Hot in Here (18 page)

Her hand felt tiny in his. She watched the play of muscles in his broad back beneath the soft cotton shirt. He was so sinfully, deliciously, unbelievably gorgeous.

And he wanted her.

Sadie didn’t care if it would be for an hour, a day, a week. It didn’t matter; she wasn’t about to turn him down. Whenever she fantasized, it was of a man like Buck, a man who was physically big and strong, but emotionally gentle and loving, who filled her dreams.

No other man she knew had ever been so concerned for an animal. When he spoke to Tish, it was as if he related to her. That took confidence, in himself and in his masculinity. Though she’d deliberately kept her distance, she’d always admired him. And after seeing him with her dog, her heart was lost.

He tugged her into his bedroom and shut the door. Facing her, his gaze molten and very direct, he murmured, “I don’t want the dogs to wander in.”

“No?”

“I’m not into exhibitionism.”

He liked to joke. “I doubt they’d understand.”

She
didn’t understand. Not yet anyway. But soon.

He leaned against the door. “You put your cardigan back on.”

Excuses tripped on her tongue, but nothing coherent came out.

Lazily, Buck reached out with his long arms and began undoing the buttons for the second time that day. “It’s okay. I like undressing you.” His eyes lifted briefly to her face, then returned to her sweater. “Do you mind?”

Did she mind what? Nervousness took hold, making it hard for her to think beyond the obvious desire to know him physically.

“Would you be more comfortable in the dark? I can shut the blinds, but the truth is…I’m dying to see every soft, pink inch of you.”

Oh, God. If he said things like that, she’d never get through this. Sadie licked her lips. “No one’s ever looked at me before.”

His expression heated even more. “I know.”

He pushed away from the door, and with his fingers busy on the last button of her sweater, took her mouth. The kiss was unlike the ones earlier in the day. He ate at her mouth, consumed her, made her burn.

“Damn.” His laugh was shaky as he stripped off her sweater. “I should be honest and tell you that your virginity is an enormous turn-on. I can’t wait to take you, to see your face when I push inside you, when you come…”

Sadie sucked in a startled breath. She couldn’t wait, either. “You first.”

Buck paused. “Me first what?” He half laughed. “If I come first, I’m afraid the gig is up. I’d need at least an hour to—”

“No.” Her face burned. “I meant…would you undress first? Then I won’t feel so…naked.”

He shrugged one hard shoulder. “Sure. Modesty isn’t one of my virtues.” Reaching back, he grabbed a fistful of his shirt and yanked it off. He dropped it onto the floor beside them. Smiling at her, he lifted one foot and tugged off his shoe and sock, then removed the other.

Sadie’s heartbeat accelerated. Buck wasn’t an overly hairy man, but there was a nice patch of brown curls between his well-developed pecs, and farther down, trailing from his navel into his jeans. She already knew that hair was silky soft and that his skin was warm and taut.

He opened the snap of his jeans.

“Okay?” he asked, watching her closely.

“Yes.” More than okay. She’d already seen him in his underwear and a towel. Now she wanted to see everything.

He shoved the jeans down, taking his underwear off at the same time. He kicked them aside, straightened—and let her look her fill.

Holy moly. Everything in her felt tight and liquid and hot. Embarrassment ebbed, replaced with fascination. Sadie had never seen a naked man up close. It was so nice that her first was the epitome of masculine perfection.

Raising her gaze to his face, she said, “You’re amazing.”

A startled laugh escaped him. “Look all you want, honey, but you know, you can touch, too.”

That was all the encouragement she needed. “Thank you.” She leaned up against him. “Kiss me again, okay?” It’d be easier for her to explore his body if he wasn’t looking at her with such probing expectation.

His tone was more serious than she had expected when he said, “Anything you want, Sadie.”

And then his mouth was over hers, treating her to a long, slow, tongue-teasing kiss that made her toes curl in her shoes.

Sadie started with her hands on his shoulders. His skin was hot and sleek, but she preferred the feel of his hairy chest. When her palms grazed his nipples, he gave a small growl of pleasure, and then his hands were on her breasts, too.

Even through her blouse, she could feel the heat of his palms, the strength. He cuddled her breasts, shaped them, and finally his thumbs moved over her nipples, circling, barely stroking, but eliciting a gasp of surprise at the sharp intensity of the sensation.

“Nice, huh?” he murmured against her mouth.

“Yes.” She knew her reply sounded a lot like a moan.

“You’ll like it even more once we get your clothes out of the way.”

As far as hints went, that was pretty clear. “All right.”

He showed his appreciation of her reply with another voracious kiss, while his hands left her breasts to tackle the buttons on her blouse. These were smaller than the ones on her sweater, and not as easy to undo. But Sadie had little thought for her own clothes with Buck’s powerful body bared for her pleasure.

She let her fingers trace the tense muscles of his abdomen, tease the silkier hair beneath his navel, then she dipped lower. His penis jutted out, hard and warm. Fascinated, she cupped him in both hands.

With a low growl, Buck seemed to forget about undressing her. He dropped his forehead to hers. In a rasping whisper, he said, “I love having you hold me, Sadie.”

A little awed, she spoke without measuring her words. “You’re so hot and so soft.”

“Not soft at all.”

“No, I didn’t mean that. Your skin is velvety. I didn’t expect that.” She continued to explore him while Buck made sounds of mingled pain and pleasure. “And you feel alive. You’re even throbbing.”

His hand curled over hers, forcing her to squeeze him a little tighter, then stroke. Once. Twice. “Okay. That’s enough of that.” With a raw, broken laugh, he pulled her hands away, kissed each palm, then put them on his shoulders. “Safer ground, at least for now, okay?”

Confused, Sadie asked, “I did it wrong?”

“You did it too
right
. And no way in hell do I want to come early on your first time.”

“Oh.” He was so frank in his speech, she should have been embarrassed again, but somehow, his lack of embarrassment reassured her.

She’d forgotten about him unbuttoning her blouse until he dragged it off her shoulders. Her bra was plain white cotton with no decoration at all.

But Buck didn’t even seem to notice. Once the blouse was gone, he reached around her and unhooked her bra with practised ease. He stepped back, leaving the bra to hang loosely on her slender frame. His gaze burning, he used just his fingertips trailing over her shoulders to drag the straps down her arms. The bra slipped, then fell free past her elbows. Sadie let it drop to the floor.

Refusing to be too timid, she put her shoulders back and kept her spine straight.

Buck’s gaze was so hot, so admiring as he stared at her breasts, that she didn’t feel too small despite her modest bust. Throwing his own words back at him, she whispered, “I don’t mind you looking, but you’re welcome to touch, too.”

“Yeah?” he asked with a slow grin. “Thank God. I’m not sure I could mind my manners right now.”

But he didn’t just touch her. No, he shocked her senseless by catching her waist, lifting her to her tiptoes while he bent down, and then his mouth was over her left nipple, his rough tongue licking, curling around her, and then he sucked.

“Buck.”
Sadie tunneled her fingers through his hair, holding on for dear life.

He gave a rough groan and moved to her other breast.

She felt the draw of his mouth everywhere, in each of her breasts, in her trembling thighs, and most especially low in her stomach, where a tingling ache expanded on waves.

“We gotta lose the skirt now, too, baby.” He set her back on her feet and hurriedly opened the zipper down her side. “I’m sorry, I know I’m not being very patient.” He went down on one knee and pulled her skirt to her ankles. “But it’s crazy how bad I want you.”

Sadie stared down at him, touched, flattered, turned on. “Whatever you want, Buck.”

He helped her step out of her shoes and skirt. “I want this. Don’t faint on me, okay?”

That was all the warning Sadie got before he cupped her fanny in his hands, pulled her forward and kissed her through her white cotton panties.

“Ohmigod.”

“Yeah,” he murmured, and even his breath felt erotic and tantalizing. “You smell delicious.”

Never in her life had Sadie imagined a man saying such a thing while doing such a thing.

His tongue pressed against her, seeking, and her knees wanted to buckle. “I…I need to sit down.”

“Not yet,” he growled. “Once you’re on the bed, things are going to get out of control pretty quick.” He squeezed her bottom, kneading her, then hooked his thumbs into her waistband and eased her panties down. “Step out, Sadie.”

She had to brace herself on his shoulders to do that. When she stood before him naked, she expected him to stand. He didn’t. He put his thick arms around her and hugged her close, with his cheek on her belly, his hands opened wide on her back.

“You’re beautiful.”

Sex talk, Sadie thought, and smiled. While her muscles turned to mush, she stroked his hair and wondered how long this euphoria could last.

It wouldn’t be long enough for her.

Buck leaned back and looked up at her. “You don’t believe me?”

Her smile twitched. “It doesn’t matter.” She cupped his jaw in her hands. “You can’t know how happy I am to be here with you. Not just with any man, but with you, Buck.”

His gaze holding hers, he dragged his palms down her back to her bottom, then the back of her thighs. “Why?”

“Besides the obvious?”

His fingers rose higher again, this time between her thighs. His gaze never wavered. “What’s the obvious?”

“That you’re sexy and handsome and have an incredible body.”

That gave him pause, but only for a moment. Sadie felt his fingertips touching her intimately from behind. Another thing she’d never imagined!

“What’s not so obvious?”

“I…I can’t talk while you do that.”

“Yeah, you can.”

One finger teased at her tender lips, gently probing without quite entering her. Sadie felt her own wetness and had to close her eyes to think.

“Tell me,” he insisted. “Why me and not some other guy?”

“You’re good to Tish. You’re gentle with Butch.” She opened her eyes so she could make sure he understood. “And you make me laugh.”

He pushed his finger deeper, his expression strained, his breathing harsh. “You’re so damn tight.”

Sadie tipped her head back and moaned, as much from what he said as what he did.

“Am I hurting you?”

She shook her head. “No.” She knew in her heart that Buck would never hurt her. Not physically. But he was bound to break her heart when their time together ended.

He kissed her belly. His tongue dipped into her navel, trailed a damp path down to her pubic curls, then he used his thumbs to open her. “You’re wet, Sadie, but I want you wetter. I want to know for sure that I won’t hurt you. You’re just so damn small, and I’m not—”

“No,” she agreed with a smile. “You’re not.” That she could smile at the moment, that even now Buck amused her and made her feel lighthearted, was nothing short of a miracle. He was a miracle. And for now, he was all hers.

She felt his tongue searching, and had to lock her knees. “Buck, I really need to lie down.”

“In a minute.” He worked a second finger into her, pressed deep, slowly withdrew, and pushed in again.

“Oh, God.” Giving up, Sadie automatically widened her stance and let him do as he pleased, because what he did pleased her, too.

He nuzzled closer, his breath burning, his tongue damp and soft, seeking until he curled it around her clitoris. Her heart and lungs threatened to explode. Her body shivered all over.

And then he was suckling again, this time with such devastating effect that she almost couldn’t bear it. Sensations grew, twisting inside her, shaking her, all the while expanding, receding, then coming back stronger—and she knew what was about to happen.

She clenched her fingers in his hair to stay upright and let the awesome shock waves roll over her.

Somehow she ended up on her back on Buck’s bed. His mouth was now at her breast, sucking strongly, while his fingers remained inside her, keeping her orgasm alive. Sadie twisted and groaned. She couldn’t silence her cries or hold herself still.

Finally, after long agonizingly amazing moments, Buck kissed his way gently up to her temple. He pulled her close and just held her.

Sadie stared at the ceiling in blank surprise. She’d never dreamed…never quite imagined… “Buck?”

“Hmm?” He kissed her ear and hugged her.

“That was
wonderful.
”

He shoved up on one elbow and, though he wasn’t smiling, she saw the glint of humor in his green eyes. “You’re something else, you know that?”

She shook her head. She’d always thought she was pretty darn ordinary, in a plain, easy-to-ignore way.

Buck looked down at her breasts and began tracing one nipple with a fingertip. “I expected you to be really shy.”

“I am.”

“I expected you to be uptight. I thought I’d have to work at getting you to relax.” He bent and gave her a quick kiss, which made her blush considering where his mouth had just been. He grinned. “But you’re a hedonist at heart, aren’t you?”

Sadie considered that. “I enjoyed what you did.” She turned a little toward him so she could stroke his chest and abdomen. “And you make me feel comfortable. You’re so matter-of-fact about everything. I didn’t quite know how this would work, but it just seemed natural with you.”

He nodded, looking far too grave. “Right. With
me
.” He sat up and opened the bedside drawer. “Remember that, okay?”