Thorn's Challenge - Brenda Jackson [59]
He leaned down and their lips touched and Tara knew at that very moment that she loved him more than she thought was humanly possible.
“I promise to be gentle the first time,” he whispered against her moist lips. “And I promise to be gentle the second time. But all the times after that, I plan to ride you hard.”
“Oh,” she said in a soft and tremulous voice, moments before being swept effortlessly up into his arms.
Thorn placed Tara on the bed and his gaze swept down the full length of her half-clad body. She was still wearing her sundress, but barely. The straps were off her arms and the dress was bunched up to her waist showing her panties and her hips and thighs.
He began removing his shirt. When that was done, he met her gaze again and simply said, “I want you.”
She swallowed and decided to be honest with him. “And I want you, too.”
He smiled, seemingly pleased with what she had said and slowly unbuckled his belt. She blinked. She hadn’t expected him to be this bold, to take off his clothes in front of her, but should not have been surprised. He was Thorn Westmoreland, a man who took risks, a man who lived on the edge, the man she loved.
Tara continued watching as he removed his boots then eased his jeans down his hips. She was enjoying this striptease show he had started. When he kicked his jeans aside and stood before her in a pair of black low-rise briefs that were contoured for a snug fit and supported his overaroused erection, she almost lost her breath.
He was perfect in every way.
His body exemplified everything she had come to expect of him: power, endurance and strength. Lifting slowly, she eased toward the end of the bed where he was standing, wanting to touch his firm stomach. She knew his scent was masculine and robust, but she needed to know the texture of his skin under her fingers and her mouth.
Making a move before she lost her nerve, she felt her own cheeks become heated as she reached out and touched his belly, marveling at how his skin felt, solid and hard. She heard his sharp intake of breath and glanced up and met his gaze.
Potent desire pooled in his eyes and she felt her body become completely hot. Wanting to taste the texture of his skin she leaned forward and with the tip of her tongue traced a path around his navel.
“Oh, man,” he uttered, tangling his hand in her hair as she continued laving her tongue across his stomach.
She knew what she was doing was torture, but he hadn’t seen anything yet. She might be new at this, but those romance novels Delaney had given her to read had educated as well as entertained her. And tonight she felt bold enough to go for it, to show Thorn just what he meant to her.
Thorn was losing control and he knew had to slow down. When he felt Tara’s tongue inch lower and she scooted her hand inside his briefs and touched him, he knew he had to take control.
Aroused beyond belief, he pulled her up to him and claimed her mouth, kissing her with the urgency of a starving man as their mouths mated intensely, on the edge of total madness. It was the taste of forbidden fruit, the sweetest temptation and the ultimate fulfillment.
He pulled back from the kiss, his gaze full of desire. He was driven with the need to remove her clothes and gently tumbled her back on the bed while pulling the dress from her body, and carelessly tossing it aside. Next he reached for the waistband of her panties, nearly ripping them from her in the process.
Before she could react to what he’d done, he quickly maneuvered his body on the bed with her and, like a starving man, grabbed her hips and pulled her to his mouth as if the need to taste her was paramount to the preservation of his sanity.
“Thorn!”
He wanted to make this time different from the times before and went about tasting her with an intensity that made her buck under the demand of his mouth,