Page 60 of Caught Up In You (The Monroes 2)

“Can you take your time later? Now I’m kind of in a hurry.”

He slid his hands over her stomach and up to cup her breasts. “I like that you’re already planning a next time.”

“If you don’t get this show on the road, there won’t be an encore.”

When his mouth replaced one of his hands, Cora arched off the bed and gripped the comforter. She pulle

d her knees up on either side of Braxton’s body as he laid his weight on her.

“You’re overdressed,” she panted.

Suddenly he was off of her and a rustle of clothing had her smiling. Perhaps Mr. Take His Time was in a hurry after all.

When she heard the unmistakable crinkling of a wrapper, she smiled. “That’s more like it.”

“Damn it. My hands are shaking,” he half laughed.

Cora sat up and reached for him. When she hit his thighs, she slowly moved up to grip his hands. “There,” she murmured. “Let me help.”

He was indeed shaking beneath her, but that only proved just how monumental this moment was for both of them. Cora was humbled and excited that he was so nervous. At least she wasn’t alone.

She glided her palms up his arms and curled her hands around his shoulders. “I’m scared too, if that helps. For reasons I can’t think about, this matters more than I wanted it to.”

Braxton’s lips nipped at hers. “You’ve mattered since I met you.”

With that declaration, he eased her back down and settled between her legs. Cora thought she’d mentally prepared herself for the emotions that would flood her once they came together, but when Braxton joined their bodies, Cora had to shut her eyes to hold back the tears.

“Am I hurting you?” he asked, his voice husky, full of desire.

Cora shook her head and bit her lip. She couldn’t speak, didn’t want to ruin this moment with words. Everything about being here with him was so much more than she’d thought it would be. The intensity, the slow, easy passion they shared consumed her and pulled out sensations she’d never felt before.

Only this man had the ability to do that.

Cora lifted her knees and tilted her hips as he started to move. Part of her wanted him to hurry, to fulfill both their needs. But the other part of her, the woman who relished in all of these newfound emotions, wanted Braxton to take his time, to make this last so she didn’t have to face reality and analyze what all of this meant.

Braxton caressed his lips over hers as he continued to move. Cora opened for him, needing to feel even more of a connection. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders at the same time she encircled his waist with her legs.

He tore his lips from hers to trail his mouth down the heated skin of her neck and across her shoulder. “Feels so good,” he muttered.

Cora threaded her fingers through his hair as her body started to rise. Wave after wave slid through her entire body until she was bowing up, tightening around him, and crying out his name.

Braxton whispered something as he trailed kisses along her neck. Before she could fully come back to reality and grasp what he was saying, his entire body trembled against hers. She held on to him as his release took over. Beneath her palms, the muscles in his back tightened, strained. He chanted her name over and over, and Cora knew what they’d just shared was something far beyond what they’d anticipated, far beyond sex.

Intimacy was too mild a word. The bond they’d forged was deep, it was strong, and now they had to figure out where to go from here.

Braxton settled against her side, tucking her against his warm, solid frame. “Sleep,” he murmured as he kissed the top of her head. “I’m not letting you go.”

Cora swallowed and closed her eyes. He may not want to let her go, but once he found out who she was, would that be a total game changer?

“I’m glad the electric was off,” she muttered. “Only fair that if I can’t see you, you can’t see me.”

His fingertips trailed over her side, leaving goose bumps in his path. “The lights came back on before we started. I saw every amazing inch of you.”

Cora froze. “What?”

He kissed her softly. “I’ve never seen a sexier sight than your body, your face when you think I can’t see you. Nothing about you could turn me off. Absolutely nothing.”

Cora wasn’t so sure of that, but she was still reeling from the fact he’d seen her. Truly seen her. Even when she’d been with Eric she’d demanded lights off. But Braxton made her feel beautiful, cherished, and . . . dare she say, loved?

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