For the Sake of Their Son (The Alpha Brotherhood #5)(26)
Author: Catherine Mann

Except she didn’t move any farther away. She locked eyes with him, her pupils wide—from the dark or from desire? He sure as hell hoped for the latter. Her hand went to the tie of her silky wraparound dress and she tugged.

His jaw dropped. “Um, Lucy Ann? Are you about to, uh—?”

“Yes, Elliot, I am.” She pulled open the dress, revealing red satin underwear and an enticing expanse of creamy freckled skin.

His brain went on stun. All he could do was stare—and appreciate. Her bra cupped full br**sts so perfectly his hands ached to hold and test their weight, to caress her until she sighed in arousal.

She shrugged and the dress started to slide down, down—

Out here.

In the open.

He bolted forward, a last scrap of sense telling him to shield her gorgeous body. He clasped her shoulders and pulled her to him, stopping the dress from falling away. “Lucy Ann, we’re on a balcony. Outside.”

A purr rippled up her throat as she wriggled against his throbbing erection. “I know.”

Her fragrance beckoned, along with access to silky skin. His mouth watered. That last bit of his sense was going to give up the fight any second.

“We need to go back into our suite.”

“I know that, too. So take me inside. Your room or mine. You choose as long as we’re together and naked very soon.” She leaned into him, her br**sts pressing against his chest. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”

The need to possess tensed all his muscles, the adrenaline rush stronger than coming into a final turn neck and neck.

“Hell, no, I haven’t changed my mind. We’ll go to my room because there are condoms in my nightstand. And before you ask, yes, I’ve been wanting and planning to take you to bed again every minute of our journey.” He scooped her up into his arms and shouldered the doors open into their suite. The sitting area loomed quiet and empty. “Thank God Mrs. Claymore isn’t up looking for a midnight snack.”

Her hair trailing loose over his shoulder, Lucy Ann kissed his neck in a series of nibbles up to his ear. “You’re supposed to be the race car driver who lives on the edge, and yet you’re the one being careful. That’s actually quite romantic.”

“For you. Always careful for you.” Except he hadn’t been. He’d left her alone as a teen, gotten her pregnant and stayed away for nearly a year. He refused to let her down again in any way. She deserved better from him.

Lucy Ann deserved the best. Period.

She slid her hand behind his head and brought him closer for a kiss. He took her mouth as fully as he ached to take her body. With every step closer to his bedroom, his body throbbed harder and faster for her. The last few steps to the king-size bed felt like a mile. The massive headboard took up nearly the whole wall, the four posters carved like trees reaching up to the canopy. He was glad now he’d brought her here, a place they’d never been, a fantasy locale for a woman who deserved to be pampered, adored.

Treasured.

He set her on her feet carefully, handling her like spun glass. She tossed the dress aside in a silky flutter of red.

Nibbling her bottom lip and releasing it slowly, seductively, Lucy Ann kicked her high heels off with a flick of each foot. “One of us is very overdressed.”

“You don’t say.”

“I do.” She hooked her finger in the collar of his shirt and tugged down. Hard. Popping the buttons free in a burst that scattered them along the floor.

Ooooo-kay. So much for spun glass. His libido ramped into high gear. “You seem to be taking charge so nicely I thought you might help me take care of that.”

He looked forward to losing more buttons in her deft hands.

“Hmm,” she hummed, backing toward the bed until her knees bumped the wooden steps. “If I’m taking charge, then I want you to take off the rest of your clothes while I watch.”

“I believe I can comply with that request.” Shrugging off his destroyed shirt, he couldn’t take his eyes from her as she settled onto the middle of the gold comforter, surrounded by tapestry pillows and a faux-fur throw. He toed off his loafers, his bare feet sinking into the thick Persian rug.

She reclined on the bed, pushing her heels into the mattress to scoot farther up until she could lean against the headboard. “You could have continued your underwear model days and made a mint, you know.”

His hands stopped on his belt buckle. “You’re killing the mood for me, Lucy Ann. I prefer to forget that brief chapter of my life.”

“Briefs?” She giggled at her own pun. “You’re right. You’re definitely more of a boxers kind of guy now.”

Fine, then. She seemed to want to keep this lighthearted, avoiding the heavier subjects they’d touched on while dancing. Now that he thought of it, they’d never gotten around to dinner, either. Which gave him an idea, one he’d be better off starting while he still had his clothes on.

“Stay there, just like that,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

Belt buckle clanking and loose, he sprinted out to the balcony. He picked up the platter of fruit and cheese and tucked the two plates of flan on top. Balancing the makeshift feast, he padded toward their room, careful not to wake the nanny or Eli.

Backing inside, he elbowed the door closed carefully. Turning, he breathed a sigh of relief to find Lucy Ann waiting. He hadn’t really expected her to leave…except for a hint of an instant he’d thought about how quickly she’d run from what they shared last time.

She tipped her head to the side, her honey-streaked brown hair gliding along her shoulder like melted caramel. “You want to eat dinner now?”

He gave her his best bad boy grin. “If you’re my plate, then yes, ma’am, I think this is a fine time for us to have supper.”

“Okay then. Wouldn’t want to mess up our clothes.” She tugged off her bra and shimmied out of her panties, her lush curves bared and… Wow.

He almost dropped the damn tray.

Regaining his footing, he set the food on the edge of the bed without once taking his eyes off the long lines of her legs leading up to her caramel curls. He was definitely overdressed for what he had in mind.

He tugged off his slacks along with his boxers. His erection sprang free.

She smiled, her eyes roving over him in an appreciative sweep that made him throb harder. “Elliot?”

“Yes?” He clasped her foot in his hand, lifting it and kissing the inside of her ankle where a delicate chain with a fairy charm surprised him on such a practical woman. What else had he missed about Lucy Ann in the year they’d been apart?