Heidi Betts – Fortunes' Women: Mistress of Fortune (страница 9)

She shook her head. “I have too many flaws. My hair is—”

“Gorgeous,” he interrupted, nuzzling the side of her slender neck.

“I—I’ve never liked … my hair,” she said, sounding extremely short of breath. “It’s always been too hard … to tame.”

“You used to wear it down when we were in school,” he said, reaching up to release the pins she used to hold it in place. Free of their confinement, the silky curls cascaded over his hands like a cinnamon-colored waterfall. “Your hair is soft and feminine.” He turned her to face him and, lowering his head, added, “And it compliments your creamy skin to perfection.”

As he fused their lips, Blake slid his hands from her shoulders to her hips and pulled her closer. The feel of her soft body pressed closely to his, the smell of her herbal-scented hair and her sweet taste as she melted against him quickly had him hard with need.

Allowing her to feel his rapidly changing body, he caught her to him and when a tiny moan escaped her slightly parted lips, he seized the opportunity to slip his tongue inside. He explored her with a thoroughness that left them both aching for more. Encouraged by her response, he continued to stroke her tender inner recesses as he slid his hands up to the underside of her breasts.

She stiffened for a split second as if she intended to protest when he used his thumbs to tease the tightened tips through the stretchy black fabric of her dress. Then to his satisfaction, she reached up to put her arms around his neck and leaned into his touch. She might have been resistant to him when she’d first arrived in Deadwood, but her body was telling him all he needed to know about her receptiveness to his advances now.

“So sweet,” he said, breaking the kiss to nibble his way down the column of her slender neck. “So damned sexy.”

“I—I should go back … to my room,” she said haltingly.

“Is that what you really want, sweetheart?”

“N-no. I mean yes.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I can’t … think clearly.”

He chuckled as he kissed the fluttering pulse at the base of her throat. “Would you like to hear what I think?”

“N-not really.”

Leaning back, he gazed into her pretty green eyes. “I think you need to stay right here with me tonight. In my suite. In my bed. In my arms.”

“I can’t … do that.” Her tone was breathy and not at all convincing.

“Yes, you can.” He brushed his lips over hers. “You want me as much as I want you.”

She opened her eyes and, staring at him, slowly shook her head. “I—”

“Don’t try to deny it, Sasha.” He grazed his thumbs over her taut nipples as he pressed himself against her and smiled at the shiver he felt course through her when she felt the hard ridge of his arousal. “Your body is telling me everything I need to know.”

“W-we shouldn’t.”

“Why not?” He nipped at her collarbone. “We’re not kids anymore. We’re both consenting adults with a desire to find pleasure with each other.”

She closed her eyes as she tilted her head back to give him better access. “I’ve never—”

“This won’t be a one-night stand,” he interrupted, anticipating what she was about to tell him.

“But that’s not—”

“Are you committed to Creed?”

She frowned as she shook her head. “I told you, your brother and I are nothing more than just good friends.”

He still had a hard time believing that Creed had spent the last year with Sasha and not taken their friendship to a more personal level. “If that’s the case, then there’s no reason for you to go back to your room.”

Before she could come up with any more excuses why their spending the night together was a bad idea, Blake took her back into his arms and mingled their lips in a kiss that sent a fire racing through his veins at the speed of light. When she sagged against him, he didn’t think twice about swinging her up into his arms to carry her into his bedroom.

Cradled against him, her slight frame felt almost fragile and a tenderness he hadn’t expected filled his chest. A woman as sweet and sexy as Sasha was meant to be loved slowly, thoroughly, and he had every intention of spending the entire night cherishing her as he was sure his brother never had.

Setting her on her feet at the side of his bed, Blake turned on the bedside lamp, then facing her, gently traced his index finger along her delicate jaw. “I’m going to spend the entire night showing you just how special you are, Sasha.”

“Blake, there’s something you should know,” she said, looking a bit apprehensive.

“Do you want me, Sasha?”

“I shouldn’t.”

“That wasn’t the question,” he said, shaking his head. “Do you want me?”

She worried her lower lip with even white teeth a moment before she slowly nodded.

“That’s all the answer I need,” he said, pulling her to him.

He kissed her forehead, her eyes and the tip of her nose before lowering his mouth to hers. Her lips were sweeter than anything he’d ever tasted and he knew beyond a shadow of doubt that if he wasn’t extremely careful, he could become addicted to kissing her.

As his mouth moved over hers, Sasha fleetingly wondered if she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life. But Blake was quickly robbing her of the ability to think of all the reasons making love with him could spell disaster for her and leaving her with nothing but the ability to feel.

“I’m going to love every inch of you, sweetheart,” he said as he rained tiny kisses to the sensitive hollow below her ear.

A delicious tingling filled every fiber of her being and her heart began to pound erratically as he slid his hands down her back. Slowly, deliberately, he began to gather the stretchy fabric of her dress in his fists until he reached the hem.

“As sexy as you look in this little number, you’re going to look even better out of it,” he whispered close to her ear. “Raise your arms for me, Sasha.”

Feeling as if she were in some sort of sensuous trance, she did as he commanded and in seconds she was standing before him in nothing but her underwear and a pair of black spike heels. If she’d had the chance, she might have tried covering herself, but Blake took her hands in his and held them out to her sides as his gaze caressed her from head to toe.

His sharp intake of breath, and the spark of need she detected in his dark blue eyes, made her feel more feminine and desirable than she’d ever felt in her life. “Do you always wear a garter belt … and hose?” he asked huskily.

She nodded. “I hate having to wiggle myself into a pair of panty hose.”

“I’m glad,” he said, grinning. “There’s nothing sexier than a woman dressed in scraps of black lace and silk.” He glanced down at her feet and his deep chuckle warmed her all the way to her soul. “Unless the woman is wearing a pair of high heels.” When he raised his head to look at her, he gave her a smile that sent her pulse racing and caused a delightful fluttering deep in the pit of her stomach. “You’re absolutely gorgeous, sweetheart.”

Her cheeks heated with a mixture of embarrassment and desire. “At the moment, I’m feeling a little underdressed.”

“I fully intend to remedy that,” he said, shrugging out of his sports jacket. He tossed the coat onto a chair, then bent to remove his shoes and socks.

When he straightened and reached for the buttons on his shirt, Sasha tried not to stare as he released first one button, then another. But as he slid the oxford cloth from his wide shoulders, the sight of his perfectly sculpted chest, rippling stomach and lean flanks caused her to catch her breath. She’d known he kept himself in good physical condition, but she’d never dreamed that his clothes were concealing a body that could rival that of a Greek god.

As he unbuckled his belt and lowered the zipper at his fly, Sasha abandoned all pretense of nonchalance and simply stared as he slid his trousers down his muscular thighs and revealed the true magnificence of his hard body. Taut and lean, Blake Fortune was perfect in every way.

She swallowed hard when she noticed the straining outline of his erection through his white cotton briefs. He was also unquestionably aroused. The thought that she was the object of his desire caused an interesting and not at all unpleasant tightening in the most feminine part of her.

Unsure of what to do, she started to slip out of her heels, but he shook his head. “Don’t. I want the pleasure of taking those off of you.” He pointed to her garter belt, bra and panties. “And I’m looking forward to peeling away those little scraps of silk and lace as well.”

She shivered with anticipation as she placed her hands on his wide shoulders to brace herself when he bent to remove her heels, then trailed his hands up her legs to the fastenings holding her stockings in place. As he slid the sheer nylon down her calves, Sasha caught her breath at the feel as his palms gently caressing her skin. She’d never in her entire life experienced anything quite so sensual or exciting as having Blake take off her under things, and by the time he removed her lace garter belt and satin panties, Sasha trembled uncontrollably.

He reached for her then, and holding her captive with his heated gaze, unfastened the front clasp of her bra and slowly slid it from her shoulders. “You’re absolutely gorgeous,” he said as he cupped her bare breasts in his large hands.