“Carolina.”
The whisper called her from a dreamless sleep. It was Castillo’s voice, deep and raspy, and so close she would’ve sworn she felt it vibrate through her. It wasn’t him, though. It was the dream Castillo, the one who had come to her once or twice before and promised to make her feel good. She always woke up before they ever got to the good part. This time, she was determined to see the dream through.
He said her name again. This time it was so close that his warm breath seemed to brush past her ear. Her skin prickled with gooseflesh. Teeth nibbled the lobe of her ear followed by a gentle bite to her neck, which he soothed with the hot, wet lap of his tongue. That sensation was so real that she couldn’t help but open her eyes.
She was in her bedroom, but it wasn’t completely dark. The oil lamp still burned low on the bedside table. Castillo’s strong body was pressed against her from behind and he gently sucked at her neck. She closed her eyes against the tremor of pleasure that moved through her.
“You’re awake.” His right hand, which was curled beneath her, pressed against her belly to pull her back against him. He was hard. That male part of him was like iron against her bottom. She opened her eyes wide at the realization, and her body responded instinctively. Her breasts tightened, and a pulse beat between her thighs. She knew she was wet there, too. It was exactly how she’d felt last night. Her blood seemed heavy, while at the same time her heart pounded out an excited rhythm.
“Castillo.” Instinctively she pressed her hips back against him, relishing his hard length against her buttocks and the way it intensified the ache building inside her.
“Carolina,” he whispered, dragging his mouth along her neck to the narrow strip of flesh bare above her collarbone before it disappeared into her night rail. Then he pressed forward, thrusting his hips into the softness of her body.
She gasped at the answering surge of need that moved through her. Her body was throbbing, clenching, wanting to feel him inside her.
“I want you.” His voice was ragged. “If this is the only time we have, then I want to bring you pleasure. I want to make you come apart.”
“Yes. Yes, I want that.” She tried to turn in his arms, but he held her too tight, his forearm like a vise around her. Needing to touch him, she reached up and buried her fingers in his hair, pulling his mouth to hers for a searing kiss that left her breathless. He loosened his hold on her waist, just enough to move his hand to her breast. His fingers found her nipple through the cotton of her gown and pinched it just hard enough to make her lose her breath.
“Will you open your gown for me, mi corazón? Let me see you.”
He’d barely finished saying the words before her hands were at the row of buttons that held the gown closed between her breasts. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was aware of a tiny voice reminding her of her modesty, but she didn’t care to hear it. This was Castillo, and she wanted to share these things with him. There was no other man she could ever imagine wanting like this. Only Castillo.
He allowed her to roll onto her back, and he rose above her, propped on his elbow. The look in his eyes was intense and heated. She’d seen a hint of that look the night before, but this was even more piercing, its weight almost tangible. She tugged the corners of her bodice, but stopped just short of revealing her nipples. It seemed she had some modesty, after all. No one had seen this part of her. The corner of his mouth ticked upward, and he moved his left arm, the injured one, as if to assist her.
“No,” she whispered. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
“Then open it for me.” The tip of his tongue ran over his bottom lip, his eyes flicking to hers briefly before settling on the exposed mounds of her breasts.
She took a breath as she pulled the edges of the bodice down far enough to show her nipples, and then even further until the entire globes of her breasts were revealed to him.
“So beautiful, mi corazón.”
It was strange how she felt beautiful, as though she could see herself through his eyes. “Will you kiss me…like you did last night?” Only this time there would be nothing between her flesh and his mouth. She trembled just thinking of it, and a pulse beat deep within her.
He held her gaze as he bent down to her, and anticipation fluttered in her belly, but he paused inches above her. If she arched she could put herself just at his lips, but she forced herself to wait. And it was worth it. His tongue darted out to tease her, and she nearly came undone at the hot, wet friction. But it didn’t prepare her for the surge of longing that flooded her body when he closed his lips around her and sucked. She gasped, and bit her lip to keep herself from being too loud. Mary slept right next door. Finally, he pulled back, but when she would’ve protested, he gave the other nipple equal attention.
Letting her go with a slight pop, he smiled down at her with a self-satisfied look on his face, and she didn’t even care. He deserved to look so satisfied. She wanted him to look even more satisfied. Careful of his arm, she ran her palms over the strong muscles of his shoulders and down his bare chest. She could hardly believe that she was able to touch him at will and snaked a hand around his neck to pull him down to her for a kiss, just to prove to herself that he was real. That he was here and solid and really touching her. He slipped into the cradle of her hips as he took control of the kiss, ravaging her mouth.
Pulling back to catch a breath, he pressed his forehead to hers and whispered, “I should leave you alone, but I can’t.”
“I don’t want you to leave me alone, Castillo.” She gripped his back and pulled him closer, arching up into him. The hard length of his erection pressed against her where she throbbed for his possession.
“I can’t take you. I won’t.” He placed soft kisses on her face to soften his words.
“Please,” she whispered, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that she’d never want any other man as much as she wanted him in this moment.
Though he flexed into her, wringing a groan from both of them, he shook his head. “I won’t take your virginity. I should go and leave you alone, but God forgive me, I can’t.” His mouth covered hers after that and his tongue stroked hers. “I want to taste you.” He was already moving back to sit on his knees between her thighs.
She took in the sight of his bare chest, her gaze tracing the curves and contours of his muscles. At some point her gown had ridden up her legs to just above her knees. He took the hem in his hand and pushed it up, baring her thighs. Her breath caught as she watched him, slowly coming to realize exactly what he meant to do, though the thought had never crossed her mind before. Just before he revealed her, he stopped and met her gaze, but his hand moved up underneath her gown to find her center. His fingertips dipped into her slick heat, and she fought to keep herself from moving against his hand. Instinctively, she bent her knees to open herself up to him further, and he pushed the hem of her gown above her hips. She thought she’d die of embarrassment when he stared at her sex and clenched her eyes closed.
“Look at me.”
She opened her eyes to see him staring down at her. His fingertips grazed over her swollen flesh, making a tremor work its way through her body, but it wasn’t enough to make the wave of pleasure crest. Then he let her go, his fingers leaving her desperate and aching to be filled. She opened her mouth to beg him to help her, but he moved down to lie on his belly between her thighs. Pushing up on her elbows, she stared at him, certain that he couldn’t mean to do what she thought.
When his face was level with her sex, she said, “Castillo—”
His mouth opened over her—there!—and he kissed her just as he’d kissed her mouth. Though he kept his left arm immobile, he pushed against her thigh a little with his shoulder while his right hand pressed her left thigh, opening her further to him. His tongue dipped inside her, and he groaned a little. “You taste good, Carolina.” His voice was nearly a growl and that, combined with his tongue, sent tremors of pleasure coursing through her. The only sound in the room was the soft, damp sound of his mouth against her.
The flat of his tongue pressed against her clitoris, making the nub throb and ache for more of his attention, and he obeyed her wordless cries. He teased her with a few swirls of his tongue before sucking her into his mouth. She nearly came undone when he did that, falling back against the pillows and not even caring that she was shamelessly splayed out beneath him. Then he moved downward, dipping his tongue inside her and starting the rhythm all over again. She moved her hips desperately to ease some of the ache building inside her.
“Please, more, I need more.”
She didn’t realize she was talking out loud until he whispered, “Shh…” against her tender flesh.
Then his tongue flicked over her again, nearly drawing her out of her skin. Her body clenched and unclenched, desperate for something to ease the ache he’d caused. And he did heed her whispered cries. As he went back to laving her, one broad finger slipped deep inside her. It was just enough and not nearly enough all at the same time. She arched toward his touch and he withdrew only to drive back into her and suck all at the same time, creating an amazing friction that promised release. Her entire world narrowed to him and his touch on her body. A tiny wave of pleasure crested over her, followed quickly by another. His tongue stroked her, building her up higher, until her whole body trembled and everything broke apart.
Soft waves were still crashing over her when he climbed up her body to lay fully on top of her, catching her mouth in a deep kiss. She could taste her release on him and found it oddly appealing that they’d shared something so intimate. It only made her want to share so many other things with him. Wrapping her arms around him, she relished the silk of the warm skin of his back before moving down to cup his buttocks through his trousers. He groaned and flexed his hips into her. She gasped at how good it felt when his hardness pressed against her sensitive sex. He’d only just brought her more pleasure than she’d imagined was possible and she already craved more.
“Carolina,” he whispered her name over and over as he kissed from her mouth to her ear.
Without waiting for permission, she moved her hand between them, stroking him through his trousers. He gasped against her ear. “I want to touch you,” she said, already working the fastenings so he couldn’t let some misplaced sense of duty to her honor make him tell her to stop.
“You should not,” he said against her neck, but he made no attempt to stop her. In fact, he raised his hips a little so she could slip her hand inside and grip him.
“Oh, Castillo.” He was bigger than she’d thought. She’d felt him through his clothes, but having him in her hand offered her an entirely new perspective. “You’re bigger than I expected.” His response was to bite her neck, an action that was about a hundred times more pleasant than it was painful.
Testing the size and shape of his erection, she stroked the length of him with her palm. “Is it okay if I squeeze?” A strangled groan was his only response, so she gently squeezed her hand around him, testing his hardness. When she slackened her hold, his hips pressed forward in what felt like an involuntary thrust into her palm. “You’re so much harder than I thought you would be.”
He groaned out her name, thrusting again, and she flexed around him. She wasn’t certain if that meant she’d gripped him too hard or not, but he rose to look down at her. “We should stop before I come.” He didn’t seem inclined to remove himself from her hand, though, and the slight distance was enough that she could look down and see his hard length in her hand.
“I want you to.” She couldn’t see him nearly as clearly as she wanted. She longed to have the time to explore him, but it had to be almost morning by now and they’d already stolen too much time. “Please, Castillo? Please let me help you?”
He shook his head. “It’s not right.”
“How is it different than what you did for me? I could put my mouth on you—”
He groaned, almost like he was in pain, and covered her mouth with his before she could finish. Then he drew back just enough to whisper against her lips. “It’s not the same. I’m not an innocent. I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t take that innocence from you.”
“You’re not taking anything. My innocence is mine to give to whomever I want. I want you, Castillo. I choose you.”
He mumbled something in Spanish and rolled over onto his back, taking her with him. “Only your hand,” he warned and then covered her hand with his and showed her exactly how to stroke him.
It was fascinating watching the muscles of his body tense and flex as she pleasured him. His hips pumped up from the bed as he thrust into her rhythm. Unexpectedly, his palm found her bare breast and closed over it. She leaned into his touch, her body still alive with need, but this was about him. It was only a moment before his body started to tighten, and he gritted his teeth against the coming wave of pleasure. He groaned her name, his eyes squeezed shut, and then his release warmed her palm. She hardly had a chance to savor the moment of satisfaction, because he tumbled her onto her back, one hand in her hair as he kissed her breathless.