probably...something you should...know,” she said, sounding a little unsure.
“Have you changed your mind?” he asked, torn between knowing it would be in the best interest of both of them if she had and at the same time dreading her response.
“No, I haven’t changed my mind.” There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation in her answer and, God help him, he was thankful.
“Whatever it is, it can wait until later,” he said, bending to remove his boots.
“But I think it’s something you’ll probably want to know,” she said, sounding a little uncertain.
Straightening, he gave her a quick kiss. “Do you want to make love with me, Mariah?” When she nodded, he shook his head. “That’s all I need to know.”
He didn’t want to hear confessions about other men she’d been with. All he wanted to do was focus on bringing her the most pleasure she had ever experienced in any man’s arms.
As he kissed his way across her collarbone, she reached up to push her dress down her arms. Stopping her, he shook his head as he lightly skimmed his hands across her bare shoulders then down her arms, taking the stretchy fabric as he went. “I’ve been thinking about peeling this little number off you since I watched you walk into the Broken Spoke.”
When he lowered the knit dress to her waist, then slid it over her shapely hips and down her long legs to lie in a pool around her shiny black high heels, his heart stuttered at the sight of her. Her strapless black lacy bra and matching panties barely covered her feminine secrets and sent his blood pressure up into stroke range. Put a pair of those fancy wings on her back and Mariah could easily model for that famous lingerie company every man with a pulse found so fascinating.
“You’re gorgeous,” he said, feeling as if all of the oxygen had been sucked from the room as he squatted down to remove her shoes.
“Thank you.” When he straightened, she stepped forward to reach for the snaps on his chambray shirt. “But you’re a little overdressed for this, don’t you think, cowboy?”
As he watched, Mariah unfastened his shirt, pushed it from his shoulders and tossed it aside to place her hands on his bare chest. His pulse sped up and it felt as though he’d been branded where her soft palms rested. How many times had he speculated how her delicate hands would feel when she touched him like this? Nothing he could have imagined came close to the excitement racing through his veins at that moment.
“I knew your body would be beautiful,” she said as she traced the valley between his pectoral muscles with her index finger.
“Looks can be deceiving,” he said, thankful that she couldn’t see the ugly imperfections he’d spent most of his life trying to hide.
Before she could ask him what he meant, Jaron unbuckled his belt, released the snap at the top of his jeans, then gingerly eased the zipper down over his persistent erection. Shoving his jeans and boxer briefs to his ankles, he quickly stepped out of them and kicked them to the side.
He silently watched as Mariah’s gaze traveled the length of his body. He could tell she was trying not to be conspicuous. But when she noticed his arousal, her eyes widened a moment before she lifted them to meet his.
“I’m just a man, darlin’,” he said, reaching behind her to unfasten her bra. “You aren’t afraid of me, are you?”
“N-no,” she murmured. “Being afraid of you has never crossed my mind.”
“Good.” Tossing the scrap of black lace to the pile of clothes on the floor, he kissed her deeply before cupping her breasts in his palms as he stared into her pretty eyes. “I promise we’ll be perfect together, Mariah.”
“I—I know,” she said, shivering when he kissed each one of the taut peaks, then moved his hands to slip his thumbs into the waistband of her panties.
He slowly lowered them over her slender hips and down her thighs, and when he tossed them aside he stepped back to appreciate her gorgeous body. Everything about her was perfect, and he felt humbled at the knowledge that a woman as stunning as Mariah would want to be with him.
“You’re amazing,” he said, his voice sounding a lot like a rusty hinge.
When he took her in his arms, the feel of her soft, feminine body pressed to his much harder one sent a shock wave the entire length of him. He had never allowed himself to speculate what it would be like to hold her nude body to his—to have their bare skin touching. But he knew for certain that he never could have imagined anything as erotic or sensual as what he was experiencing at that moment.
When she sagged against him, Jaron swung her up into his arms and carried her over to place her in the middle of his king-size bed. Her long dark brown hair spread across his pillow and her lithe body lying on the black satin sheets was an image he knew he would never forget.
Opening the bedside table’s drawer, he removed a small foil packet and, tucking it under his pillow, stretched out beside her to take her in his arms. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he asked, not really expecting an answer.
“Not as beautiful as you are,” she said, raising her arms to his shoulders. From the look on her face, he knew the moment she felt the scars on his shoulder that he normally kept covered. “Are these from participating in the rough stock events for so many years?”
He didn’t want to lie to her, but he didn’t want to explain, either. “Everyone who competes in rodeo has a few,” he said, making sure he kept his answer vague. He did have a couple of scars from riding the rough stock, just not the ones under her fingertips.
To distract her from asking more about them, he fused his mouth with hers and kissed her with all of the need he had denied for almost as long as he had known her. Sweet and soft, when her lips melded with his, Jaron forgot about anything but the woman in his arms and the heat inside him that had built to a fever pitch. He had wanted Mariah for years and he found it damned near impossible to think about anything but burying himself so deep inside her that they lost sight of where he ended and she began.
Unable to wait any longer, he kissed his way down to her collarbone as he moved his hand along her side to her hip and beyond. Caressing her satin skin, he parted her to stroke the soft folds with tender care. The fire inside him threatened to burn out of control at her readiness for him. She needed him as much as he needed her.
“Mariah, I promise next time we’ll go slower,” he said, reaching for the packet under his pillow. “But right now, I need to be inside you.”
“I need that...too,” she said, her tone breathless.
He quickly arranged their protection and nudged her knees apart to rise over her. When she raised her arms to his shoulders and closed her eyes, he leaned down for a brief kiss.
“Open your eyes, Mariah,” he commanded.
When she did, he captured her gaze with his as he guided himself to her. The desire and the depth of emotion he saw in her rapt expression were humbling, and unable to wait any longer, he slowly, gently moved forward.
The mind-blowing tightness as he carefully entered her robbed him of breath. It felt as if she had never...
He immediately
