Hot Licks (16 page)

Ah hell.
If he was a werejag, able to see in the dark and leap tall buildings in a single bound, did that mean his other senses were just as enhanced? Could he actually
smell
her arousal?

Her eyes bugged out of her head. “What do you mean you were rechecking the fences?” Redirect. Always the proper answer when freaking out.

His sigh brushed like soft fingers over her face. She kept her eyes forward, not yet ready to see what was in the dark depths of his. “Our trespassers had to gain access somewhere. Dad and Porter asked our employees today if anyone had seen any strangers about, but no one coped to anything. Though we’d checked for any sign of outside access in the fencing around the reserve once already, we did it again. Looking for the smallest cuts, newer looking sections. Anything.”

Gwen struggled to ignore the way his warm, sold hand felt over her tank top, his stroking thumb a scant hairs width away from the underside of her bra-less left breast. “Well, the north fence belongs to the national park and it’s twelve feet high with horizontal, inward facing lengths of barbed wire. The east fence is only five feet high, but you’d need a boat to get to it. So really, that o-only...uhm...” Now he was caressing her breast, making her breath catch and her nipple to poke out in hard demand for attention. The beast.

“...l-leaves the west side, which is still easy enough to climb over.”

“True.” Rome readily agreed, as if he didn’t know he was scrambling all her brain cells. “But it’s near a long, open road and climbing a six-foot high chain-link fence isn’t a quick hop, especially when carrying shovels and guns.

And if you did find treasure, the return trip would be even harder to remain inconspicuous. No. There’s got to be another entrance we just haven’t found yet.”

“Then the east side with a boat would be the most logical.” Her statement ended on a high note as his wondering thumb found her nipple, sending scorching heat straight to her groin.

He made a rumbling sound in his throat and his, “Yes,”

was gruff. “Except Santos said the men took off on the west trail, not the east.”

“Because the jaguar was blocking the east path.” Her response was breathy at best, due to the fingers of his right hand which rested on the inside of her thigh, a hot tease over the thin material of the harem pants she still wore.

“Rome. You need to stop.” Because the point of no return was looming.

“Stop what?” Such an innocent reply in a voice thick
and dark with desire.

“Stop touching me.”

“But I like touching you, and you like it when I touch
you.” As if proving his point, his hand slid under her shirt
and cupped her bare breast. Her traitorous body arched
into him and she couldn’t have stopped the moan from
escaping if her mouth had been glued shut.

But she had to put a halt to this before it spun out of
control, which meant before she spun out of control. “Wwhat
happened in the tunnel was an...an...aberration due to
adrenaline and – ”

He laughed. “Oh really? So you’re saying that right at
this moment you’re not turned on? That if I slid my fingers
inside you right now, you wouldn’t be wet for me?”

Her whole body spasmed at his husky proclamation.

“God, Rome. Have you no shame?” Because there he was,
shoving their sexual chemistry out in the open again, and
cranking her lust up another level with his candidly
salacious words.

“Not when it comes to you and me. How’s your back?”

His topic change and motionless hands threw her off
guard. “Uh. I’m a little sore but it’s not bad.”

“You’ll probably hurt worse tomorrow. Are all your
muscles tight and achy?”

She blinked in confusion. Not for a second had she
believed he’d stop his seduction so quickly. It was damn
near insulting. Her lips pressed together in petulant frown.

“A bit.”

“So you need something to relax those muscles.”

In the blink of an eye, Rome slipped from under her
hand – she might have told him to stop, but hypocrite that
she was, she’d never pulled back from his side – and she
barely caught herself from tumbling face first onto the
cushion. With his arms outspread above her, Rome did
something to the back of the swing and then it was falling
down. To make a bed.

Convenient.

And oh so bad.

Gwen narrowed her eyes as Rome pushed her over
and settled his big frame along hers. She should have
known better. “What are you doing?”

His dark eyes gleamed with heat and laughter.

“Proving a point, and making you feel better at the same
time. No need to thank me. It will be my pleasure.”

“Your mother should have beat you more as a child.”

Propped up on an elbow, his forearm over her head,
he reached out with his other hand to trail his fingers down
the curve of her cheek. “So she often says.”

Heat blossomed everywhere they came into contact,
and he seemed to be everywhere. Surrounding her, luring
her until she wanted nothing more than to touch and be
touched. One hand curled at her neck, his thumb caressing
the base of her throat, arm resting between her aching
breasts. He’d thrown one muscled leg over her right thigh to
keep her close. So very close. The scent of clean male with
a dash of spice and green moss tantalized her nose in
heady appreciation.

Her eyes dropped to his mouth, longing to feel those
lips on hers once again, kissing him, tasting him. It was
maddening, the way logic evaporated when Rome was
near, yet she thrilled at his undivided attention. He made
her feel wanton, desired and cherished, as if he found her
to be everything he ever wanted in a woman. An unbridled
seduction that was bound to get her into trouble on so many
levels. For it made her forget to resist him and, instead,
yearn to give him all she had to give.

She went to tell him that they couldn’t do this again,
that they had to maintain a professional distance, but
nothing came out.

“You know I want you, Gwen.” His voice was a
passionate whisper, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.

“Desperately.”

Her belly flip-flopped and she licked dry lips. “You just
had me.”

“And I crave more. More of your scent, more of your
taste.” He cupped her breast through the material of her
tank top and she arched, unbidden, into his hand. “I want
you in a million different ways and a million different
positions. I want your hair unbound and spread out all over
my pillow. Tickling my thighs as you ride me. Several
lifetimes would never assuage my hunger for you.”

Her legs tightened at his naughty words and it took a
second before what he said broke past the desire burning
in her blood.

Oh, God. What did he mean by
several lifetimes
?

“Rome.” Beyond his name, she didn’t have a clue what she was going to say, but then it didn’t matter as his head descended and he put his mouth to hers. Her tongue slipped past his lips, tasting mint and the spice of his passion. The hard length of his erection pressed against her hip, a physical sign she wasn’t alone in this wild attraction. Her hands tangled in his hair, her moan of need swallowed in his mouth, his muffled groan caught in hers.

The flat of his hand moved in small circles over her breast, his palm a rough abrasion across the sensitive tips of her nipple. As their tongues danced, he shoved up her shirt to knead bare skin, eliciting another moan of need from deep within.

He nipped her bottom lip, flicking his tongue over the small hurt before dropping lower to lick a path of fire along her neck. Instantly, she tilted her head to give him access to all he wanted, quivering in anticipation as his hand slid with aching slowness over the smooth, slightly rounded flesh of her belly to cup her mound over her thin pants.

“Remembering this...” he squeezed gently, making her jerk as his fingers rubbed against her swollen clit. “...how slick and tight your sweet pussy felt around my cock had me so hard all day long I finally had to take care of it in the shower.”

In a snap she had an image of Rome, in the shower, eyes shut in ecstasy, his hand gripping his thick cock in hard, fast strokes from root to tip until he threw his head back and roared, his release spilling from him to mingle with the soapy water that rained down over his bare body.

She must have made some sound, or maybe he felt the wave of lust that dampened her panties further because he stopped nuzzling her neck, lifting eyes blazing with carnal appetite. “The idea of me masturbating turns you on?”

Oh yes and mightily so. She licked her lips. “Why not?

Don’t men get turned on by the thought of a woman masturbating?”

A shudder wracked his large body. “Damn, woman.

Watching your fingers play right here,” his hand edged under the waist of both her pants and panties and made a beeline for her wet folds, “Would set me off in less than a minute.”

Gwen’s hips wiggled under his exploring fingers. She bent her left leg, spreading it wide in invitation as he rimmed the edge of her slick opening, teasing her briefly, obviously enjoying the way he made her body dance to his tune before thrusting one finger inside.

Her hips rose up to met him, an inarticulate sound caught in her throat. “Rome,” she breathed out his name.

“That’s good. So fucking good. You’re so soft and wet for me.” He covered one exposed breast with his mouth, suckling hard and deep as he thrust again and again, curling his finger to rub over sensitive ridges.

Gwen was lost, spiraling in a world of pleasure. One hand gripped the back of his head, the other curled like talons over the forearm at her hip. Breath coming in ragged pants, she opened her eyes and looked down, right into the dark gleam of Rome’s. He was watching her every reaction, seeming to see into her very soul.

He let loose of her breast with a wet pop. “Come for me,
bella
.” A wet swipe of his tongue rasped over her budded nipple and he paused to push in another finger, stretching delicate tissue. “I want to feel you come on my fingers.”

And she wanted to come on his fingers. The tension in her belly was coiling ever tighter as she strove for release.

“Don’t you want to be inside me?”

His soft chuckle sounded pained. “I am inside you.”

Punctuated with another thrust that made her gasp.

“You know what I mean.”

“I only want to please you.”

A wholly unselfish act, considering the rigid length at her hip. He rocked into her with each thrust of his fingers, as if imagining it was his shaft between her legs.

And while she would happily take everything he gave – because she
was
selfish like that – now was the perfect time to touch and stroke what she hadn’t had the chance to in the tunnel.

Without thought or hesitation, as if they’d been together a million times, Gwen slipped her hand straight past his elastic waistband to wrap her fingers around the amazingly soft skin of his cock. He was thick and long, but not overwhelmingly so, not enough to cause pain, only to provide exquisite pleasure.

“Shit.” He gritted past clenched teeth, muscles bunching as another full-body shudder came over him.

“What are you doing?”

“Pleasing you.” It was heady, this sudden feeling of feminine power.

His hips bucked into her hand as she stroked him. She wiped a finger over the dampness at the tip and he let out a soft curse, retaliating with another deep thrust of his fingers, only this time his thumb joined in, pressing tiny circles over her clit.

Her mouth opened and Rome swooped down to claim the moan of pleasure before it passed her lips. With one hand clamped like a vise around the hot, throbbing length of his cock, she impaled herself against his invading fingers, letting the friction and blinding heat drive her higher and higher until she was drowning in passion.

Rome pulled back enough to growl out, “You were made for me,” and then his lips were back on her breast, creating scorching havoc with his tongue and teeth.

When that coil of tension finally snapped free, waves of intense sensation rippled through her. Her body stiffened for several exhilarating moments before she floated back down to herself. Ears still ringing from the force of her orgasm, she absently ran her hand over Rome’s cock.

Even in the midst of her release, she’d been aware of his own, and had gloried in it.

“Hey, now.” Rome whispered at her ear. He’d collapsed next to her, his breath uneven as he sucked in air. “Stop that. It’s too sensitive.” He tried to pull free from her touch.

“Then you stop touching me.” His fingers were still buried inside her.

“Never.” He nipped her ear and wiggled his fingers, causing her body to spasm in aftershocks of pleasure.

Never was a long time, and she was afraid she might just be in agreement with him.

So give this man, this relationship, a try
. That voice inside her was a coaxing presence weaving a spell of possibilities while she was too sated to form much of an argument.

And what if it doesn’t work out?

So pessimistic. What if it does? Are you really going
to let this man go without even trying? You’d be a fool.

Any other woman would jump at the chance to be with
such a giving, protective, handsome and outrageously
sexy man.

The thought of Rome with another woman was enough to make her shift uncomfortably, and want to pluck out the eyes of the unknown woman.

“You okay?” Rome leaned up to look in her eyes, easing his fingers from her body at the same time, making her feel suddenly bereft.

Dammit. She was losing her mind. “Just need to...ah...use the restroom.”

Not a total lie. And while she would like to spent hours out here, cuddling with Rome under the stars, she needed time to think and weigh the pros and cons of a real relationship with him. There were too many variables, to many avenues for things to go really, really wrong, and too much potential for true happiness to just toss it aside in one fatal decision.

Those sensual lips of his brushed over hers. “I’ll take you up.”

Oh and how he had. As she straightened her clothes, Rome took her hand and helped her off the swing. They strolled through the back door, up the stairs and to her suite, where she melted against Rome as he kissed her good-night. He didn’t even try to worm his way inside, which both surprised and relieved her. She needed time to regroup and ponder her unprecedented reactions. She was becoming a heathen. Sex outside, heavy petting in places they could have – and almost were in the case of the attic garden – been discovered at any time, lusting after a man who might not be one hundred percent human.

That made her eyes narrow, and after a quick trip to the bathroom, she settled herself in front of her laptop.