Page 21 of The Baker's Dozen

He bites me playfully and a responding moan slips past my lips. “Ignore your alarm.”

With a sigh, I say, “If it was any other Monday, you might be able to convince me to skip work, but today—”

“It’s Christmas Eve.”

“Not until tomorr—”

His hand dips down between my legs and his tongue darts out to lick the sensitive spot just below my ear, silencing me quite successfully, but then he pulls my earlobe between his teeth and I whimper.

When his hand drives deeper between my legs, he murmurs against my throat, “Open up.”

Obeying, I roll onto my back and open wide. In the darkness of the hotel suite, I can only make out the shape of him as he rises up onto his side and rests on his elbow to look down at me. “How much time do you have?” he asks as he pushes one finger inside me.

I suck in a breath. “Forty minutes, but I have to go back to my place to get clothes before I head downtown.”

He adds a second finger, and I open my legs wider, closing my eyes as he awakens my body in this tender, patient way. Slow, gentle strokes of his fingers send shivers through my body. Goosebumps break out over my flesh. He was rougher last night, wilder, but this sleepy side of him is something else entirely, and if I only have one night with my gorgeous stranger, I’m beyond grateful I get to see these two sides of him.

He leans down again, bringing his mouth to my ear so that when he speaks next, his lips brush my skin and I shiver again. “Give me those forty minutes. You have clothes here.”

As much as his words make my belly clench from the promise of what he’ll do with those forty minutes, I can’t possibly wear the same outfit to work today. It’s the final casting day. I’m meeting my guys, selecting my baker’s dozen. “I can’t repeat my outfit.”

“Did you spill something on it?” He pumps his fingers a bit faster, picking up the pace, the force of each thrust drawing soft gasps from my lips.

“Hm?”Did I? No.In fact, I don’t think anything has happened to yesterday’s outfit since I stripped out of it when we entered this suite last night. At most, the wrinkles in my blouse will be a problem.

Dawson’s thumb joins the assault, flicking over my clit in rhythm with the push and pull of his fingers and I lose track of my thoughts. My back arches and my breath catches in my throat as he works me quickly toward orgasm.

“Give me these forty minutes,” he says again, pumping his fingers forcefully now, his hand as demanding as his request as he brings me so close to the edge I’d give him anything he asked.

Literally anything.

“I’m not ready to let you go just yet,cher.”

Lord, give me strength.

“I can’t wear the same underwear again,” I manage to whine, the words morphing into a moan when he presses his erection against the side of my hip and his hard palm replaces his thumb against my clit.

“Leave them with me.”

My eyes fly open. “What?”

“You heard me.” He curls his fingers slowly along my inner wall, dragging them against my G-spot and making my body shudder in response, then he pulls his fingers from between my legs and rolls over, turning his back to me as he searches the bedside table for the box of condoms we pulled from all night. “You can go without.”

Breathing heavily, my pussy aching from the loss of him, I consider his words.CouldI leave my panties with him? I’ve gone commando before, but leave my panties with a man I don’t even know?

I mean, stranger things have happened…

But this is a pretty big day to be free-balling, all things considered.

The light beside his side of the bed flicks on and I roll onto my side to look at his strong back. With the sheets down around our legs, and Dawson on his side turned away from me, I have an uninhibited view of his strong, muscular back and that firm ass. I run my hand down his shoulder to his arm, then his side, and down around the thick curve of his butt. I give it a little squeeze because my restraint only goes so far—

He grunts and rolls back over to face me, a shiny foil packet in his hands and a glint of amusement in his eyes. He holds the condom out to me and cocks one eyebrow. “Stop groping me and hop on. I want to look at you.”

His words, that deep, rumbly voice, and the look in his eyes?

Heaven.

I lick my lips and hurry to climb on top of him. Settling onto his muscular thighs, I place the packet on his abdomen and wrap my hand around his shaft. Closing my fingers around him, I stroke slowly, smiling when his head falls back onto his folded arms and his eyes close.

---