He led her into the bedroom. The shortest and longest walk of his life.
At the doorway, he paused and kissed her, exploring her softness with his tongue and enjoying the taste of apples, fresh mountain air, and the smoky and dark tones of the whiskey.
Every instinct urged him to throw her on the bed, rip her clothes off, and plunge deep into the savory and sweet that was Shelby.
Like a fine wine, she was meant to be relished slowly. And damn but he wanted to partake in her for a long time.
Easing her around the doorjamb to the wall, he leaned against her, breathing her in, planting kisses over her lips, cheeks, and neck until she shuddered. Another wave of need shot through him as he rocked his throbbing groin against hers.
With his eyes locked onto hers, he stepped back. After unbuttoning her flannel shirt, he smoothed it over her shoulders and let it fall down onto the floor. She stood there in tight jeans, a belt, a simple bra, and a clear, direct gaze. He drank in the subtle sexiness of her spare frame and slim hips. The image weakened his knees.
Tugging her toward the bed, he stroked her neck with a thumb. “You’re sure about this?”
“Yes.” She bit her lower lip.
“Say it, Shel.”
“You’re in charge. And, God, I want you.”
“I want you to drop your filters with me. Know everything I’m feeling.” He slid his fingers down her neck and smiled. “Actually, you might not want to know everything yet. What I want to do with you might send you running.”
He didn’t miss her full-body shudder. But the set of her jaw made him smile.
“I’m not scared of you, Eric Patterson.”
“I know, and that’s good. But you’re still scared of yourself.”
“We’ll work through it.”
“You bet we will.” He cupped her jaw in both hands and kissed her. “Now lie face down on the bed.”
With an impish quirk to her mouth, she complied and turned her head to the side. Watching. Waiting.
Still fully clothed, because God help him if he had no clothes on right now, he crawled on the bed and straddled her hips, holding most of his weight off of her. The lean length of her torso and subtle flare below her waist made his mouth water. Skimming his fingers over her shoulders, he drew her arms out to the side.
“Close your eyes and enjoy, Shel.” He ran a finger down her spine, stopping to undo the clasp of her bra then continuing down to the waist on her jeans.
Her deep sigh did wonders for his soul.
For minutes or hours or weeks—who knew?—he stroked every inch of visible skin, raising goose bumps and eliciting sighs. He kneaded the muscles of her back and shoulders, careful not to hurt her. Delicate and tough. Soft and hard. She was every contradiction he ever wanted all wrapped up in a sensuous package. Plunging two hands into her hair at the nape of her neck, he massaged her scalp, loving the heat seeping from her skin and into his fingertips.
Another pass with his hands over her torso, meant he skimmed the edge of her breasts and the indentation of her narrow waist. His hands nearly spanned her there.
Her sighs turned into moans, and she shifted her hips beneath him. Every movement of her butt sent jolts of desire right into his heated, hard groin. But no, this was about her pleasure and getting her to let down all of her barriers.
Guaranteed, anything that made Shelby squeal with happiness would also send him into orbit. As it stood, his jeans had become two sizes too small.
He dropped kisses from her neck down her spine and to her waist.
“Oh, God, Eric. You’re torturing me,” she gasped.
“Roll over,” he murmured.
When she complied, Eric slipped the bra off and away. The pink nipples of her firm breasts pebbled under her gaze. He salivated, wanting his mouth all over her, tasting her skin, her . . . everything.
She reached up for him, but he shook his head. “Hands up here.” He guided her to wrap her fingers around the wrought iron rods in his headboard. “Don’t move them, got it?”
Her eyes darkened until the gold glints were mere rims on her irises. “This is what you want?”
He paused. Would she go for his vision of perfect pleasure? Could he compromise? Not tonight. If he wanted her to drop barriers, then he could do so as well. “Hell yes, that’s exactly what I want. Are you okay with that?”
Licking her lips, she smiled, “Oh, yeah.”
He straddled her once more, his cock hating the denim between them, wanting to be inside of her like yesterday. Crouching over her, he exhaled over a breast and cupped it. It fit perfectly in his hand. He sucked the hard nipple between his lips and flicked his tongue over it as she moaned and writhed. Moving to the other breast, he did the same, kneading the pillowy skin and laving the tip.
Her sharp intake of breath made him lift his head. “Are you okay?”
“Hell yes. Is that all you’ve got for me, cowboy?” When he pinched a nipple, she threw her head back. But she still hung onto the headboard.
“Hell no, that’s not all.” He kissed her hard and ground his denim-covered erection into her pelvis. “Can you tell what I’m feeling?”
“I have a pretty good idea.” Her eyes flicked to his jeans and back to his face. “Don’t exactly need to be psychic for all the clues.”
He grinned and ran his hands from her elbows to shoulders and down to her breasts, where he squeezed with both hands, making her gasp. “I want you open to me. Body and mind, Shelby. Nothing held back.”
“Dude. I’m working on it.” She froze when he gently closed his teeth on her nipple again.
“All of you. Or not at all. Got it?”
“Got it.” She shivered as he trailed his lips down her flat belly. Her eyes fluttered closed.
He slid his hand under the waistband of her jeans and worked his palm down to cup the heat pouring from between her legs. She needed to be wearing less clothes, immediately.
Working the buckle, he unclasped it and unbuttoned her jeans. The zipper came next, and he peeled the denim off her hips and long legs, taking her socks with the jeans. Only a thin piece of nylon remained between Eric and paradise. He ran his fingertips over her softness until she opened her legs. Another hook with his finger, and he pulled the garment off and flung it into the next room.
For a full five seconds, his lungs stopped working.
Beneath a small patch of orange curls, she was all pink softness and glistening heat. He would never get enough of her. Lying between her knees, he kissed his way up one thigh until he reached the junction of her thighs. The musky, hot scent of her arousal made his head spin more effectively than an entire bottle of Jack Daniel’s ever could. And no twelve-step program would fix this addiction.
Only cure? More Shelby.
He licked up her center and she bucked under his mouth.
“Don’t move,” he growled. Clamping down on her thighs, he gave a slow swirl with his tongue. Then sucked in the delicate flesh until she cried out and squirmed.
He pressed her knees up and out, separating her folds, creating a smorgasbord for his senses. Running his tongue up one side and down the other of her soft skin, he laved back through the middle and then gently sucked in the sensitive nub.
“Oh hell.” Her head rolled from side to side as he plunged his tongue in deep and then back to the soft outer skin.
More. He wanted her out of control in his arms. He wanted to provide the pleasure, be her steady rock. Needed this more than he needed air.
While he kept his tongue working on her, he slid a finger into her liquid heat. Another moan told him he’d found a good spot, and he crooked his finger in rhythm with his mouth. She began to moan in the same rhythm and pushed her hips up toward him. He wrapped a hand around her upper thigh and held her still while he alternated hard and light touches, shallow and deep thrusts with his finger.
Then he added a second finger, and her inner muscles clenched, making other parts of his body insanely jealous.
Soon.
After more deep thrusts with his fingers, she rose beneath him, her hoarse cries the most beautiful sounds he’d ever heard. With a ragged moan, she shuddered beneath him for a minute. He kissed her thighs and eased his fingers out of her.
“Wow,” she panted, her chest and neck flushed, her nipples tight.
With the image of her arms fixed over her head, legs splayed open beneath him, watching him with an intensity he had never seen before, he couldn’t wait any longer. He needed to be connected fully to her.
“Shelby, I—”
“Dude. Why do you still have clothes on?”
He grinned. “You have a problem with that?”
“You bet I do.” Bless her but she kept her hands on the iron rails of the headboard. “Are you going to fix this situation?
“Right away, ma’am.” He shucked his clothes in record time.