Overcoming Fear (Growing Pains #2) (23 page)

Krista closed her eyes and leaned her head
back, allowing him to dictate the pace this time. Losing whatever
she might have been about to say as his hands felt her smooth
skin.

Sean lightly traced her thighs, taking his
time, building. He got to her panty line and watched as her torso
ever so slowly tilted up, unconsciously giving access. Smiling to
himself, Sean moved his hand away again, loving the kitten-like mew
of disappointment. The woman could drive a man to distraction. The
small moves she made, the subtleness, the nuances in her desire,
and then all of a sudden she’d spring like a lioness in the grass
and shoot his control all to hell. She’d done it repeatedly since
he’d met her, but now, as he tickled her panty line again, and
leaned forward to softly lick his tongue across her taut nipple, he
was waiting for it. He very much enjoyed her frustration. He very
much enjoyed how much she was into this. It reciprocated his own
feelings. It grounded him. It also made him so damn horny he didn’t
know how he would make it through the night without digging himself
so deeply in her he got stuck.

“Maybe leave underwear on for the first time
around?” Sean compromised. He didn’t trust himself with her
exposed. Even just the bump and shadow he could see at that moment
was driving him to distraction. He wanted to rip away that fabric
and slide himself in to the hilt, grinding against her soft
femininity.

Krista’s eyes snapped open.
She looked down at him aghast. “You
tease!”

Sean couldn’t help but smile as he retreated
back down her thigh. “Penance for biting me without allowing me to
reciprocate.”

“So. Not. Fair. Not fair!”

~*~*~*~

Krista struggled up to a seated position,
trying not to laugh. Sean sat up with her, a huge smile on his
face. Catching his eye, still only half believing she was here, in
his bed, she reached back and undid her zipper. He watched the
movements, knowing what she was doing, but it wasn’t until the
dress fell down to her waist, exposing her black, lacy push-up bra,
that his smile faltered. Suddenly he was a lot more focused.

Not stopping there, because really, she had
a lot more to offer than a great, also expensive, bra, she reached
behind her with one hand and worked at the clasp. Then she worked
at it a bit more. Turned out she wasn’t as good as guys at the
one-handed-bra-removal.

Sean’s eyes, burning now, left her breasts
to find her eyes. He probably thought she was increasing the
suspense on purpose. He must have seen her concentration, though,
because his smile found its way back.

“Here, let me help you,” he said softly. He
leaned into her, his face coming within inches of hers. His eyes
dipped to her lips as his large arm reached around her rib cage.
She let her hand drop as he neared, feeling the heat from his body,
his breath brushing her eyelashes. In about one second her lacy
masterpiece was falling away, letting her little lovelies tumble
out.

“You have a knack for getting to the quick
of the matter,” Krista said in awe.

“I was a virgin once, too. The female
genitalia is a scary thing. But boobs belong in heaven. I wanted to
see them every chance I got.”

“Unlike pushing little girls off stages, I
don’t think you grew out of that last one.”

“No, I guess not,” he chuckled, looking down
to her breasts again.

Now that her shelf life was on display, Sean
took matters into his own hands. He covered one breast with his
palm and kissed down her chest, finding the other nipple and
teasing it with his tongue. It was like a button that, once pushed,
had the effect of rolling her eyes back in her head. He suckled and
fondled, bringing her body to a quick boiling point.

He slid his hand between her thighs,
tickling the edges of her panty line. Krista would’ve sighed if she
wasn’t so busy holding her breath. She started to squirm now,
grabbing the backs of his arms and pulling him closer. He was
stronger, and resisted; dang him.

Not to be deterred, Krista
yanked at his shirt, wanting to feel skin. When he complied in
haste, she paused just to look.
Speaking
of masterpieces!
The flickering light
played across his rippled chest and stomach. He was tanned, he was
ripped, he was a goddamned piece of art that Ben couldn’t create on
his best day.

Though Krista would now ask him to try.

Her eyes feasted as her
mouth planned the fastest route to
Candy
Land
.

He put his arms down to the bed, leaning in,
and slightly turning his awe-inspiring shoulders into boulders.

“What are you thinking?” he asked as his hot
breath soaked into her neck.

“Wondering if it tastes as good as it
looks.”

He ran a warm tongue over her jugular before
he said in a whisper, “I was wondering the same thing. Let’s find
out, shall we?”

Words couldn’t express the urgency she felt.
She fell into him then, her body crashing against his. Her hands
were everywhere; feeling every inch. She tweaked a nipple and felt
up his dominating chest. She kissed and bit and sucked her way
around his neck and shoulders. She moaned and writhed and twisted
back to let him return the favor. He didn’t know his way around her
body yet, but he was learning, and she suspected he had always been
a fast learner.

Krista was desperate now. She was teetering
on the edge and wanted a push. She was so hot she was pulsing. Not
to mention writhing. Not to mention a fountain in her sparkly pink
panties—no she hadn’t thought to wear a matching set of underwear,
what with her crystal ball being on the fritz. She did know that
she needed hard, and direct, contact.

She flung herself back,
beyond grace. She grabbed at his shoulders, pulling his body down
toward hers. She seized his mouth and sucked in his tongue. With
her legs wrapped around him, she arched herself up to align his
cock perfectly between her thighs, and squeezed him closer, getting
a hard rub against his harder erection. The sensation made her
bones feel like they were dancing in a field of electricity. She
lost herself.
Completely.

She slid her hands from his back, around and
under, sliding against that flat stomach, down to his pant line,
and further still. He must have known where she was headed because
he sucked in a huge breath and rose up a fraction, unconsciously
giving her more room to work.

And she did.

She had her hands on his deliciously hard
bulge, wanting more. Wanting the rough of his pants to fall away
and reveal the smooth of his shaft. She stroked and rubbed, working
her way into his jeans. His constrictive pants made maneuvering
difficult, trapping her hands, so she ripped those open quickly,
giving her a clear shot of the front of his boxers. She brought one
hand out and moved it to his butt, pulling him closer and bringing
him down on top of her, her legs spread wide and ready to receive
him. The other hand wiggled into his treasure chest as if she was a
pirate, just barely closing around…

“Whoa,
Pet
,” Sean grunted through gritted
teeth. “Stop, stop, stop.”

Through the fog Krista realized his hands
were off her body and clutching the sheets in bunches at her sides.
He was gripping so hard the veins on his arms were standing
out.

She froze. She’d just gone
way,
way
over the
line. She was woman enough to admit it.

It didn’t help her over-active libido,
though. Her lady-wood was throbbing! She put her hands in the air
like she was on the other end of a bank robbery and took a couple
of deep breaths. Sean sat up, belt loose and pants hanging open. If
he’d given her another thirty seconds, she would’ve broken his
rule. Without mercy.

Krista sat up with him, feeling the need to
cover herself, and resisting.

“Sorry,” she said, looking anywhere but at
his eyes. “I got away from myself there.”

“Not as sorry as me, I think.” Krista could
hear the strain in his voice, but also the laughter.

She did look up then.

His eyes were still burning, and he was
still breathing fast, but he was looking at her with adoration. He
smiled and said, “You are so unbelievably sexy, Krista Marshall.
Half of me wanted to let you take the lead. Or, uh, keep the lead,
I guess.” His eyes sparked hungrily. “But I don’t want to mess this
up. It’s a stupid rule, I know, but I just… I don’t want to mess
this up. Sex is always the doorway to the end. I guess I just want
a little time to ease into it.”

Krista smiled sheepishly, “I don’t really
have an explanation other than you’re hot, so please don’t think
I’m sulking when I leave it at sorry.”

Sean laughed and lay back down, pulling her
next to him. As if by unspoken acknowledgement, they started again,
only slower this time.

He traced his fingers up the inside of her
thighs. She widened her legs to allow him to go all the way up,
wanting his touch inside her so bad she was desperate. But she
would keep things in check this time. She didn’t need to humiliate
herself twice in one night.

A smile spread across Sean’s features as he
lowered his body next to hers. He teased her nipple a little more,
pushing that button. Then he dropped his hand between her legs,
lightly teasing her sex, until she couldn’t control herself and was
clutching onto his body, begging for him to enter her. Begging for
him to end the torture.

He must have started
getting weak to her pleas, because with a jerky movement, he put
his whole hand on her, covering her sex completely. She gave a
mighty jolt, convulsing, her body going taut, egging him on. He
started rubbing with fervor, hitting that topical spot just right,
building. Riding the sensations, feeling the heat, there was a
minute of harsh rocking and rubbing against that palm, shallow
pants filling the room, before her world exploded. A ragged,
“
YES!”
was torn
from her throat as her whole body detonated, and then shattered,
each piece hitting an arc, tinkling back down into her
body.

When Krista finally came down from Mt.
Climax she kissed Sean languidly.

“My goodness,” he said quietly with that
secret smile.

In that instant she realized the secret--it
was his feelings for her. Sean seemed capable of great depth. Not
for the first time, she looked at him in disbelief. She couldn’t
believe she was here, with him, sharing a moment of intimacy so
deep, so heartfelt, that it nearly brought tears to her eyes. If he
wouldn’t freak out, she would’ve let it.

“That was certainly torturous, McAdams. You
might turn on some music so no one knows how vile you really
are.”

He got up to do just that. When he turned
back, he stopped, surveying her on his bed. His eyes fell over her
skin, tracing her breasts and zeroing in on her spread legs. Hunger
ate at his eyes, desire raging in his pants.

“
You are beautiful, Krista.
You take my breath away,” he said, breathing heavily. “I repeat it
often, I know, but…I can’t think of any other lines to give. It’s
just that simple, you’re beautiful.”

“You aren’t so bad yourself,” Krista said
with a satisfied smirk.

“
What accent are you trying
for?” he said as he lowered himself next to her.

“If you knew anything, you would know that
that is a great interpretation of a 1950s woman. Or maybe ‘60s,
depending on how forward thinking she was.”

“Interpretation, yes. Good word.”

He bent his head slowly to her chest. She
laid back and closed her eyes, wondering what he would do next.
This never-ending foreplay wasn’t so bad.

“
Touch me more, Sean,” she
said as she arched her body up to connect with his.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he said with a
smile right before his mouth took in her budded nipple. A flash of
pleasure pierced her body as that clever mouth sucked and teased.
Equally clever fingers traced the outline of her panties where they
hugged her inner thigh. She spread her legs frantically.

“We have all night, baby mine, no need to
rush,” Sean said as he moved to the other nipple.

Krista took it back, the never-ending
foreplay was driving her mad. Time to take the upper hand. But
casually so. No need to go embarrassing anyone again.

Krista pushed Sean away from her and climbed
off the bed, tired of this easy-does-it song and dance. She wanted
some action. She wanted some combat. She wanted to come again, damn
it!

She rolled off of the bed and stripped off
her dress with a no-nonsense attitude. She flung her hair out of
her face in a flourish, and looked at Sean laying on the bed amid
the rumpled sheets and pillows. His hard-on was at seventy-five
percent mast, which meant he was playing God. It meant she wasn’t
doing the job on him that he was doing on her. She couldn’t have
that—what would the girls think of her?

Chapter Sixteen

All business, Krista climbed back onto the
bed and surveyed the demi-god before her. He was looking at her in
confusion, a smile never far from his face. One hand was under his
head and the other on his chest, waiting for her to make her way
back. He was relaxed and calm, confident as always. Also
self-assured. He was having fun with all this, stroking his ego
with how hard she begged. So far he was the one with all the rules
and all the control.

Well, that was just about to change. She was
tired of being the one under the man’s thumb. She was tired to
accepting someone else’s lead. Too bad Sean got Jim’s leftovers,
but he’d appreciate it in the end, she’d make sure of it.