"Good start," he said roughly. "Now I can say what I've wanted to for years. Lauren Barrett...get in my f.u.c.king bed."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

I did.

Then I watched Rob strip; each movement revealed more of him, and it was foreplay. He had a gorgeous body, tautly muscled, a tan that stayed golden even in the winter. Strong shoulders, broad chest, a six-pack that didn't quit and arms that could probably lift the weight of the world from my shoulders. That didn't even begin to describe the raw, masculine beauty of his face, a flush across his cheekbones and eyes slumberous with barely leashed longing.

When Rob clicked the lamp off, I noticed he'd lit candles, less obvious with the lights on, but gorgeous now, flickering like fireflies at the corners of the room. "Romantic."

"I'm trying," he murmured.

"You know you don't have to, right?"

"I disagree. You deserve it."

"Ooh." He tilted my head and kissed the side of my neck, distracting me.

Based on what he'd said about being fully sprung, I didn't expect the easy, tender approach. But he blazed a trail down my throat to my shoulder, sending shivers down my spine. I was breathing fast by the time he kissed me, one big hand on my cheek. I wound my arms around him and pressed close, unable to stifle a sound of shocked pleasure at the heat of his bare chest. Digging my fingers into his muscled back spurred a groan from Rob, but I swallowed it and we kept kissing, deep and hungry, yet there was nothing fast or furtive about it. Incredible pleasure swelled, married to my complete certainty that he'd kiss me all night.

His patience could kill me.

"More," I whispered against his lips.

Pulling back, I caught his smile in the flickering light as he drifted lower, nuzzling down to my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. I shifted, widening the gap between my thighs to make room for him. His hands felt rough against my skin, but beautifully so, a s.e.xy contrast to the softness of my skin. One thing about Rob, he was great with his hands, but when he added lips and teeth, I lost my breath. His gaze met mine as he licked a circle around my nipple. From the hot flush on his cheeks, he liked this a lot, and I wanted so many things all at once that the mental images scrambled my brain.

"So...b.o.o.bs do it for you?" I managed to ask. "Not legs or a.s.s?"

"With you? Everything. I'll get there. In time." Rob's voice sounded deep, gravelly even. I'd never heard that tone from him before, and a thrill shivered through me, realizing how thin his control ran.

What would it take to snap it? In my muzzy head, I only knew I wanted him to stop being...strategic and just do me. So I sat up, surprising him, and rolled on top of him, perched on his abdomen so he could feel how much I wanted him. His c.o.c.k jerked against my a.s.s, but I didn't move, only held his gaze for countless seconds.

"Time's up," I whispered. "My turn."

"Jesus."

I expected him to argue, but his lashes fluttered against his cheeks as if in surrender. His chest heaved, deep, steadying breaths, I guessed. If this worked, they wouldn't do him any good. Bending down, I teased him as he had me, running my lips down his neck to his shoulders, interspersing licks and bites. The sounds he made, little rumbling groans and gasps, only got me hotter. I ran my hands over his chest, marveling at his strength. He hissed when I curved my nails into his muscles but he didn't stop me. In fact, his hips came up, and his nipples tightened, so we were a matched set. I worked my a.s.s against him for a few seconds while I traced a featherlight fingertip across his chest.

"You have to tell me what you want next."

"Your mouth."

"Where?" I eased closer, my lips hovering above his nipple.

"There. Anywhere." His hands fisted on either side on the covers, as if he thought he shouldn't touch me. Or maybe he was fighting the urge to throw me on my back and f.u.c.k me.

Stop resisting, Rob. We've had weeks of foreplay.

If he didn't do it soon, I would. The ache inside me escalated to tremors in my thighs, and it was all I could do not to just lift up, curl my hand around him, bear down and start grinding. But I needed him to lose control first. Too bad I was one kiss away from forgetting my name.

"Like this?" I licked his nipple lightly, knowing it wasn't enough.

With a muttered curse, he let go of the sheets and pressed my head down harder, and I bit him. He lifted us both off the bed with the force of his reaction. Melting all over him, I explored this revelation. Rob likes teeth, a little pain. So I gave it to him, commingled with tender suction and gentle kisses-his chest, his nipples, back up to his shoulders and throat, and down again. The longer I tormented him, the more he moved, helpless motions against my a.s.s.

"You're so hot," he whispered. "Killing me."

When he snapped, he shoved me off him and onto my back. But then he kissed a blind, desperate path downward. His hands shook as he lifted my legs onto his shoulders and settled in. I arched, bewildered, as he licked and bit my inner thighs, tasting the juices. With rough need, he parted my lips with his thumbs and worked in a maddening circle, just a whisper away from my c.l.i.t. Aching, I needed his fingers, his c.o.c.k, inside me, but I got his tongue, and that was... I moaned.

His fingers strummed my c.l.i.t as he thrust, tasting me so deep that I lifted my a.s.s, unable to breathe, only knowing I had to have more. Heat built, the sweet, soft friction, and he was whispering to me, into me, but I couldn't make out the words. Maddened, I f.u.c.ked his face, desperate to get off. I'd never been able to come from oral, but the way the tension was climbing, maybe this time, maybe, oh, f.u.c.k, yes.

With shaking hands, I adjusted his touch on my c.l.i.t, a little rougher, longer strokes, less of the tapping, and the o.r.g.a.s.m roared through me. My body tightened on his tongue, and I came in a silent rush. I wanted to yell his name, but my throat clenched just like the rest of me, until it was all I could do to breathe. In. Out. Rob lightened the touches perfectly, not pushing me past what felt good. I had no idea when he moved because everything was dim and spinning, starlight in the room, no, candlelight, and his big body wrapped around me. His c.o.c.k was hard as a railroad spike against my a.s.s, and he was grinding against me slowly when I regained some sense of perspective.

"You are incredible," I whispered.

"You're delicious." The husky growl in my ear hardened my nipples; I should be satisfied, but I wouldn't be until he was inside me.

I spun in his arms and threw a leg across his hip. That changed the angle completely. His breath caught, but he didn't-couldn't-stop the relentless pump of his hips. Each little movement opened me up a little more, teasing closer, and he shuddered, his head falling back as his c.o.c.k slid between my l.a.b.i.a. Moving with him, I watched his face, the pleasure opening his expression to me completely. This Rob was emotionally naked, vulnerable, and the intensity of his longing brought tears to my eyes.

"I'm safe," I whispered. "And I'm on the pill. Do you trust me?"

Before Rob, I'd always used condoms, but I'd wanted him for so long that I hated the thought of stopping for latex. Want you inside me, nothing between us. The thought alone, along with his hardness pressing deeper, almost made me come again.

"Yes, Lauren. Yes. I never..." He lost the thread, lips parting on a groan as I shifted. "Never...went bare. Baby, I need you."

"Then have me."

Rob shoved me onto my back, all gentleness and finesse forgotten. He claimed me in a single, powerful thrust, and I clamped my legs around his hips, breathless, dizzy with excitement. For a few seconds, he just froze, locked and holding inside me. I tightened instinctively, wanting him to feel good.

"f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k, that's good. You won't be able to walk for a week when I'm done with you."

"Don't be done," I begged, moving under him.

"Jesus, Lauren. Do that again. Again-" His voice broke. Breath coming in ragged gulps, he moved in long, fast strokes, clearly focused on getting off.

But his selfishness only turned me on more, especially after the way he made me come with his mouth. I loved knowing I'd driven him to this point. Rob-sweet, considerate Rob-wanted me so bad, he couldn't stop, couldn't think. I sank my nails into his back and raked downward, sparking a snarl of pleasure. His thrusts came harder and faster, wild and erratic, like he couldn't get deep enough, and I tilted my hips, pushing back as the tension coiled in my belly, bringing me closer to the edge with every furious push.

He broke before I did, and long shivering waves rocked through him. Rob lay down on me and gathered me close. The last of his pulses edged me into a light fluttery o.r.g.a.s.m, not nearly as strong as the first one, but enough to soothe the heat. I held him as he jerked in my arms, reacting like each brush of my fingertips sc.r.a.ped across an exposed nerve.

Eventually his breathing steadied, and he rolled to the side, taking me with him. It even felt good when he slipped out of me. We were a sticky, delicious mess, but I didn't have the energy to suggest a shower. "You okay?"

"Brilliant," he breathed, kissing my shoulder. "It's been a while."

"Huh? What about Avery?" She was the last person I wanted to talk about while we were both naked, but the question was already out.

Dammit.

"We never got that far."

"But...you guys dated for, like, six months," I protested. It was beyond me how any woman could date Rob for that long and not demand to see him naked. But secret relief crashed through me, even stronger than the disbelief. I loved that she never got him this way.

"She wasn't into it. Anytime I hinted it might be time for us to move past kissing, she shut me down. Never told me why, though. Maybe she's religious, promise ring from Dad, saving herself for marriage?"

The idea of my father taking an interest in my s.e.x life freaked me out. "Creepy. And I have no idea. Her family has money...otherwise, I don't know much about them."

"They're...formal. I met them twice in total. Her uncle hated me."

I kissed him. "Well, you don't have to worry about them anymore. On my side, there's basically just my mom and...maybe Stuart. But I'm pretty sure you can take him."

"Probably."

"You know, that's probably why Avery thought the worst of you so quick, though."

"Hmm?" He sounded so relaxed, it was adorable.

"The not-very-flattering consensus among women is-if he's not getting it from you, he must be getting some elsewhere. Which doesn't take into account guys like you."

"That's so offensive," Rob said. "Women really believe that?"

"Some of them do."

"You're not one of them?"

"Depends on the guy. You? No way."

"I'll take it."

"Be back in a minute."

After kissing him, I crawled out of bed and went to the bathroom with my bag. Then I cleaned up the s.e.x mess. For a few seconds, I stared in the mirror, trying to decide if I should wash off my makeup. It was better for my skin, but that meant he'd see me in my unpainted glory in the morning, along with bad breath, gunk in my eyes and crazy hair. I'd never slept over after s.e.x before, so I had no protocol in place. Turning the bottle of skin cleanser over in my hands, I recognized the budding flutters of a panic attack. G.o.d, what a stupid thing to freak out over. Apparently I took so long that Rob came looking for me.

A tap sounded on the bathroom door. "Everything all right?"

"No, you ruptured me with your monstrous p.e.n.i.s."

"Lauren, that is not funny."

I exhaled. "Two minutes, I swear. My v.a.g.i.n.a is fine."

This is Rob. None of that matters.

Mustering my courage, I took my makeup off and returned to bed. He was still awake, propped up on the pillows, looking both concerned and delicious. You'd think I would panic more about trotting around naked, but my head was a messed-up place, and apparently lack of makeup was more terrifying. Rob pulled me into his arms.

"Talk to me."

Feeling like a dips.h.i.t, I mumbled my concerns, light years more than I'd ever achieved with anyone else. In the intimacy games, Rob and I were well into first place. He stroked my hair with gentle hands, listening to all my crazy with a miraculous sort of infinite patience.

"This isn't the kind of s.h.i.t I worry about," he admitted. "But I promise I'll think you're beautiful-with or without makeup, first thing in the morning, whenever. Part of that's how you look, but the rest comes from how I feel when I'm with you. Lauren, you're the only person in the world who doesn't make me feel like half a ham sandwich."

Since he was being so sincere, I shouldn't have laughed. "What?"

He stirred against me, self-conscious. "You know. Like there should be more. That what's here isn't enough."

Oh. "Robert Clayton Conrad, you are absolutely the whole sandwich. In fact, you're one of those party subs that I shouldn't eat by myself, but I'm sure going to try. Because I'm just that greedy about you."

He tapped my nose in a stern mock-warning. "If you keep being this sweet to me, things could happen."

"s.e.x things?"

I walked a hand down his chest. He captured it and brought it to his lips with a tenderness that did a number on my heart. If I let myself, I could panic over this. Over Rob. There were no walls between us, none of my usual bulls.h.i.t.

"Stop trying to seduce me, woman. You have to be up in six hours."

"Sleep is overrated," I tried.

"There's no need to cram everything into one night," Rob whispered into my hair. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

"Need is one verb. Want is a better one." I brought his fingers to my mouth in turn and nibbled one, then licked another. Mostly I was playing, but I wouldn't say no to round two if he couldn't resist the urge.

"Are you trying to turn me on so much that I can't sleep?" he asked, kissing the corner of my mouth.

"Maybe."

In answer, he put my palm over the hard line of his c.o.c.k, obvious even through the softness of the comforter. "You don't even have to touch me, baby. Before I broke up with Avery, you had me ready pretty much every single day."

"Wow. Really? How?"

"It's the things you say."

"Like...?"

"You want examples, so you can drive me even crazier?"

I grinned and kissed his chest. "If possible."

"The first time it happened, we were in Safeway."

"Seriously?" I thought back and couldn't imagine what I might've said that would turn him on.

"I was looking at cologne...at Avery's request. You told me, 'Don't change for her, okay? You're great the way you are.' It was so good to hear that I-"

"Reacted."

"Yeah. Told myself it was just because things were a little slow in that department, but the more time we spent together, the harder it got."