He put his hands on her hips, his fingers slipping under the soft fabric of her pants, and gently slid them down. He looked down at her as he did so. She was bare. Not just bare, but bare. No pubic hair at all. A Brazilian wax, it was called, and it almost brought him to his knees. He wanted to kneel before her and put his mouth right on her, but he promised slow. If he could.

He reached for her hand, holding it while she kicked off those soft, lightweight trousers and climbed onto the bed. He had to sit down to remove his boots, the pants that had gathered around his ankles, and fetch that condom that went with him everywhere. He put it on the dresser beside the bed, one square little package. Then he reclined beside her and pulled her into his arms. "Problem is," he said, his hand lowering to her soft, hairless center, a finger slipping in to find her already wet and ready, "I think I might come right now. The good news is, I'll be ready again before you know it, and I can keep you busy until that happens...." He applied that finger to her clitoris, making her gasp and squirm.