One Night with her Bachelor(33)

“Fine.” He bit the words out and then let out a long breath. “Fine,” he said, a little more evenly. “Let’s get inside.”

She tried to keep her arms around him, but he maneuvered her so she walked in front of him. He moved more slowly than he would if he were really fine. He’d hurt himself somehow, but clearly he didn’t want her sympathy.

She could understand being fed-up with sympathy. She pretended not to notice how careful his movements were. She tried not to let him see how she slowed her pace to match his. He appeared to be limping. Maybe he’d aggravated an injury from the helicopter crash. Or maybe he’d twisted his knee or ankle.

She unlocked the front door and shoved it open. He nudged it closed behind him and gave her no time to think before he was all over her. His hands swept through her hair to hold her head still for his kiss. His mouth devoured hers. His chest pressed against her breasts, and his legs walked her backwards down the hall.

But instead of asking where her bedroom was, as she’d expected him to do, he marched her to the living room and pulled back just far enough to pant, “What do you want?”

“Everything.”

His brows rose. “Everything, as in sex.”

“Yeah.” Not a ring and a white picket fence. Well, the fence might be nice to keep her neighbors’ dogs off her lawn, and he could probably make it for her, too. But she had too many challenges right now to add anything else. This interlude with Gabriel was just that—a brief respite from an increasingly difficult reality.

A passing car’s headlights threw light and shadows over his face, but neither helped her read him. He walked over to the window and closed the curtains. When he came back to her, the fire inside her stoked up again. He still limped a little, but it didn’t dampen the lethal confidence in his movements. Desire welled up inside her belly and she licked her lips. His gaze narrowed in on her mouth, and he brushed her lower lip with the pad of his thumb. “Again.”

She tasted his finger with the tip of her tongue before daring to show him what she’d wanted to do for so long. She dipped her head, closing her mouth over his whole thumb and gently sucking.

“Oh damn.” His free arm whipped around her waist and he swung her around so she sat on the arm of the couch. He stepped between her widespread legs and pushed her skirt up higher, higher, higher until it exposed her knees, her thighs, her damp panties. He stared down at her in reverence.

“I should go slow,” he murmured, as if trying to convince himself.

She wrapped her legs around his waist. “No, you shouldn’t. You should go hard, you should go fast, and you should go now.”

He let out a shaky breath. “God damn, Molly.”

His mouth attacked hers, urging her to open for his deep kiss. His strong hands grasped the backs of her legs, lifting her off the couch so she was forced to clutch him with her arms and legs. The first feel of his hard, rough jeans pressed against her throbbing flesh almost too much for her to bear. She needed him naked, needed him now.

He was carrying her somewhere, though judging by the sounds of things falling and the muffled curses he kissed her with, he was none too steady on his feet. He plowed down the hallway, stumbling over Josh’s backpack and making her cling to him harder. Every step he took rubbed her just right. Every step ratcheted up the fire in her belly.

He kept up his assault on her mouth the whole time, kissing her with an urgency she’d never experienced before. With just a few more steps, she found herself falling backwards, her stomach plunging until she realized Gabriel’s arm had wrapped around her back and he was lowering her to her bed. He followed her down, lying on top of her and threading his fingers through hers. He lifted her hands above her head so she was stretched out and pinned beneath him. He kissed her again, his tongue playing with hers, his lips cradling hers. His whole body moved with an innate rhythm, every bit of him rubbing against every bit of her from mouth to core. Adrenaline and pure animal desire took over. Her whole body was an erogenous zone. Maybe because it had been so long. Maybe because she’d built him up in her fantasies. Maybe because he was so freaking skilled.

His fingers found the buttons of her shirt and popped one open. Breaking away for a scant second, he murmured, “You’re sure about this?”

“So sure.” If she’d had doubts five minutes ago, they’d evaporated into a cloud of lust. He popped open another button, his knuckles brushing her breast and making her head fall back in pleasure. Straightening her shoulders and drawing in her mama tummy as much as she could, she faced him with bravado she didn’t really feel. She’d seen his bare chest and muscular arms. She’d seen them working hard as he’d swung an ax. His body was a ten. Hers had a ten-year-old. Sure, she stayed active and her job meant she rarely had a chance to sit down, but it also gave her access to a constant supply of birthday cakes.

Gabriel did not look like a cake man.

One by one her buttons slid open until he parted her shirt and pulled back to stare at her lace-covered breasts. His jaw hardened as he swallowed and traced the tops of her breasts. The gentle touch made ribbons of desire unfurl low in her belly, and her legs shifted restlessly. She’d never felt so empty, so in need of being filled, yet he was taking his sweet time. Maybe he needed a subtle shove in the right direction. “It unsnaps in the front.”

“Yeah, I see that.” His fingers made quick work of the clasp, and cool air hit her sensitive nipples. They instantly hardened into agonizingly tight buds.