Ian's Ultimate Gamble - Brenda Jackson [31]
Ian checked his watch a few hours later. It was ten to seven. Where was she? He distinctively remembered Brooke always showed up at any destination a few minutes earlier than scheduled. Of all the nights for her to change her routine and—
His breath caught when he heard the ringing of his elevator alerting him he was about to have a visitor. Deciding this would be a special night, he had changed into a pair of black trousers and a white button-up shirt. But to give his outfit a casual spin he had left his shoes off. He wanted to look totally at home, totally relaxed and completely in control.
He walked over to the elevator and was standing there when it opened. As soon as it did, his throat suddenly felt tight and he could only stare, almost tongue-tied as he feasted his eyes on Brooke. She was wearing a short, lacy black concoction that seemed to scream, strip me. His fingertips began to itch, wanting to do that very thing.
"I know I'm early, but aren't you going to invite me in?"
Hell, he planned to do better than that, he thought, edging backward so she could take a step forward. When she did, the elevator door swooshed close. "Welcome back, Ian."
God, he'd missed her. In just a couple of days she had gotten back under his skin. Deep. He opened his mouth to reply but no sound came out. His mind couldn't get beyond the fact that she was standing there wearing black lace. She of all people knew how he felt about black lace; especially on her. She could wear it like no other woman. He was aroused to the nth degree from just seeing her in it.
The itching in his fingers intensified and a need he tried to ignore gripped him, made his blood sizzle and his heart pound in his chest. He took a step forward. It was then that he studied her face; a face that had invaded his dreams so many times over the past four years; a face he couldn't forget no matter how he tried.
Ian quickly accepted the fact that it wasn't about the dress Brooke was wearing or how sexy she looked in it that made him so attracted to her. Brooke, the unique individual she'd always been, had captured his interest from the first and still held it tight.
But still he had to give kudos to the dress. It made a provocative statement, and seeing her in it did the things to him she'd known it would.
"Ian?"
His gaze returned to her face. He watched her mouth quiver and decided to kiss that quiver right off her lips. He intended to give her a proper hello, Ian Westmoreland style. Leaning over, he ran his fingertips along her jaw and then, leaning closer still, he began gently nibbling on her lips, savoring the moment and relishing the sweet taste of her and the feel of her full lips beneath his.
He had wanted to linger, but the need hammering inside of him wouldn't let him. It drove an urgency he couldn't control, and when her moan filled his mouth he indulged her by taking the kiss deeper. All the long-denied needs he'd pretended weren't there were hitting him full force begging for the kind of release only she could give.
He tightened his hold on her as his mouth mated with hers, slowly yet torridly, taking his breath away with every return stroke of her tongue while it moved sensuously in his mouth, hitting those spots she knew from the past could drive him mad with desire.
One thing he and Brooke had enjoyed doing as a couple was exploring new things in the bedroom, and on one occasion they'd had a kiss-a-thon. By the time it was over, they had explored every kissing tip known to man and had gone further by inventing some of their own.
And she remembered, he thought, as his hands on her hips tightened and he pulled her closer to him. Not only had she remembered but she was putting some of those techniques into action, making blood pulse through his veins and sending heat spreading all through him; especially his loins. With a master, and skill that almost made him weak in the knees, she was taking over the kiss, making him groan into her mouth and reminding him why he had fallen so hard for her years ago. Brooke had a way of taking him by surprise.