Page 69 of Romancing the Rumrunner
He kissed his way down to her collarbone, only pausing long enough to pull her down to the mattress with him, settling over her. The warmth spread, becoming a fire she was fairly sure would melt her on the spot.
“Good to hear you say that.” His lips swallowed her moan as his hands ran down her thigh. “Because you’re never getting rid of me.”
“Deal,” Jessie said, wrapping one leg around his waist and pressing closer.
“Just one question…”
“What?” Jessie asked, her breath coming in short gasps.
“How the hell do you get these things off?”
Jessie burst out laughing and leaned up to kiss him, helping him release the buttons of her overalls while her lips drank him in.
He pulled the bib down and unbuttoned the shirt she wore beneath it, tearing his lips away from hers so he could kiss each inch of skin exposed by the buttons. When she lay bare to him, he leaned back and stared, his hungry eyes roving over her while Jessie impatiently helped him pull off his own clothing. She hadn’t seen him in months, and now she couldn’t get enough of him. She wanted to seeallof him, needed to see all of him. Now.
He was everything she’d imagined and so much more. The broad lines of his shoulders bunched together as he leaned over her. Jessie reached up to run her hands down the hard planes of his stomach, her fingers twining in the dark hair sprinkled across his chest. Every inch of skin that touched hers sparked a heat that pooled low in her belly. She let her hand trail down, lower, until she brushed against the hard, solid length of him that strained toward her. Her fingers closed over him and he sucked in his breath.
Some of Jessie’s nervousness dropped away at the sight of what such a small touch from her could do. This wasn’t the first time she’d been with a man. But her experiences with Mario already paled in comparison. The often rushed, uncomfortable moments with him had never created the aching fire that a mere brush of Tony’s hand wrought. She banished the other man from her mind, images of Tony taking their place.
Tony gently removed her hand, bringing it to his lips so he could kiss each finger in turn.
“You are unbelievably beautiful,” he said, his voice breaking on the last word in a show of emotion that caused Jessie to blink back tears.
She reached up and stroked his cheek, swallowing past the lump in her throat. “You are more than I ever dreamed.”
“There’s been something I’ve been wanting to say to you for a long time now.”
“Shh,” Jessie murmured, pulling him down for a kiss. “You don’t have to say anything.”
“Yes, I do. The words have been burning on my tongue for months.” He leaned down and kissed her neck, nibbling his way up to the spot just under her ear. “I love you, my beautiful Jessica,” he whispered in her ear.
She smiled up at him, those tiny, simple words etching themselves into her heart and she shivered. She wrapped herself around him, snuggling as close as she could. Even a breath of air between them was too far apart for her.
He’d refused to say those words in his letters. It had frustrated her. She’d wanted to see those words written where she could read them over and over again. But the wait had been so worth it. Hearing them from his lips was pure heaven.
She laid a hand on his cheek and gently kissed his lips. “I love you so much.”
He deepened their kiss, his tongue slowly exploring her mouth, tangling with her own until her head swam. She pressed closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to pull him against her.
He bent his head to nuzzle her neck. “I waited a long time to hear those words,” he murmured. “Say them again.”
She smiled, turning her head to give him better access to the tender skin beneath her ear. “I love you.”
“Hmm,” he moaned. “Again.” He nipped at her collarbone and she gasped.
“I love you, Anthony Aloysius Solomon.”
Tony jerked up, horrified. “My mother told you my middle name?”
Jessie laughed. “Yes, and I love you anyway.”
Tony playfully glared at her, but the expression quickly melted back into one of heated desire when she ran her palms up his bare chest.
“I love you,” she said, leaning up to press a trail of kisses along his neck.
Tony groaned and ran his hand down the length of her back. She arched, pressing her heated center against the hard length of him.
He gripped her buttocks, thrusting against her, teasing her with a tiny taste and then pulling back. “Again.”
