Blaze of Memory (Page 78)

A single squeeze and she trembled. Feeling him smile at her response, she scratched her nails lightly down his back. "Again," he ordered, his voice husky.

When she did, she had the pleasure of feeling his big body shudder before he raised one hand to the back of her neck, kneading the tense muscles in a firm yet gentle sequence that made her moan as the last vestige of pain was replaced by pleasure, her body softening even further for him.

"Good?" An intimate murmur as she nuzzled against him.

"Mmm."

He continued to use those strong fingers on her, his head dipping to kiss the sensitive skin of her neck. Stroking her hands down his sides, she undid the top button of his jeans. He stilled but didn’t stop her. And when she lowered the zipper, he sucked in a breath. Feeling bold and free and unashamedly female, she slid her hand beneath the waistband of his underwear.

"Katya."

Biting down gently along the tendon stretched taut on his neck, she caressed him, slow and easy, knowing it would drive him crazy in the best way. "How did I get to be the one giving the massage?"

A strained chuckle against her ear, a bitten-off curse. "Harder."

She did the opposite.

"You’re going to get in trouble if you keep doing that."

Pressing an openmouthed kiss to his neck, she resumed her lazy stroking. "I’m not scared of a little trouble."

He pulled off her hand with such speed – pinning her wrists on either side of her head – that she barely had time to gasp in a breath before he kissed her. . .before he took her. She let him. Because, quite simply, there was something to be said for a man who knew what he wanted and made no bones about demanding it.

The feel of his strong hands on her wrists simply enhanced her pleasure. She tried to pull away, but only because it amplified the sensations. Dev knew. He used his body to hold her in place, even as his lips insisted she return every kiss, every little bite, every breath.

She gave him all she had.

And still he asked for more.

Melting, she ran the back of one foot over his calf, urging him closer. Her reward was the release of her hands, as his own slid down her back, pulling her up. Instinct had her putting her legs around him in a shockingly intimate embrace, the hottest part of her pressed to the hardest part of him.

But even then he wasn’t satisfied. He shifted her until she was exactly where he wanted her. The pressure on her clitoris made her suck in a gasp, grip at his shoulders. "I can’t – "

"Yes, you can." Another thorough kiss, their tongues dancing, tangling, loving. "Just a little more." He moved his body against hers, not gently, not hesitantly – no, this time, Dev was determined to push her over. And push her over he did. Into an erotic whirlpool from which there was no escape.

When her lashes finally lifted, she found herself being dropped lightly on the bed. Looking up, she watched as Dev pulled off her shoes, kicking off his own as he prowled up onto the bed from the other end. "You," he said, his eyes taking a slow journey down her body, "are seriously overdressed for the occasion."

"I’m too sated to move."

"I’m too happy to assist."

Feeling another smile bloom on her face, she let him unbutton her shirt. His fingers danced over her br**sts as he pushed the fabric to either side of her body, half baring her . . . but making her feel far more na**d than if she’d been stripped. The paradox intrigued her, but nowhere near as much as the golden heat in Dev’s eyes.

Her body beginning to coil again, she bit her lower lip as he shifted to undo her jeans. Pulling both the denim and the soft cotton of her panties down in two quick tugs, he threw the clothing to the side and returned to her – taking a seat between her thighs.

Cheeks flushing as he ran his hands down the upper slope of each thigh, his eyes locked with hers, she swallowed. "I’m not completely naked, and yet, I feel so exposed."

"You look beautiful," he murmured, his gaze on the unsteady rise and fall of her br**sts. Reaching up, he tugged at the cup of her bra until it slid aside to reveal a nipple, taut and begging for his touch. "Beautiful," he said again, dipping his head to take the hard nub into his mouth.

She cried out, the suction reaching straight through to the liquid heat between her thighs. Dev’s knuckles brushed over her damp curls at that very moment. "Oh."

"So soft." Grazing her nipple with his teeth, Dev rose to look down at her.

She felt an absolute creature of the senses at that moment, flushed and without inhibitions. Reaching up, she went to caress him, but he stopped her hands. "It’s my turn, remember?" And the wicked glint in his eye was the only warning she had before he began to kiss his way downward. She tried to grab at his shoulders, but he simply chuckled and kept going.

His kiss was hot, dark, wicked.

It was all she could do not to sob from the pleasure of it. Clutching at the sheets with desperate hands, she made no protest when he spread her thighs even farther and settled in to taste her as if she were some exotic banquet, and he a connoisseur.

"Shh." Strong hands stroked her down as he laved kisses on the delicate skin of her inner thighs.

But just as she’d almost gotten her breath back, he kissed her with that same devastating intimacy a second time, the tenderness of his touch doing nothing to hide the possessiveness. Part of her was convinced he knew she’d decided to leave him, but that thought was less than a flicker in the back of her mind. Right now, the endorphins flooding her body left no room for anything but pleasure.

Slow, seductive, sizzling.

A single lick and it was too much. She twisted away, desperate to escape . . . yet wanting more at the same time. "Dev."