Even more, he made her fearless.
When they surfaced to breathe, she said, “I want to see all of you.”
His smile grew slowly, wickedly—like the devil who’d just won the temptation game. “Take what you want, Ari. Anything you want.”
She all but tore off his boxers, then stilled at the sight of so much hot, hard flesh. “You’re so big.” Her voice dripped with awe. “So beautiful.”
He laughed, the warm sound washing over her. “Are you sure that’s the right word?”
“It’s exactly the right word.” She curled her fingers around him, so thick he almost didn’t fit. Maybe she should have been frightened, but her arousal climbed higher, surpassing even the long, glorious minutes he’d used his tongue and fingers to play her body like a fine instrument. “Beautiful.”
She stroked his tip, rubbing a drop of moisture over him, before sliding down, down, down to his base. She loved the hiss of his breath, telling her the pleasure was as infinite as what he’d given her, and she couldn’t wait another second to feel him inside her. She needed him to take her, to own her, body and soul.
As if he could read her mind, he rolled with her, his hips parting her legs, the muscles of his arms rippling as he held himself above her.
“Mine.” He slid his hand along her cleft, where she was slippery and hot for him. “Tonight you’re all mine.”
“Yours,” she echoed against his lips as their mouths found each other again.
Even as he kissed her, turning her wild inside, he was reaching into the bedside table for protection. Pushing himself off her, he slid it on, his eyes as hot as the erection in his hand, throbbing with a fever.
Fever for her.
His muscles taut as he leaned forward on one hand, he stroked her sex with the blunt tip. Electricity thrummed through her, too much, and she grabbed his arm to ground herself.
“So pretty,” he murmured. “So perfect.” He pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder. “Your skin.” To the swell of her breasts. “Your body.” Then back to her mouth where he murmured, “Your mind.”
No one she’d ever gone to bed with had wanted her mind before, let alone someone as brilliant as Matt. She wanted to tell him how much that meant to her, that tonight was so much more than hot sex. So much more than a way to take his mind off the pain he’d suffered today.
But he was kissing her with such fire—and with the insistent friction of his shaft against her sensitive folds, he pushed her straight toward the bliss he’d given her twice already. Yet another ledge she wanted to jump from. Into ecstasy, into heaven.
With him this time.
“Please.”
His eyes were midnight dark with desire. “I’m going to tease myself to death.” He laced his words with a smile. “But I want you so ready you beg.”
“I’m already begging.” She hadn’t known it was possible to need anyone this much.
“Not just with words.” He stroked his fingers over her sex again. “With all of you.”
Her body moved, matching his rhythm. Pressure built inside her as she rocked into him, against him, wrapping her arms and legs even tighter around him so that she could get as close as possible. And then he slid the thick tip of his shaft inside, and her breath stopped.
“Tell me, Ari.” He held himself perfectly still over her, unmoving even as she was desperate for him to take her. All of her. “Tell me this is what you want.”
“Yes. Please. God. More.” She hoped she made sense, but the stars exploding before her eyes were stopping her synapses from firing properly. “I want more. I need more.”
“You beg so exquisitely.” Finally, he eased himself all the way in, every inch of hard heat he gave her making sensation burn hotter. More intensely. “You are exquisite.”
* * *
Matt wanted to hold out, to push Ari further, to take her to places she’d never been. But she was so ready for him that he couldn’t stop himself from thrusting hard and deep, over and over, until she was coming in another beautiful climax.
He groaned her name, clenching hard inside her as everything spilled out of him, all thought, all feeling. There was just her taste on his lips, her scent ruling his head, her body gripping him tightly, owning him as much as he owned her in that moment.
Spinning out of control with pleasure beyond anything he’d ever dreamed possible, he took her mouth as deeply as he took her body, palming her face and plundering her, staking his claim.
Nothing had ever felt like this. Like heaven, like bliss, like beauty.
Like Ari.
He’d loved her wide eyes as he gave her sensual orders, their color deepening in the moonlight. There was sex, and then there was being totally engaged in the act, relishing every touch, every look, every breath. He sensed that in the past, she’d gone with the flow, acted upon rather than acting—but he’d refused to let her simply react to him.
He nuzzled her hair, and she murmured something indistinguishable, a satiated sound. He’d have to move soon before he grew too heavy on her, but for the moment, he wanted only to match his breath to hers, feel her skin along his, savor being inside her.
When they finally separated, it felt like losing a part of himself he’d only just found. But knowing they couldn’t stay locked forever, he moved into the bathroom to dispose of the protection they’d used. By the time he returned, she’d fallen into the easy breathing of sleep.
Moonlight washed her features as smooth as a sculpture. She looked so young that his chest clenched with renewed guilt.
But he’d allowed himself to have her just this once, and he wouldn’t give up so much as a minute of their one night together, damn it. Pulling up the covers, he gathered her close and let himself relish every single second she was in his arms.
* * *
Ari woke in the dark knowing immediately that she was in Matt’s bed, in his arms. Warm and safe.
Home.
If he’d sent her back to her room, the writing on the wall would have followed her all the way down the hall. But she was snuggled against him like a lover, not a one-night stand.
She’d always packed light and had gotten used to moving on, but that didn’t mean she didn’t love the times she got to stay. Lord knew she wanted to wake up beside Matt as the sun rose, and she fitted herself more deeply into his arms, playing light fingers over his chest, outlining his heart. He’d made her feel special, with his hands, his mouth, his body, his words. There had to be emotion or it was just sex. And what they’d done couldn’t possibly be just sex.