Eternally Yours - Brenda Jackson [109]
“I think it’s obvious,” he said huskily, closing his arms around her like steel bands.
“What will Syntel think if he finds out you’re in my room?” Syneda asked moments before her breath caught in her throat. Clayton’s hands had begun roaming underneath her gown.
Clayton had thought of that. Syntel had given them separate rooms. Evidently he didn’t think it was too late to be a protective father to his daughter. However, as far as Clayton was concerned, it would take more than separate rooms to keep him away from the woman he loved.
“Don’t worry about Syntel. He knows we’re engaged to be married. Besides, his bedroom is on the other side of the house. There’s no one in this wing but the two of us.”
“Are you sure?”
Clayton swiftly and expertly removed the gown from Syneda’s body. “I’m positive,” he answered moments before savoring the taste of her mouth. And at the same time he let his hands move leisurely over her, finding pleasure in her soft nakedness.
“I want you, baby.” He whispered the words against her lips before claiming them again, pressing her back against the pillow.
Syneda was completely aware of Clayton’s tenderness as he went about pleasing her. She automatically surrendered to the passion he was stirring inside of her. He teased her by keeping his mouth on hers lightly, toying with her tongue and nipping at the corners of her mouth.
He lifted his mouth from hers and met her gaze. Deep desire flared in his eyes. “I want to love you tonight in the full sense of the word, Syneda. I don’t want anything separating us. Not anything. I want to give you all of me. But doing so will put you at risk of getting pregnant, and I don’t want to do that. I want you to have my baby but only after we’ve gotten married and feel the time is right.”
Clayton’s words echoed in Syneda’s head. A rush of emotions surged through her. Clayton Madaris, a man who thrived on being careful and in control, wanted to be careless and out of control with her. What he had held back from numerous other women, he now wanted to give to her. He wanted to be a part of her in the most elemental way, in the most special way. But he thought doing so would put her at risk of getting pregnant.
She looked up at him. Love swelled in her heart. “And I don’t want anything separating us, either. I want all of you.” Syneda’s voice was a mere notch above a whisper when she spoke.
“And don’t worry about placing me in any kind of risk. I’m on birth control.”
Clayton’s surprised gaze held hers for a moment before asking, “You’re on the pill?”
Syneda shook her head. “No. I didn’t think I’d remember to take one of those things every day. They’re only as reliable as the person who takes them. I had an injection.”
His look was thoughtful when he asked, “When?”
“Right after our trip to New Orleans.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, threading his fingers through the softness of her hair.
“I started to tell you a number of times, then changed my mind. Using a condom always seemed to be the most comfortable and safest method to you.” She smiled slightly. “Not too many men can boast of having a case of them in their closet. The reason I didn’t tell you was because I didn’t want you to feel you had to change your way of doing things just for me.” She lowered her eyes from his.
“Look at me, Syneda.”
When she raised her eyes to his, he brushed his lips across her lips before saying, “I’ve always believed in safe sex. More men should take responsibility for their actions in the bedroom. But there was never a time when I made love to you that I didn’t think about how it would feel to be skin to skin with you, without having some type of covering, no matter how thin, separating us.”
He pulled her closer into his embrace. “You don’t know how often I wondered how it would feel to make love to you, knowing the very essence of me would become a part of you. I’ve never made love to a woman without using a condom, but that’s all I’ve ever thought of with you.”
Anticipation combined with heated desire flowed