Bachelor Untamed - Brenda Jackson [50]
He stopped walking and she did, too. “Do you understand that I enjoyed being with you this morning, making love to you, cherishing your body? I also enjoyed the time we spent together today, even if we weren’t alone.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Uriel. I enjoyed being with you, too.” And although she wanted to convince herself it was just for inspiration to finish her aunt’s book, she knew that wasn’t the reason.
When they reached her porch, instead of walking her up the steps to where they would be standing underneath a bright light—giving his houseguests something to see, he touched her arm and walked her over to the huge oak tree, whose branches not only provided shade but also privacy.
When Ellie stood facing him, Uriel studied her features for a second and said, “You look very pretty today, Ellie.”
And she had. He had stared at her a lot today, on the pretense of watching out for her. But he knew that wasn’t the case. Not one of his godbrothers, even Winston, would have crossed the line once he had established it. And he had established it with Winston’s question. Now they pretty much knew something was going on between him and Ellie, but they probably weren’t sure just to what extent.
As far as Uriel was concerned, they didn’t have to know. They’d never kept up with any of his conquests before. Something cut deep within Uriel with the word conquest. For some reason, he didn’t like thinking of Ellie that way.
“Uriel.”
He blinked. Her saying his name reined in his attention. He had been staring at her, but his mind had been flooded with other thoughts. Thoughts of her, but also of his godbrothers. Now he wanted his full concentration on Ellie.
Reaching out, he took her chin in his hand, finally allowing himself to taste the lips he’d been looking at all day, and yearned to kiss. He slowly ran his finger across her lips, liking how soft they felt to his touch, all the while his gaze held hers. “I’m going to miss you tonight,” he said in a low voice, one that had deepened to a pitch he hadn’t known existed for him.
Although her eyes had begun to darken with the same desire he felt, she managed a small smile and said, “I can always stand at the window and give you something to think about—to remember.”
A smile touched his lips, followed by a deep frown. “Don’t even think about it. I might not be the only one watching,” he said, knowing a couple of his godbrothers had a tendency to get up through the night. “That sort of performance is strictly for me.”
While we are together in this summer fling, he thought, but didn’t say. When things ended between them, would she be sending out intimate messages to other men? He fought back the knot that began forming in his stomach at the mere thought of that happening. He breathed in deeply, deciding what she did after the summer was her business. He would return to Charlotte and resume his life as it had always been. He would bury himself in work and escalate his sex life up a notch.
But now he just wanted to concentrate on Ellie. His fingers moved from her lips, and he then used his hands to frame her face, capture it gently and tilt it up slightly, at the same time that he lowered his head. The last thought on his mind, before their lips touched, was that he needed this just as he needed to breathe. When she uttered a delicious sigh, it gave his tongue the opening it needed to enter her mouth and taste her delectable warmth. The moment he did so, he heard a groan emit from deep within his throat.
He’d figured he would go easy on her mouth, savor it. A hunger, a need, an absolute greed, made it impossible to do that. Instead, his tongue swept all over her mouth, intensifying the heat, stoking the fire and making him want to stand there and kiss her forever.
Forever? He was suddenly stunned at the thought of that word with regard to any woman. Why would he want to kiss the same woman forever, when there were others out there whose mouths probably tasted just as good? But as he deepened the kiss, a part of him knew it would be