One More Night (Seductive Nights #3)(30)
Author: Lauren Blakely

The sound was sexy, but it was more than that. It was the sound of him wanting all of her. Not just her body, but her heart, her mind, and all the strings she came attached to. The ones that tethered her to a past that sometimes prowled back into their present and gripped them by their throats. He took her strings with no questions asked, just as he took her. She and her troubles were a package deal, and he’d signed up for all of it, undaunted by an ounce of it. “You,” she repeated when they came up for air, and somehow it was all she could say. Words were too much. She was overcome, and all she could do was feel this love, this future, this unconditional-ness with him.

He roamed her body with his strong hands, mapping her from her shoulders, down to her waist, to her hips. Then, he slid his hands over her butt, cupping her cheeks and somehow bringing her even closer. “You and me,” he murmured softly. “You and me. Always.”

He reached for the shampoo, squirting some in his hands. He lathered up her hair, massaged her scalp with strong fingers, then leaned her hair under the spray, rinsing out all the suds. He continued to make his way down her body, washing her all over, even her toes as he kneeled before her. Then he kissed his way up her bare, wet legs, caressing her calves with his lips, the back of her knees with his tongue, her thighs with a brush of his mouth. He rose higher, making sure her belly received the same love from his mouth, then her br**sts, her neck and her lips once more.

“Thank you,” she said, looking into his deep brown eyes. He gazed at her with such love, such tenderness, that she nearly burst from all the feelings that had worked their way inside her, that inhabited her heart, her mind, and her body. All of her belonged to all of him. “Thank you for being with me.”

He nuzzled her neck. “No. Thank you for being mine.”

She helped him take off his soaked clothes, stripping him down to nothing, marveling at his beautiful nudity. “I’m the only one who ever gets to see you like this,” she whispered, feeling lucky once more.

“You are.”

Ten minutes later, she was dried off, lotioned up and naked, nestled in bed. He joined her, sliding under the covers and wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Clay?” she asked.

“Yes?”

“Would you mind terribly if I just wanted you to hold me right now?”

“I wouldn’t mind that one bit,” he said, his deep, gravelly voice that she loved wafting over her and settling into her heart where he’d already staked his permanent claim.

“By the way, how did you get into that room?” she asked, curious even as she closed her eyes.

He laughed. “It’s kind of a funny story, but I used a Purple Snow Globe.”

It was her turn to laugh. “How on earth did you use a Purple Snow Globe?”

“I bought you a necklace with a purple drink on it, and I was going to give it to you today. Brent had it with him. In fact, that was Brent calling me earlier, not Gino. He was bringing me the necklace so I could give it to you as a surprise and I happened to have it in my pocket when I heard you scream.”

“Wow. You saved me with a Purple Snow Globe,” she said, amazement laced in her voice.

“Well, it was the clasp.”

“Oh no. Whenever we tell that story, we’re saying you picked the lock with a Purple Snow Globe.”

“Hey, Julia. Have I ever told you about the time I picked the lock with a Purple Snow Globe to rescue the love of my life?”

“It sounds like a great bedtime story. Tell it to me now.”

“Once upon a time . . .”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Saturday, 7:25 p.m., Las Vegas

Dusk settled over the city of sin. The sun drifted far below the spectacular vista of monstrous hotels and massive buildings that dotted the skyline as Clay floated out of dreamland. He stretched and scooted closer to Julia, her naked skin warm against his as neon flickered through the window, the nighttime waking up. The twilight hour danced over the sky, tugging Vegas from the bright, heavy desert sun of the day to the glitter of its neon nights.

He ran a hand over her hip, unable to resist the call of her soft, sweet skin. She murmured in her sleep, an alluring invitation to him. His damn hand had a mind of its own, and he traced his fingertips across the flesh of her stomach, soon drifting below her belly button. She shifted in her sleep, or maybe she was starting to wake up too, as she moved her bottom closer to him. He was spooning her, and his dick was at full attention now, nestled against the soft globes of her ass.

He brushed a kiss on her shoulder, and she shuddered, the soft exhalation sending a wave of desire through his bones, igniting the embers in him. He traveled lower still on her body, his fingertips in hot pursuit. She responded to his moves, parting her legs slightly, making room for his hand. He sought her out in seconds, his fingers slipping between her thighs. His breath hitched at that first intoxicating touch of her. He could feel the hint of her arousal already, her flesh damp against his fingertips.

“Hi,” she whispered, in a sleepy voice.

“Hi.”

“You looking for this?” she asked, as she shifted onto her back and opened her legs for him.

He didn’t move for a second. He was flooded with so much desire all at once that it paralyzed his brain and his body, as if all his neurons and synapses had gone into overdrive, momentarily freezing his gears.

He recovered the power of speech and action as he drew his fingers over her sweet pu**y, now wet and slick. “Yes,” he growled, finally answering her. “I’m looking for you.”

“You found me,” she said, drawing up her knees and letting them fall open.

He inhaled sharply, the deep breath filling him, spreading heat to the far corners of his body. He dropped a hand to the inside of her thigh, lust jolting through him as he opened her legs more. But it wasn’t just lust; it was deep and abiding love. It was the intersection of desire and forever. To be deeply, madly, desperately in love with the woman you wanted to f**k was the greatest rush, the most lasting high.

“You are ready,” he said, low and husky, as he moved between her legs, and rubbed his erection through her wetness. She gasped, her eyes floating closed, her lips parting, as he touched her. Her response fueled him—she felt the passion too, she felt the same way he did. There was no other choice, there was no other way but for them both to be cocooned in this cocktail of love and lust. It was only them; they were all there was in the whole world, and she was all he could ever want.