Page 60 of Pride
Until Alice exposed the red lace, her flat stomach, her sheer bra. She lifted the shirt completely off to stand unapologetically before him.
Parker stayed forward, captivated by the sight of her body. His pheromones thickened the air, and she knew, even though he acted unaffected, his insides were fluttering just like hers. They had to be.
“Turn,” he said. “Slowly.”
His alluring scent infusedwantandneedinto her system. “No.”
That brow arch. That cocky, incredulous ego. “No?”
She stepped closer until he sprawled back and her knees hit the bench between his widespread legs. The bastard stretched his arms and rested them on the piano keys, making them tinkle. He waited for her to assess him, too. So she did. Her eyes did a slow drag down his front, roamed over his glorious abdominals, down more, and then her mouth dried. The line of his erection was a clear outline against the silk. He was big, thick and long from the head to the base. She doubted she’d be able to accommodate him.
“Turn around, Alice. I want to see all of you.”
Forcing her eyes back to his face, her lips quirked. “Do you have any idea how long I wished for you to say that? That for two years I had to be someone you didn’t think twice about?”
“I want to see you now.”
“And I’m telling you no. You see all of me when I want you to.” What she really meant to say was that she didn’t want him seeing her back.
Her insolence stoked the desire in his eyes. He pushed away from the piano, took hold of her hips, and brought her back to him. Goosebumps erupted as his breath warmed her chest. Proprietary eyes drank her in. He thought he owned her… or at the very least, that she belonged to him. And… she turned the idea over in her mind before coming to the hot, thrilling conclusion that she was okay with that. To have this man forever stare at her like she was his own personal drug, to have him want to devour her… yes, she was okay with that.
Because she felt the same.
God help any woman who smiled at him, who flipped her hair, or gave him a coy look from beneath her lashes. There would be no mercy. Alice reached around her back, intending to undo the bra clasp—
“Not yet,” he rasped. This time, there was no demand in his voice, but a question… a hope. “Let me savor this.”
She lowered her hands. One only savored when they appreciated… when they wanted. His lips hovered between her breasts and he shuddered, inhaling deep, making a satisfied noise that rumbled in his chest. He looked up and held her gaze. He allowed her this dominance, this power over him. Him sitting and her standing.
And she had it, she realized. He’d demanded much from her, but any time she’d resisted, he’d backed off. He’d never pushed her places she didn’t want to go. Oh, sure, he tried it. But never forced it.
This moment would change everything between them and he was asking permission with his eyes, with the soft hesitant stroke of his thumb over her sensitive skin. She gave a small nod.
Hot lips landed on her skin. Her hands threaded into his silken hair. His legs caged her thighs. He kissed her all over, bare flesh and over the lace. He took it all. Tasted everything. And when he found her nipple straining through the thin fabric, he covered it with his mouth. Wet heat enveloped her as he sucked, harder and with fury. Pleasure shot to her womb and she cried out, fisting his hair. He came off, unapologetic and unreservedly aroused. He put a hand on each breast, squeezed and erotically kneaded with an expert touch until she gave herself over to the lazy bliss. He explored her body, lingering on unique feminine lines. He showered so much attention on her that she had the sense he was doing more than appreciating. He was mapping every inch so he could remember it when they were apart.
“Red looks good on you,” he mumbled, running a finger along a strap, stretching it to another angle until it dented against her skin. He canted his head like an artist before a canvas and then pulled the second strap into a harness shape above her bust. He then let go slowly, dragging the elastic over her sensitized skin, watching her shiver in pleasure. “Beautiful.”
But not my back.
The knowledge tugged on her heart and she rocketed out of her daze. He couldn’t see the scars there. They were different. She pulled his hair, bringing his face to attention. Defiance flared in his eyes, and he dug his fingers into the fragile lace bra before ripping the fabric out of the cups with slow, methodical purpose. When he was done, all that remained were the red elastic straps containing her naked breasts.
“I thought you liked that bra,” she grumbled.
“It was never about the bra, Alice. But what was beneath.” Parker went back to owning her body, taking from it what he willed. He licked and laved, sucked and kissed. And she let him. Good God, she let him. His tongue was more intoxicating than his scent. It was the promise of protection, of care, of kindness and—
He lifted her leg over his shoulder and kissed her reverently along her inner thighs, not even pausing before landing at the apex, changing the mood to downright erotic. Two heavy-lidded, golden eyes met hers and challenged. When she made no response, he laved over the mound of lace. The sight stole her breath. She stared into the eyes of the lion.
“I want to hear how you sound when you feel good,” he said, laving her again through the lace. “And I want to hear how you sound when you don’t like it.”
Rules. Directives. An image of the ropes in his room. Perhaps this was a test.
Steeling her resolve, she grasped his hair and pulled tight until his breath hitched, and then she pushed his mouth to her sex. He didn’t hesitate. He kissed her there, devouring through the lace. Bliss pulsed in her body. Her standing leg weakened and, before she knew what happened, both legs were lifted around his shoulders and he held her curled around his face. The strength it took to maintain that pose was astounding. He not only maintained carriage, he feasted on her until she made the sounds he wanted to hear. Whimpers. Mewls. Gasps. Moans.
More.
She needed more.
She must have said it aloud, because he twisted and lowered her gently on the piano lid. An animalistic growl later and teeth tore through the lace, his tongue pushing through the hole he made, stroking and invading her in a way no man had ever done before.
