Risking it All (Crossing the Line, #1)(23)

His words partially broke through the fogbank of fear. It didn’t seem possible that he could have accepted her cell phone explanation. He was too smart for that, wasn’t he? “I know…I’m not supposed to be down here. I thought you might tell Hogan.”

“No.” He shifted their position, so that her bottom rested on a stair, his hips wedged between her thighs. His forearm supported her back, cushioning her against the hardness of the stairs. Her worries dimmed when his closeness registered. Bowen became aware of it at the same time, because the pace of his breathing increased. “Look at me. You have nothing to fear from me. Ever. Do you understand?”

The moment was so honest, his voice so full of passion, she couldn’t stop her own truth from escaping. “I don’t know who you are.”

He shook his head slowly. “Baby, I don’t know either.”

She shifted beneath him and he groaned. The raw sound sent blazing heat spiraling through her. After what she’d just learned, how it had ripped her beliefs to shreds, followed by the possibility of being caught, maybe killed, the emotions crashing around inside her needed an outlet. Now. His hard body between her thighs, his mouth so close, promised a distraction. A distraction she’d been wanting since they’d met, if she was honest with herself. Even in the dim light of the basement, his base, hungry sex appeal radiated from him, dragging her under.

Of their own accord, her knees rose on either side of his hips, ankles locking at the small of his back.

“Oh, God, don’t do that.” His hand slid down from her neck to hitch her leg higher around his waist, contradicting his words. Rough fingers stroked down the outside of her thigh, his hips rolling once on a choked curse. “You just ran from me. Forced me to catch you. I don’t know if I can say no after being challenged like that.”

“Don’t say no.”

He stamped his mouth over hers, as if to chastise her for what she’d said, but almost immediately his lips softened and he granted her a deep, hot kiss. The hand resting on the outside of her thigh continued its path and cupped her bottom, kneading, squeezing. They broke away, panting at the intimate contact, frustration coating his expression. “I can’t let your first time be on the stairs of a nightclub.”

“You’re not the one who decides what I do with my body,” she argued, with a lot more confidence than she felt. Yes, this might be new to her, but she didn’t want to stop feeling this way. She didn’t want his weight, his touch, to leave her.

It would give her time to think.

Something primal, possessive flared behind his eyes. “I’ve got my cock pressed between your legs. For the sake of my sanity, let’s say I am the one who decides.”

His gravelly request sent liquid warmth pooling in her lower belly.

Worried he would feel the wetness, she tried to scoot back and close her thighs, but he wouldn’t let her. Almost like a warning, he gave a quick thrust of his hips, sending the rigid fly of his jeans dragging up the center of her damp silk panties.

“Oh my God.” Desire flashed like lightning, fast and jagged inside her. The tug low in her belly was becoming unmanageable. She wanted to squirm to relieve the growing ache, but the friction would drive her higher and she needed to stay grounded. Right? It didn’t help that Bowen had buried his face in her neck, his breath rasping along her skin.

When his teeth sank into the side of her neck, accompanied by another deliberate drag of his erection against her core, Sera

decided

embracing

the

overwhelming sensations was better than letting him stop. No, please don’t let him stop. She closed her eyes and allowed her thighs to fall open, praying, begging him to do it again.

Her gesture of permission seemed to break something free inside him and he began rocking against her, his tongue licking up the side of her neck. “What sound would you make the first time I sink in, Sera? Would you scream for me or your God?”

Feeling a sense of desperation, needing an anchor, she turned her head to ask for his mouth, but he anticipated her. Their mouths fused together in a wet slide of lips, throaty sounds of satisfaction. She felt a pang of surprise when he released her backside to work his belt buckle. He’d just said he wouldn’t take her on the steps. Had he changed his mind? She opened her eyes to watch his progress, her heartbeat pounding out of control when he unzipped his jeans and removed his thick, lengthy arousal.

“I’m not going to put it in you, baby, I just need to…” He dragged the head of his fisted erection along the seam of her panties. “Fuck. Fucking Christ.”

White light blossomed behind her eyes at the contact with her clitoris. “D-do that

again. Please, Bowen,”

she

implored, hips rising to encourage him.

Teeth gritted, he used the head of his length to circle her, over and over, silk clinging to damp flesh. She moaned and begged, the sound mingling with Bowen’s dark curses. “Once I broke you in, you’d be a sweet little f*ck, wouldn’t you, Sera? You’ve got innocent eyes, but a hot, greedy body. God help me, I would never stop banging you.”

He punctuated his final word by pushing his hardness against the silk at her opening, using his thumb to apply pressure to her clit at the same time. The material prevented him from entering, but his round tip nudging her there, his gorgeous face awash with agony as he gave her pleasure…all of it sent her rocketing over the edge. Broken sobs ripped from her throat as her sex trembled and clenched, every muscle in her