Page 48 of Salvation
He opened his mouth, then shut it again. She had a point. “Well, you seem to be awake now. How’d you do that?”
She raised her eyebrows and smirked. “I have my secrets.”
A snort escaped him before he had a chance to consider the wisdom of it. “You don’t need to—”
“Stop telling me what I do and do not need!”
His mouth opened and closed again. Logic was difficult to argue against. “Fine. But, could you at least tell me how you undid my sleep suggestion?”
“Maybe some other time.” She took a step back. “Thereissomething I need.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “Fine. What?”
His gaze was drawn to her hands as her fingers worked the knot of her robe. The same thin, silky one she’d been wearing earlier. She probably had no idea the havoc that little number was wreaking on his determination to take things slow.
“I need to know what it is really like between a man and a woman when everything is good and right,” she said.
Okay, maybe she did know. Dry, hot desert air closed over him, stealing every drop of saliva. His lips parted and compressed several times in a row. He was turning into a damn fish. “Ex-excuse me?”
She gave him an exasperated look. “You heard me.”
Yes. Yes, he did. But it couldn’t hurt to hear it again because this couldn’t really be happening. Could it? “Saku, you don’t nee—.”
“Nick.” There was a clear warning in her tone.
He swallowed against the desert sand in his throat. “Right. Why?”
Tears surfaced in her dark eyes and her fingers stopped moving. “I thought…I thought you….”
Well, crap. This conversation was about to tank. He stepped toward her, toe-to-toe, and gave her a smile. “You thought right about me, but is this whatyouwant?”
“I would not be here if it was not.”
Of course she wouldn’t.
“Nick, please, my first and only experience was a nightmare. It is not supposed to be that way. I want to feel the good. Really, truly, deeply feel.”
There was no good argument against that logic. But, was she as ready as she seemed to think she was? He frowned. What a stupid question. This was Saku, his brave, determined, loving woman. If anyone knew how ready she was for anything, it would be her.
He reached for her, cupped her precious face with his hands and brushed his lips over hers. She didn’t flinch, balk, or slap him. All good signs. “Promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“You will tell me what feels good, and what doesn’t. If you have a single doubt, just tell me. I’ll stop.”
She nodded. “I promise.”
“Good.” He lowered his head again, slanting his mouth over hers, running his tongue along the seam of her lips until they parted.
Just as before when they’d kissed on the couch, she seemed awkward and unsure what to do with herself, something he’d never experienced before. But, Saku wasn’t a one night stand or a friend with benefits, not to him. She hadn’t thrown herself at him like the handful of other women he’d known. Okay, technically she had, but not in the way most women did when they were looking for a good time. She offered not only her body but her heart as well. It was on him not to crush either gift.
A faint hint of Matiran ice-mint lingered as he explored the silky smoothness of her mouth, encouraging her to do her own explorations through his actions. Her body softened, and her arms snaked around his waist as she relaxed against him with a sigh. This small act had to be a huge victory for her, whether she realized it now or not. And it was the hottest thing he’d ever experienced. A conclusion supported by the hardening of certain parts of his lower anatomy. Holy crap, it was going to be difficult to go slow, but if he scared her it’d be all over.
As their tongues slid against each other in their intimate dance, he trailed his fingers along her neck, shoulders, stopping at her breasts to outline her nipples with his thumbs through the shimmering material of the robe. Sakura shivered, arching into him as he rolled their hardness between his fingers. Then he allowed his hands to drift lower and slip through the opening to rest just above the flare of her hips. God in heaven, her skin was warm under his palms, and he could swear his fingertips must be close to touching as he spanned her narrow waist. He guided them both toward the bed, drawing her down on top of him without breaking the kiss.
His palms brushed up and down the gentle curve of her back, then over her plump bottom. It shouldn’t surprise him, but she had absolutely nothing on under her robe. Even though he would have enjoyed slowly removing her lacey undergarments with his teeth, this was still an incredible turn on.
Saku pulled away, ending the kiss. He frowned. “Do you need to stop?”
