One-Off (32 page)

“That photo.” She cleared her throat. “The one of us dancing together.”

I swallowed. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure she could feel it thumping against her chest. I waited for her to say more. Although I was sure anything more she said would make me combust. Just mentioning the photo made my knees weak. “Yes?” I prompted, my voice raspy.

“You know the one I’m talking about?”

“Yes.”

“It looked like…”

My chin tipped up, and I stared directly into her remarkable eyes. “Like?”

“You wanted me.” She glanced at my mouth. “In that moment.”

I blinked slowly, unable to form a response. She’d blanked my mind. My eyes slid down her face to her mouth and out to her hair. A single thick braid kept it tamed tonight.

“Skye?”

My eyes shot back to hers.

“The photo?”

I didn’t see the point of denying it. “Yes, and you wanted me.”

“Aye.” She gave a slight nod. “So very much.”

My stomach felt like a blazing inferno flared and spread out engulfing every part of me. “And now?”

She slid a hand down my back as the other gripped my nape. “Even more.”

“Ainsley,” I whispered. My heart was about to explode from anticipation. “You’re so beautiful.”

I barely had to lean forward to brush my mouth against hers. Smooth, pliant lips met mine in a brief graze. A groan slipped from me as my eyes fluttered open and searched hers. They glittered with emotions that left me breathless. She came back and kissed me this time. Lightly at first, then more insistent. A proper kiss, not a brushing of lips. No tentativeness, no hesitation. It was as if she’d been hoping for this moment for weeks. Since our dance at the wedding. My stomach felt like it was riding a rollercoaster without knowing which direction we’d fling next. My heart revved and dryness parched my mouth. I wanted to explore every inch of her lips and plunge my tongue inside. I wanted her mouth to touch every part of me.

I pulled back to try to gather some moisture in my mouth. Ainsley was breathing heavily. I slid a hand over her heart and tested the rapid beat. “I can’t catch my breath.”

She smiled but didn’t look any more put together than me. She moved her hand to press it over mine on her heart. “I like you breathless.”

“Your heart is beating so fast.”

Her hand switched to slide onto my chest. “So is yours.”

“Kiss me again and see what happens.”

She grinned and followed my order. Her mouth slid over mine, applying just the right amount of pressure. Lips coaxed mine open and her tongue slipped over my bottom lip. Mine reached out to meet hers. At the first touch, she moaned and pressed closer, her tongue pushing inside. My hands clutched at her back, trying to get as close to her as possible. I accepted all that she had, pouring every wish and hope and desire I’d had since seeing her again into our kiss. When I felt my head get fuzzy from the sensations, I pulled away and rested my forehead against hers. Her rapid breath pushed against my wet, swollen lips.

“I don’t want to stop,” I admitted.

“Then don’t,” she whispered.

I shook my head once. “You’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Don’t think about that.”

My hands slid down to grasp hers. Our fingers interlocked, sparking tingles up and down my arms. I should take her back to Colin’s. Not allow us to start something that couldn’t be finished, that would only lead to greater disappointment by things that couldn’t be changed.

But then her thumb slid over my knuckles and my mind filled with how much I needed her hands, and mouth, and body on mine. I tugged on our joined hands and watched her beautiful smile flare.

Forty-Two

I should have been nervous. Should have been in my head worried that we were letting a lusty haze dictate our actions. Might have fretted over the fact that this woman was so beautiful, always had been, always seemed so mature when I’d felt like a geeky college kid. But none of that occurred to me. Not with her hand clutching mine, thumb stroking my knuckles and our hurried steps to get to my bedroom. I didn’t have even a moment’s hesitation.

Ainsley pressed me into the doorjamb before we entered the room. Her mouth followed, sliding over mine. I leaned into her, pushing my hips against hers, and gripping her waist. My head tilted for a better angle as my tongue explored her mouth.

“Mmm, Skye,” Ainsley whispered as she pulled me with her into my room. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do that.”

“As much as I have,” I breathed out and reached for the buttons on her shirt. They came away easily and my hands were sliding inside, touching her smooth, hot skin. I’d never felt anything better.

“Never stop touching me.” Her hands dropped down to grip my top, pulling it up and off. Her eyes slid down my torso. Heat bloomed in their wake. “You’re as sexy as I imagined.”

“You’ve been fantasizing about me.” I was half teasing half satisfied.

Her eyes narrowed at my tone. She shoved me and I fell onto the bed laughing. She swooped down on top of me and slanted her mouth over mine to silence me. The skin bared on her stomach slid against mine. I groaned and pushed up against her. My hands reaching to push her shirt from her shoulders.

She sat up and helped. My hands slid up her sides, but she knocked them away with a determined look in her eyes. Her hands plucked the button on my pants open. I felt a grin flare at her tenacity and pushed up onto my elbows. I watched as she undid my pants and tugged. I lifted up and let her drag them off my legs.

Her eyes scanned my legs, locked onto my blue undies, and slowly drifted up to my matching bra. When they hit mine and recognized the teasing glint, she shook her head once and took a swipe at the side of my ass. My hand caught hers before she landed the smack.

“Oh-ho,” I exclaimed. “I always suspected you were into kink.”

She laughed. “If I see that smug grin again I’ll swat you good.”

I laughed with her as she fought to release her arm from my grip. I used her momentum and swung her over onto her back. She was so stunned she couldn’t form any words. I took the opportunity to kiss her again. My bra brushed against her sexy pink satin one. I wondered if she wore sexy bras like this every day or if she might have hoped we’d end up here tonight.

“Beautiful pink,” I breathed out as two fingers dragged over the shell of her bra cup.

“Beautiful red.” She pushed a hand into my hair. “I’m so happy to see it again.”

“I did it for you,” I admitted a truth I’d been hiding even from myself.

She sucked in a breath as her hands drifted down to my shoulders and onto my arms. “I hoped.”

My hands went to work on her pants and stripped them off. She reached for my bra, but I pulled back out of her reach. Her growl surprised us both. I couldn’t help laughing and almost instantly felt sadness that I’d never experienced this with anyone before. Lust, sure, pleasure, to an extent, but desire, yearning, and merriment all wrapped up in sexual anticipation made my whole body tremble.

“I thought about licking every one of your freckles,” I said in a low voice, leaning down to lick one on her throat then another on her chest. Like mine, they covered every inch of her. I was going to spend the whole night doing the same.

“When that first photo was snapped,” she guessed and gave me one of her own smug looks that disappeared when my lips closed around a nipple through her bra. “Stop torturing me.”

My fingers slipped under the bra cups and danced close to her nipples. She pushed up against me. Her hands fumbled under her back and released the bra. I pushed at the straps, my eyes glued to her breasts as the bra fell away. Beautiful pink was right. Luscious light pink nipples crowned round, firm breasts sprinkled with those faint freckles.

I swallowed to get some moisture back in my mouth. Everything about her body was beautiful. “Ainsley,” I whispered, unable to form anymore words.

“Skye,” she mimicked and plucked her finger under the front clasp of my bra. “You’re beautiful, darling. Every bit of you.” Her hands came up to grasp my breasts.

To keep from whimpering, I swooped down for another kiss. My hips shimmied between hers, my thighs spreading hers wider. I reached down and pushed at my underwear, twisting to get both sides down and off my legs. Then I tugged at hers. With a lift of her hips I had hers off in seconds.

I looked down and nearly bashed my forehead against hers as she tried to do the same. “Let me look at you.”

“Me, first,” she ordered and twisted to push me off her and onto my side. “Gorgeous. You’re too gorgeous. You always were.”

“Sexy and beautiful and perfect.” I skated my hand down the center of her chest, over to her hip, and onto her thigh, squeezing and sliding over the supple skin.

“I love your red.” Her eyes went from the hair on my head to the landing strip on my mound.

I felt myself flush at her stare. My hand went to the band at the end of her braid and pulled it free. I pushed my fingers through her hair, watching the volume fan out around her head and shoulders. “I love your yellow. Always have.”

She tilted toward me and kissed me softly at first. Her tongue played along the seam of my mouth and pushed inside, skimming the surface of mine. A knee pushed between mine and her thigh surged against my throbbing center. She moaned when she felt how wet and ready I was.

I moved my thigh to press against her and found her just as ready. I tilted to try to slide on top of her, but she resisted. A moment later she tried the same and I wouldn’t let her.

“Skye,” she moaned. “I need to—”

I cut her off. “I need to—”

But she cut me off when her hand slid between us to cup me. My clit throbbed in her palm and I felt the razor sharp edge of climax skitter so close to completion. I’d never had a hair trigger response before, not with anyone, not even with myself.

“What do you need?” Her blue eyes sparkled with the knowledge that one or two strokes and she’d have me.

I wanted to fight what I knew was true. Protest my surrender. Wanted to, but couldn’t. “You. Any way. I don’t care, just you.”

“Thought so.”

She kissed me again and increased the pressure of the hand that now controlled me. Her thigh ground against the back of her hand, adding more exquisite tension. A finger probed, sliding through the folds and prodding softly, slightly inside before backing out and teasing again. My hips tilted, trying to force her where I wanted her to go. A smile interrupted her kiss as her teeth nipped at my bottom lip before she finally stopped teasing and pushed fully inside. We both sucked in the same breath as her finger backed out and she added another on her next plunge inside.

“Yes,” I dragged the word out, pumping my hips against her hand and thigh. Helpless to do anything other than let her have me, own me.

“You feel so good,” she panted.

I drew my hand up her side and onto her breast, squeezing softly. My fingers pulled out to the tip and pinched then twisted, testing what she liked best. Her pants turned to moans. She quivered with every tweak of her nipple.

“Don’t stop.” Her hips matched my rhythm and her breathing sped up. “Come for me, Skye.”

My eyes pinched shut as she pushed into me. Her palm slapped against my clit causing the tight spiral to burst and flare outward as my climax hit hard and sharp. My body pitched against hers as the pulsations crested and crashed over and over.

“My bonnie Skye,” she whispered when I opened my eyes and saw her watching me.

My heartbeat seemed to throb everywhere. It was hard to hear and see and breathe. She’d wrung everything I had out of me.

“Enjoyed that, did you?” she asked in that aggravating teasing tone.

I thought of a million retorts but actions were always better than words. My hand slid down and gripped her hip and pulled her toward me. I scooted back to bring her onto her stomach. She started to protest but I was sliding onto her back before she got a word out. I swiveled my hips against her heart shaped ass before shifting back onto my knees. She made another sound that was halfway between a whimper and a grouse. I silenced it by gripping her hips and bringing her up onto her knees. My hand rubbed up the length of her back as she twisted her head to look at me. I could see excitement and trepidation and frustration painting her expression. If she hadn’t stripped every emotion of mine bare, I’d never have tried this vulnerable position with her.

Both hands slid up her sides and dipped under to cup her breasts. Her head tilted up and she pushed back against me. My fingers tugged at her nipples, pulling another moan from her. I brought a hand back to skim over one muscular globe and onto the next. She trembled in my hands and I wondered if she’d ever let anyone put her in this position before. That excited me almost as much as her first touch.

“Skye,” she whispered.

“Is this okay?” I asked and leaned forward again to press a kiss to her back.

“I need—”

“I know what you need, Ainsley. Let me give it to you.” I knew she’d be more comfortable if she flipped over to face me or climbed on top of me. But I didn’t want this to be comfortable sex for her. I wanted it to be the best she ever had. I wanted it to shatter any and all of her defenses. Just like she’d done to me.

Her head twisted to look at me again. That wild billowy hair hid part of her face but not her beautiful cornflower blues. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need to. I could read her body.

I slid my hand down and cupped her fully, my fingers pushing through the triangle of curls. My eyes squeezed shut at the feel of her engorged lips in my hand. I forced them open to watch every tiny responsive movement. I circled her entrance, waiting only a moment before her hips gave a fractional shift, the only hint I needed before thrusting inside. Her warm, slick walls clung to me. I pushed up against her, hissing at the pleasure I felt when my still sensitive clit smashed against the back of my hand. My finger pulled out and pushed back in. We both groaned as my rhythm sped up.

“More,” she ordered.

On the next plunge, I added my index finger and filled her. The tight channel expanded to fit me perfectly. I shifted my free hand to grip her hip and add leverage to our thrusts. I wanted to stay inside her forever, never stop pumping, never cease this pleasure. This feeling, this completeness was so foreign to me. Instinctively I knew I’d never have this with anyone else.