Page 53 of Ruff and Tumble

“Their comfort is important to me.”

“Of course it is.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Are you just going to sit there and blandly agree with everything I say?”

“Of course I am.”

She laughed and took her lower lip between her teeth. She wasn’t fool enough to think that this conciliatory mood of Cole’s was going to last—he was far too accustomed to having things his own way for that—but she might as well get some use out of it while it lasted.

“Then put this on.” She tossed the condom at him.

He raised an eyebrow but did as she asked. He made a show of it too, slowly peeling off his jeans, tugging at the waistband of his boxer briefs, taking himself out like a man enamored of his own anatomy. Which, to be fair, he had every right to be.

She’d imagined this man naked before, had seen the pictures of him on a beach and in the locker room, but nothing could have prepared her for the real deal. His size was everywhere in proportion, his strength so much a part of him that even his muscles had muscles.

“Well?” he asked. “What now?”

Now she blushed, obviously. This was a moment of words, not actions, and therefore highly uncomfortable. She approached the couch somewhat cautiously, pleased when he took the initiative of once again encircling her wrist and tugging her close, his free hand gripping her bare hip to hold her in place. The breadth of his hand, always impressive, seemed to span much more of her than seemed possible.

“I guess it depends on what you like,” she said, swallowing as his fingers pressed deep imprints into her skin.

His own swallow seemed to match hers, his throat bobbing hungrily. “What I like?” he asked. “You’re standing there, gorgeous and naked and offering yourself to me, and you want to knowmysexual preferences?”

She would have squirmed, but his hold on her was so complete that there was nowhere for her to go. “I’m not a mind reader,” she said. “I usually prefer to be on top, but if you want—”

He pulled her onto his lap with so much force that she could only squeal and give in. It felt good to be back there, to have her thighs parted above his, this time with no barrier between them but a thin sheath of latex.

“I wantyou, Hailey,” he said, his voice raspy. “Any way, anywhere, and anytime you’ll have me. You have no idea what a gift you are.”

She’d never been called a gift before, but that was exactly what she felt like as Cole dragged her mouth down to his and kissed her. There were no clothes left for him to remove, but that didn’t stop him from unwrapping her, layer by layer.

The first thing he removed was any lingering embarrassment she might have felt at being naked and on top of the world’s most gorgeous man. The way he kissed, deeply and intensely, as though he couldn’t taste enough of her, left no room for any such thoughts. He might be sculpted like a god and forged of stone, but he was still just a man—and one who wanted her as much as she wanted him.

The second thing he removed was any shyness she might have felt at making her preferences so clear. He used his vantage point underneath her to explore her body at will, those million-dollar hands living up to their potential in all the best ways. He roamed over her breasts and along the tight pucker of her nipples, down the curve of her waist to the open splay of her thighs. His journey didn’t stop until his hands were clutching either side of her hips.

“Can I—” he asked, waiting only until she moaned her agreement before lifting her up and guiding her over his length. He used his strength to enter her slowly, bringing her down inch by tantalizing inch until their bodies were one. It had been a while since Hailey had done this, so the fit felt tight and pleasant, a gentle stretch that almost sent her over the edge right then and there.

The last thing he removed were her inhibitions. They didn’t go slowly, as they sometimes did, and she knew there was no chance she’d ever get them back again once this was over. The second she started moving against Cole, nothing mattered but the way their bodies fit together. His hands didn’t move from their position low on her hips, holding but not controlling her, ensuring that their bodies stayed in full contact. He kissed and accepted, groaned and enjoyed, but in no way made any demands.

The demands were left up to her, and she couldn’t have been more delighted about it. She moved and rocked against him, taking her pleasure as she saw fit. She hadn’t been kidding when she said she preferred to be on top, to move at her own speed, but never before had she been given quite this much license. Cole let her ride him as fast or as slow as she wanted, arching her back when the mood dictated and stopping to kiss him whenever she felt the urge. He didn’t rush her to climax and didn’t take anything more than what she offered.

He did, however, warn her that there was a limit to just how godlike and made of stone he could be.

“I should probably tell you that I have about thirty more seconds of self-control, and then we’re going to need to reassess the situation,” he said, his words gruff with holding himself back.

She released a gasp as he slid one of his hands between them, expertly finding her clitoris and pressing against it. “I can work with that,” she said. “Especially if you move your thumb about a centimeter to the right.”

He laughed and obliged, his dimple so irresistibly charming that Hailey leaned down and dropped a kiss on it. Of all the things she’d done today—stripping naked in front of Cole Bennett, climbing on top of him, and taking her pleasure as she saw fit—that was the most surreal. She could kiss any part of him she wanted right now—lips or dimple or chest or cock. He was hers for the taking, wholly at her mercy and, if the dark desire in his eyes was any indication, more than happy to be there.

That thought was what pushed her over the edge. Well, that and the fact that he was doing something with his thumb that was rapidly whipping her into a frenzy. In that moment, she didn’t care that he was a millionaire or a professional football player or that she could recite his entire career’s worth of highlights without pausing for a breath. He was just a man who was enjoying her company and her body, who didn’t ask for anything more than what she was willing to give.

Her orgasm came swiftly and explosively, brought on by the light drop of Cole’s lips on the upper swell of her naked breast. There was nothing erotic about that particular kiss, but that was the power of it. It was sweet and spontaneous, the light touch of a lover of long standing rather than a man she’d met three weeks ago.

That was when he peeled away her final and last layer. Instead of taking his own pleasure as quickly as he could get it, he waited until the last of the rocketing sensation abated. And then, with painstaking deliberation, he lifted his hand to the back of her head and pulled her down for yet another kiss.

“We’re not done yet, Hailey,” he murmured. “Not even close.”

This kiss was nothing like all the others. It was slow and careful and deep. It was a tangle of tongues and souls. It was so much more intimate than the joining of their two bodies, and that was reason enough for her body to explode in a second whirl of sensation.