The Wedding Pact (The O'Malleys #2) (20 page)

James moved to the side. “Over.” She obeyed, rolling onto her back, and he started the process again—this time beginning at her feet and working upward. If his work on her back had left her languid and relaxed, this was entirely different. Her nerves sang to life as he moved up her calf and over her thigh. She dug her hands into the comforter. All the feel-good sensation he’d created shifted, centering between her legs.

He stopped a bare inch away from where she needed him. “Not yet.”

Carrigan lifted her head to glare. “I’m ready.”

“I never leave a job half-finished.” He moved to her other side and dug his thumbs into the sensitive arch of her foot. Against her wishes, her eyes drifted shut and she moaned again. He cursed, and his grip tightened for a single second before he moved to her calf. If she thought his desire would make him rush through this, she was sorely mistaken. He was slow and methodical and, by the time he’d reached her upper thigh, she was damn near panting for him.

“James, please.”

“You don’t sound relaxed.” His wicked grin only stoked her need higher. He used a finger to trace the seam of her panties, dragging over the scalloped lace edge.
Still
not where she wanted his touch most. She lifted her hips, trying to guide him, but he used his free hand to pin her to the bed. “You’re wet for me, lovely, aching for what only I can give you.” His thumb stopped directly over her clit. With a little pressure and movement, he could send her hurtling over the edge, but he didn’t give her either. “It’s a damn shame you’re going to be needing me for a little bit longer.”

“What—
goddamn it
.”

He moved before she could, straddling her hips, easily holding her in place when she tried to sit up. James started those maddening circles on her shoulders. “Be good and relax, and I’ll take care of you, lovely. That’s a goddamn promise.”

She didn’t
want
to relax. She wanted his hands and mouth on her, his cock filling her until she was lost in a sea of sensation that—damn him—only he seemed able to give her. Carrigan had had good sex before. She’d even had great sex. But what she shared with James was on a completely different level. He didn’t let her run things—even when she was on top, there was no doubt that
he
was in control. And hell if that didn’t turn her on more than she could have thought possible.

She wasn’t winning this—not with a head-on confrontation. So she lay back and stretched her arms over her head, the move designed to draw his eyes to her breasts. “Fine. I’m relaxed.”

“Hardly.” He palmed her breasts, his rough hands heaven against her skin. “Tell me about this tattoo.”

“I think it’s self-explanatory.”

He traced the words as he read aloud. “I became insane, with long periods of horrible sanity.” They were just words but she felt stripped bare beneath his gaze. He frowned. “I’ve heard that quote before.”

“Poe.”

“Ah, yeah. I remember now.” His thumb moved over the words again, his frown deepening. “Explain.”

“You’re seriously bossy.”

“You like it.” He cupped her breasts again, kneading gently. “And you’re stalling. I’m surprised. You don’t strike me as a Poe fan.”

She closed her eyes because it was easier to focus on what he was doing to her body, completely at odds with how closely he watched her face. What was this man doing to her? She licked her lips. “I was an angsty teenager. Poe spoke to me—this quote most of all.” It was the bare-bones explanation, but she didn’t want to get into how her life was so often jumping the tracks and running out of her control. The feeling only got worse the older she got, when she realized that her father didn’t care if she had a brain in her head as long as she did what she was told and didn’t talk back. There was no room in their world for a woman with ambitions of her own, even if they would have benefited her family. The so-called insanity was her only escape—her dancing and drinking and men—but the real world was always waiting when she came home.

“I get it. But we’ll talk about it again later. Right now I have other priorities.” He rolled her nipples between his fingers, and she nearly shot off the bed. James shifted down and took one into his mouth while his hand kept up the assault on her other breast, the twin sensations of his tongue and fingers making her cry out. Each pull of his mouth sent a bolt of desire straight to her core, but it was never enough to take her into oblivion.

“
James
.”

“I’ve got what you need, lovely.” He moved down her body, kissing his way over her ribs and down the center of her stomach as he settled between her legs. “I’ve been thinking about tasting you since that first night.” His lips moved over the lace of her panties. “It’s fucking
consumed
me.”

Carrigan didn’t so much as breathe as he pulled the fabric to the side. His breath ghosted over her and then—
oh God
—his tongue was there, tasting her. Her entire body quivered with the need to move, to arch up, to do
something
to keep the delicious feeling going, but she forced herself to hold still. If she tried to take charge, he might stop, and that wasn’t an option.

“Lift your hips.” When she obeyed, he dragged her panties off and tossed them to the side. “Better.” And then he kissed her there, his mouth moving over her like he couldn’t get enough. He growled, the sound vibrating through her as he lashed her clit with his tongue.

All promises she made not to move went up in smoke. Carrigan dug her hands into his long hair, needing him to never stop. She ground against his mouth, driven by the sounds he made and the need spiraling through her. “James, I’m close.” If he pulled away now, she might actually kill him.

But he didn’t. He shifted, pushing two fingers into her, touching her just the way she liked it, his tongue never moving from her clit. Her back bowed and her vision shorted out as she screamed her orgasm. He worked her until she yanked on his hair. “Too much.”

His laugh was music to her ears. “Recover fast, lovely. We’re just getting started.” But he moved away from her clit and kissed her thighs and then up over her hip bones, and then higher yet to her breasts. It was soft and almost worshipful, and it was all she could do to cling to him while she relearned how to breathe.

*  *  *

James stretched out next to Carrigan, part of him still marveling that she was here, with him—looking at
him
to fulfill the need in every line of her body. It was a need he was only too happy to take care of. Fuck, he’d take care of her every need if she’d just let him.

Not the time for thinking that kind of shit
.

He kissed her, savoring the way she arched up to close the distance between them. “Tell me how you want it, lovely.”

“Is this like the phone sex, where you take over almost immediately?” She smiled, not looking the least bit worried if that’s what he had planned. And, hell, that’s pretty much what he’d been thinking.

Which made it that much more important that he let her take the reins.

He traced a single finger down her sternum. “Tonight, you’re in charge.”

“Famous last words.”

“I mean it.” The interest in her eyes caught him, even though she tried to shield it. He’d bet Carrigan didn’t get the chance to lead things all that often. She might have with the men she’d been with in the past, but he wasn’t those men. He
knew
her. So he could give her this gift. It might be the only one she’d allow from him. “Tell me what you want, and it’s yours.”

“Anything?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Anything.” It wasn’t a gift if there were stipulations.

Carrigan rolled him onto his back and climbed up to straddle him. She lightly dug her nails into his shoulders, her green eyes serious. “And if I say I want some pony play, or to peg you?”

It was a fight to keep relaxed. “Is that what you want?” He wasn’t into either of those things, but he’d already broken rules for this woman. What were a few more if it meant helping her escape reality for a night? It was no contest.

Abruptly, she grinned. “So serious. God, James, I don’t want to stick anything up your ass. I was just teasing.”

“Brat.” He tickled her ribs, grinning when her laughter filled the room. “You see what kind of sacrifices I’m willing to make for you?”

Her smile disappeared like it’d never existed. “I don’t want your sacrifices. I just want you.” She leaned down, dragging her breasts over his chest. “What I want more than anything tonight is to ride your cock and have you watching me the way you do.” She ran her thumb along his jaw. “And talking. I’m going to need that, too.”

He turned his head and captured her thumb between his teeth, pressing down lightly before he let her go. “No complaints about my talking too much.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” She kissed him, light and quick, and he let her control it. She teased him until he tightened his grip on her hips, and only then did she open for him making that delicious little whimper as her tongue stroked his. Her whole body moved against his, the sensual slide of skin on skin so much more intimate than he’d ever experienced. But it wasn’t really the experience itself. It was because it was Carrigan. She was here and naked and vulnerable, and she felt safe enough with him to let it happen.

He caught the back of her neck. “No running tonight. Stay with me.”

“I thought I was in charge.” When he didn’t release her, she sighed and dropped her forehead against his. “No running. Tonight, I’m yours.”

It was a start. He stroked his hand down her back and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Good.”

“So difficult.” She reached over and grabbed a condom from the nightstand.

Watching her rip it open and roll it onto his cock made his eyes slide to half-mast. “The only thing I love more than your hands on my cock is your tight pussy clamping around it.” Her breath caught, and he kept going. “I have a request.”

“Hmm?” She squeezed him, her gaze on his face.

“Leave the light on. I want to see you while you fuck me.”

She considered him, and hell if he knew which way she’d go. Carrigan had proven time and again that she wasn’t the least bit shy, but that didn’t mean he could take her answer for granted. Finally she gave him one last squeeze. “I think I can manage that.” She rose, her body one long line, and positioned his cock at her entrance. He went perfectly still as she sank down, taking him inch by inch.

“Christ, lovely.” He kept his grip on her hips loose through sheer force of will. Every instinct clamored for him to thrust up and pull her down, to seal them together as tightly as two people could be. But this was her show. He’d promised, and he’d be damned before he went back on his word. Not tonight. Not with Carrigan. “You squeeze me tight like you never want to let go.”

She braced herself on his chest with a hand and tossed back her hair. “You feel so good, I
don’t
want to let go.” Then she started riding him, rolling her body in a way that made her breasts bounce with each movement and his eyes damn near cross with pleasure. He kept them open, refusing to miss a single second of this.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever fucking seen. Your breasts were made to be worshiped, and goddamn it, your skin is so soft it drives me nuts.” He hissed out a breath when she reached back with her free hand to cup his balls. “
Fuck
.”

“Keep…talking.”

He gritted his teeth, silently promising her payback for this exquisite torture. “If you were mine, I’d keep you naked. It’d drive me batshit crazy to know you were always there and available for my cock. Wet and wanting, just like you are right now.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“You have no idea. I’d take my phone calls with you on my desk, legs spread and pussy waiting for me.”
For me alone
. He skated a hand over her stomach. “Let me touch your clit, lovely. I want to feel you come around my cock.”

She kept riding him, her gaze never leaving his. Finally she nodded, taking his hand and guiding it between her legs. She kept her fingers lightly resting on the back of his hand, touching him even as he touched her. It didn’t take long. He knew what she liked, and he didn’t hesitate to give it to her.

Carrigan cried out, her back bowing and her eyes closing as she threw back her head. He tried to hold on, tried to keep his eyes open to experience every second of her coming, but she milked his cock, hauling him over the edge despite himself. James grabbed her hips, pounding into her and following her over the edge.

She slumped to his chest as he finished, and it was all he could do to lie there and just breathe. Carrigan stretched out, making him think of a cat. “God, James. If anyone else talked the way you did, I’d laugh them out of the bed.”

“There’s no one like me, lovely.” He kissed her temple and disentangled himself. It took a few minutes to dispose of the condom and clean up, and when he got back into the room, he found her under the covers with her eyes closed. James joined her, pulling her toward him until her back was pressed against his chest.