Hidden Pleasures - Brenda Jackson [48]
“There won’t be any regrets tomorrow, Galen,” she said in a soft voice. “And I’m committed to keeping my end of our agreement, so there will be more nights like this one.”
He frowned and she wondered why he was doing so. Hadn’t she just stated what he’d wanted to hear? They both had their own ulterior motives for sharing this week. He’d been right when he’d said that he had something she wanted and she had something he wanted.
But what happened after the seven days?
A shiver ran through her, although the answer to that question was simple. He went his way and she went hers. She would have her mother’s home and he’d get his week of sexual enjoyment. What more could either of them expect?
She tilted her head and studied Galen, wondering the reason for the heavy silence. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
“Of course.”
Still, she continued to look at him, wondering if she was missing something. She shook off the possibility that she was. Before she could dwell on it any more, he lowered his mouth and captured hers again.
Galen, she decided, was a perfectionist when it came to kissing. Some of the things he did with his tongue should be outlawed. Even now he was sucking gently on hers, while his hands were touching her everywhere, squeezing her breasts, teasing the hardened tips of her nipples. And then he lowered his hand between her legs and inserted a finger into her.
She pulled her mouth back and drew in a deep breath before burying her face in the warmth of his hairy chest. He smelled good. He smelled of man. And his intimate touch was driving her sensuously insane. When his free hand moved to caress the slope of her back she lifted her head from his chest and met his intense gaze.
“Make love to me, Galen.”
She whispered the words not caring that her request probably lacked manners. The protocol was changing, and women were bold enough to ask something like that. Still, such an audacious request sounded strange coming from a female. However, at the moment the only thing she cared about was the deep ache in her stomach that had been there for a while and had become unbearable the moment he’d removed his pants to reveal the thatch of dark curly hair at his groin. There was just something about seeing him exposed and the thickness of his erection that had heat radiating to her lower limbs. She wanted him in a way she’d never truly wanted a man. With Galen she could be herself. She could be the woman she’d never been.
She wanted him. He wanted her. And for now that was all that mattered.
“Be careful what you ask for, sweetheart,” he whispered as he gathered her close to the warmth and solid hardness of his body. She felt his arousal pressed against her belly and was compelled to reach down and grip his manhood in her hand.
She remembered touching Gilford once and the harsh words he’d said when she did. He’d reminded her that she was a lady who was above doing such things. Instead of being turned off by her actions, it was evident Galen had no such problem with her touching him, if the sound of his heavy breathing and deep guttural groans were any indication. Empowered by his response, she began stroking him, liking the feel of the thick veins that outlined the shaft of his penis, and the warmth that emitted from the tip of it.
“Damn, Brittany,” he growled. “You’re about to make me lose my manners.”
She smiled thinking he just had. A true gentleman would never swear in front of a lady. Instead of pointing that out to him, she decided to inflict her own brand of punishment by sinking her teeth into his shoulder blade and then licking the bruise with her tongue. “Payback, Brittany.”
He shifted their positions and she found herself flat on her back with him looming over her, sliding in place between her open legs and red stilettos. And she