Love, Diamonds, and Spades by Violet Duke

officially the worst have-sex-with-me come-on ever. “Well, I didn’t listen to her. I try my very best to do the opposite of what Penny says as much as possible.”
    He chuckled. “No comment.”
    “So, that’s why I’ve mainly worn skirts and dresses on all our dates—so you wouldn’t see the panty lines from these awful giant-flowered granny panties I bought specifically for our dates. To keep us from…you know.”
    His grin spread wide as he slid a smiling kiss over her temple. “You do have a tendency to go all out when you put your mind to something.”
    “But tonight, I’m not wearing granny underwear,” she said meaningfully, before quickly returning her face to her nice little hiding spot against the crook of his neck.
    Every inch of him went granite-hard for several heartbeats.
    Then his deep, smoky voice—huskier than she’d ever heard it—asked the inevitable, “And you’re telling me this because…”
    “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”
    “With respect to the perpetual judgment-clouding hard-on I’ve had since the moment I first saw you, I think that might be best.”
    She leaned back to see if he was being serious.
    And then scooted forward to gather more evidence.
    The very male hiss that resulted when she straddled what was undoubtedly a very big cloud impairing his judgment had her reaching down for his belt.
    “What are you doing?” he graveled through clenched teeth.
    “Un-clouding your judgment.”
    Groaning, he caught her hands and pinned them on the couch cushions on either side of him. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
    A hungry gasp escaped her when she rocked against him and felt him grow even harder. What was he asking her? The sound of her throbbing heartbeat had reached deafening decibels.
    “Sweetheart, are you sure?” he repeated. “I don’t mind waiting. Honest.”
    Waiting? Was he insane? Right now, he was vying for top honors as the sweetest, most sadistic man alive. “I can’t wait.” She wrestled her hands free and slid his shirt up his torso, dragging it off him seconds before her lips found the pulse at the base of his neck. His hands gripped her hips and slid down her thighs, reducing her brain to mush. “Need you. Now.”
    Not eloquent, but wholly accurate. She was going up in flames.
    His fingers slid along her thighs, slipping under her skirt until she heard him curse softly.
    Now that his shirt was off and she was able to slide her hands all over his sculpted muscles, she was wrapped up in a hazy, erotic calm that gave her back the ability to think in full sentences. “I told you I never listen to Penny.”
    “No panties,” he rasped out on a guttural groan.
    She’d bypassed the sexy lingerie altogether.
    His fingers were impressively quick as he unbuttoned her sweater. When she felt him release the clasp of her bra, instantly she covered herself back up.
    Golden eyes blazing with heat, and heavy with lust snagged hers. “Don’t hide yourself from me.”
    “I’m not as young as your groupies,” she explained lamely, keeping one arm over her breasts while she reached for the lamp switch beside the couch. “And I had a kid. I’m not as…perky as all those gorgeous women who throw themselves at you.”
    His eyes narrowed, and he managed to catch her hand before she could kill the light in the living room. “You think those women are gorgeous?”
    Well, duh. She nodded and reached for the throw blanket to cover up after he somehow used his secret third and fourth hands to get her bra off.
    “If you think they’re gorgeous, it’s because you’re not seeing what I see.”
    “What do you see?”
    “You.” He rumbled in her ear before leaning her back and sliding his lips down the valley between her breasts. “I told you. All I ever see is you. Even when you’re not in the room with me. Since I met you, I can’t remember the last time I actually saw a woman enough to commit her to memory. Every pair of blue eyes I