Deception (46 page)

He kissed her nose before tilting her head up. Then he took her by the waist and flipped her around. He had a perfect view of her moist breasts, but he kept his eyes on her face as he reached up, pausing with his forefinger an inch from her lips. He smiled. Then he closed the distance and traced her pout.

“I'm going to take a leap, my love, and assume you've never experienced the kind of emotional attachment you'll feel when we make love. If the way I feel with you innocently sitting in my arms is any indication of the moment to come, it's going to be overwhelming for both of us, but that’s particularly true for you. You've been neglected when it comes to your sexuality, and your relationships with men have not only been few and far between, they've been insufficient, and in the case of at least one
insensitive ass, harmful to your confidence and your faith in men. But I'm going to fix that. When we're together, you're going to feel overwhelmed, but I promise it won't be unpleasant, and it won't be harmful to you or our relationship. It will only make it better.”

He swept his fingers from her lips to her cheek as he searched her eyes. Then his chest rose and fell with a labored breath. “You’re scared.”

“No… just a little nervous.”

“A lot nervous.”

She smiled as her cheeks flushed. “Damn aura.”

“You're also scared,” he pressed, running a thumb over her wry grin.

“I don't know why,” she countered. “I trust you.”

“I know you do. You're perfectly comfortable with your own nudity. Not so much with mine.”

“I'm sorry, Quin.”

“No, Layla. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I do. My embarrassment is making everything awkward.”

“We're just bathing, angel. It doesn't have to be perfect.”

A bubble floated between them, and she popped it, watching the petal fall to the water before finding his eyes. “It's still the best bath I've ever taken.”

He grinned and raised his eyebrows. “Me, too, and it’s about to get better.” He scooted her back and handed her the soap. Then he rested his arms on the side of the tub. “Wash away, my love. If you want.”

Her eyes widened on his torso as she filled her hands with soap. “Of course I do. I could stare at this part of your body all night.”

She lathered up his stomach and chest, letting her slim fingers play in the deep grooves outlining hard muscle. Then she scooted closer and urged him away from the side of the tub. He tensed and groaned, and his arms encircled her waist, pulling her off the towel covering his lap. She laughed as she reached over his shoulders, sliding soapy hands down his spine, and he ran his tongue across her clean neck.

“My sweet angel,” he murmured, going in for more.

Her water magic made quick work of rinsing the soap away. Then she wiggled loose from his hold and scooted to the other side of the tub. “Lay your head in my lap while I wash your hair.”

“Mmm…” Flashing deep dimples, he smoothly flipped around and leaned back, giving her a heart-melting wink. “I have a good view from down here.”

She laughed as she got his hair wet. Then she urged him to rest his head on her chest while wrapping her legs around his waist. “Here, wash my legs while I get your hair.”

His aura brightened as he summoned the soap. “It just keeps getting better and better with you.”

“They're just feet and legs, Quin.”

“No, love, these are not just feet and legs. These are your feet and legs, and they're perfect.”

Her stomach fluttered as an indulged grin tugged on her lips. Then she rinsed his hair and added conditioner. His attention zoned in on her thighs, and chills swept up her spine as her lids grew heavy. She gave in and closed her eyes, sliding lower into the water with his head between her breasts. Then she blindly rinsed the conditioner away, but she didn't say anything once she was done. He was still touching her legs, and she couldn't help but lie there and let him.

Quin smiled as he took her by the ankles and slid her feet to his hips. Then he glided his hands up the muscles that had liquefied long ago. Her breathing had slowed and deepened, and her aura was calm and beautiful, soothing his own lungs. “Are you tired, love?”

“Nuh-uh,” she murmured, sliding her hands to his chest, “but that feels amazing.”

He slowly ran his hands back to her feet. Then he sat up and maneuvered her into a cradle hold. “I think we're clean enough.”

She licked his neck and opened her eyes. “Tastes clean to me.”

Tightening his grip, Quin stood and stepped from the tub. Then he magicked their bodies and hair dry before summoning a dry towel around his waist. “Are you hungry?” he asked, carrying her to the bedroom.

“Are you kidding?” she laughed. “I ate an entire ocean-full of seafood earlier. I’ll be good for a while. What about you?”

He laid her on the bed and settled in beside her, propping his head on one hand. “I’m not in the mood for food.”

She wasn’t blushing too bright, so he lowered his gaze, watching her nipples tighten under his stare. He relished the fact that his glance alone could do that, but he ached to touch her and had no intention of denying himself the pleasure. His thumb swept across one nipple, then the other. Then he trailed his fingers to her inner thigh. She quivered, and he grinned as he lightly squeezed, making her jolt and giggle.

“Are you aiming for a tickle fight?” she asked.

“I'm not ticklish,” he answered, burying his face in her cleavage. “I just wanted to hear your laugh.”

“Oh,” she whispered, tingling his scalp with delicate fingers. “Okay.”

Submerged in supple flesh, he deeply inhaled. Then he moved his lips to hers, licking as he squeezed her thigh again. She laughed, and he pulled it into his lungs while walking his fingers up smooth skin. Her eyes stayed on his as she twitched and shivered, and he wondered how close he’d get before…

“Are you thinking about breaking our deal?” She was defiantly staring at him, obviously determined to put up a fight.

He stifled a laugh as he looked down, finding her body beautifully aroused and utterly available. A sigh tried to lodge in his tight throat, but he swallowed it away while sliding his palm higher, covering the journey he was dying to take.

She clutched his hair in one hand while curling the other into a pillow, and her breasts heaved, tempting his taste buds as spasms twitched the muscles around his hand. “Is it because I was embarrassed in the bathtub?”

“This has nothing to do with embarrassment,” he assured, adding pressure between her legs.

Her lungs deflated, and he pulled a spiral to his nose, smelling it while she took a breath.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, tickling her cheek with the curl.

She scowled, holding her breath as she fought the urge to submit, and he moved his lips to hers, determined to win this one. As his tongue slid along the inside of her pout, his fingers twitched into slick moisture, and he hummed into her mouth as her held breath floated into his.

“Will you let me?” he whispered.

“It's not fair,” she countered.

He smiled as two of his fingers left the others, wiggling inside, and she gasped as her body bucked against his hand.

He kept his lips to hers, but he didn't kiss. He just watched her eyes while slowly working his magic – no spells necessary. “You don't want me to stop, angel. I can tell.”

Layla shuddered, trapped between pleasure and protest. He was right. She didn't want him to stop, but she wanted the whole package, damn it, not just the ribbons. “But…”

Her refusal skipped into a moan as his fingers deepened and curled, and her restraint snapped. To hell with fair, to hell with the guilt, and to hell with the deal. She couldn't control herself and was wasting precious pleasure by trying to.

She closed her eyes and bent her knees, spreading them apart while lifting herself into more intense titillation. Then she slid her hand to his wrist and firmly held his fingers in place.

Quin smiled as his heart sped with approval. Then he licked her quivering pout before moving his mouth to her breasts. Not only had she surrendered, she'd dropped her ever-present reserve and demanded his touch. He'd dreamed about this side of her from the beginning, but had yet to see it, and as she showed him now, it went beyond his most amazing fantasies. His body hardened, rejoicing in the fulfillment of giving her exactly what she wanted, while preparing for the pleasure that would follow success.

Abandoning her breasts, his mouth trailed to her pelvic bone, and she huffed as empty air swept across her nipples. He looked up, finding her alert and staring at him. Then he smiled as he gave her pout a tug. When he made to move his hand away, she grabbed his wrist, breathing deep while pressing his finger to her lips. Then her tongue slipped over his fingertip as moisture surged between her legs.

Quin nearly choked as his heart leapt into his throat, and his patience stretched dangerously thin. His muscles rolled as he cupped her jaw, her puckered lips pliable beneath his thumb. Then he swept the empty air away from her breasts, taking one of them in his palm while replacing the base of his other hand with his mouth. His boundaries were gone, his control unleashed, and this time he had no plans to rein it back in. Freedom… blessed and delicious freedom.

His freedom was Layla’s captivity, and his mouth and hands might as well have been shackles pulling her places she’d never been. He'd never touched her with so much fervor, and his mouth had never roamed so far or taken such liberties. He had her out of her mind with frenzied delight, and she was at his mercy, his to shape and tease and tantalize any way he desired. And she was okay with that. Every touch, lick and kiss felt glorious and right – a shining moment that would never be forgotten. And her insecurities became inconsequential, lost in the chasm of rapture he’d pushed her into. She couldn’t resist, so her hands and nails went where they wanted as her moans freely flowed.

When he moved his mouth back to hers, staring into her eyes with intense desire glinting in his own, her ecstasy peaked like never before.

“Come on, baby,” he whispered, and a flood of heat and euphoria rolled over her body like a whitecap, rushing her flesh like the wind.

He sighed then kissed her deeply, his hand growing still as her tremors slowed. Her body jolted when he pulled his fingers from it. Then it shuddered when he ran his palm along the inside of her thigh. He slid his mouth over her chin to let her breathe, but watching him shower her in kisses didn't calm her down one bit. Her skin burned hotter every time he touched it, her heart raced, her knees shook, and she had an incredibly strong urge to grab his hand and put it back.

He was pulling her hip bone to his mouth when she finally found her voice, but a combination of her gasping and arousal made it deep and breathy. “You cheated.”

“I did not,” he laughed. Then he sucked on her hip before moving further up her body. Once his gaze was locked on hers, he stroked her cheek and gave her a kiss. “Our deal is still on.”

She blinked and furrowed her eyebrows, and he untangled her hand from the sheet, kissing her fingers before pulling them to his chest. “If you still want it to be.”

Her eyes widened as realization finally hit, and delicate areas pulsed over blazing blood.
Oh god
.

His gaze stayed on hers as he slid her fingers down his stomach, sweeping them over hard abs to the soft towel around his waist. “You have to make this move, love. I can’t do it for you.”

Layla lay frozen, unsure where to go, but dying to get there. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I just need to know you’re not afraid. I’ll take it from there.”

His fingers flexed around hers, and she knew what he needed. And she really wanted to give it to him, but the territory was foreign. She had no idea what to expect or how to proceed and wondered if she really was afraid. Then she found his eyes and knew better. She’d never felt safer than she felt in his arms.

She swallowed and slid her hand lower, drifting nervous fingertips over plush cotton, and he closed his eyes as he slowly inhaled.

She found his erection quicker than she anticipated, and her mouth fell open with a quiet gasp as her hand stretched over his hard shaft. A portion of it anyway. She thought she’d felt his full arousal in the shower, but apparently not. He was much bigger than the boy she’d been with in high school, and she flinched with both worry and excitement. If she could get beyond the pain, it was bound to be good.

Just thinking about it sent waves of need crashing through her veins, relentlessly tweaking her insides, and her fingers closed around him, her chest and stomach fluttering like a butterfly playground.

He sighed and opened his eyes, and she stared into their dark depths, seeing everything she loved in them. She found herself in them, too. Not just her reflection, but her essence. His eyes were always watching her with unfailing tenderness and patience, seeing her in a brighter light, and every time she looked at them, she found more than before.

She smiled and bit her bottom lip. Then she vanished the last layer between them.

A chill vibrated up her arm when their flesh met, and he twitched as he leaned in for a kiss. “Thank you, angel.” He pulled her palm from his manhood to his chest. Then he left it there so he could lift a fistful of curls to his nose. “Your hand felt amazing, but I like it better when you touch my heart.”