Page 41 of Some Like It Royal

“Take your time but the ice cream might melt.”

Her little whoop at the comment brought another smile to his lips. He stripped off the rest of his suit and left the cufflinks on the dresser. By the time the bathroom door opened and she appeared, face scrubbed and a hairbrush in hand, he was settled on the bed in a pair of loose shorts and a T-shirt. She grinned at the tray he’d set on the nightstand and slid up onto the comforter next to him.

Unfortunately, the guest room didn’t boast a sofa and rather than let her take the floor, where she’d most certainly tried to sleep their first night in, he’d taken the bullet and ordered her onto the bed. He’d certainly slept worse places and thankfully, she’d let him have the win.

“Do you think we’re too late for tonight’s marathon?” She set the hairbrush aside and claimed her sundae.

“Nope.” Daniel grinned and pointed at the television, paused on the opening credits to the science fiction show.

“Yes!” She made a little fist pump with her spoon and they toasted with their sundae glasses. As soon as she curled her legs up and propped a pillow across her lap, he killed the lights and hit Play.

Three episodes later, they’d devoured their sundaes, finished the coffee and she curled against his side.

Sound asleep.

He stroked a finger across her hair and shifted a little to make her more comfortable, but when she just burrowed closer he leaned back against the headboard with a sigh. The first time he actually had her in a bed and he was going to sleep sitting up.

Her fingers wrapped into his T-shirt and he smiled.

There were worse things.

Chapter16

Alyx

Twin bands of hot steel held her tight and secure. She stretched slowly. The pillow beneath her head shifted and a warm hand closed on her breast.

Awareness jolted through her sleep-fogged mind. Her eyes flew open to face the wall of their guest room at the Hamilton house—the Napa Valley estate where they stayed. She lay on her side, pillowed against Daniel’s shoulder. His body pressed up against hers, wrapping her up, and his hand had possession of her breast. The thin T-shirt she slept in was hardly a barrier and her nipple pebbled against his palm.

When he squeezed, his thumb rolling over the hardened tip, she had to swallow back a groan. His erection tucked against her bottom, long and stiff.

Two disparate desires collided. She needed to extricate herself from his arms and that was the sensible choice. But when he shifted, turning onto his back and pulling her around to face him, the urge to stay right there and explore the passion his kisses filled her with overrode good sense.

He massaged her breast and slid his other hand down her hip. When his fingers splayed against the waistband of her shorts, she made a little noise. His body stilled against her and she twisted, her gaze colliding with his sleepy, long-lashed eyes.

Get up and move away.The sober advice chirped into her mind as though delivered by Jiminy Cricket. Dropping her gaze to his lips, she licked her own and his hand glided up her back to catch the back of her neck.

Move away, she reminded herself sternly, but she didn’t listen. His gaze was like a caress on her face, his body, lean and hot where it pressed into hers. He held her captive as he stroked his thumb across the nipple, teasing it through her T-shirt, and she lunged into him, meeting his mouth for a kiss that burned through her barriers.

His tongue teased the seam of her lips and she opened for him. Excitement thrilled to every nerve ending as he stroked her hair and down the line of her back. Somehow she sprawled across him, almost grinding against the rigid length of his cock. The kiss broke for a hesitant second. Alertness filled his blue eyes. Alertness, and something far more decadent.

Want.

“Alyx.” His husky voice wrapped around her name and she sighed, a ribbon of need tightening in her belly. He stared up at her as his hand left her neck, slid down her spine and dipped below the edge of her shorts. The contact sizzled where his fingertips stroked her skin.

“This is a bad idea.” She breathed the words, fighting the urge to squirm, because movement reminded her of their precarious position.

But her body hummed with every light caress. He palmed her breast, petting it in a slow circular fashion that just ratcheted up the need boiling inside her.

“It doesn’t have to be.” He lifted his head, catching her lower lip in a sucking kiss as he traced the line of her bottom. Flesh against flesh and she wanted more. Her knees clamped on his hips and she tried to push herself up.

The slow motion only served to intensify the heat between her thighs, the rigid throb of his erection teasing her through their clothes. She knew he took care of his body. She’d seen the hard plane of his stomach, the golden smoothness of his shoulders, the fine—almost baby-fine—sprinkle of hair that circled his nipples.

Arched above him, she savored how his hand slipped down to the hem of her shirt. Even the most casual graze against her firing her nerves. It was time to stop. They were both awake. Both aware.

But he pushed her shirt up, then his hand caught her breast, his thumb and forefinger rolled her nipple. She tipped her head back. Raw desire pulsed through her, igniting a liquid heat in her blood that threatened to boil over. He pushed her shirt higher and she watched him staring at her. He studied her breasts, and it took everything she had not to sit up straighter, arch her back and offer them to him.

Thank God he didn’t need the offer. One moment she straddled him and the next she lay on her back, legs wrapped around his hips as his golden head dropped to her chest. His breath warmed one nipple. Her sex clenched and she thrust her fingers into his hair.

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