Page 24 of Matched with the Player

This, he understood. Shoving off his jacket, he yanked his t-shirt up and over his head.

“Wait,” she pleaded, a soft palm on his bare chest. “I want to see you.”

For a moment, she disappeared and he was tempted to follow her despite her dictate. But she returned from somewhere – a bathroom off to one side, he thought – with a fat candle burning on a silver tray. The warm light played over her pretty features, casting her skin in a golden glow.

Leaning forward to place the candle on a nightstand, she gave him a gorgeous view of creamy breasts swelling above a pink lace bra. Her half-opened blouse framed the display, making his mouth water for a taste.

“Good idea,” he managed, his voice throaty and hoarse with hunger for her. But he wanted to show her he hadn’t gone totally sex-crazy. He could still appreciate the finer points of taking their time.

Even if blood flow to his erection robbed his brain of vital oxygen.

“I’m out of practice,” she whispered, hovering awkwardly over the candle with her glasses steaming up.

“I’m glad.” He hadn’t meant to say it quite so fiercely, but it was the truth.

He admired her sweetness and her honor, liked the fact that she was careful with herself. So if she needed a little extra time, by God, he was going to give it to her.

“I don’t know what you’re expecting, but I’m not very…” she seemed to cast around for words, her sexual hesitance making his throat dry up.

How had he gotten so lucky to be with her?

“I only have one expectation,” he explained, crossing the bedroom floor to retrieve her since she showed no signs of coming back to him. “I expect I’m going to die any minute now if I don’t touch you more.”

It was a pressing imperative to put his hands on her. Mold her against him. Taste her thoroughly.

“Sounds serious,” she murmured, sliding her glasses down and setting them on the dresser.

“You have no idea.” He stopped inches away and undid the last three buttons on her blouse.

A soft breath hissed between her teeth as he pushed the pink cotton off her shoulders, letting it fall to the carpet.

She was thin and delicately made. The gentle swell of her breasts was perfectly proportioned for the rest of her. Unable to resist another second, he skimmed a hand beneath one pink bra strap and let it fall off her shoulder. The cup rolled forward, stopping just before it revealed anything.

Leaning in, he kissed her there, on the top of that plump rise. He licked her and she shivered, a raw moan bubbling up from her throat while he sought the tight crest of her nipple. Finding it, he suckled hard, drawing her deep in his mouth to make her forget about anything but him. This.

He kept her there, working the tight nub with his tongue so his fingers were free to explore. With one hand, he undid the clasp on her skirt. With the other, he tunneled into her hair beneath the loose knot at the back of her head. This time, he knew where to search for the pins, freeing them to unleash the spill of dark hair.

Releasing her for a moment, he edged back to admire his work. The tousled hair and flushed cheeks. The swollen mouth and taut nipple that peeked over the top of her bra cup. While he watched, her skirt began to slip, and he helped it down her narrow hips. The pink panties she wore were lace and ribbon, pretty trappings beneath her conservative clothes.

“So?” She toyed with the bra strap that hadn’t fallen off her shoulder yet. “I’ve satisfied your curiosity about what I look like undressed. I think you owe me the same courtesy.”

“As much as I’m loving the view, I wouldn’t call this undressed.” He traced the top hem of her panties, hardly daring to believe he was going to have her. “There’s a whole lot more I want to see.”

“I expect payment in kind.” She tilted her head in a flirty look and reached for his belt buckle, her fingertips brushing his abs and making him fantasize about her hand wrapped around him. “Shall I do the honors?”

He throbbed in response – a definite affirmative. But he didn’t trust himself. He needed to maintain control if he wanted any shot of making this right for her.

“I can go faster,” he argued, taking over the task. In a blink, his pants and boxers were on the floor and he had the distinct pleasure of watching her eyes widen.

She smiled appreciatively.

“Very nice.” Palming his abs just above the tip of his erection, she leaned close to whisper in his ear. “But I might need a little help getting ready for all that.”

He strained to be inside her. To stroke himself against the tender softness of her thighs. Higher.

Ruthlessly reining himself in, he lifted her off her feet and dropped her gently in the center of the bed.

“My pleasure,” he said roughly, hanging by a thread. He was wound so tight it wouldn’t take much to set him off.

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