Page 5 (2/2)

Caleb htened her once, but she had grown stronger, more confident Today, he had proven hiful discussion Over and over, he had shown her that he respected her fears and feelings If things between them did not last and they still had to see one another at fae then

"Caleb," she whispered, lacing her fingers around his neck, pressing herself closer to his body and the erection she couldn’t possiblyfor a long heartbeat, just tightened his grip on her and stared down into her face So primitive, possessive, snarled across his expression as he lowered his head with a entle Tree of breaths, once, twice

Without a doubt, he held back for her, and the painstakingly polite kiss was touching--but coer had worried her Now it just made her ache for more

Carlotta tore her mouth from his "Not like this, Caleb Kiss me like you did the last time, when I felt certain you meant to consume me So I can feel that you want all of me"

A feral smile crawled up his lips "You don’t have to ask me twice"

He pulled her away fro out of his jacket and laying it across the carpet

"On there" He pointed

She did not hesitate In fact, the de now aze from him, Carlotta eased down onto his leather jacket It smelled of hi, beating in a an to sweat She had read such descriptions of wo excited by a man before, even heard a fehispers She would have sworn they were all lies until now

He attacked the buttons of his shirt as he kicked off his shoes and sent her a piercing stare "Lottie, if you’d like to keep all those clothes in one piece, start re them now I’ve waited over two years for you My patience has ended I’ll ht noant you naked"

His words sent a shiver through her Undress for hiht? She had never done that Goodness, that sounded terribly sheltered Her first husband had preferred darkness and they had rarely progressed past fu, especially after the children had been born Gordon had often waited until she was asleep, frequently pushing her nightgown up and spreading her legs before she was even awake, much less excited

"But…you will seehope so"

If anything, his i He tore his shirt off his shoulders and tossed it on the ground Carlotta’sshoulders, one covered in a faded, but still dangerous-looking dragon tattoo A light dusting of hair just between rigid pectorals They tapered into a washboard of abdo in stunned silence

"You are beautiful," she breathed

"You are too, Lottie I don’t want to hear you try to tellOff with that blouse I’d rather have your skirt off too, but if I have to just push it up and rip off your panties to get to you…"

He would Caleb didn’t even finish speaking the threat because he didn’t have to Carlotta did not doubt that he would follow through

With a shaky nod, she reached blindly for the buttons on her blouse No as she taking her eyes off him He was too beautiful Besides, if he winced or turned away fro herself…well, then she could cover herself again quickly

Her fingers shook as she pushed each button through its opening The cool air hit her collarbones, the swells of her breasts, her abdo the rest of it fro without any thought of sex was both sturdy andso utilitarian "I am sorry it is not sexier My…breasts are not s as I once was"

"Not sexy?" He reached behind her, and with one hand, popped open the four hooks holding her bra closed It slithered down her shoulders, and Caleb dragged it off her body, falling to his knees in front of her to palm one breast "God, these are beautiful You know you’re never going to getreaction, but she laughed It felt good to be wanted It felt even better to be touched, and when his thumb flicked over her nipple, sensation zipped up her spine She gasped

"You have ten seconds to get that damn skirt off, Lottie, or I swear I won’t be responsible for how fast I lift it or how hard I fuck you"

She peered up at hie with her in the bedrooar, but corowl of desire, it did crazy things to her heartbeat, heated her blood She drew in a shaky breath…and realized that the seconds were ticking away

His strong hands curled around her ankles He took a ence: red heels The color of blood, about three inches high, they were sensible enough to be coh to be sexy Then, one after the other, he peeled them away and tossed the Her heart, which had beaten like a dru second

"Caleb…" She didn’t even knohat she was asking for Reassurance? A pro to take good care of you, baby I’et the da in that voice made her jump to obey, that steely tone of authority, she supposed It wouldn’t lie to her It wouldn’t let her down

Carlotta reached behind her and unzipped her skirt Slowly, she wriggled it down, conscious of Caleb’s gaze roa her After three children, her abdomen was not as firm as it had once been Stretch o, but ti her ankle injuryclose to flat

"Stop stalling, Lottie I want to see you"

Finally, torn between beingattractive, she lay on her back and pushed the skirt past her hips The second it reached her knees, Caleb grabbed the black gar but a pair of lace-trie hipster panties