Elise snuggled deeper into the covers. It was still dark in the room and rain fell in a steady downpour outside. The warm, all-male body pressed against her brought all her nerve endings to life. And she couldn’t mistake the hardness that throbbed against her or the t-shirt bunched up over her hips.
When he rolled away from her after kissing her shoulder and got out of the bed, she pretended to be asleep. She needed a little time to collect herself before she had to face him. Last night’s spur-of-the-moment, need-to-get-out-of-the-house venture made her stifle a groan. Not only had she wandered into a bar alone, but she’d thrown herself at Vinter. A stranger. A sexy as sin stranger. But a stranger nonetheless.
And when she’d thrown herself against him? Yeah. The memories flooded her mind. She was part embarrassed and part so turned on her clit twitched.
None of this was like the careful, curated woman she presented to the world.
But Vinter, spoke to her on a level she had never thought a living, breathing man would. Even his name was hot. In her fantasy life, she was a sex kitten, hungry, ravenous for a man like the one whose bed she currently lay in.
Of course, falling asleep in his car hadn't been part of the plan. God, what must he think of her? She pulled the covers up over her head. She wouldn't blame him if he wanted to get her out of his house so he could go find someone else.
She heard the shower turn on and she rolled onto her back, ending up in the middle of the bed. The side he’d slept on was still warm and on an impulse, she grabbed his pillow and put it over her face, inhaling his scent. It was dark and sexy, like the finest whiskey. Deep, rich, strong.
He was worth more than a rebound fuck, and she was dumb for even being there with him in the first place. Then again, it was his idea that she be there. She wouldn’t deny she wanted him from the second she heard his voice. All that sex appeal and then … Then he’d held her against him all night without once trying to take advantage of her. Yep, a man like that was worth so much more than a night of after-a-breakup sex. Shit, sex with him would be worth more than any other kind of sex. That damned orgasm outside the bar made her hungry for more. Hell, the kiss, the very look of him sitting next to her in the bar made her hungry for more.
“Trying to suffocate yourself?”
Damn. Caught. Elise lifted the pillow from her face and turned her head. He stood in the doorway of the bathroom, shirtless and in jeans. The tattoos on his arms and chest and stomach made her pussy clench. He was the baddest bad boy she’d ever met. He made her sex wetter than any man she’d ever met too. “No. To be honest, I was smelling it. You smell good.” Might as well let the truth out. No need hiding behind it now.
“Nice. I like the honesty. It’s not as overrated as people think it is. You hungry? Want breakfast? I make kick ass waffles.”
Oh, she was hungry all right, but it wasn’t for food. The longer she looked at him, the more her belly flip-flopped and her clit twitched. She was hungry for him. Starving. “Later. I don’t think I want waffles, yet.”
He flipped off the bathroom light and walked to the side of the bed. “Oh. What do you want then?”
She felt the heat of a blush steal through her. The thoughts in her head should’ve made her scramble back beneath the covers. She didn’t move. Instead, she stared, not knowing what to say or how to answer him. Should she look away? Should she go to him? He was getting harder by the second. The longer she looked at him, the more the denim tightened and stretched as his cock grew in length and width. She put the pillow back on the bed and sat up. “I … I don’t know. I don’t know how to do this with you.”
“I’m like any other man, baby.”
Like hell he was. “No, you’re not. I’m sure though after last night you’re ready to be rid of me.”
“Not at all. But you have to tell me what you want. I can’t give it to you unless you do.”
You. I want you. I want you everywhere inside me. “I …” She licked her lips and shook her head. This was going to be … Hell, this was a disaster.
“You have nothing to fear from me. We only met last night, but we also slept together. You trust me at least a little. Trust me a little more. Tell me what you want. You can have anything at all, but you have to tell me.”
He was right. If she wanted this, then she was going to have to come right out and say it. She’d never had to do that before. Not even in her fantasies. Her fantasy men knew what she wanted and gave it, taking from her what they wanted.
Why did reality have to be so hard?
She took a deep breath. “We came here for a reason last night.” Her voice was soft, unsure and it was exactly how she felt inside, too.
“We did, yes. You were a little sleepy though,” he said with a smile.
That smile was going to kill her. She took another deep breath and got to her knees. Damn, at this rate she was going to need an oxygen tank. Measured steps took her toward him. He didn’t move, didn’t speak. He stayed stock still, waiting.
How many times would she have to tell herself that she could do this? Alcohol had added to her bravado along with the cover of night. Broad daylight, overcast outside or not, and a lack of rum was a whole different story. “I’m not sleepy now.”
Being forward was hard for her, harder than she expected, but there was something about him that drew her.
It could be that she wasn’t trying to impress him. It could also be that she now had the chance to be with the type of man she’d never had the guts to go after.
Who the hell knew what it is was, but she wasn’t about to waste a second of their time together. He knew as well as she did what she wanted, but he left it up to her to take it, or to at least make a grab for it.
He didn’t push, he didn't force, he didn’t coax her into anything.
He was all lean and scorching hot. She was all plus-sized and average. And he wanted her.
She saw it in the darkness of his eyes, the want he didn’t try to hide.
Her gaze traveled in slow, micro movements from his jeans, up his abs, over his chest, and stopped at his lips. She didn’t want to miss anything. She wanted to catalog him, commit him to memory. The tattoos, the nipple piercings, the muscles, the long legs, and the hard to contain bulge of his cock.
“Say it. Tell me what you want.”
She hadn’t, had she? She was still silent, mute, and he wasn’t going to let her get out of it. He wasn’t going to let her show him, he wanted the words from her. He wanted … consent. He wanted her aware and complicit in giving herself over to this. To either have him or not. He wouldn't let her settle for indecision. The choice was hers. Either stay safe or take the risk.
“You. I want you.”
He reached out with both hands and flicked at her nipples still covered by the shirt. “Take the shirt off.”
Another choice. Had she not made the choices before? Had she done things without considering what might come after? This with him, right now, the morning after, was a choice she had to make. Conscious and aware.
Her fingers trembled as she gripped the bottom edge of her shirt. The intent had been to go slow. Her actions were anything but. She ripped the shirt over her head before she could change her mind.
A slow, naughty grin spread across his mouth when her breasts came into view. He reached out again and flicked her nipples. She arched and he took it as the invitation it was and pulled at them. She couldn’t stop the groan that filtered up from her throat. Seeing his black-painted fingernails against her pale skin … It was like every sin and wicked thought she’d ever had coming to life. It enthralled her, the feel and sight of him touching her. “Like that, do you?”
“Yes.” Her voice came out as a breathy gasp when he lifted her breasts by her nipples. She’d never told anyone that she liked her sex a little rough with a little pain, but he seemed to know. She’d hardly dared admit it to herself. Most of her previous partners were oblivious to what she craved in the bedroom. The one man she had told thought her slutty, a trait he didn’t want in the future mother of his children. Elise had learned not to be so open with the men she dated. And she most definitely kept her love of all-day, all-night hard sex to herself.
Vinter seemed to know what her body wanted. He also seemed to catch on to how much she wanted to admit it, tell it, say it, shout it, scream it as well. Was that part of the bad boy persona? Did they all know their partners as well or was it only her needs that were so transparent?
“Before we go further, you need to see something.”