dropped to his knees in front of the sofa and lowered his head to carefully tongue the dainty pink tip of the breast heâd exposed.
For a split second, time froze. There wasnât a sound in the room. After a pulse beat in which Nick thought his heart might explode, Candace let out a gasp.
He licked again. Lightly. Insistently. Her head whipped back, and her hands dug into the leather of the sofa on either side of her thighs. Immediately he closed his lips over the tight nub and felt the shock of reaction that went through her. Pulling away, he pursed his lips and blew. The nipple hardened. She made a mewing sound and her hands tangled in his hair, pulling him back to her.
Nickâs head rushed down, his mouth wide, and he sucked her in.
This time her spine arched. Her breathing grew rapid, becoming harsh pants in the quiet of the study. Nickâs fingers were clumsy with haste as he opened the remaining buttons. Rising up, he parted the edges of the sweater. His chest seized tight as he gazed at the sleek skin, the full curves of her bare breasts.
âAhâ¦â
He wasnât sure whoâd broken the silenceâhim or her. His hands came up. Slowly, reverently, he framed the fullripeness of her breasts, the peaks popping hard. He bent his head toward the breast he hadnât yet touched and laved it with long sweeps of his tongue.
She convulsed against his mouth, her body superbly responsive, even though her eyes were still screwed shut.
His breathing was harsh and erratic, loud in the cozy intimacy of the study. Releasing her breasts, Nick sat back on his heels and tore his shirt open.
Then, taking both her hands in his, he pressed them against his naked chest under his rumpled shirt.
âTouch me,â he commanded as her eyes shot open. âFeel my heart pounding.â
As she stroked his chest, Nick was engulfed in the endless, misty depths. He felt himself sinkingâ¦drowning.
âCandace.â
She blinked. But instead of the spell breaking, she came to life. Her fingers feathered down beneath his shirtâ¦across his stomachâ¦until lightning forked through him. Nick swallowed, his mouth parched dry.
âI canât think,â he muttered hoarsely. âAll I can do isâ¦feel.â
Sensation, wave on wave, broke over him as her fingertips swept lightly across his skin. His hands closed on her hips, the denim of her well-washed cotton jeans soft under his thumbs. Rising high on his knees in front of her, he yanked her off the sofa into his arms and hauled her up against him. Hard. He hugged her to him and claimed her mouth, and kissed her deeply.
When heâd finished, he loosened his arms a little until his hands rested on her shoulders. He sat back on his heels as they both gulped in air, their breathing audible in the overheated room.
âWow.â She sounded awed.
Nick suddenly felt about thirty feet tall. He gave a husky half laugh and let his fingers caress the rounds of her shoulderswhere her sweater had fallen away to expose tempting creamy skin.
âAgain?â
âIâm not sure Iâll survive if you keep kissing me like that,â she said honestly. âMy knees are weak.â
âSo what was it like withâ¦him?â
The eyes that met him were wide and suddenly very, very wary. âWho?â
âJennieâs father.â
She tore out of his arms with a force that caught him off guard. âStop this, Nick. Itâs not funny!â
Her reaction startled him. âHeyâ¦â
Perhaps his morbid curiosity had freaked her out. But heâd wanted to know, dammit. A surge of unfamiliar possessiveness swept through him.
Hell, he couldnât stop thinking about herâand he couldnât remember when last heâd had the hots like this over a woman.
Heâd certainly never felt this way about Jilly in the seven yearsâ famine that had been their marriage.
Candace was on her feet,
Nancy Thayer
Faith Bleasdale
JoAnn Carter
M.G. Vassanji
Neely Tucker
Stella Knightley
Linda Thomas-Sundstrom
James Hamilton-Paterson
Ellen Airgood
Alma Alexander