Jo Leigh - Seduce Me

He brought their bodies together as the kiss deepened. All she could think was that this wasn’t her life. No man had ever felt this way before, had ever been as smooth or sure. And, thank God, she’d never see him again. Coming this far had been brave. Going further was a crazy risk.

But this was the new Natalie, and she wanted—needed—to know how much she would dare.

* * *

MAX RAN HIS hands down Natalie’s back, stopping just under her waistline. He’d take his time with her. That she was in his arms was his great luck, but he could tell she wasn’t entirely certain she should be. Now that he’d felt her against him, how she curved in the middle, he wasn’t about to lose her to his own impatience. It wasn’t exactly a hardship to move back up again, to feel her twitch under her sexy red dress. Not when her nipples were so hard.

He was getting hard himself, and shifted his hips so his nascent erection wouldn’t spook her.

She huffed against his lips, and then shocked the hell out of him with a firm hand on his right butt cheek, which got his attention.

“You don’t have to tiptoe,” she whispered, her mouth barely an inch away from his own. “I’m not a virgin or a delicate flower.”

It was a good speech, and he would have bought it completely if she hadn’t been trembling. “I can see that,” he said, holding himself very still. “But I don’t want you to regret this.”

She breathed out and he inhaled. “I’ve got you for one night, and then we’ll never see each other again,” she said. “I doubt I’ll have another opportunity like it. Please don’t think I’m exploiting you for your sexuality.” Her brow furrowed, then relaxed. “Scratch that. I do want to exploit you for your sexuality. If you have no objections.”

“Can’t think of one. Please, be my guest. Anything you’d like.”

“Anything?”

“Within reason.”

She pulled back to look at him. Her cheeks were pink, her pupils had taken over her beautiful brown eyes and her lips looked swollen and well kissed. Perfect. “‘Within reason’ covers a lot of territory.”

He grinned. “No lasting scars. At least, not where they’d show.”

Her laugh was as sexy as her chutzpah. “I have no intention of hurting you. But you should know I haven’t had a great deal of experience. With men.”

“I understand. I’ll do my best to expand your horizons.”

“I don’t need acrobatics or accessories. Just, well, I hope like crazy that the men I’ve been with were...unskilled. Because there hasn’t been one single bell or whistle.”

Now he leaned back. “You’ve never had an orgasm?”

Her eye roll was impressive. “Of course I’ve had an orgasm.” Then she hid those same wicked eyes with her lowering lashes. “I’ve never been given one, though.”

“Ah. Okay,” he said, the word stretching as he thought of everything that could go wrong. “I’ll do my best.”

“I don’t mean to pressure you or anything.”

He had to laugh. “Tell you what. Let’s both just have a good time.”

“Yes. Yes, that’s what I want.” She nodded. “Although you’re probably limp as a noodle by now.”

“You don’t have an internal censor at all, do you?”

She removed her grip from his ass. “Too much, right? When I’m nervous I either clam up completely or say everything that comes to mind. But I can tone it down. I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

“No,” he said, putting her hand back where it’d been. “I don’t mind, I swear. In fact, I like it. Keep on saying what you want. If I do something that doesn’t sit right, tell me.”

“Deal,” she said. “But how do we get back to before?”

He pulled her close, proving that the talk had done nothing to diminish his enthusiasm. “All you have to do is be yourself and I’ll be fine.”

Natalie met his gaze for several long seconds before she kissed him. Holy crap, did she ever.

* * *

LETTING GO OF every kiss she’d had in the past wasn’t difficult. It was a relief. Secretly, Natalie had always suspected she could be one of the great kissers of all time, but she’d never been with anyone who truly inspired her.

Max made her bold. Committing herself to...this...was as intoxicating as champagne, as the moment when Fred Astaire sees Audrey Hepburn running down the steps at the Louvre like Winged Victory herself. With Max, she could be as silly or foolish or dramatic as she liked, and not obsess over her embarrassment for the rest of her life. Because she wasn’t going to be embarrassed. Nor was she going to see him again. It all worked out.

Although she still did have to take off the rest of her clothes. The hell with it. Tonight, she had the body of a goddess and the courage of Katniss Everdeen.

His hands ran down her back as he mapped out the territory. Did he realize she had gone commando? It seemed so, from his surprised grunt and the press of his erection against her tummy. Things were in motion. And wouldn’t that just shock every person who’d ever met her.

She decided to do some exploring of her own, even as they kissed as if it was going out of style. To her delight, he knew just how much to open his mouth, how to not try to swallow her face. That he tasted like expensive cognac was a liqueur-soaked cherry on top.

But the real treat was having free rein over his unbelievably fine body. She didn’t give one solitary damn that her thoughts were as shallow as a wading pool. His muscles rippled. Rippled. How many times had she read that, imagined that? Despite the thrilling sensation of Max lightly sucking on her lower lip, she giggled.

In another one of his smooth moves, he let her lip go and asked, “What’s so amusing?” then picked up directly where he’d left off.

“Amazing,” she said, although the word was so hopelessly garbled, she didn’t even try to go on. Talking was not her priority at the moment. In fact, touching him through his clothes seemed a waste. Like nibbling on crackers when a whole banquet was on offer.

Without too much effort, she was able to sneak her hands between their chests. Undoing his buttons was a little more difficult than she’d imagined. Mostly because she was so greedy, wanting every sensation at once.

But Max let her know he was on the same page by finding her zipper with no trouble at all. He lowered it expertly, then put his hands on her bare back, just below her bra strap.

It shouldn’t have felt so different. Oliver had touched her there plenty of times. But she’d never once shivered from top to toe, wiggled her shoulders and her hips, or whimpered.

He groaned in response and she remembered about the buttons, continuing down the line. When he undid her stupid white bra with a single, elegant flick, she might have lost it for a minute. Hands flat on his shirt, she found her forehead resting on his shoulder.

He kept rubbing down the naked part of her back. “You okay?”

“Umm.”

“Is that a yes?”

She nodded enough for him to feel it. “You’re very good at this,” she said, just before taking a deep breath and looking at him once more.

He only smiled and slid his hands underneath her bra to cup both her breasts. “You feel good.” Dipping his head, he kissed behind her ear. “But I really want to see you,” he murmured against her skin.

“Oh.” Her eyes had drifted closed and she couldn’t seem to lift her lids. “Okay.”

In seconds he’d led her to his room, to his very large bed. The spread was burgundy, the wood of the frame dark, maybe cherry or teak. It was a guy’s room, with heavy pieces and neutral tones, but the framed oil painting above the bed was an abstract with vivid reds and yellows and turquoise. Very surprising.