His lips twisted and the d.a.m.n key finally slid into its hole. "Do you even own granny panties?"
"Every woman owns at least one pair of granny panties, if only because they"re so roomy and comfortable."
He made a face, not sure he liked the picture she was painting at all. "All right, not the granny panties. But everything else."
Twisting the k.n.o.b, he shoved the door open, then snagged her waist with his arm and lifted her off the ground to carry her inside. As soon as the door slammed closed behind them, he spun on his heel and pressed her up against the wooden frame, just as he"d fantasized.
He kissed her, rubbing himself up and down her pelvis like an affectionate cat. She tasted of wine and the baked Alaska they"d eaten for dessert.
"d.a.m.n. You"re better than a seven-course meal."
Her nails dug into his shoulders, making him even hotter. If that was possible. As it was, he expected steam to come pouring out of his ears at any second.
He licked her jawline, tugged at the soft lobe of her ear and placed wet, nibbling kisses down the column of her neck.
She moaned, letting her head fall back and drawing her leg up so that the heel of her shoe sc.r.a.ped the back of his calf and thigh until her knee was high enough to rest along his hipbone.
"Aren"t you going to ask what kind of panties I"m wearing now?"
The words came out thin and tenuous, with that breathy quality he loved. His teeth clenched, and he leaned into the cradle of her thighs, where she"d made more room for him to fit.
He wasn"t sure he wanted to know about her panties. He was on the brink of o.r.g.a.s.m already. Picturing her in a black satin thong...or red lace French-cuts...or even white bikinis could send him straight over the edge.
Then again, the suspense was killing him.
"All right," he panted, "I"ll bite. What kind of panties are you wearing right now?"
She looped her arms around his neck, toying with the close-cut hair at his nape. Then she moved her lips close to his ear, her breath making gooseflesh break out along his already perspiration-covered skin.
"I"m not."
For a minute her meaning didn"t sink in. And then when it did, he wasn"t sure he believed her.
Running his hand under her dress, he pa.s.sed the top of her seamed thigh-highs and the smooth expanse of her upper thigh, only to have his knuckles come in direct contact with the springy curls covering her mound.
The air froze in his lungs and his gut tightened like a steel drum while several choice expletives flitted through his brain.
"Holy h.e.l.l, woman," he managed after several long, strangled seconds, "what are you trying to do, kill me?"
"Never that," she said, in the voice Eve likely used to seduce Adam.
"Just trying something new," she added. "And making things a little easier for you, I"d imagine."
"You have no idea."
Reaching into the back pocket of his dress slacks, he retrieved his wallet, flipped open the fine Italian leather, and dug out the condom he kept there for emergency situations. And if this wasn"t an emergency situation, he didn"t know what was.
"Hold this," he told her.
She took the foil packet out of his hand with her teeth, causing his shaft to jerk with eagerness.
Shaking his head, he let the wallet drop to the floor and began shrugging out of his clothes. The jacket came first, followed by his shirt and belt.
"I hope you don"t mind, but I don"t think I can make it to the bedroom. I"m going to take you right here, like this, up against the door."
His pants and briefs dropped, and he immediately drove his hands under the fabric of her dress, shoving it up around her waist.
"Tell me now if that"s not what you want, because in another few seconds, I won"t be able to stop."
Holding his gaze, she tore open the condom wrapper and removed the latex protection. She positioned it at his tip, then rolled the thin barrier slowly down his aching erection.
When that was done, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. "I do want," she whispered.
And then she raised her leg, locking it around his waist, bringing him flush with her moist feminine heat.
One thrust and he was inside. She burned him, her inner muscles clasping, making him want to weep in pleasure.
Pressing her more firmly into the wooden panel at her back, he lifted her other leg until she was tangled around him like a vine. His hands cradled her b.u.t.tocks, holding her up and pulling her tighter against him at the same time.
He watched her eyes slide closed, her teeth bite down gently on her bottom lip as he filled her. He couldn"t resist leaning forward to lick the seam of her mouth with the tip of his tongue.
That small action turned into a full-blown kiss as his hips angled upward, driving him deeper. He was beyond control, beyond rational thought. His body, along with the mind-numbing ecstasy roaring through it, drove him.
Just when he started to worry that he might come without giving Gwen any pleasure at all, her back arched and she spasmed around him. Her climax was like a lit match being laid to a stick of dynamite, setting off explosions in his blood and in his groin.
He thrust again, harder and harder. Once, twice...The third time, he shot off like a rocket, shouting his triumph into her open mouth and going limp from the amazing force of his release.
Nine.
"D on"t think any less of me for this," Ethan mumbled in her ear, "but I can"t feel my legs, and I think we"re about to fall to the floor."
Before she could respond, they did just that. Her back slid halfway down the door until he flipped her around, taking the bottom position and bringing her to straddle him as they collapsed in a pile of limbs and discarded clothes.
She chuckled weakly, resting her head on his shoulder, still feeling him inside her.
Rather than merely becoming a bit more uninhibited, she feared she might be turning into a wanton hussy.
s.e.x standing up against a wall, not wearing panties in hopes of just such an occurrence...She was shameless.
And loving every minute of it.
She wasn"t foolish enough to think this might be the first of many such experiences. On the contrary she knew she had to grab at every new s.e.xual opportunity Ethan offered before they disappeared.
Which was why she"d taken the boutique owner"s advice about leaving her panties at home. It had taken her several hours to work up the courage, and several quick trips to her underwear drawer to slip a pair off...then on...then off again. But finally she"d decided her dress was long enough that no one would know whether or not she was wearing panties unless she wanted them to.
And apparently Ethan had fully appreciated the effort.
She certainly had.
Something came over her when she was with him, something that made her want to jump his bones.
His fingers ma.s.saged her head and she rubbed her cheek comfortingly along his bare, sweat-dappled chest.
"In a minute I"m going to pick you up and carry you to my bedroom," he murmured sleepily. "Any minute now."
"Maybe we could each crawl there on our own," she offered, not sure she had that much energy, either.
"Mmm. Maybe we could just sleep here for a couple of hours before going anywhere."
"A couple hours, hmm? Do you really think it will take you that long to recover?"
As though to emphasize her point, her internal muscles clenched of their own volition, and she immediately felt him stir to life within her.
A puff of air hissed through his teeth, his body tensing in her arms.
"Suddenly I"m feeling much more alert," he announced. "A few more seconds, and I"ll be raring to go."
She shifted above him in a teasing, seductive way. "I can tell."
"Well, don"t do that," he warned, his hands grabbing for her bottom to hold her still. "You"re just asking for trouble when you move like that."
"Am I?"
She squirmed again and was rewarded by his harsh intake of breath.
"All right, that"s it."
With a superhuman burst of strength, he tilted to one side, then climbed to his feet, taking her with him. She gave a little squeak of surprise and clung to his neck to keep from falling on her behind.
Ethan kicked off his shoes and slacks in the entryway, leaving himself completely naked, then strode across the darkened apartment like Tarzan carrying Jane back to his house in the trees.
"I don"t know what kind of magic you"re practicing," he whispered below her ear, "but I"m completely transfixed. I want to kiss you all night long. I want to make love to you in every position known to man...and then start over again from the beginning."
She tipped her head back to look at him, wondering how she"d gotten so lucky to land this man when she"d decided to lose her virginity on her birthday.
"I"m game," she told him, tightening her grip on his hips with her thighs.
His intense hazel-green eyes locked with hers. "d.a.m.n. If we survive the night, we might have to write a whole new version of the Kama Sutra."
"That sounds like it would take a lot of hands-on research."
One corner of his mouth lifted in a devilish grin. "Oh, yeah."
She found herself grinning with him and then laughing when he tossed her in the middle of his big bed, only to climb in after her, stalking her like a jungle cat.
He crouched over her p.r.o.ne form and gave a throaty growl, sinking his teeth into the tender flesh between neck and shoulder. She yelped in a mix of pain and delight, and returned the favor by sinking her sharp, manicured nails into the meat of his back.
His lips curled up over his teeth, giving him a dangerous, feral look. Heat stabbed through her, pooling between her legs and making her want him again.
Would she ever get past this insatiable need for him? Would there ever come a day when she could think of him without her insides growing taut with longing?
"Now," he announced, "let"s get you undressed. Fully dressed was fun, but naked is even better."
Reaching behind her, he found the tiny zipper of her dress and pulled it down without bothering to lift her from the cushiony mattress. When that was done, he stripped the outfit-jacket and all-from her body and tossed it aside.
He took a moment to admire the scarlet push-up bra encasing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and the fact that she was bare to the tops of her thigh-highs with their dark seams running in a perfect line down the backs of her legs.
"Someday," he said, his voice thick with emotion, "I"m going to ask you to wear this very outfit while I do wicked things to you. Bra, stockings, do-me heels...But for now, I want to be skin to skin."
Sitting back on his haunches, he raised one of her legs and rested it against his broad chest. He kissed the inside of her ankle, then flipped the red stiletto off her foot and tossed it over his shoulder.
To remove her hose, he started at the snug elastic band that rounded her upper thigh and rolled. His hands worked like a sculptor"s on a piece of warm clay, stroking and caressing, sending ripples of desire straight to her core.
She curled her toes and wiggled her bottom closer to his straining manhood, but he wouldn"t be rushed. He simply continued to unroll her hosiery, slowly, erotically, until the stocking came free of her foot and fell somewhere amid the clutter of her other garments.
He repeated the same feat on the other leg until she was completely nude, then stretched out on top of her.
The rough hair sprinkled across his pectoral muscles tickled her nipples, causing them to bead and pucker. One of his legs, anch.o.r.ed between both of hers, rubbed gently up and down, bringing nerve endings all along her body to scorching, vibrant life.
He cradled her head in his large palm, the other perched on her hip, his thumb drawing lazy, nonsensical patterns on her flesh. His lips were soft and warm as they trailed around her ear, then over her closed eyelids and the bridge of her nose.
"I could kiss you all day," he said, brushing his mouth across hers as he moved toward her other ear. "Lick you, taste you, nibble you like a rich, b.u.t.tery pastry."
"Mmm." She craned her neck, allowing him better access, which was about all she seemed capable of at the moment. Her bones felt like jelly, her brain pleasantly numb.
The callused hand that had been resting on her hip suddenly moved upward, sliding over her abdomen, dipping for a moment into her navel, before lightly tracing the underside of her breast.
He knew just where to touch. How soft or firm. How to make her squirm.
Could she do the same? she wondered. Could she make him pant and wiggle and beg?
Her lashes fluttered open only to find him gazing down at her, his hazel eyes a starburst of colors, his expression drawn tight with building pa.s.sion.
A sudden surge of boldness overcame her and she pushed against his shoulders, twisting them both until they"d traded positions. He was now flat on his back on the mattress with her straddling his hips.
"What are you doing?"
Something she"d always wanted to try, she thought, but said only, "You"ll see."
Shimmying lower, she raked her nails along the sculpted lines of his stomach and delighted when he sucked in a sharp breath. His heavy-lidded eyes followed her movement, and from the way his already erect shaft jumped, growing impossibly thicker, she knew he suspected what she had planned.
She"d never done this before, but she"d read several magazine articles that covered the subject, and hoped she could do it at least well enough to bring Ethan pleasure.