Page 93 of The Best Shot

I released her wrists and sat back on my heels. Then hooked a finger in the hem of the shirt—my shirt again—and pulled it up and over her head in one smooth motion. I kept my attention on her face.

“Just your hands,” I said, nodding toward the iron headboard. “Hold on.”

She reached up without hesitation, fingers wrapping around the bars. “What? No rope?”

“Don’t need rope.”

“Why not?”

“You won’t let go.”

Her mouth curved. “You sure about that?”

“Yup.”

“How come?”

I leaned down, close to her ear. “Because you know I won’t like it.”

She considered that. “That’s all you got?”

“That’s all I need.”

Her fingers flexed around the iron but didn’t release.

“Now close your eyes.”

After a second, her lashes lowered.

I took my time with her clothes because there was no reason to rush.

She was warm under my hands, her breathing slow and even. I let my palm drift down her belly, and she shivered, a full-body thing she didn’t bother hiding.

I pressed my mouth to her shoulder. The curve of her neck. The space between her shoulder blades. Learning what I already knew and finding what I didn’t.

“If you let go,” I murmured against her skin, “I stop.”

Her knuckles whitened around the bars.

I dragged it out on purpose, teasing out every spot that made her hips lift and then making her wait for more. Her breathing kept catching and breaking, finding its rhythm only to lose it again.

At some point her grip loosened. Reflex, not defiance. I covered her hands with mine and guided them back to the bars.

“I said don’t let go.”

She held on.

“Look at you,” I teased. “Keeping me happy after all.”

I moved lower, pressing her thighs wider. She opened for me without a word, letting me hook her legs over my shoulders and settle her exactly where I wanted her.

Her thighs trembled, her hips lifted. But I did nothing but stay there, my breath ghosting over her pussy. Close enough to tease, not enough to satisfy.

“Hale.”

“I know,” I said. “I know what you want. Stay right there and let me decide when you get it.”

A soft whimper escaped her, but she settled.