What the Heart Wants (26 page)

She gazed down at his lips before meeting his eyes, again. His dark features stood out against the white pillow case, where his head rested.

“Am I what?”

He pulled her closer to his chest. “Are you crazy about me?

Could he handle the truth? Could she?

“Yeah…I am crazy about you, Dylan.”

Calloused fingers caressed her cheek. “Do you know how much it means to me to hear you say that?” She shook her head this time, afraid that if she spoke, her voice would crack. “It means everything to me. You mean everything to me.”

The butterflies in her stomach swirled their flaming wings until need sprang from a deeper level. “How can I mean that much to you? You barely know me.”

Dylan’s eyes revealed conflicting emotions. Worry and want. Passion and patience. Hope and fear. His lips parted. Nothing but a grunt came out. Did he want to tell her something?

No…well, maybe…yes, definitely.

“It’s true. We haven’t known each other long,” he began, his dark eyes still locked onto hers, “but there is something about you that tugs at my soul. I want to be with you.”

Her heart swelled. “You want to be with me?”

He nodded as a smile crept across his lips. “I want us to be a couple.”

The look on his face squeezed her heart. Worried eyes burst with hope. Tender lips slightly opened as though he were ready to beg if she objected to his wants. She had no doubt that he was being honest with her. Her soul said as much. The way it longed for his grew stronger the more they were together.

Her eyes dropped to his shirt. The taut fabric outlined the muscles underneath it. She traced one of the grooves as she met his eyes. “I want the same thing, Dylan.”

His brows lifted. “You want to be my girl?”

“I do. More than you can imagine.”

His eyes heated. “I doubt that.”

* * *

Dylan eased forward, staring into Heaven’s eyes. She closed hers just before their lips met. And a jolt had him pulling back.

Did he shock her?

Did it matter?

Every urge he’d suppressed from the moment they met, erupted. His emotions, like scorching lava. His passion…Mt Vesuvius.

He pulled Heaven against him. His lips moved hungrily, desperately searching hers. The weight of her body sent another charge through him. She molded to his will, her fingers trailing up to his shoulder. When she squeezed, he flexed. One deft move and she was on her back, underneath him. He leaned his weight into her.

Her lips parted. His tongue slipped past. He found hers. Caressed it. Swirled it with his. She tasted sweet, like raspberries.

She whimpered. The vibration spread across his lips. God, he wanted her. Wanted to explore every secret cove of her body. Wanted to feel soft skin warming under his.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers raked through his hair.

He cupped her face; his other hand traced the curve of her body, pausing at her hip. Their lips never broke as he shifted his weight above her, bringing one leg between hers. He hesitated. Waited for her to refuse.

She didn’t.

He shifted again until his hips pressed between her thighs.

Warmth radiated to his waist. His abs tightened as he resisted the urge press into her. Not yet. Slow and steady. He had to be. She deserved that much.

His lips left the heat of her mouth. They traced a path down her neck. He nipped and suckled a little section. The salty taste of her skin made his mouth water. He swallowed hard.

All reason ripped away as her breath grew harder against his neck. He gripped her hip. She gasped.

The sensual sound brought his attention back to her lips as he focused on kissing her. He released his grip on her hip as his fingers trailed down her thigh. The heat of her skin burning his fingertips.

He didn’t know how much more he could take without reacting to the throb pulsing below his waist. And when she raised her hips against him, he growled.

His fingers retraced a path until they reached the bottom of her dress. Her skin, as silky as rose petals, sent chills over his body. His hand continued up her leg, going underneath the dress, coming to a halt at her hip, again.

A cotton barrier snagged his calloused fingers. He wanted to rip it away, remove anything that prevented him from touching every inch of her body. From giving her the pleasure she wanted, and he needed.

Damned clothes.

Then her body stiffened against the bed.

Christ. She’d changed her mind.

* * *

Heaven wanted Dylan to go further. She needed him to satisfy this newly formed ache building in her body. When she gazed into his eyes, her belly warmed, spreading a throbbing heat between her legs.

“Are you okay?” he whispered.

She nodded, but held her breath. “Yeah. Fine. Just…nervous.”

“I can stop.”

God, no. Not now. Not when every part of her body felt like it could burst if he didn’t touch her. She shook her head.

“God, I want you so much,” he whispered.

“I want you too, Dylan.”

He leaned in to give her a short, yet tender kiss. “If we…keep this up,” he snorted. He leaned his forehead against hers. “I can’t promise that I will maintain my composure.”

Good. At this point, she didn’t want him to. Her eyes danced over his face as she weighed the consequences of moving forward. The one thing she’d feared about getting involved with him was this. This fear of thinking maybe she was just another conquest. But when he looked at her with those eyes, something said she’d been wrong. This was more than a conquest to him. This was deeper.

If they went forward, Heaven’s life would change. Forever. More than he knew. They barely knew each other, and yet she was willing. Willing to take that next step. Willing to give a part of herself she’d never given to any man.

He smiled down at her. He kissed her forehead, her cheek, and even the tip of her nose, before pressing his lips softly to hers. She decided she didn’t care about anything else, but satisfying the want—the need.

He pulled away, again. Gazed at her with those dark eyes. But they weren’t as mysterious as they had been. They spoke to her. Told her he has dying to give her pleasure like she’d never known. But he was waiting. For permission. Her permission.

Sweeping a finger across his lips, her soul smiled when he closed his eyes. “There is something I need to tell you,” she said, her voice shaky.

Dylan opened his eyes and looked into hers. “What is it, Heaven? You can tell me anything.”

She exhaled. If she told him, it might change things. She wasn’t sure. Would her naiveté turn him off?

He had a right to know.

* * *

Dylan watched as the crease in Heaven’s forehead deepened. Worry covered her face as she broke eye contact. She bit her lip. He’d been around her enough to know that this was a habit brought on by nervousness. But he thought it was cute—sexy, even.

“What’s worrying you, beautiful? Don’t be afraid to talk to me,” he pleaded.

She sighed. “All of this is new to me.”

“It’s new to me, too. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I swear I haven’t.”

“It’s more than that, Dylan.” Her eyes dropped down to his lips a moment and then rose again. The hum of their bond quavered. It wasn’t until he stroked her cheek that her shaking stopped. “Um…I’ve never….”

Dylan’s eyes widened as he realized to what she was referring. “Oh. So you’re a…” His voice trailed off as she nodded her head.

“Yeah.”

He wasn’t expecting to hear those words. He was shocked, but delighted. Still, he couldn’t push her into anything. Didn’t want her to think that all he wanted from her was her body.

He wanted her soul—bound to his.

“I won’t ask you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. I have more respect for you than that. If this is too much—” He stopped speaking and pushed up on his arms. The heat of her body drifted, then returned when she locked her arms around him.

She shook her head. “No, it’s not too much.” Her voice wavered. “I want you, Dylan. I’ve never connected with anyone the way I have with you.”

“You feel connected to me?” He couldn’t believe it. From the moment they met, he wondered if she felt the force drawing them together. But could she sense his emotions like he could hers?

“Something inside me is drawn to you. It’s hard to explain. It’s like a pull. Like all the Earth’s gravity is wrapped inside you. The more we’re together, the stronger I feel it.”

“I feel it, too. Since we met, you are all I’ve thought about. When we’re apart, it’s like part of me is missing.” He should tell her now. About the dreams. That the pull he felt went deeper. That he could feel her emotions.

But the words failed to form. Maybe this wasn’t the right time. He didn’t want his deepest secret to sound like an excuse for her to give in to him. And explaining the depth of their connection would break the spell. How could he think of anything when cauldrons of gold burned into him? He leaned in to give her another quick kiss and then pulled back.

“I meant what I said. I won’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable. If things get too awkward, all you have to do is say so. I promise I will stop.”

Heaven nodded, her fingers stroking his jawline. “I know you will. I trust you, Dylan.”

He said nothing else as their lips met in another kiss. Every ounce of passion resumed.

His hand touched her hip, underneath her dress. It lingered there, caressing the skin beneath it. He pulled his lips from hers, planted them on the soft spot under her ear, near her jaw. Sweet sandalwood rushed through his nose. He wanted her right now, fought the urge to rip the panties from her hips and plunge into her.

Warm palms glided up his body, under his shirt. He bit her neck and smiled to himself when she moaned. He grasped her hips, causing them to rise toward his. Her legs parted further.

He tried to ignore the throbbing in his jeans. This was supposed to be slower, sensual. He wanted to make love to her. Wanted to feed every hunger pain her body had until she reached satiety. But each time she writhed beneath him, each moan that passed through her lips made it more difficult. Made him pulse harder, need her more.

How could he hold back when every ounce of him begged for release?

He sneaked a glance at her, but her eyes were fixed on him. She stole the air from his lungs. If she kept looking at him like that, it would be over before it started.

He throbbed harder, rolled his hips against her, trying to satisfy his ache, and hers. She gasped. His lips rose to her ear.

“God, you are driving me wild,” he whispered.

Heaven’s hands slid up his sides, bringing his shirt up with them. He broke from their kiss; his eyes gazed into hers. “Heaven?” he questioned in a raspy voice.

She brushed her lips across his. “It’s okay. I want you. Don’t make me wait.” She resumed what she was doing. When she reached his shoulders, he leaned back to pull off the shirt and toss it to the side.

Her eyes fell to his chest. His cheeks heated. Did she like what she saw?

She licked her lips.

Holy hell!

* * *

Heaven couldn’t resist staring at his body. Every perfect groove of his muscles deepened each time he moved. The way his eyes penetrated her made her stomach knot.

Her body ached with want.

Dylan leaned in for another kiss, keeping his body just above hers. His hand went back to her hip, teasing it with his fingertips before sliding upward. He gathered the hem of her dress, pushing it up past her waist until she helped him remove it.

After he tossed it in the same direction as his shirt, his eyes scanned her body. He stroked a finger across her bra, down the valley of one breast. He didn’t stop. His finger trailed across her belly, around her navel until it stopped at the lace trim of her panties.

Her heart pounded.

She reached up to his waist, her fingers fumbling with the button on his jeans. He helped her unbutton them and pull them off. Once they were kicked to the side, he nestled himself between her thighs, again. They were practically skin-to-skin now, with nothing but a thin layer of cotton between them.

She inhaled his spicy scent as he pressed his lips to hers. Liquid heat pooled beneath the cotton barrier that separated their bodies from joining into one. She could feel him. His want for her pulsed against her.

She closed her eyes. Waited, with bated breath, for him to continue. To fill her with the hardness pressing against her. He had to end this ache. Had to fill the void that made her want to cry out his name and work her hips with his.

“Heaven,” he whispered between kisses.

“Yes?” she questioned in a low voice. Her eyes remained closed as she enjoyed the way his breath caressed her skin.

“I need you,” he answered as he brushed his lips against hers.

His words sent a wave of heat cascading between her thighs. The moisture foreign, yet familiar to her. She opened her eyes slowly and gazed up into his.

“I need you, too,” she whispered, pressing her lips hard against his until his mouth covered hers. Her breath caught as cotton slipped further down her thigh.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 17

The look in Dylan’s eyes spoke of more than desires of the flesh. They spoke of passion. Sweet passion. Of a craving that went beyond the physical wants of the body. The body wanted pleasure. That was human nature.

But this was more. This was a need to connect with someone. To fill a void that her soul knew was missing, but didn’t know how to fill. His eyes said he wanted to give everything in himself to her. To place his heart in her hands and trust she would protect it.

And she would protect it.

His soul reached out to hers, begged her to embrace his. Each time he pressed his body into her, need sprang up from somewhere deep within her. This foreign craving was one she hadn’t known existed. Though the origin made no difference, to leave the yearning unattended would be the death of her. Or at least, she thought it would.