Playing For Keeps (The Alpha Brotherhood #3)(32)
Author: Catherine Mann

Pulling her closer, he stood, guiding her to her feet, as well. Her fingers plowed through his hair, tugging lightly, just hard enough to increase the pleasure. She took his mouth as fully as he took hers. Owning. Stamping possession of each other.

The press of her body against him, the roll of her hips against his, the soft give of her full br**sts against his chest ramped up his pulse rate. The heat of her reached through their clothes, tempting him with how much hotter they would feel skin to skin.

His hands roved up her back, into her hair—this woman had the most amazing mass of hair. The curls tangled around his fingers as if every part of her held him, caressed him. He swept the tangled mass over her shoulder and found the top of her zipper. He tugged the tab down the back of her lacy black dress, stroking along her spine as he revealed inch after inch of the softest skin. The scent of her soap, her light fragrance, teased him, and he dragged in a deep breath to take it in.

Hungry to feel more of her, he tucked his hands in the open V of her dress and palmed the satin-covered globes of her bottom. He guided her hips closer as she rocked against him in response, the perfect fit sending his pulse throbbing louder in his ears. The sound of her ragged breathing stoked the heat in him higher, hotter as he kissed along her jaw, the delicate shell of her ear. She whispered her need for more, faster, and damned if he could scrounge the restraint to hold back.

Later, once they’d both taken the edge off, he would go slower. Oh, so much slower, taking his time rediscovering her all night long with his hands and his mouth.

He stroked up her back again, enjoying the goose bumps of pleasure rising on her skin. Cupping her shoulders, he slid the sleeves of her gown to the side, baring her skin and the satin straps of her bra. She was even more damn beautiful than he remembered, with pinup-girl curves that all but sent him to his knees from aching to be inside her again.

A growl of possessiveness rolled up his throat as he peeled the lacy dress down her body, revealing those curves that had threatened to drive him to his knees. He nipped and tasted along her satin bra, kneeling and taking the center clasp between his teeth for a sensual instant before releasing it again, leaving it in place. For now. He skimmed the dress farther down. Fabric hitched on her hips. Pressing his face to her stomach, he inhaled more of her floral scent.

“Cecelia Marie.” He sighed her whole name against her, repeating again and again.

Her fingers tangled in his hair, a flush of desire spreading over her skin, encouraging him to continue. He swept her gown down to pool around her bare feet, and ah, she wore black thigh-highs that just begged for him to peel one, then the other, down her smooth legs. He gathered the shimmery hose in his hand, soaking in the residual heat of her before he set them reverently aside.

He rocked back on his heels and took in the sight of her in black satin panties and a bra. His fantasies didn’t look this good, and he’d fantasized about this woman many, many times.

“Malcolm?” A quaver threaded through her voice before she steadied it. “Are you going to sit there all night? Because I have urgent plans for you.”

“Plans?” He laughed softly, grateful she didn’t intend to roll out questions or doubts. She was keeping things light. “Tell me more.”

“Plans for us on the sofa, in the shower and, eventually, in the bed. But the more I talk, the more time we waste. So come back up here and I’ll start showing you instead.” She tugged him to his feet again to kiss her.

Not that he needed much persuasion to claim her plump mouth. To claim her.

Her tongue met his in bold, familiar touches and strokes. She tugged at his T-shirt, easing back only long enough to yank it over his head. The gust of the air conditioner cooled his overheated flesh, and then she touched him. The feel of her hands against his stomach, along the fastening of his jeans, threatened to send him over the edge. He’d never been good at self-control with her. That thought alone offered enough of a splash of cold water for him to think rationally.

To be smart.

To protect her in the way he hadn’t before.

“One second. Wait.” He stepped back, his breathing ragged.

“Are you kidding me?” She sagged against the baby grand, and the sight of her in that pose gave him even more ideas about how he planned to spend this night.

Once he took care of one very important detail.

“Birth control,” he called as he backed toward his room, holding up a hand. “Stay right where you are. As you are. Don’t move.” He smiled. “Please.

A quick sprint to his suitcase, and he returned with a condom in hand. Only to halt in his tracks, mesmerized to his core. Celia had been beautiful and sexy as a teenager. She was a gorgeous, sensual woman now.

She still leaned against the baby grand as he’d requested, her satin underwear a bold contrast to her skin. Her long, dark wavy hair draped over her shoulder, skimming her skin the way he intended to very, very soon.

He tore off his jeans and boxers on the way over to her, but not nearly fast enough. Her mouth curved into a sultry smile as she eye-stroked the erection straining against his stomach. She stretched out an arm and stopped him from pressing flush against her.

Holding his gaze deliberately, seductively, she thumbed open the center clasp of her bra and let the straps slide the rest of the way off until the scrap of satin dropped to the floor. She swept away her panties and kicked them to the side.

“Celia,” he groaned, “you’re absolutely slaying me.”

Her smile wavered. “I assure you, the feeling is entirely mutual. It always has been.”

His mouth dried up, and he reached out to skim the back of his knuckles along the curve of her br**sts. His body throbbed impossibly harder at just one touch to her naked flesh. And then both her palms flattened against his chest, her nails grazing him lightly—down, then up again to curl around his shoulders. She urged him toward her, body to body, his hard length flat against her stomach, and he almost came undone right then. He needed to regain control, and soon. That fantasy he’d envisioned when he’d seen her posed against the piano came blazing through his mind again, an image he could make a reality now.

He eased his body from her, still holding her face, kissing her until the very last second. And once more. Her hands grappled to hold on to him, and he almost gave in. But he had a mission.

Trailing a hand along her stomach, he walked around to the side of the piano, removed the prop and closed the sleek ebony lid.

Celia tipped her head to the side. “Care to clue me in on what you’re doing?”