Page 49

I watched the muscles of his throat as he finished his water, then set the bottle down. “Are you finished?” He nodded at the bottle I clutched with both hands.

“Yes,” I whispered.

He tugged it out of my hands and set it on the low table beside his.

“All I could think about this entire week is our kiss. What about you?”

I shook my head.

“No?” He sounded surprised.

I lifted my hand and splayed my fingers over his shoulder, then dragged my hand down until it rested over his heart. “I kept imagining our next kiss.”

“Oh, that’s a good answer,” he crooned.

“The truth usually is.” I watched as his eyes lit up.

“Come here, you,” Graham said as he pulled me close. Tight. Breast to chest. Just how I had been imagining. His calloused hand cupped my cheek as his arm kept me in place. When his thumb traced my lower lip, I trembled. Graham must have felt it because he whispered in my ear.

“I’ve got you, Joy. We’re just going to share some kisses tonight. We’re not going to do anything more than you want to do. Trust me.”

Graham didn’t understand. Damn, maybe I didn’t either. It’s not that I was worried he was going to take things too far tonight. I was afraid he wouldn’t take it far enough. And that scared the hell out of me. I’d never felt so desperate for a man’s touch, this willingness to be completely vulnerable.

“Are you with me, Doll?”

I slowly nodded.

“Words, baby.”

“I’m with you.” I couldn’t wait a second longer. I reared up and took his mouth. It was electric. The feel of his beard against my face, compared to his soft lips, was out of this world. He was magic. Then Graham took over. His hand tangled in my hair, pulling me back so that I stretched out along the couch until my head rested on the pillow at the arm. Even then, his fingers continued tugging at my hair—not enough to hurt, just enough to tingle and let me know he was in charge.

His lips were fierce, demanding, claiming. He stretched over me and pinned me in place, his leg insinuating itself between mine, and I gasped. He took advantage, his tongue sweeping inside, tangling with mine in a kiss that left no room for doubt, as if I had any. The man wanted me. And he wasn’t holding back.

Heat exploded in my veins, racing down my spine, pooling low. I arched up against him, needing more. A low growl rumbled in his chest, and I swallowed hard as his hands slid lower. He traced the top of my dress, caressing my quivering breasts, but never stopped his ravishing kisses. My nails bit into his shoulders, holding on as his mouth devoured mine, hot and unrelenting.

When he finally pulled back, I was wrecked—lips tingling, chest rising and falling, wanting him to do it all over again.

“Again?”

“Again, and again and again,” I answered.

“What are you saying, Joy?”

“There was a reason I brought my bigger purse tonight. I needed to pack moisturizer, a toothbrush, and clean panties.”

I watched his eyes widen, then go half-mast.

“I like a woman who’s prepared. You just keep showing me different sides of yourself that make me like you more and more.”

“Wanna go to your bedroom and see if I can impress you even more?” I asked with what I hoped was a sexy grin.

Even in the moonlight, I could see his hazel eyes get dark, and his slow smile made my stomach flip over. Graham moved his thigh so that it pressed against my core, and I jerked upward, trying to catch more of the sparks that his motion was causing deep inside me, where I ached.

“Stop teasing,” I begged.

“But you respond so well.” His leg pushed higher and harder, grinding against me. The lace of my panties was scraping against my clit. It was a friction that was unimaginable.

“You like that?”