"So, you"re happy here?"
He glanced toward the dark window then took a sip of his water, something uneasy filling the silence. "I love what I do here. The job challenges me, and I feel like I"m doing what I"m supposed to be doing. I"d like to work on some research, too, but until I get a director position, there won"t be any time for that."
He hadn"t answered her question, not exactly, but she let it slide. They ate in silence for a few minutes, letting conversations of the past drift away in their rearview mirrors. The wine started to take effect for Marin-nothing dramatic but a softening of the sharp-edged nerves from earlier. The muscles in her neck and shoulders began to unwind.
"I think I could be happy here once I get more comfortable with everything. The clients definitely will keep me on my toes. I like knowing that each person is a new riddle to figure out." She wiped her hands on her napkin. "And the training is turning out to be very . . . interesting."
Donovan looked her way, amus.e.m.e.nt lighting some of the darkness that had entered his eyes earlier. He reached out and took a sip from her winegla.s.s. "Yeah? What have you learned so far, Dr. Rush?"
"Well, I"ve learned that there are s.e.x toys I would"ve never fathomed existed. And that there are still s.e.xual surrogates. That blus.h.i.+ng is a plague upon my house. Oh, and that there is chocolate-flavored lubricant-which I"m still trying to figure out."
Donovan choked a little on the wine and then laughed and set her gla.s.s down. "What exactly is there to figure out?"
She gave him a well-duh look. "Why the h.e.l.l would anyone want it to be chocolate flavored?"
He pressed his lips together like he was trying to contain a laugh but mirth danced in his eyes anyway. "You really need to ask? Some people don"t like the tastes a.s.sociated with oral s.e.x."
"Is it that bad?"
"Which side?"
"I"m a.s.suming you"ve only sampled one side of that equation."
His lips curved, a pirate smile. "Not entirely true. I"ve never given a guy a b.l.o.w. .j.o.b, no, but I know what I taste like. I suspect you know what you taste like, too."
The heat that rushed through her hit her face in an instant. Her cheeks burned like she"d been slapped.
"There"s the patented Marin blush."
She groaned. "Shut up."
He s.h.i.+fted toward her, his gaze holding hers. "Take off your panties, Marin."
She stilled. "What?"
He got up from his chair and grabbed hers, turning it away from the table. "Your nerves are going to get the best of you if we take things too slow. You can always say no, but I"m asking you to trust me. Do you trust me?"
"Yes." The word popped up automatically.
But before she could say anything else, he lowered himself to his knees in front of her and his lips met hers in a slow, teasing kiss. One that made things melt. One that made the tension in her body unfurl. She gave into it. And as his tongue stroked along hers, he pushed her dress along her thighs in a slow glide, exposing her bare legs. Her heart picked up speed, her stomach tensing. But she didn"t stop him. Wouldn"t.
He hooked his fingers in the sides of her underwear and broke away from the kiss, his gaze colliding with hers. "I said, take them off."
"Oh." So they were doing this. Now. She tried not to have a panic attack.
Just listen. Let him guide you. This is Donovan. The words whispered through her head, calming some of the nerves. She lifted her hips when he tugged, and she let him slide her underwear down. s.h.i.+vers chased the fabric down her legs as he dragged them all the way to her feet. He tossed the panties aside and put his hands on her knees.
"Open for me, Marin. I want to see you."
She forgot how to swallow for a moment and couldn"t speak, but she didn"t offer any resistance when he applied pressure and opened her like a book, a secret book she"d never let anyone else but him read. Self-consciousness swamped her.
But the full, slow inhale he gave at the sight of her spread wide for him sent a rush of hot warmth flooding her. He stared at her bared s.e.x with hungry eyes and drew a fingertip over her crease, earning a soft curse from her.
"So f.u.c.king gorgeous." His voice was like water over rough rocks. "You should see how wet and ready you are from just sitting here talking about this."
She closed her eyes, trying to pull in a breath. She felt exposed, vulnerable as all get out, but the earth would"ve had to shake beneath her to get her to move.
He dipped a gentle finger into her, her body protesting the sudden invasion at first and then another wave of arousal rus.h.i.+ng forward and easing the way. Her hands reached out to grip his shoulders, nails digging in. The slippery evidence of how easily she"d gotten turned on made her blush harder.
"How do you think you taste?" His voice was a hypnotic song as he slid his finger from inside her, and then swiped a wet fingertip over her lips. She gasped and he breached her mouth with his finger. The distinct taste of her arousal hit her tongue.
She jolted at the invasion and her eyes popped open, but when she saw the naked desire in his expression, she settled almost instantly. It wasn"t the first time she"d tasted herself. They both knew it. They were both scientists at heart. Curiosity their drug. But somehow his looking at her like that made the embarra.s.sment of that fall away like an unneeded layer of skin. Shameless. He challenged her to be shameless. It"s how she wanted to be.
He smiled, tugged his finger from her mouth, and then leaned forward and dragged the tip of his tongue over her lips, tasting what he"d painted there. He made a pleased sound and sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, licking it clean. He released her with a slow drag of his teeth over her lip. "I think you taste f.u.c.king amazing."
She was breathless. Like she"d just sprinted somewhere. She had to force a response out. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. I need more. Come "ere."
He got to his feet and put a hand out. She stood, her knees a little weak and the rest of her dinner forgotten. He grabbed the back of her neck and planted a solid kiss on her mouth-like he hadn"t planned to do that but couldn"t resist. Then he walked her back against the counter. Before she realized what he was doing, he gripped her waist and lifted her onto the kitchen island. He slid the bottle of wine to the side.
"Lie back."
"Why?"
He smiled slow, wholly wicked. "I"m going to have you for dessert."
"Donovan . . ." She didn"t know what she was saying. Yes. No. All of her senses were firing at once.
He pressed his finger against her lips. "Let the worries go. I"ve got you, Rush. All I want is to make you feel good. Tell me if you want something to stop. Okay?"
His eyes were steady on hers, a deep ocean of things played there in his gaze, but the solidness of him, the confidence, made her feel safe. Wanted. She nodded. "Okay."
She s.h.i.+fted to lie back, but he stopped her. "Hold on. One more thing. I want to see you."
He gripped the edge of her sundress and gathered it up her body. Once she adjusted her hips for him, he lifted it over her head and left her bare except for her bra. He quickly unhooked it and did away with that, too. She was left stark naked under the gleaming light of the kitchen with him still fully dressed. Panic welled in her.
But his attention swept over her with undisguised l.u.s.t, distracting her from her racing thoughts. He reached out to cup her breast, brus.h.i.+ng his thumb over her nipple and bringing it to a stiff, aching peak. "You"re so G.o.dd.a.m.ned beautiful. I didn"t get the chance to take my time the first time we were together, but I plan on making up for that now."
She swallowed past the knot in her throat. "Will I get to see you, too?"
He smiled and stepped between her spread thighs, his fingers gently teasing her nipples, sending hot frissons of need through her. "Later, I"m all yours. You can see and touch and taste whatever you want."
Goose b.u.mps p.r.i.c.kled her skin as he kissed the side of her neck. She licked her lips. "I never got to touch you back then. To see you."
He sucked at her collarbone. "I didn"t realize that you"d wanted to."
She scoffed, the wine buzz and his hot, wet kisses making her inhibitions blur. "Are you kidding? It"s all I thought about for months before."
He lifted his head at that. "Months?"
"Never mind."
He grinned. "Oh no, Rush. Now you"ve got to tell me. I"ve got your pretty t.i.ts in my hands. You know how easily I could torture you?"
He bent and took one in his mouth, sucking it between his lips and circling his tongue around it. G.o.d. G.o.d. She moaned as the sensation darted straight downward and settled in between her legs. "Oh, f.u.c.k . . ."
He pulled off with a soft pop. "See. Tell me. Imagine how long I could suck and tease these without touching anything else and be perfectly content. I could drag out the evening just playing with you and stroking my c.o.c.k while I do it, never giving you what you need."
He moved to her other breast and she leaned back on her elbows, her thoughts scattering. "Teasing the born-again virgin is not . . . playing . . . fair."
He hummed against her nipple, making the sensation ripple through her. Wetness pooled between her legs.
"Okay, okay." She arched her back as he sucked harder. "s.h.i.+t. I may have had a long-standing crush on you. I may have had completely impure thoughts about my TA for way longer than before that spring break."
He nipped at her flesh and then raised his head to give her a devilish, satisfied smile. "So when you ran into me in the lab and realized who I was, you went about seducing me."
A sharp laugh burst out of her. "I did no such thing."
"You did. Utterly and completely." He cupped her shoulders and lowered her to the island, displaying her like an X-rated feast. "Whether you knew it or not. You"re still doing it."
He drew his fingers down her body from collarbone to hip. She closed her eyes, a s.h.i.+ver going through her. She"d never realized in that moment how starved for touch she was. No one touched her like this. No one ever. Her own fingers felt nothing like this. Every stroke of his hands was like a revelation, her nerve endings blooming under the attention. But then the sensation disappeared, leaving her floating without a tether. Her fingers curled around the edges of the island. "Donovan . . ."
"Shh, it"s okay." His hands gripped her knees. "I"ve got you. Every gorgeous part of you."
He spread her open and traced her inner thighs, sending luxurious tingles winding upward. She bit her lip, trying to keep the moan from slipping out. But then there was a gust of warm air against her wet flesh. Breath. She tensed all over. He was right there, up close with her most private spot. Her thighs tried to snap together but he was gripping her, keeping her in place. And before she could fully panic about what she looked like or what he thought or how this would feel, his mouth was on her. Burning hot, confident, and hungry.
"Oh, G.o.d." Lightning went through her and then her muscles went lax like they"d forgotten how to work. A puddle. She was going to become a puddle.
Her knees fell fully open now, no resistance. He made a satisfied sound. Then, he licked her full and slow over her outer lips, the roughness of his tongue and softness of his mouth coalescing into some never before felt sensation. Then he found her c.l.i.t. Her toes arched in her sandals.
"Holy. s.h.i.+t." Marin couldn"t stop the words or the desperate sound that followed from escaping her. He"d put his mouth on her briefly all those years ago. And she"d read about oral s.e.x countless times, had seen it in videos, had educated others on it. But she"d had no idea. No. f.u.c.king. Idea-it could feel like this.
"Agreed," Donovan said, his breath gusting over her. He kissed her there again, openmouthed and deep, his tongue swirling around her c.l.i.t like he was going to see how many licks it took to get to the center of her Tootsie Pop, for her to just disintegrate into nothing. One. Two. Ten. She lost count how many times.
Her body throbbed with an impending release already, everything tightening to the breaking point. Her nipples were so hard and achy, she almost went for it and rubbed them herself. But instead, she did what she"d been dying to do forever. She reached down and laced her hands in Donovan"s hair, feeling the soft strands slide through her fingers.
"You"re f.u.c.king perfect, Rush." Donovan pushed a finger inside her, pumping slowly while he licked her in between dirty words. "You should see how wet you are, how hot you feel. I"m hard as rock just thinking about what you"re going to taste like coming against my mouth."
"Donovan . . . G.o.d. I need, I"m . . ."
Despite her garbled speech, he apparently got the point because he moved his finger away, giving her a second to step back from the edge. But before she could really grab ahold of her control again, he slid his hands beneath her a.s.s, cupping her and lifting her higher.
"Open your eyes and look at me," he commanded.
She"d had her eyes squeezed shut the entire time, too overwhelmed by the feeling to take in any additional information. But at his command, her eyes automatically blinked open. And when she looked down her body, her gaze collided with his. He had her held in his palms, his lips slick and puffy, and without breaking contact he lifted her to his mouth and sucked on her c.l.i.t.
The sight was so obscene, so G.o.dd.a.m.ned decadent that she almost couldn"t take it. His gaze held hers like a rope tied between them, anchoring her and challenging her at the same time. Look at what I"m doing to you. Look at how filthy and s.e.xy and shameless we are. He lapped at her-slow and sure-and then sucked and nipped at her flesh, bringing her to the edge and then easing her back again. Her brain filled with white noise, emptying of everything except what she was feeling and the man making her feel those things.
Then when she thought she couldn"t handle any more, Donovan reached for the wine bottle. While keeping a steady hand beneath her, he tipped it over her, dousing her s.e.x with rich, ruby liquid. The cool splash was a shock against her hot skin, making her cry out, but then he was there licking it off her, dragging his tongue over her thighs and p.u.s.s.y, his lips going red with the stain of the wine.
The plinking drops of the wine dripping off her body onto the island and floor were unbearably erotic as Donovan got a roguish gleam in his eye and lowered the bottle. She didn"t have time to process what he was about to do. With his stare holding hers, he dragged the mouth of the bottle along her slit, smooth gla.s.s against throbbing flesh. Then he pressed it to her entrance.
Oh. f.u.c.k.
Her arousal was absolute, everything slippery and aching, and the ridged opening of the bottle slid into her without a fight.
Donovan"s expression flared with unrepentant desire as he pumped the very tip inside of her with shallow thrusts. "Any way I want. That"s how I"m going to f.u.c.k you, Rush."
The words rang through her, setting off sparks and making everything catch fire. She"d worried he"d treat her like a sweet, inexperienced virgin. She"d worried that he"d go easy on her. She"d been wrong. So very wrong.
He was going to break her into a million pieces.
And she was going to let him.
He dragged the bottle out of her, leaving her empty and pulsing with the need to be filled, and then he lifted the bottle to his mouth, wrapping his lips around it and draining the last few drops of it. All the while he held her gaze. He licked his lips when he was done. "You"re sweeter than the wine."
Her head dropped back to the island with a groan. She could die. That"d be fine.
He pushed the neck of the bottle back into her, a little deeper, and this time she welcomed the invasion. Her body needed that pressure and he knew just how far to go-not too deep but enough to make her hyperaware of every sensation down there. Then he put his mouth back on her, licking, sucking, tasting while he f.u.c.ked her with the bottle. In and out, in and out. Everything went white in her vision, and her head listed from side to side against the counter. It all felt like too much all of a sudden, too overwhelming. "Oh, G.o.d. Oh, G.o.d . . . I can"t take . . ."
There was no going back. A release like she"d never had in her life busted through the gates, trampling any shred of sanity she had left. Her back arched, her body seized, and all the colors of the rainbow cascaded behind her eyelids in a blinding waterfall. She screamed, an all-out, losing-her-G.o.dd.a.m.ned-mind shriek and then she was rocking and floating and giving in to it all.
She didn"t know how long her o.r.g.a.s.m went on or what was happening around her. All she knew was that Donovan was there anchoring her, giving her pleasure, bringing her to this place she"d never been. And when she felt like she couldn"t handle any more and started tapping the counter with her hand, he eased the bottle away and held her in place on the island while she panted her way back down to earth.
She knew she should do something, say something-move. But before she got enough strength to open her eyes, she was being lifted. Strong arms adjusted beneath her, and she rested her head against a spot that seemed natural. She felt Donovan"s stubble, smelled the faint scent of his skin. She inhaled deeply and nuzzled against his neck, mumbling nonsense.
Donovan chuckled softly. "Let"s get you in the bath. Then you can attempt speech again."
She lifted her hand with a thumbs-up.
He kissed the top of her head. "Dork."
"Pot and kettle," she murmured.
"Yeah, that"s us."
Us. She shouldn"t like the sound of that so much.
21.
Marin looked ridiculously s.e.xy in his plaid bathrobe when she stepped into his bedroom. He"d bathed her and washed her hair in the tub, giving her time to settle after her o.r.g.a.s.m, to process things. But she"d asked for a few minutes to herself at the end. He"d given it to her but worried that she"d needed it because he"d overwhelmed her.