Page 81 of Irresistibly Wicked

Her pulse raced as she turned back to him. He looked like he was standing on a tightrope, afraid to speak or move for fear of tripping up something tenuous between them. Or more likely, she was imagining it. She wasn’t exactly thinking straight right now.

Of course she was imagining it. “When did you make us your lockscreen?”

“The other day. I figured it would help sell our relationship to everyone. Does it bother you?”

“No. It just took me by surprise. It’s just a picture.”

His gaze didn’t waver from hers. “A pretty great picture.” He held out his hand. “I’ll unlock it so you can take a picture.” He unlocked it and handed it back.

She tried to play it off like she hadn’t gotten so rattled she’d forgotten she wanted to take a picture, and said, “Give me that Wicked smile.” And boy did he ever.

He pocketed his phone, finding her hand under their ponchos again. Between that picture, their closeness, this incredibly romantic trip he’d planned, and the enormity of the river stretching out before them like a surging path drawing them into something wild and untamable, her emotions were all over the place.

Rock walls loomed on either side of the river, greenery clinging to the cliffs. The observation tower and other buildings, though visible, felt a world away as the boat moved deeper into the river. The wind picked up, and the temperature dropped as they neared the most powerful waterfall. The roar of the falls amplified with the strengthening current, and their ponchos whipped and billowed around them, soaking their clothes. The mist was now a cold blast in her face. She huddled into Zander’s chest, the boat rocking with the pounding of the falls. He put a hand on the back of her head, his other arm snaking around her, protective, strong, safe.

The roar of the falls was almost as deafening as the pounding of her heart as she looked up and found Zander watching her. They squinted against the stinging mist, droplets clinging to their lashes. His hand slid from her head across her jaw, cupping her cheek, and the world around them silenced. He gently tilted her chin up, his thumb brushing over her cheek, his piercing blue eyes searching hers, giving her a moment to pull away. They had an end date, and getting too close would complicate things, but pulling away was the last thing she wanted. He must have sensed it, because his mouth came down over hers, fierce and possessive, taking her in a merciless kiss.

Her fingers fisted in his poncho, steadying her not against the wind and rain whipping around them, but against the damn breaking inside her and the surge of white-hot desire overtaking her.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

THE DRIVE BACK to the hotel was a blur of passionate kisses at every stoplight and wishing he could magically transport them there. Never in his life had Zander wanted anyone as badly as he wanted the woman kissing him like she never wanted to stop as they stumbled into their suite. Their clothes were drenched from the falls, and his mind was three steps ahead as he kicked the door closed behind them. He wanted to strip her naked, taste every inch of her, feel her writhe and whimper as she came on his mouth, hands, and cock. But as they made out like they’d never get another chance, something else tugged at him. He hadn’t been with a woman in months, and he hadn’t wanted to be with, or even look at, another woman since he’d met Shauna.

That was new and a little fucking scary.

Fighting against those feelings as much as he wanted to give in to them, he tried to chase them away, taking the kiss deeper. Her mouth was sweet and hot and she was so fucking eager, he grabbed her ass, grinding against her so she could feel what she did to him, earning a needy moan. He did it again, seeking more. She gifted him the most lustful sound he’d ever heard, spurring him on. He needed to feel her skin against his and started to take her shirt off, but she put her hands on his chest and said, “Wait. You’ve been with a lot of women. Do I have to worry about diseases?”

“No. I wouldn’t be kissing you if you did. I’d never put you at risk, and I have condoms.”

“Okay, but promise me this won’t change anything between us. I like what we have, and we both know this isn’t forever.”

And there it was, the answer to his quandary. Knowing she wasn’t wrestling with bigger feelings stung and confused him, but he was a prideful bastard, and it made it easier for him to tuck his own emotions away. “Don’t worry about me, Angel. I might not want to be a player anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m capable of catching feelings. The question is…” He threaded his fingers into her hair, tugging her closer, and slicked his tongue around the shell of her ear. “Can you handle this without catching feelings for me?” He nipped her earlobe, earning a sharp inhalation.

Her eyes brimmed with desire, but there was no missing the challenge rising in them. “I’m in this for the pleasure, not more baggage. But it’s been a while for me, so I’m hoping you live up to your reputation and won’t disappoint.”

Loving that sexy snark, he gave her hair a tug, tipping her face up, and lowered his lips a whisper away from hers. “Darlin’, with my mouth and your body, there’s no room for disappointment.”

Their mouths collided in a feast of rough, demanding kisses as they made their way toward the bedrooms. “Your room or mine?” he gritted out.

“Don’t care.” She pulled his mouth back to hers.

They stumbled into her bedroom, tugging off their shoes and stripping off their clothes between ravenous kisses. His cut and their shirts sailed to the floor, laughter ringing out as they struggled to tug off their wet jeans. Soft black cotton cradled her breasts and rode high on her rounded hips. There was no lace, no silk, no frills, just the rawest, truest beauty he’d ever seen.

“Jesus, darlin’, you are dangerously sexy.” He took her in a deep, passionate kiss, and then he stripped off that cotton, drinking in her full breasts, the tantalizing dip at her waist, those rounded hips, and her sweet, bare pussy. He took out her ponytail holder, tossing it to the floor with their clothes. Her damp hair tumbled around her face, reminding him of their wedding, tweaking something deep in his chest. “Mm-mm. You’re dangerous, all right. Painfully beautiful.”

As he took off his boxer briefs, her eyes locked on his cock.

“Talk about dangerous,” she said. “I’m going to start calling you Loch Ness.”

He laughed and hauled her in for a kiss.

They fell to the bed in a tangle of greedy gropes, lustful moans, and smiles against each other’s lips. Zander shifted her onto her back, loving the feel of her supple curves against his heated, hard body. Her dark hair fanned out over the pillow, her cheeks flushed, dimples deepening as she reached for him, trying to pull him into a kiss, but he drew back, mesmerized by the beauty beneath him. The trust in her eyes got him all twisted up inside. Fuck. That was new, too. The noticing. He needed to chase those feelings away, but he wanted to run toward them.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, snapping him from his thoughts.

What the hell was wrong with him? He cocked a grin, falling back into the man she expected. The man she needed him to be. “I want to remember what you looked like before I set the bar so high no one will ever come close.”

Needing to stay in that safety zone, he didn’t give her time to dole out snark. He lowered his lips to hers in a slow, penetrating kiss that had her rocking against his cock, whimpering for more. She grabbed his ass with both hands, gyrating beneath him.