Exposed to Passion (Five Senses series Book 3) Read online

  Accepting the documents, Rikki stepped to the side and waved him in. “I thought we were going ahead with the construction. I told you I didn’t need estimates.” Limping toward the living room, she glared at the detested shipping crate as she skirted it. She sat on the couch and patted the overstuffed cushion, inviting him to join her. She pulled her knee up and rubbed her aching toes as Sam dropped down next to her and angled to face her, his knee propped negligently alongside hers.

  She massaged her foot, distracted by the hypnotizing look on his face. His eyes heated while he gazed at her fingers. Blinking to clear her licentious thoughts, she tuned back to what he was saying.

  “But as a courtesy, I wanted to provide you with a chance to change your mind. What happened to your foot?”

  “I got a bit of bad news and I took it out on that damn crate.” Scowling, she jerked a thumb toward the offending box in the center of the room.

  She jumped a little when his warm fingers wrapped around her ankle and pulled it toward his lap. He rubbed her sore toes and sent her straight to heaven on a tingly cloud of desire. “Oh God, that’s good.”

  “That must have been some really bad news.”

  “Silas is coming for the opening.”

  “And that’s bad news?”

  “It is if you’ve known Silas as long as I have. He can be…hell, demanding is the nicest way I can say it. I’ve worked for him so long, you’d think I’d be accustomed to it by now.”

  He grinned, but directed his attention to her foot. “So you kicked the crate without shoes on? Probably should have rethought that move.” Sam laughed and continued to rub, moving to her instep and heel. Her heart raced, tapping hard against her ribcage. Oh my god, his fingers are pure magic.

  “Yeah, well, anger made me forget I wasn’t wearing…” She lost her train of thought when he pulled her foot further into his lap. Her toes rested intimately against his groin and there was no doubt he was as aroused as she was. “Um…shoes.”

  He moved his hand up higher on her leg, rubbing sensuous little circles into her calves. Rikki trained her gaze on the hand he rested on top of her shin. The only barrier between his flesh and hers was the thin yoga pants she wore. The sensation of his grip on her leg and the hard ridge encased in denim mesmerized her. When he tightened his fingers around her shin, her lower body squeezed in response.

  Lifting her gaze from his hands, the heat and desire she found in his eyes were unmistakable.

  “Sam? Is this a booty call?”

  “No! Well, maybe. Would it be okay if it were?” His expression was grave, questioning, while he waited for her response.

  Was it okay? She’d thought about him almost non-stop since he kissed her in the museum, when she’d gotten her first taste of the magic of his lips. She couldn’t lie; having a man like Sam in her bed would be exciting. And not because he was the sexiest man she’d ever met. He was fun and funny…and a friend. But damn if one of his dimples didn’t start to make an appearance. Guerrilla warfare? Without a doubt. And she was prepared to surrender.

  She drew a deep breath and laid a hand on his knee. “I think I’d be disappointed if it wasn’t.”

  Oxygen evacuated her lungs when his cheeks dented again. His grasp was firm and warm when he pulled her foot from his lap and moved it behind his hip, so her legs surrounded him. Shifting to his knees between her legs, he trailed his hands along the top of her thighs and up to her waist and rubbed his thumbs on her hipbones. Then he skimmed his knuckles up her arms, brushing the backs of his fingers across her breasts, unleashing a barrage of shivers up her spine. He lifted his hands to her shoulders and pressed her back against the sofa cushions.

  She went willingly.

  Sliding forward, he lowered his chest to hers and covered her lips with his. All thoughts of her injured foot fled at the feverish insistence of his mouth. Cradling the back of her head in his hand, he laid siege with his kiss—passion and hunger unmistakable in his lips and tongue. Changing the angle of his head, he demanded entry.

  Hard evidence of his arousal pressed against her thigh, while his demanding tongue slid over hers. Lifting her hips, she adjusted enough to seat him more intimately in the vee of her legs, moaning at the solid, insistent pressure there. Colors shifted and flared behind her closed eyelids—red, purple, and orange desire, morphing and exploding like fireworks.

  Every nerve in her body jumped in response to the need coursing through her system.

  Sam ended the kiss and trailed his mouth down the column of her throat, groaning as he pressed forward, bucking his hips against hers. She gasped with the intimate nudge. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she trailed her fingers to his sexy ass and flexed, making him surge forward again. He’d managed to light an inferno in her and they were going up in flames together.

  Without pulling his lips from her throat, he moved to allow his hand access to her breast. She froze, the way she always had when a man put his hand there, not breathing as she waited for what he’d do or say next. The palm of his hand seared her and she arched her back to allow him better access.

  He murmured against her throat. “You are so beautiful. Every part of you.”

  He tested the weight of her breast, molding and squeezing it through the thin layer of the stretchy jacket she suddenly wished she wasn’t wearing. Her nipple pebbled against the sweltering sensation of his teasing fingers. The tension he created in her body spooled through her. Pinching the sensitive peak, he tongued his way back up her neck to her jaw, the subtle prodding motion of his hips at the apex of her thighs was exquisite torture.

  He settled his lips on hers again and his clever tongue danced against them. Deciding that two could play that game, Rikki chased his tongue back into his mouth with hers, relishing the moist heat there. She speared her fingers through his thick, dark curls, then flexed them against his scalp.

  He fumbled with the zipper of her jacket. His hand shook but he finally pulled it low and slipped inside, caressing the bare skin of her ribcage. Magic was too weak a word to describe his fingers. She sighed as he slid his fingers under the lace of her bra and found a home on her left breast.

  Rikki struggled to get her hands between their bodies without breaking her hold on his mouth. Once she managed to find the snap of his jeans, she popped it open, snuck past his waistband, and toyed with the elastic of his boxers. When she nudged past the edge his sleek stomach muscles twitched at the light pressure.

  “Oh God. Rikki that feels…oh Jesus, yes. Right there.” He sucked his breath in sharply when she dipped lower and stroked the tip of his penis, then started to withdraw her hand. He grabbed her wrist, holding it in place. “No, don’t stop.”

  She chuckled, a surprisingly low, throaty sound. “Oh, I don’t plan to stop.”

  His weight suddenly lifted from her when he jumped to his feet, leaving her gazing up at his cock. Her mouth watered at the sight of the hard ridge straining and molding the fabric, his black boxers peeking out from the top of his unsnapped jeans. She’d barely swallowed when she found herself flying through the air to be clutched against his chest.

  “Which way is your bedroom?”

  Pointing down the hallway, she squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck when he charged toward the open bedroom door. His damn dimples were back in full force as he strode down the hallway. She gave up any hope of resisting. After she traced them with her tongue, she locked her lips to his again as he lowered her to the messy bed. He broke their kiss and stood. Intense concentration and eagerness illuminated his face while he gazed at her, sprawled on the mattress. She licked her suddenly dry lips, drawing his eyes there.

  “Christ, you are gorgeous. There’s something about you that is so mysterious.”

  “I get that from my mom. You should see her. She always lights up the room when she walks in.”

  “I bet she doesn’t hold a candle to you. But, honestly…I don’t want to talk about your mom right now.”

  “Oh, sorry. What w
ould you like to talk about?”

  “I could tell you what I want to do to you with my tongue.”

  His sexy grin and the suggestive tone in his voice stole her breath. But only for a second. “Hmm, that seems like a waste of time. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to just show me?”

  “Baby, I like the way you think.”

  He laughed and reached for the hem of the thin green cotton T-shirt he wore. He pulled the shirt over his head and dropped it along the side of the bed, frantically toeing off his shoes as the same time.

  Had she really thought him a demi-god when he’d appeared at her front door? This man’s hard body was the walking incarnation of a full-blown god. His chiseled chest resembled the statues she’d seen of Mars, the god of war, in Italy when she’d traveled as a young girl to visit family. Except silky black hair covered Sam’s chest. Sculpted ripples marched up his torso. Perfectly proportioned biceps bulged and flexed with his every movement. The waning light of the setting sun, streaming in from through the window, revealed muscles shifting under his smooth skin. Her mouth watered at the sheer hotness of the man standing by her bed, the snap of his jeans undone, his erection outlined behind his zipper.

  And those indentations on his hips? The ones that made some women stupid? Oh, yeah! He had those too.

  He pulled his wallet from his back pocket, removed a small, foil-wrapped packet, and set the condom down on the nightstand, then turned on the lamp. His wallet thudded on the nightstand where he dropped it. The bedsprings creaked when he knelt on the mattress and reached for the zipper on her jacket, separating the two halves and helping her out of it.

  The lamp cast a glow across the bed and illuminated his face, heating his eyes to flame. Rolling to her side, Rikki propped herself up on one elbow and flattened her palm on his thigh. He stilled, his gaze reverent. Starting at his knee, she stroked her other hand up his denim-encased leg. She walked her fingers up the ridges in his abdomen, then pressed her lips on each firm segment she’d touched. When she sucked his nipple into her mouth, his gasp was sharp in the quiet room.

  Sam reached behind her. His fingers fumbled at the clasp of her lacy bra when she swirled her tongue over his other nipple. When she tweaked the nub between her teeth, he ground out her name. “Rikki, I’m gonna lose my mind here.”

  He managed to release the hooks at her back and pulled the scrap of material from her, freeing her chest.

  She held her breath while he stared at her exposed breasts. Embarrassed heat flushed her cheeks, waiting for his next move. She exhaled hard, attempting to shrink the size of her chest.

  Shifting forward, he pressed his heated lips against her flesh, taking one tip in his mouth and squeezing the other between his thumb and forefinger. Her breasts had never been a great source of pleasure in the past. She’d always worried about their size, and whether they distracted her partner from the rest of her.

  But satisfying tingles zipped through her body when Sam’s lips closed over her, his tongue drawing lazy sensual circles around her areola. Each tug of his lips and teeth sharpened the ache between her thighs, intensifying the craving for him.

  With a gentle nudge against her shoulders, he pushed, easing her from her side back into the downy softness of her bed. He followed her to the mattress and covered her upper body with his. Their legs tangled together, his upper thigh rubbing hard against her pelvis. The friction built delicious sensation through her body. His reverent attitude while he’d sampled her breasts disappeared, replaced by feverish impatience and insistence. Pressure built in her like a steam cooker, bubbling and agitating, eager for release.

  His kisses were hungry, open-mouthed, devastating. He traced her lips with his tongue, then delved in to explore the cavern of her mouth, playing for a moment then pulling back. She chased his lips with hers, returning his fevered kisses.

  Moving off her, he rested his forehead against hers. He panted, as if struggling for control for each breath he could pull into his lungs. He lowered his hand to her waist and fumbled with the elastic, tugging and pulling, finally giving up and pushing his hand inside and down along her stomach to the joint at her hips. He danced his fingers along her sex until he found the opening he sought and dipped first one, then two long digits inside her.

  Sweet, aching pressure threatened to boil over. Arching her hips toward his hand, she moaned each time he stroked in, then out, then in again, setting a slow, sensual rhythm he matched with his tongue. She whimpered, a soft, needy sound, when he eased his fingers all the way in and began to move in circles, rubbing his thumb across her clit at the same time. She bucked her hips, trying to seat him deeper inside her.

  Pulling his lips away again, he chuckled. “You like that, don’t you?”

  “God, yes! We either need to slow this way down, or speed it up,” she whispered, reaching down to press her hand against the front of his jeans. “I’m going to vote for speed.”

  Sam grunted and pressed his hips hard against her hand. “I’m good with that.”

  “Okay, well, we should probably lose these clothes. Otherwise, we aren’t going anywhere.”

  Rikki fumbled for the zipper of his jeans. She shimmied her fingers into his boxers and freed his erection. Wrapping her fingers around the hard, silky length of him, she tugged.

  Sam’s breath hissed in between his clenched teeth. “I thought about trying to peel your yoga pants off with my teeth, but I don’t think I can wait.” He scrambled to his knees, hooked his thumbs in the top of her pants and jerked them down her legs, his expression matching the urgency of his hands. Tossing them over the side of her bed, he lifted her legs over his shoulders, parted her with his fingers, and laved her slit with his tongue, moving up toward her clit to nibble. Was that animal keening coming from her? When his lips closed over her, every muscle, every nerve quivered with anticipation.

  Putting his hands on her butt, he lifted, spreading her like a blooming flower, and pushed his tongue inside. Sparks crackled through her body like a lit fuse. Her blood raced, heated mercury coursing through her veins with each lap of his hot tongue. Her moan became more of a squeaky gasp when he closed his teeth over the hard nub and pushed his thumb deep inside.

  “Please, Sam, please…”

  “Coming, honey. Coming.”

  Lowering her hips back to the bed, Sam pulled away from her and wiggled out of his jeans and boxers, kicking them away from his feet as he reached for the foil packet he’d dropped on the nightstand. He ripped it open with his teeth and covered himself. Returning to the bed, he rolled between her thighs.

  There it was again. The pressure of the head of his penis, straining to enter her, was delicious. Rikki wrapped her legs around his hips and squeezed, pulling him closer until the tip stretched her, finding its way home. She moved her hands down his broad back until they rested on the firm muscles of his butt, cupping him, encouraging him to push into her.

  He didn’t refuse the invitation. The erotic slide of him through her tightly coiled muscles, the tickle of his chest hair, the heat of his tongue in her mouth, all combined in one spectacular fireworks show behind her eyelids.

  Sam pulled his lips from her when he began surging in and out, setting a hard, pounding, impatient rhythm. Propping himself on his elbows, he speared his fingers through her hair and pressed kisses along her cheeks and eyelids.

  “Open your eyes, Rikki. I want to watch you. I want you to watch me.” A smile spread on his face when she complied. The expression in his eyes mesmerized her. “You’re so hot and silky. Look at us, honey. Look where we’re joined,” he demanded, arching his body away from hers to give her a clear view.

  Her breath stuttered each time his muscles flexed, contracting with each thrust. Watching that part of him disappear inside her, stretching and filling her pushed her toward oblivion. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this…this…oh God—this!

  She tensed, her body quivering, then shrieked as she shattered in Sam’s arms. The insistent pressure of his hands
on her head pulled her gaze to his. He focused on her face, and shouting her name, followed her over the edge.

  Chapter 9

  Sam struggled to suck in his breath, his heart pounding like the drum section in a marching band. The muscles in his arms trembled with the effort to not fall forward and crush Rikki beneath him. Surrounded by her heat—and her lingering sexual tension—he hesitated to move, afraid of breaking the spell he’d fallen under the second he’d pulled her foot into his lap. He pressed his forehead against hers and huffed a breath out, stirring the hair at her temple. When he pulled back to claim her lips again, her vagina contracted tightly around him.

  Rikki drew a great, shuddering breath and let it hum out as her legs fell away from his hips, her feet thudding softly on the mattress. Using the leverage her feet granted, she flexed her pelvis up, her body tightening around him, drawing him toward her heart.

  He ground against her, accommodating her body’s demand. “Ah, God, you feel so amazing. I think I could do this every night. Hell, twice a night.”

  He gave into the trembling in his arms and eased himself down. The contact with the heated, damp skin of her breasts was nothing short of miraculous, as was the soft touch of her lips against the hollow corner of sensitized skin between his collarbone and neck.

  Electricity sizzled down his spine, giving him new life. He chuckled in her ear, then groaned when she laughed along, the very act compressing him, squeezing him tight. Her fingers tap-danced down his spine to the top of his buttocks.

  She chuckled, then slipped her hands to his hips, fingering the indentations over his pelvis. “Only twice a night? I wouldn’t have pegged you for a quitter.”

  His muscles twitched as she explored his body. Emotion rumbled through him, settling directly under his solar plexus—an unfamiliar, but not unwelcome, sensation. He knew it was time to move, but he could stay here all night, nestled between her legs.