Heat LIghtning (9 page)

Linc only smiled in response.

“I’m not,” she tried to insist.

He moved closer, and she watched his eyes. Lost in his gaze, she could easily read the tenderness in their dark depth. He moved closer and closer still. Finally, he pressed his hips to her body. She felt his erection press hard against her belly. “Think of what you’re saying.”

“I can’t,” she said, her voice trembling and gasping. She shook her head. “I can’t think of anything but this.”

He nodded as he leaned forward and nuzzled his mouth into the damp warmth of her neck. “Later. We’ll talk about it later.”

His open mouth moved over her neck and part of her shoulder, his tongue licking at her skin. “My God, I love your smell, your taste. Were you asleep?”

“For a few minutes.”

“Do you realize what you look like when you come straight from your bed? Your skin is pink, warm and damp from dreams. Am I right? Did the dreams awaken you?”

What did it matter? He knew what she felt. They both knew it. There was no point in denying it. She said nothing, unable to get the words past the pulsating throb in her throat.

“Frustrating dreams? Dreams where I touch your body, caress your skin, kiss your sweet lips?”

“Oh God,” she choked. “Must you talk?”

“Why? Would you rather I took you without a word spoken between us?”

“I think I would.”

Linc smiled. “So you can imagine you had no real part in it? Is that it? So you can say it was only my body and it meant nothing? Is that how you want it?”

She didn’t answer him. She didn’t know how.

“I want you, Abby. I haven’t a doubt I want you even more than you want me, but I want all of you. Not just a body. Not a mindless, pretty, young woman.”

Her eyes widened as she realized what he was doing. He was about to refuse her. She groaned as she moved from his door to press her body against his. “Don’t send me away. You’re right. I want you. I’ll die if I can’t have you tonight.”

“Tell me, sweetheart,” he said as his finger rubbed lightly over her lips. “Tell me what you want.”

Abby hesitated, but almost instantly realized the time for maidenly shyness was past. This was a man who needed her, all of her, while she felt the same. “I want you. I want us. I want to feel the wonder of us coming together again. And I want to feel it all while in your arms.”

“My God,” he said on a low aching groan. “I needed to hear that, and now that I have, I can’t move. Give me a minute.”

Abby giggled softly, for she had neatly reversed their positions, and he was now the weaker of the two. “Kiss me,” she said. “I need you to kiss me.”

“I should be carrying you to my bed, only I don’t think I can.”

“Would you like me to carry you?” Abby surprised herself with a short girlish giggle.

Linc groaned as he pulled her tighter against him. “Little witch.”

Her laugh was muffled by his lips as she murmured, “Just say so, and I’ll give it a try.”

“That anxious, are ya?”

“Anxious enough,” she returned honestly.

“Let’s go,” he said as he reached down and took her into his arms. “I wouldn’t want to keep a lady waiting.”

Seconds later, he tripped over one of his boots and, with a hard bounce, they both fell across the bed.

Chapter Six

She eyed him suspiciously “Are you trying to awaken my mother?”

“What? Your mother? Why would I want to wake her up?”

“So she can find us in a compromising position.”

Linc’s gaze widened with sudden realization. Within seconds, his look of astonishment turned to one that held a definite wicked gleam. “You know, that wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“She’d try to force us to marry, but it wouldn’t work.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely sure.”

“Well, in that case, what happened was I tripped over one of my boots, I think.”

Abby grinned. “I should tell you this isn’t at all the way it happens in my dreams.”

Linc chuckled. “Do you dream of me carrying you to bed?”

She shook her head in denial. “I dream of someone. I can’t see his face.”

He laughed in disbelief. This woman couldn’t lie worth spit. “And you mean most people don’t trip when they walk across their room?”

“I don’t know about most people. All I can tell you is the man in my dreams never falls.”

“I should have let you carry me, then.”

Abby nodded as her finger trailed over his jaw and neck. “Next time, I might.”

He smiled. “Maybe, next time, I’ll just come to your room.”

She grinned. “Kiss me. I need you to kiss me.”

“God, you’re adorable.”

“Adorable enough to kiss?” she asked as her mouth nibbled at his throat then moved along his jaw to his ear and back. “Are you going to kiss me or not?”

“I don’t want to lose control, and I might if I kiss you.”

“I’m willing to chance it.”

He smiled. “This time, I’m going to see what I’m touching. You’re not going to make me lose my head. There’s no way I’m not going to look and savor this.”

“You can look all you want, after you kiss me.”

“Good thinking,” he said as his lips moved to tease hers. And tease he did in lazy thrilling comfort as he slowly eased her robe over her shoulders. The ties of her gown opened at her throat and the small opening was forced over one shoulder.

“Too tight,” she murmured as she dragged her mouth from his. “It’s too tight to take off that way.”

Abby didn’t notice anything much after she managed those words, not with the way his mouth continued its luscious investigation. He was making love to her with his mouth, truly making love with it, and she couldn’t imagine anything more wonderful. Again and again, she gasped for breath as she wondered if anything could be sweeter than the way this man kissed. Moments later, she forgot the vague thought as the tempo began to change, the momentum building. Her sensitized flesh parted, allowing him to suck her bottom lip into devastating heat.

She moaned at the feel of his tongue sliding over her lip, tickling it, sucking at it, causing her heart to stumble just a bit as he showed her how a mouth should be sampled.

“I love the way you kiss,” she said without thought. “I really love it.”

“Mmm,” he murmured in return. “It’s easy to kiss like this when I’m kissing you.”

His tongue moved over her teeth and into her mouth, to tickle the roof, to play, to delve into the darkest, sweetest corners, to search out her essence, to suck all he could of her taste, and in his hungry, unrelenting demand to know all of her, to leave behind his own distinct taste.

“God, I can’t get enough of you. I think I’ll never get enough.”

Her hands reached for his face, and she held him, her eyes closed, her fingers at his cheeks, feeling the suction as they hollowed, loving that sensation more than she could say.

Her gown was gone. She knew he’d pulled it over her head and flung it aside, but she couldn’t remember when. All she knew, all she could feel, were the deep drugging kisses that stole her senses, her breath, her mind.

She was naked beneath him. His chest hair was sensitizing her nipples, bringing them to hard aching buds of pleasure, readying them for the wonder of his mouth.

He didn’t touch her, not anywhere, not with his hands. But his gaze trailed over her entire form, studying her. She could see his delight as it moved down the length of her curves.

“Beautiful. God, I knew you’d be beautiful. I knew it because I’d felt the smooth texture of your skin, still I hadn’t imagined anything like this.”

Abby stretched before him, stretched for both their pleasure, watching the hunger grow in his gaze and thrilled to be the cause of it. Her movements were as graceful as any feline, as tempting as the most practiced courtesan. She knew she was driving him beyond the point of madness and was delighted in her newfound power.

“You know you’re driving me crazy, don’t you?”

Abby smiled all in confidence. “Am I? How?”

“By moving like that.”

“Like this?” she asked as she stretched again.

“Oh God,” he grunted. “I never thought I’d say anything so stupid, but I need you to stop. I want this to last; I want you to enjoy this as much as possible.”

“But I am enjoying it.”

“You little devil,” he said on a low laugh.

“Don’t make me stop. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“I know,” he said and then grinned.

“You can take that gloating look off your face right now, mister. If it hadn’t been you, it would have been another.”

Linc chuckled, the sound low and sexy. “You figure I’m going to argue with a naked lady? I can assure you, at the moment, arguing is the farthest thing from my mind.”

“Lay back,” she said as she came to her knees. “Would it be all right if I rubbed myself all over you?” Abby didn’t actually wait for his answer but helped herself to the pleasure. God, she’d dreamt of this night after endless night. She couldn’t resist now that she was finally able to do it.

“Jesus,” he moaned.

“I take it, it wouldn’t bother you, then?”

It was obvious that he was having a hard time keeping up his end of the conversation or holding to his concentration while delighting in the feel of her silkiness moving over him. “I can’t rightly say it wouldn’t bother me, but you surely have my permission, sweetheart. In fact anytime you’d like to stretch this luscious body of yours, rubbing it all over me, you just help yourself, you hear?”

Abby giggled like a young girl.

“You’re very hard. Do you know that?”

“I hadn’t given it much thought, but I suppose I am, while you surely are as soft as a kitten.”

“Am I? Do you like me soft.”

“I love you soft.”

Abby knelt between his legs and slipped up the length of him, rubbing her breasts over every inch of his body. And as she moved, he groaned, one continuous sound of pleasure. His moans grew in strength when she sat upon his cock, soaking him with her wet pussy. “Hush, you’re making too much noise.”

Quickly, he turned them so he leaned above her. “You’re lucky I didn’t scream.”

Abby grinned. “No, I think you’re lucky.”

“I need to kiss you again. Do you think you could be good for a few minutes and let me do that?”

“Only a few minutes? I suppose I can mange that.”

“Well, it could take a bit longer. I intend on kissing you everywhere.”

“Everywhere? Everywhere sounds interesting.”