Chapter 15
All the air whooshed out of Rosie’s lungs. She stared at Cruz with her mouth wide open.
Oh my god.
His fingers, warm and rough, still held the straps of her tops. His lips, so kissable, glistened when he licked them in the dark. Hunger shone in his eyes and sharpened the planes of his face. He towered over her—dark, irresistible, full of wicked promise.
She closed her mouth, vaguely aware that she should respond. But words failed her when his fingers trailed along her collarbone and up the side of her neck. A shiver cascaded down her arm.
He leaned down to her ear, so close, the warmth from his breath sizzled across her skin. “What do you say? You in?”
Yes! God, yes! She tried to form syllables once more. “Y—” He traced a line to her ear, his finger leaving a trail of need. God, this was just one finger. How would she survive his body moving against hers?
The image that swept into her mind threatened to steal her breath all over again. She grabbed his hand and held it between her own, needing his hand off her to think, yet not wanting to let go. “Do you have…Last week we didn’t, um…” Why couldn’t she say it? She’d thought about it enough all week.
“I have condoms,” he rumbled. “Do you have cards?”
She nodded.
His eyes raked a slow caress of her body, from her breasts to her mouth. “Then let’s see your game, pretty girl.”
Oh god. She wanted to lose. She wanted to win. Either way, she was on fire with anticipation. He held her hand as they ascended the porch steps, letting go only when she had to unlock the front door.
“Key?” he rasped the word and she wondered if his body was as stormy inside as hers was.
“It’s in my pocket,” she managed to whisper.
In a swift motion, he moved behind her and locked a brawny arm across her chest, holding her tightly. With mind numbing slowness, he slid his other hand down her side, over her hip, and toward the front pockets of her jeans. She could only breathe in short gasps. Oh my god. He held her so close, she could feel his hardness against her backside. Thank god he was just as out of control as she was. She clutched his bicep because she had to touch him somewhere.
One by one, he worked his fingers under the seam of her pocket and pushed them down.
God. She was going to die. Each centimeter he moved lower was closer to the deep ache that pulsed in her abdomen. Each finger taunted her skin, with only the thin cotton pocket material acting as a barrier to his invasion.
He reached the bottom and his fingers splayed, almost reaching the juncture of her thighs. Electricity sparked down her legs. She was going to pass out. How was she going to play poker?
She may as well just strip now, for all the good she’d be able to do.
“You teasing me?” His lips growled against her neck.
“No.” You’re teasing me.
“No key here, babe.” Warm fingers curled inside her pocket.
“Wrong pocket.”
Faster than she could breathe, he spun her around and pushed her against her door. “That was a naughty thing to do.” He leaned down, sexy mouth an inch from hers.
“You didn’t ask whi—”
He slid his hand into her other pocket, delving roughly. She couldn’t hold back a whimper, because that was just as hot as his slow exploration. Every nerve ending was on fire.
Strong fingers wriggled and slid, searching, making her writhe. “Cruz,” she panted.
“Is this the right place? Or are you gonna make me check some more?”
“It-it’s right.” One syllable words were all she could manage. How was he talking normally?
His fingers closed. “So it is.” He withdrew it with tantalizing slowness and dangled it between them. “Allow me.”
She nodded, past the ability to speak, as he moved her from the frame to his side. He unlocked the door and shoved it wide, gesturing for her to go first into the dark house. She kicked off her shoes out of habit, belatedly remembering that they may have counted as one clothing item to remove. Oh well. She wasn’t going to last long. Who was she kidding?
“Um…” she angled her head toward the back of the house.
He toed off his own shoes and socks. She nearly stopped breathing. He stood in jeans, a T-shirt…and maybe underwear?
He came close enough to grab a lock of her hair and let it fall through his fingers. “Ready?”
She nodded and padded to the kitchen, where she got a deck of cards from a drawer. Cruz was right behind her as she led them to the family room. She tugged the coffee table away from the couch and sat down on the floor at one side.
He took the floor on the other side as she shuffled the deck. “Five card stud?”
She nodded. With just two players, game options were limited.
He stretched his hands out in front of him, cracking his knuckles. “Deal us in, babe.”
She laid a blind card in front of each of them and moved them to the sides. They’d turn those over later. Next card would be face up. She pulled a card for him and laid it on the table: a jack of spades.
For her, the next one was a five of hearts. Her loss.
She set down the deck and reached for the hem of her first tank top. She’d worn two today, doubled up because the top layer was sheer. Slowly she drew it up and over her head. She still had a plain white tank on, which was super tight because it wasn’t meant to be seen, and her bra.
His eyes tracked her like a panther.
She set her top on the floor and drew a shaky breath. With trembling fingers she turned over his next card. Four of clubs.
Should be easy to beat…but her next card was a two of clubs. Crap. Her loss again. She stood silently, slowly, and popped the button on her capri jeans. With a quick push to get them over her hips, they dropped to the carpet.
His eyes were level with her core. He licked his lips as he stared at her panties, her thighs. Skin he had almost just touched through her pockets. Tingles of memory shot through her. She sat down, feeling a rush of moisture between her legs.
Next card. For him, a nine of diamonds. For her, a queen of clubs. Thank god, his loss. She raised her eyes in heated anticipation.
He reached behind his neck and grabbed a handful of his shirt. In one quick yank, he had it over his head and tossed somewhere. God knew where, because she couldn’t take her eyes off his chest.
Chiseled. Hard. Inked. Words wrapped across one pec in a foreign language. Swirls, both bold and intricate, caressed the sculpture of his biceps and shoulders. Six pack abs, defined by a trail of hair that disappeared into his jeans.
Lord help her, she was nearly panting again. She raised her eyes to his face, not ashamed at all to gawk. He was perfect. She couldn’t move, riveted by him, in her house, so intense and sexy and about to—
“Want me to deal?”
“I got it,” she squeaked, since her voice was hit and miss ever since he’d declared their game on.
She dealt them each another card. His was the ace of hearts. God. She couldn’t beat that. Her card was a seven of hearts.
She only had panties, her strapless bra, and a skimpy white tank meant to be worn under other things. She reached up under her shirt to unhook her bra. Her nipples hardened as the cotton slid down, pushing against the thin tank.
“Jesus,” he muttered through clenched teeth.
That was four turns each. Time to check the face down cards she had dealt. Rosie slid a fingernail under the edge of hers, heat thundering in her chest. Cruz dragged his eyes from her breasts. She swore he was about to pounce. “You first,” he rumbled.
She flipped her card. Ace of diamonds.
He stood and tore open the button of his pants.
“Y-you didn’t look at your—”
“Don’t need to.” He yanked the zipper down and shoved his pants down past his hips. They fell the rest of the way. Rosie was only aware of this fact because logically, gravity existed on Earth.
Nothing was logical for her anymore. Her mind hazed over in delirium. She was dying. Cruz stood in a pair of black boxer briefs low on narrow hips. His erection stretched the fabric in a way that made her thighs clench. “I’ll take the loss.” He shoved the coffee table to the side and dropped to the floor in front of her.
Rosie’s breath hitched as Cruz prowled to a crouch, inches away. The way he moved was so fluid and graceful, but she knew what he was capable of. She’d seen him fight. He was dangerous. He was a predator. And now, she was in his sights.
Chin raised, lips parted, she was a breathless mess. Her body ached for anything he would do.
Moving closer, he paused for a delicious heart-stopping second before he slid a hand to her nape and crushed his lips to hers. She whimpered in the sheer delight and relief of finally feeling his skin on hers, after being taunted with the perfect display of his chest.
He delved deep, sweeping his tongue along hers. At the same time he shifted his grip to her hair and tugged her back. Awash in blissful surrender, she let him pull her to the carpet.
“Rosie,” he growled into her mouth. “God, you’re so perfect.” He moved a hand down to her breast, squeezing through the flimsy cotton.
“Cruz,” she whispered, and skated her hands up his biceps. So hard, his muscles…She’d gotten a brief touch at the fair, when she’d almost fallen off the bleachers. Now she could be as greedy as she wanted. She stroked and traced each ridge, vowing to do the same with her tongue.
“Been wanting to do this for so long.” He kissed along her jaw and down her throat. When he got to her shoulder, he scraped his teeth along her skin, making goose-bumps erupt all down her arm. He chuckled as he traced the evidence of his bite. “You like that, baby?”
“Mmm-hmm.” She was long past the ability to talk. The weight of his body on hers was a sensual pressure that she arched into, needing to feel every inch of him, everywhere.
With a tempting glint in his eye, he moved to her breast and sucked at her nipple through the tank top. His free hand drifted to her other side to play.
Sweet agony tore through her as he nipped and tugged at her nipples. She ached for more, for relief, and needing him to take her higher.
He hooked the straps of her top and yanked them off her shoulders and down around her biceps. Breathing hard, he grabbed her top at the center front and pulled it down just below her breasts. As the cotton brushed across her nipples they tightened to stiff points begging for his touch.
A devilish grin tilted his lips. “So fucking beautiful.” He pinned her arms to her sides, pushing them under her so her body arched up to his mouth, and lowered his head.
He took one bud in between his lips. Barely in his mouth. Oh god. Panting, she silently begged him for more.
He locked his gaze with hers and feathered his tongue across the tip. Rosie cried out at the sweet tease. “More.”
She wriggled under him, but it was like being held under a boulder. A big, hot, muscular one bent on making her lose her mind. He only grinned and gripped her other side between his thumb and forefinger. Not moving…his touch was warm and seductive. The ache between her thighs turned painful as he built her desire to a fever pitch.
“Cruz, please. I need more.” She gasped the words, forcing them through lips that still tingled from his kiss. “Touch me, pinch me, bite … please. I need it.”
With a rumble, he sucked her nipple deep into his mouth. His tongue lashed the tight bud, swirling. He rolled her other side between his fingers. God, yes!
She dimly realized she was rocking against him—as much as she could. His heavy body had hers pinned at their hips, torso, and arms. He released her biceps only to cup both her breasts in his hands and flick his thumbs across her nipples.
“What do you want, baby?” he growled.
“I want to come,” she panted. Maybe that was selfish, but her body ached for release. He was driving her over the edge of sanity.
He leaned back to trail one hand down her stomach and to the edge of her panties. “Yeah?” One wicked finger traced the top lacy edge.
She gritted her teeth. “Yes.” Her own hand went to her neck and she dragged it down between her breasts, stopping at her ribs. She teetered on a knife edge, seeking release, hot, desperate, craving him. She couldn’t catch her breath. Cruz was beyond intense—he was a force to be reckoned with, or to willingly submit to.
He slid his hand down her center, over the silk of her panties, skimming over her clit. Her hips jerked and she gasped. That tiny touch was her breaking point. She grabbed his hand and pulled it to her core. “Don’t stop,” she rasped.
He growled and brought her hand to his lips, pressing a brief kiss to her knuckles before he set it down. His hand followed the reverse path hers had, traveling up her belly and stopping between her aching breasts. His eyes shone with a force that was rougher and more wild than anything she’d seen in him.
He laid his hand just below her collarbones and pushed her back with gentle but firm pressure. He moved between her legs. Rough hands gripped the edge of her panties and peeled them down. She tilted her hips to wiggle out of them, not caring that she was fully exposed and vulnerable.
Cruz would take care of her. She shivered, mind lost to lust.
Hungry eyes roamed her body. He dipped his head and dropped soft kisses across her abdomen…
Along her scar.
In her Cruz-fantasy come to life, she’d forgotten he’d see it. And it was the last thing she wanted to think about now…but the tender attention he was paying her erased any worry she might have.
He didn’t say a word. Didn’t need to. And when he had covered every inch of the uneven silver line with those sexy lips, he gave her such a heated, dominant grin that a whimper escaped her. No man in existence could ever be this hot.
“You’re so goddamn beautiful.” He lowered his head.
Just his warm breath on her made her heart nearly fly out of her chest. When he licked her, slowly and gently, she cried out.
“Jesus. You taste good,” he muttered, and dragged his tongue along her slick folds again. He explored, going slowly, a perfect pace to make her lose her mind.
“Cruz,” she murmured. “Feels so good.”
His only reply was to rumble his approval against her skin, a vibration that made her moan. When he traced circles around her clit with his talented tongue, she was almost there. Almost…she reached down for one of his hands and guided it up to her breast.
She just needed a little more…he tugged at her nipple as he kept up his magic between her legs. Waves built inside her body, a churning storm induced by Cruz. He brought her higher and higher until she shattered, her body quaking in heart-stopping bliss.
She trembled and shook, riding out the waves that kept coming. She’d never come this hard in her life. “Cruz!” she gasped as her body trembled in a delicious afterglow.
He prowled up her body and paused at her neck to kiss his way to her ear. “You’re the most fucking sexy woman I’ve ever seen.” He took her lobe gently between his teeth. “I want to make you come again.”
She slid her arms around his shoulders. “You’ll kill me. I almost died just now.”
He cupped her neck, not hard but possessively. Maybe she should have thought the gesture was too proprietary, but she didn’t. Every cell in her body craved him, in every possible way. “You look alive and sexy as fuck to me.”
“So do you,” she whispered. Her fingers traced lightly down his biceps. “I want to lick every inch of you.”