Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 92734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
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.