Page 48 of In Flight

The naked words have a definite effect. On my heart even more than my body. But a little spark of spirit prompts me to reply, “Sex first, I think. Acts of cannibalism second.”

He collapses into soft, shaking laughter and pulls me into a hug.

Seriously, I wouldn’t think in my state of arousal a hug would mean more to me than a sexual touch would, but it does.

It really does.

I’m not sure anything in my entire life has made me feel better and more secure and more cared for—for myself, all of me, my heart and my body both—than his instinctive reaching for me in his amusement.

I squeeze him back, and the rise of emotion turns me on even more. After a minute I can’t hold back. I back off just enough to pull him down into another kiss.

He responds with equal enthusiasm. And this time he uses the wall to brace some of my weight as he eases me up off the floor.

I wrap my legs around him, and he carries me into the bedroom like that.

I’ve always been medium size in every way—definitely not a lightweight—so the simple act thrills me to a ridiculous degree. By the time he lays me down on the bed, I’m breathless and so jittery with desire that I can’t lie still. I grab fistfuls of his jacket, trying to drag him down on top of me.

He delays only long enough to shrug off his suit coat and pull off his tie and belt. Then he climbs on top of me, leaning over to give me a longer, slower, deeper kiss.

If it were possible for my head to fly all the way off my neck, it would definitely do so right now.

“Fuck, River,” he mutters after several minutes of kissing. He’s started moving his mouth against the skin of my cheek, my jaw, my throat. “I’ve never known anyone as warm and beautiful and deep and real as you. It’s like I’m drunk on you. I’ve heard people talk about it, but I didn’t think it was possible until right now.”

“Me too.” I gasp and arch up when he sucks on the pulse point at the base of my throat. “I thought this kind of thing only happened in fantasies.”

“Had a lot of fantasies about fucking me, have you?” There’s affectionate laughter in his murmur. He’s reaching beneath me to find the zipper of my dress.

“Not you. Just generic men. I’ve had all kinds of fantasies about generic men.”

“Hmm.” He’s found the zipper. After sliding it down, he gently pulls down the top of my dress to expose my chest and pretty black bra. My boobs need a lot of support, so it’s not a few flimsy pieces of lace and silk. But it’s as pretty as my bras get.

He definitely likes the look of it. His eyes heat up visibly as he stares.

“Hmm, what?”

“What?” He blinks up at me.

“You said hmm like you were thinking something.”

“Oh.” His mouth twitches up before he reaches around to undo my bra. “Just wondering if I should be jealous of all these generic men you’ve been fucking in your mind.”

I giggle, too into him to be self-conscious when he unclasps my bra and pulls it away, baring my breasts to his view. “No reason to be jealous. They were mostly faceless if you want to know the truth. I’d make up whole scenarios and imagine every touch and word. But the guys themselves never had a face.”

He’s laughing as much as I am as he draws my dress all the way down my body and pulls it off over my feet. Now I’m wearing nothing but my panties and the winter thigh-high stockings I wore under my boots.

“Fuck,” he breathes out, straightening up slightly so he can see the length of my body.

“You never saidfuckbefore.”

“I’ve saidfucka lot.”

“But with me. I don’t think you ever said it even once until we started kissing.”

“Really? Well, I’m going to make up for that over the next few hours. You’ll never have heard as many fucks in your life as you’re about to hear.”

This makes me giggle again. It’s spilling out of me. An intense mingling of hilarity and affection and pure, blazing joy. He’s not giggling like me, but I can sense the same kind of overflow of feeling filling him too, seeping out the edges of his expression.

“Hold on. I better grab a condom.”

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