Beautifully Broken Pieces (Sutter Lake, #1)(52)
Carefully, I got to my feet with Taylor still wrapped around me like a sloth on a tree branch. I navigated around the living room furniture and finally made it to the master bedroom. Gently, I set Taylor down on the mattress. I pulled back the covers, and she quickly crawled under them. The light in the room was low, and I made quick work of shucking my shoes, pants, and button-down. I wouldn’t risk ditching my tee or boxer-briefs.
Silently, I slipped beneath the covers on the opposite side of the bed and flicked off the lamp. The light from the full moon shone through the window to highlight the apples of Taylor’s cheeks and the fairest strands of her hair. I opened my arms. “Come here.”
Instantly, she rolled into my embrace, her back to my front. I kissed the top of her head. “Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
28
Taylor
I awoke to a pink sky and strong arms surrounding me. I froze for a moment as memories from the day before assailed me. I felt as if I had lived twelve lifetimes in twenty-four hours.
One of the arms around my waist tightened, pulling me flush against a wall of muscle. A trail of tingles shot through my nerve endings and grew in intensity as I felt something harden against my backside. Instinctively, I wiggled my hips.
A growl sounded behind me. I stilled, my heart rate ratcheting up a few notches. “Be very careful, Short-stack. I’ve had your tight little body pressed up against mine all night. My restraint is about to snap.”
My brows lifted. “I thought you didn’t want this.” The image of Walker pushing me away when I kissed him had played over and over in my mind the past few weeks. I still felt an echo of the pain the action had inflicted.
Walker’s hand flexed against my hip, sending a jolt of arousal to my core. “I didn’t mean it the way you thought.” He rocked his hips against me, and I let out a little moan. “I’m very clearly attracted to you. I just knew it wasn’t the right time for us. And I wanted more than a drunken hookup from you.”
My eyes widened, and my heartbeat picked up speed. “What do you mean?”
In a flash, Walker was on top of me, hovering over my body. Not a single part of him touched me, and yet it was the hottest thing I’d ever experienced. “What I mean is—I want to explore what this thing is between us. Neither of us can know what the future will bring.” He ran his nose up the column of my throat. I trembled. “I think we should take things one day at a time, see where the road leads.”
He sucked my earlobe between his teeth. “Because I am sure as fuck exhausted from not giving in to you.” I began to pant, it was pathetic. In a matter of minutes, he’d turned me into a quivering pile of need. “What do you say, Taylor?” He rose above me again so that I was staring into those gorgeous greens of his. “Want to see how hot this fire burns?”
I fisted his t-shirt and pulled him to me with a force that surprised us both. Our lips crashed together in a battle for dominance. Each of us wanting to see how far we could push this chemistry between us.
Walker’s tongue slipped between my lips, tangling with mine. His taste was like his smell—it had a quality that was uniquely him—and I knew it would spoil me for all other men. I didn’t care. I tugged at his shirt, needing it off, needing as much skin-to-skin contact as possible.
The piece of clothing sailed to the floor, and then his hands were yanking at the hem of my tank. I sucked in a harsh breath when Walker’s thumbs trailed over my nipples as he lifted the shirt higher. He paused when the cami rested just above my breasts. “So fucking pretty. I want to see what shades these pretty nipples will turn when I suck on them.”
His words sent a spasm straight to my core. My fingers dug into his muscular shoulders, and they flexed in response. “So stop staring and do something about it.”
Heat and challenge blazed in Walker’s eyes. His head dipped. “Careful what you ask for…” he said and then took one of the peaks into his mouth with a force that had me bowing my upper body off the bed. This was no slow seduction. This was a full-on assault.
Fire licked from my nipple to my clit, and he hadn’t even touched me there yet. I let out a barely discernable curse. Walker chuckled, sending another slew of sensations through my body. “Ready to beg for mercy?”
“Never.” It came out as a half pant, half plea, and both parts said I was a dirty liar.
“We’ll just see about that.” With those words, Walker turned his suckle into a nibble, and with each rake of his teeth across my tender flesh, another jolt of lightning shot to my center.
He would be the death of me. I needed to fight fire with fire. I forced myself to release the vise-like grip I had on his shoulders and began raking my nails up his back in the same alternating pattern of pleasure and pain he was exerting on my nipple. Walker let out a guttural groan as I reached his head and grasped a handful of his hair with my hand.
Pulling his mouth away from my breast, I brought it to my own. “I need more.”
Another flash of heat and challenge seared those green depths. “I’ll give you more, but I’m taking my fucking time.”
I grinned, but I had a feeling it was slightly feral with need. “Take your time next time.”
“You make a damn good case for quick and dirty.” With that, he tore my tank top the rest of the way off my body and went to work on my sleep shorts. He pulled them down with a speed I didn’t know he possessed. His gaze zeroed in on the juncture between my thighs, and I fought the urge to squirm under his intense stare. “You’re bare.” His voice was rougher than it had been just seconds before.