Page 38 of Fairy Tale Husband

She swallowed. “We’re still talking about driving, right?” she asked in a husky voice.

He lifted a sooty eyebrow. “What else would we be talking about?”

She had no intention of answering that one. “Maybe we should get started,” she murmured.

“Fine. Let’s talk about first gear.” He settled her more comfortably on his lap, his warm breath caressing her mouth. “First gear is where you start off. It’s sort of like... Well, like a first kiss.”

“A kiss.”

“A first kiss,” he said, correctingher.

She tilted her head to one side and frowned. “There’s a difference?”

“You better believe it. If you’re smart and want to keep everything running smoothly, you ease into a first kiss, slow and gentle. Like this.” His mouth brushed hers, lingering, probing.

Her eyes drifted closed. “Slow and gentle,” she managed to repeat.

“That’s right. If you begin with a light, easy touch, you’ll slip right into gear without any resistance.” His tongue eased past her lips, caressing the softness inside. “See?”

She moaned. “I think so. Maybe we better make sure. Why don’t you show me again?”

He didn’t need any further prompting, but gave her a thorough grounding in the complexities of first gear. “I think we’re moving toward second,” he murmured after several minutes.

“How do you know?”

“The closer you get, the more the engine hums. When it starts to strain, it’s a warning that first isn’t getting the job done. Then you drop into the next gear.”

“Second, right?” She tilted back her head, giving him access to the hollow at the base of herneck.

“Right.” His mouth followed the length of her throat. “Now if first is a kiss, second is a touch.” His hand slid from her shoulder downward. “It’s just a tease, really. Aprelude to more exciting things to come.”

She shivered beneath his playful fingers. “Does it last long?”

“Depends on where you are.” He fumbled with the buttons of her blouse. “And what sort of impediments are in your way. If your progress is interrupted, you might even have to go back to first.”

“And if there aren’t any?” The edges of her shirt fell open. “Impediments, Imean?”

He stroked his index finger along the line of her bra. “You hit the gas to get things moving faster. When the engine starts to strain again, then you push for third.”

It was an effort to breathe. “What’s third like?”

“Third is a bolder caress.”

She licked her lips. “How bold?”

He unhooked the front of her bra and parted the silky cups. “This bold.” He demonstrated and her breath stopped completely. “You’re picking up speed, moving faster down the road. The tempo accelerates with third.”

“I remember.” She shuddered beneath his touch, burying her face in his shoulder. “But I never went past third. Iwas afraid to go any faster.”

“Then we’ll shift into fourth together.” He turned her so she faced him, her knees hugging his hips, his corded thigh muscles like taut ropes beneath her bottom. “Fourth is all the way, sweetpea. There’s no turning back. It’s a hard, fast ride with the engine wide open. It feels great. And for a while you think it’s right where you should be. Where you belong.”

His hands had slipped to places better suited to the velvet darkness of a moonlit night. The breath sobbed from her lungs. Even as she surged toward some unobtainable peak, she knew she’d never reach it. Not here. Not now. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. “It’s not enough!”

“That’s when you shift into fifth.” He pulled her tight against him so every move he made, every breath he took was echoed by her own body. “Fifth is that final release. Fifth takes you to the end of the road.”

She squeezed her eyes closed, his scent filling her nostrils, his breath hot against her ear, his taste sweetening her tongue. She was afraid to move, afraid to break the connection pulsing between them. “And after fifth?” Her words were labored, her voice nearly inaudible.

“There’s nowhere else to go after that and only one possible option.”

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