Janelle Denison - Sinfully Sweet

“Good,” she said, nodding succinctly. “And finally, I need to be assured that no one is going to find out about us. I don’t want Celeste to know about our affair, and I want you to promise me that you won’t say anything to Greg, who would then tell my sister. Oh, and when we’re in public together, there will be no open displays of affection, or anything else that will draw attention to the fact that we’re…lovers.”

She was making his head spin with all her too rational rules. If he did anything this weekend, he was going to make sure he ruffled that sensible, pragmatic personality of hers, but good. Show her how to loosen up and have fun.

He also wanted to show that “opposites do attract,” as the message in his chocolate heart half had said. He’d opened it when he’d returned to his room and been pleased at how perfectly suited the words were to the situation.

Starting right now.

“Rebecca?” he said in a soft, low tone that was meant to calm and soothe.

She stopped her brisk pacing, her expression still reflecting a bit of uncertainty he was determined to chase away. “Yes?”

“Come here and sit down.” He sat up and patted the spot right next to him. “You’re way over-thinking this.”

She hesitated a moment, then rounded the table and perched herself on the farthest edge of the sofa cushion. She folded her hands in her lap, her spine way too stiff and proper. “I just don’t want either one of us to have any false expectations of what this is about.”

Connor assumed she was talking more about herself than him, considering she’d already pegged him as the playboy type.

God, he so wanted to tumble her back on the couch and mess up her too perfect hair with his fingers, and kiss her glossy lips until every inch of her softened and she moaned just for him. Instead, he settled for reaching over to brush the back of his knuckles along her cheek.

“Sweetheart, I know what this is about,” he said, watching the way her breathing slowed and deepened as he continued to caress the side of her neck with his fingers. “It’s about you, and me, and acting on an attraction that’s been simmering a long time. And now, here’s my rule.”

A slow, sweet smile curved the corner of her mouth as she cast him a side-long glance. “I thought you said you didn’t have any rules.”

“This one is absolutely necessary.” Because without it, she’d remain too aloof and uptight. “I want you to relax and enjoy yourself this weekend with me. Do whatever feels good without rationalizing every little thing. Do you think you can do that?”

She eyed the Sinfully Sweet box she’d brought with her, and her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she returned her sheepish gaze back to his. “Feed me one of those chocolate-covered strawberries, and I think I can do just about anything.”

If that wasn’t an invitation, he didn’t know what was. And there was no way he was going to refuse such a prime opportunity to turn this all too serious conversation into something far more fun and seductive. “Now that would be my absolute pleasure.”

He unwrapped one of the treats, but instead of giving it to her as she was anticipating, he took a bite off the tip for himself.

“Hey,” she said with a throaty laugh that lit up her eyes. “That’s the best part.”

“Ummm. Not quite, but it’s definitely very good.” He lifted the strawberry to her lips and fed her a piece.

She sighed and moaned her enjoyment as she nibbled and ate the fruit slowly and thoroughly, seemingly more and more aroused with each bite she took. Her eyes glazed over and her expression took on a dreamy, rapturous look that made him hard. Juice from the strawberry trickled down his hand, and to his shock and pleasure, she closed her eyes and licked away the sticky sweetness with long, silky laps of her tongue, then closed her mouth over the tip of his finger and sucked.

He nearly came undone right then and there. Somewhere along the way she’d gone from demure and cautious to an outright temptress. Not that he was complaining about the thrilling transformation. Hell, this was how he’d always dreamed she’d be with him.

There was nothing left to the strawberry but the stem, and he pulled away just long enough to set it aside and turn down the lamp next to the couch, which left the light in the far bedroom as their only source of illumination. Then he framed Rebecca’s beautifully flushed face in his hands, reveling in the fact that she didn’t appear the least bit resistant to what he was obviously about to do.

“Now this is the best part,” he said huskily, and brought his mouth to hers.

He kissed her softly, tentatively, at first, despite the instinctive male urge to take and possess and claim. He nibbled on her bottom lip, then stroked the fullness with his tongue, gently feasting on her as though she were a rare delicacy and he couldn’t get enough of her-which he suddenly couldn’t. After years of wanting Rebecca Moore, he was ravenous for her, and keeping a tight rein on his control took every ounce of willpower in him.

She sighed, returning his heated kisses with a slow building urgency that finally gave way to hunger and need. Amazingly, she was the one who took things to the next level. Her lips parted, opening against his, and her tongue dipped into his mouth, dragging him deeper into the kiss.

Desire and lust coiled low in his belly, making his blood run hot in his veins. Sliding his hand around to cup the nape of her neck, he sifted his fingers into her silky hair, slanted her head to the side, and gave her exactly what she wanted: a hot, tongue-tangling kiss she returned with equal fervor.

She tasted like strawberries and chocolate and feminine temptation, and he lost himself in the sweetness of her mouth, her uninhibited response, and the eagerness now apparent beneath that formal, practical facade of hers.

With a soft mewling sound rumbling up from the back of her throat, she fisted her hands in his T-shirt and pulled him down onto the couch with her. He followed her lead, willing to go anywhere she took him. The couch was nice and wide, and he settled himself to the side of her, so that half his body covered hers and one of his legs was nestled between her parted thighs.

Their greedy, insatiable kisses continued. Rebecca’s hands impatiently tugged the T-shirt from his jeans, and he groaned when she flattened her palms against his stomach and began pushing the hem upward in a hasty attempt to remove the article of clothing. The material caught beneath his arms, and when she made a sound of frustration he moved away slightly, giving himself enough room to tug the shirt over his head, then toss it aside.

She gazed at his bare chest in awe and feminine delight. “Oh, wow,” she breathed as she reverently skimmed her hands up over his pecs and across his shoulders. “You’re absolutely gorgeous.”

Her hands were cool against his fevered skin, and the need to touch her was driving him crazy. He glanced down, saw the press of her tightened nipples against the silky fabric of her top, and wanted to see her naked, too.

“Your turn,” he murmured, and she didn’t say a word to stop him as he slid one of the thin straps of her camisole down her arm, then the other, until both of her lovely breasts were bared to his gaze. She was perfectly shaped and filled his hand as if she’d been created specifically for him.

He grazed his thumb across the velvety tip, and she sucked in a quick breath, her back arching in a silent plea for more. Her hands slid upward and into his hair, and her fingers twisted around the strands as she guided his lips to her breast. He took her in his mouth, grazed her taut nipple with his teeth, and soothed the sting with the soft swirl of his tongue before giving her other breast its fair share of attention.