Finesse was forgotten in his ferocious need to taste her, touch her. He sealed his mouth over hers, and her lips parted, inviting the thrust of his tongue. The kiss went on and on until both of them had to either come up for air or smother.
As soon as they separated, she worked at the buttons of his shirt and skimmed her hand inside to caress his chest. Her touch was such pure heaven he groaned.
With the console between them, he couldn’t get close enough. He ran a questing hand up the inside of her thigh, along the slick fabric of her leggings, following the shape of her leg to the apex. Katrina grasped his wrist, not to restrain him, but to guide his touch further up, and she rocked against it.
He couldn’t make love to her in the front seat of the car on a busy street. They had to return to her apartment. He eased his hand away and reached for the ignition.
How he got them back to her apartment he didn’t know. Her feelings had crashed through his mental door and ripped it from its hinges. His brain was swamped by her needs and his own.
The two of them bailed out of the car as though it was about to explode and came together to loop their arms around each other.
It was Drew who keyed in the security code and opened the door. Another couple entered the elevator ahead of them, so Katrina tugged him toward the stairwell. Three flights was nothing when he was looking forward to getting naked and making love with Katrina. Her fingers laced with his as they climbed the stairs, pushed through the door leading onto her floor, and rushed out into the hallway.
Her hands were trembling when she tried to put her key into the lock. He took it from her and opened the door, urgency affecting his own coordination. She swung through and tossed her purse in a chair and shook free of her sweater.
He had to get a handle on closing the mental door between them or he’d not be any good for either of them If he so much as kissed her right now, he’d embarrass himself. He drew slow, deep breaths to try and calm down enough to close it.
Katrina was barely aware of anything but the heavy beat of her heart. With every step Drew took toward her, her body grew ever more ready for him. A heated wetness built between her legs, and they shook, so much she leaned back against the wall to steady herself. She had never felt such a bombardment of need, such passion.
Drew moved in close, aligning his body with hers, yet leaving a wisp of space between them. The heat he projected flowed over her skin in a caressing wave. His strange tri-colored eyes settled on her face, aglow with a light that kicked her pulse into a gallop. The partial transformation he’d been fighting all evening rolled over him, bringing with it a wave of cinnamon and the sea. She inhaled it as she cupped his face and traced the bones with her fingertips.
A tingling anticipation raced over her skin. When he kissed her, she forgot about anything but the taste and feel of his lips on hers. She strained closer to him, sliding her arms around his neck and urging him closer. A soft hum vibrated beneath the kiss, and even though she heard no sound, the sensation made her shiver.
He braced an arm against the wall at the same time he pressed his lower body against her, letting her feel the pressure of his arousal against her stomach. She parted her legs, aching to take him in.
His lips left hers to find her cheek, her jaw, then the sensitive area beneath her ear. The height difference between them seemed problematic until he cupped the cheeks of her butt and lifted her. Her shoes dropped to the floor as she wrapped her legs around his waist. That promising bulge beneath his slacks prodded her in just the right intimate place. Unable to control her response, she rolled her hips against him and felt his answering pressure.
“Drew?” She shivered as anticipation washing through her system.
The aggressive masculinity of his features appeared both familiar and strange. His tri-toned irises had darkened, his pupils dilated. The open look of desire on his face triggered a clenching heat low in her belly. Had she ever seen that much need in a man’s face?
The enormity of what they were doing struck her. Had he drawn away just now to give her time to realize she might bond with him if they made love? Or he might bond with her.
With the ache of emptiness he’d inspired begging to be filled, the reasons behind why she should let him pull away were hard to even comprehend. “Don’t stop.”
He said her name, and for the thousandth time she wished she could hear his voice. His lips claimed hers and the heat built between them once again, but there was tenderness there, too.
Of all the men she had dated, hearing and non-hearing alike, not one had taken such care with her. No other hearing man had ever tried to bridge the gap created by her congenital issues as Drew was doing. And now the cherishing tenderness she experienced from his touch, his kiss, set her heart to tumbling.
Before now, he’d been all about heat and sex. Something else had taken over. Something that left her trembling and hungry for more.
His hand splayed against her back, holding her in place while he carried her into the bedroom, lowered her to the bed, and lay down beside her. He gripped the hem of her sweater and dragged it up while Katrina shimmied out of it. He rested a hand between her breasts, which were still covered by a thin, lacy bra, and ran his eyes down the length of her torso. The filmy fabric cupping her flesh suddenly felt too tight and confining as her nipples peaked, but he seemed to know. He lowered the straps of her bra, releasing her breasts, and caught one nipple in his mouth, his tongue feathering it along the underside while he applied a gentle suction that sent a burst of sensation sizzling through her. She arched up in response and gripped his muscular shoulders.
She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until he lifted his head and slowly lowered his mouth back to hers. His soft, deep kisses fed a need she hadn’t even been aware of having. Her hands curled beneath the fabric of his shirt and ran up the long, lean length of his muscular back to hold him closer.
Drew responded by dragged the shirt over his head and tossing it aside. At the first touch of their bare skin coming together Katrina felt him gasp when she did.
The light swirls of dark hair on his chest became a tactile fascination for her as she ran her palms over it. While he unhooked her bra and tossed it aside, she leaned forward to gently nip the well-defined ridge of muscle between his neck and shoulder, then soothe it with her tongue.
Drew shuddered and ran his hands down the waistband of her leggings to cup her bottom and skimmed his hands up to drag down the stretchy fabric clinging to her body like a latex glove.
Katrina laughed as the leggings clung to her feet, though they both struggled to free them. Drew’s answering grin had her reaching for him at the same moment he jerked one of her legs free.
“You’re too far away and you have too many clothes on,” she smiled.
“I can take care of that.”
“Let me.” Her hand collided with his as she reached for his belt. He allowed her to take over, and contented himself with seeking out the sensitive areas between her neck and shoulder, and along her throat.
She shivered as chills worked down her body, even as she slipped free his belt and lowered his zipper. She ran a caressing hand over the taut muscularity of his abdomen to the waistband of his boxer briefs, teasing him, teasing herself. His muscles tightened, pulling in his stomach, urging her to slide her hand beneath.
She did, but only to peel the briefs down and free him. “Come between my thighs, Drew. I want to watch your face while I touch you.”
He kicked free of his clothes and turned, bringing himself into position between her legs, but holding himself above her. His cheekbones looked sharp and angular, his jaw as well. His eyes appeared almost black, the pupils so large they came close to completely filling the iris.
She brushed her thumbs over his flat, masculine nipples. They contracted and beaded beneath her touch.
He swallowed and bent his head to kiss her, the pressure of his mouth harsh and wild on hers, so filled with passion she wondered if it was possible to orgasm from a kiss. The sweet ache of need tripped over into pain.
She caressed the sculpted width of his ribs, then brought her thumbs together and followed the narrow line that bisected his abdominal muscles to his navel, then lower. When she brushed his erection, Drew tore his mouth from hers to say her name.
She trailed the backs of her fingers down his lower abdomen to skim them through the thick patch of hair surrounding his sex.
Drew’s features tightened, and his jaw muscles rippled. When she finally cupped his erection and her fingers closed around it, his eyes closed. She felt the vibration of his groan. The intimacy they were sharing, the control he gave her, only intensified her excitement. The heat and size of him did the rest.
“Come inside me, Drew.”
Drew’s arms shook as he lowered his hips and she guided him home. With one slow, steady thrust he seated himself to the hilt, then rocked against her.
The sensual bubble they’d been suspended in broke, and the need to reach completion overwhelmed them both. With each deep thrust, their tension spiraled higher and higher until the end came all too soon. She gasped as she climaxed and ran her hands down his back to hold him while the contractions swept through her.
Drew had never been so aroused in his life. The sweet grip of her hands, her body, threatened to throw him over the edge. When he could hold back no longer, he recaptured their rhythm, the frantic need to seek his own release taking over. Her response drove him on as they sought the same pleasure again, her scent rising to urge him on. She cried out as another orgasm swept through her, and her inner muscles tightening catapulted him into his own release. With a groan he offered himself up to it. To her.
The morning light pierced Drew’s eyelids, red-gold, hazy and unbelievably bright. They lay next to each other like so much flotsam left behind by a receding tide, their limbs still entangled from their last bout of lovemaking. At some point during the night he’d turned out the lights and made sure the apartment’s door was locked. At his return she had been warm and waiting for him. Now he remained still, eyes closed, absorbing how perfectly they fit together.
His heartbeat leapt into a jog as Katrina stroked his cheek, his jaw, the back of his neck, and smoothed his hair. He opened his eyes and looked into hers, probing their depths.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her gaze searching.
Was she asking if he’d bonded with her? And what could he tell her? He decided to take the question at face value. “I’m fantastic.” He ran his palm down her hip, snuggling her close against his body.
“I have an appointment this morning with a psychologist. It’s an introductory thing for when I get my implant.”
The implant. Would it be a help or a hindrance to him, to them? “Have they scheduled the surgery?”
“It’s next Wednesday.”
So soon? The idea of her going under the knife scared the shit out of him. What if she had an adverse response to the anesthesia or some part of the procedure? Would his father have any ideas about what her Mer physiology might react to negatively? “I’d like to be there for the surgery.”
Her brows rose. “Would you?”
“Of course.” She belonged to him now. She just hadn’t realized it yet. He smoothed back a strand of butter-streaked hair from her cheek.
She smiled. “Yes, I’d like you to be there.”
“I have to meet the band early this morning. The club doesn’t open until nine, and we usually use this time to practice. Would you like to meet for a meal after work, or you could come over to my apartment and we can throw on some steaks.”
“Either sounds good. I’d like to see where you live.”
“It’s an apartment. And come to think of it, a wreck at the moment.” He grimaced. He had music all over his living space. He’d have to spend some time sorting and organizing. Laundry that needed done…dishes. Now that he thought about it the list could go on and on.
She laughed. “I won’t be there to see your apartment. I’ll be there to see you.”
“Good thing.” He leaned forward and kissed her softly. “With you working days and me nights, we’ll have to grab every free moment to see one another.”
She brushed her fingertips over his forearm. “Is that truly what you want? It isn’t just the sex talking?”
Surprised by her directness, he studied her expression. “It isn’t just the sex. Although that was off-the-charts mind-blowing.”
Blood rushed to his cock. It pushed against her stomach and she raised a brow.
“It’s a guy thing. If you talk about it, then you think about it, and then it happens.”
Katrina laughed. “I have an appointment at eight-thirty. I don’t have time.”
“We could shower together and enjoy two things at once.”
Her blush was answer enough. “I don’t like the water too hot.”
“Our chemistry is volcanic enough.” He kissed her cheek, threw back the covers and went into the bathroom to turn on the shower. Once he had the water running, he peered around the bathroom door. She was still in bed, the sheet modestly tucked up over her breasts. Her hair hung across one shoulder in a wavy mass, streaked with every color of blonde from silver to burnt sugar. It was ironic. He was a member of two of the most seductive species on earth, and Katrina had seduced him more thoroughly with her touch, her scent, her laugh, her body, than he’d seduced any woman with his voice.
He strode to the bed and held out a gentlemanly hand. “Your shower awaits, milady.”
She placed her hand in his and rose from the tangled sheets like Botticelli’s Venus. He kept his focus on her face, though her breasts, so generously proportioned, dragged at his attention. The brush of her look as it ran up his naked body had an even more stimulating effect.
He guided her into the bathroom and shoved the shower curtain back, stepped over the edge of the tub and drew her in with him.
“It isn’t just the sex, Katrina.” He said again as the water washed over his shoulder and torso. He proceeded to show her.