Pure Wicked (Wicked Lovers #9.5)(34)
Author: Shayla Black

He prowled closer, unbuttoning his pants and lowering his zipper. “How about an hour or two?”

She stood her ground, her gaze dipping down to where he peeled away his jeans. “I don’t know if I’ve forgiven you yet.”

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make sure you do,” Jesse murmured across her cheek as he grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and shoved it up. Before he’d whisked it over her head, he’d worked the clasp of her bra open, then peeled them both off at once. The second the garments cleared her body, he covered her lips with his own and sank inside her velvety mouth, stealing inside to claim her.

They’d spoken a lot of words to one another. She’d heard him…for the most part. But now he wanted them to communicate in a way he felt certain she’d understand completely.

“Shoes off,” he insisted.

Then he set to work at the fastenings of her pants while drowning in the taste of her kiss. As he slid them down her hips, she kicked her tennis shoes aside and wriggled her hips until the denim fell to her ankles and she stood before him in nothing but a tiny pair of white lace panties.

Jesse smiled as he released the messy pile of her brown hair shimmering atop her head. As the waves cascaded around her shoulders, heat settled in his belly. Blood rushed to his cock. Yeah, this woman did it for him, excited him in ways he hadn’t known a woman could. For the first time in his life, he wanted to be a better person—enough to do the hard work to improve himself, not use her for some quick fix to normalcy and improved self-esteem, the way he’d tried with Kimber years ago. He intended to be a better man for Bristol. He intended to keep her beside him, wake up every morning to her smile.

Heavy realizations. But Jesse couldn’t remember a time he’d felt clearer or more certain.

“Now lose the underwear,” he demanded. “Slide them down your hips slowly and let me see what I’m craving.”

She cocked her head. “What if I don’t take orders from you?”

Oh, now she was challenging him. He just smiled. “I can take what I want.”

“I dare you,” she breathed.

He understood what she was playing at. If she gave in too easily now, it would bend her pride. Instead, she challenged him to take her body and push the issue of her surrender.

Game on.

Jesse anchored his hands around the fragile undergarment at her hip and pulled. The seam unraveled for him—precisely like he intended she would under his touch.

When she stood naked before him, she shivered. He watched the shallow rise and fall of her breast, the movement of her hard nipples as the midday sun slanted through her window. Her fair skin looked luminous and golden. No spray tan for her. No chemicals that made her reek or look like an Oompa Loompa. Bristol was classic and alabaster, appearing untouchable.

But he definitely intended to touch her—and more. She wasn’t leaving this bed until she knew she belonged with him.

Jesse bent and lifted her against his body, following her down to the mattress. He didn’t give her an opportunity to wriggle away, simply anchored his hips between her thighs and pinned her down. She felt so small beneath him, and he braced an elbow near her head to take some of his weight off her.

She met his stare. Those leafy green eyes of hers were a sight he’d never get tired of.

“Jesse,” she whispered.

The uncertainty on her face broke his heart. “Close your eyes. Yeah,” he commended as she did. “Take a deep breath. That’s it.” He bent to whisper in her ear. “Any doubts you have we’ll talk out later. Right now, I want to worship you.”

Bristol gave a low moan. Against him, she trembled. Then so slowly it made him sweat, she opened her eyes, her arms, and finally her heart to him. Given his past, he probably didn’t deserve her, but he intended to do everything possible to make her glad she’d chosen him.

She clung to his shoulders, and Jesse brushed the hair from her face and worked his lips up her neck. “Feel how good we are together.”

With a little shiver, she nodded. He fanned a hand over her breast, his thumb brushing her taut nipple. She arched into his touch and thrashed under him. He swallowed the sound with his kiss, aligning their bodies until he was flush against her, not merely covering but enveloping her. Jesse wanted to take all of her, make sure she knew that she was his. A sizzle shot up his spine when he thought about the pleasure of making love to her. But more than anything, he simply ached to feel her close.

Yeah, he had it bad. Never in a million years had he thought he would fall hard and fast for a down-to-earth baker. On paper, she wasn’t his usual—not loud or flashy or sexually aggressive. Yet everything about her shy sparkplug of a personality fascinated him. Almost from the first, he’d felt as if some invisible wire attached them, tugging him closer and closer to Bristol. Until her, he hadn’t really known that sort of pull was possible.