She stood, her hands on her blouse. She turned to Connor. It wouldn’t be right to not look him in the eyes. He should see that she was offering herself. And she was worthy.

  “Slow down. I want to enjoy this.” He watched her through hooded eyes.

  She spent so much time in fast forward, trying to speed her way through her checklist. His reminder to slow down resonated. She never did that because she always expected something better and brighter around the next corner. Even when she achieved a goal, she didn’t celebrate. She found some reason to negate the victory.

  She did want to enjoy this. She wanted to connect with him, and that didn’t have to wait until after the sex. They could connect before, during, and after if she just let herself be open to the experience, if she valued it the way she should.

  She took a deep breath, drawing in the scent of his aftershave and memorizing it. He smelled of sandalwood and soap. That aroma drifted around her, clung to her skin, and she loved that she didn’t have to be touching him to inhale him. She let her fingers find the buttons of her blouse. Cool air caressed her skin and she didn’t even mind that her nipples rasped against the confines of her bra. It seemed normal now. When Connor occupied the same room, her body came alive.

  She let the shirt hit the floor, and her skirt followed. When she was down to her bra and underwear, she realized her nipples weren’t the only proof that Connor had an effect on her. Her underwear was definitely damp. A flush stole across her body.

  “Why did you just blush?”

  “I’m a little embarrassed.”

  “By your body? You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about. You’re gorgeous.” His eyes lit up and he leaned forward. “Are you embarrassed because those panties are damp? Show me.”

  He was going to kill her. She moved forward and he put his hands on her hips. “There, now you can see them. I believe it’s a reasonable response to your touching me there. So it’s really your fault if you think about it.”

  He was staring at her. Right there. He was looking at her undies but she felt as if he’d already pulled them off her body and was gazing at her pink parts. He took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose like he was scenting the sweetest bouquet. “My fault? Do you always respond so quickly? I doubt it. That is all for me so I’m going to take the responsibility for those undies. Take them off and your bra. You don’t need either one for the rest of the night.”

  He sat back. She’d wanted so badly to have his hands on her. The anticipation was killing her, and she was fairly certain he liked it just that way. A riot of need drowned out her embarrassment. She slipped her bra off. He wanted to see her sex. She would save it for last. She took a long breath as her nipples tightened even further under his gaze. Her skin felt too tight, the room suddenly unbearably warm.

  “Fuck, you’re gorgeous, Lara. Inside and out. Show me what I really want to see.” He adjusted on the couch, and there was no way to miss the bulge that tented his jeans. Seeing that made it easier for her to let go of her inhibitions.

  She hooked her thumbs under the waistband and slowly lowered them, adding them to her little pile of clothes Connor believed she didn’t need.

  He watched her intently for a long moment before he patted his thigh, silently instructing her to climb back onto his lap.

  “But your jeans . . .”

  He grasped her wrist and tugged, tumbling her into his arms. She found herself sitting on his lap, her legs splayed across his. “I didn’t ask you to worry about my laundry. I told you I was in charge and that means obeying me. I want you on my lap. I want your legs spread wide and your body completely vulnerable to me.”

  He held her legs open, spreading her with his knees. Cool air hit her slick folds and she shivered at the sensation. She’d never really paid attention to her sensual side, but now with his hands on her skin and his hot breath on her neck, she wanted to drown in it. His denim scraped her backside softly as he trapped her against his body, forcing her back to arch, her breasts to thrust up, and her head to rest on his shoulder. She felt as if he’d put her on display.

  His hands began to roam the minute she relaxed against him. “This is what I’ve wanted from the moment I first saw you—you open for me.” As he cupped her breasts in his massive hands, he pressed his hips up, letting her feel how hard he was. “And I definitely wanted to give you this.”

  With his cock pressed against her backside, his fingers slipped over her clitoris. Her whole body reacted, her pelvis lifting to those fingers. She’d never felt so hot, like her body wasn’t really solid. She was some silky creature, writhing on Connor’s lap, desperate for some sensation that was just out of reach.

  He jerked his hand away. “Don’t try to steal an orgasm from me. You’ll get it when I say you’ll get it. If you try that again, I’ll go to bed and we can start this all over again tomorrow.”

  Embarrassment flashed through her system and she started to sit up. “I’m sorry.”

  His arms tightened around her. “Don’t go. Give me what I need.”

  “I don’t understand. I wasn’t trying to steal anything. It just felt good.”

  His chest rose and fell with the force of his breaths. He exhaled a calming sigh. “I need you to let me please you. I’m at the end of my restraint and I’ve allowed you to lead as much as I can right now. Let me take control.”

  From Connor it was practically begging. The last thing she wanted was that proud man on his knees.

  She relaxed against him, giving herself over completely. No more holding back. No more questions. If she was going to surrender, she would be one hundred percent committed. He’d earned her trust by saving her life more than once. Yes, the feelings developing between them had blossomed quickly, but she didn’t think that taking it slow was the answer. Her connection to him had been instant, unlike the one she’d shared with Tom. Maybe it was time to trust her instincts, and every single one of them said to leap.

  “You won’t regret it.” His arms tightened around her as though he was afraid she would flee.

  She glanced at him over her shoulder, trying to meet his gaze. “I trust you, Spencer.”

  “Connor. I like Connor.” His body had stiffened.

  “Connor.” So what if he didn’t like his given name? She’d wanted to use it to be more intimate, but she would honor his wishes. “I trust you, Connor.”

  He growled a little and she could have sworn he cursed under his breath, but he dragged his hand down her body, right to that place he’d been playing with before she’d made the mistake. She wasn’t going to make the same one again. When his finger teased at her clitoris, she rested her head against his shoulder again and remained still.

  “That’s what I want.” He kissed her earlobe, nibbling on that soft flesh in a way that made her squirm. “You take what I give you. You’re mine. But you’ll find I enjoy making you feel good, princess.”

  With his knees, he spread her wider. She stifled a scream of pure pleasure when his finger invaded. Electricity sizzled through her, a jolt of shock that had her bucking with sensation. She hadn’t even realized how much she needed him to fill her. He kept his thumb on her clitoris while he shoved his thick finger deep inside her.

  “You’re so fucking tight. God, I won’t last. I’m going to make sure you’re very satisfied because I’ll come the minute I feel this hot pussy all around me. Tell me what you’re going to do when I fuck you.”

  She couldn’t breathe. His finger curled inside her, rubbing a sensitive spot that shot tingles down her legs, up to her nipples. Euphoria bubbled. Somehow he’d known exactly where to find that place deep inside her and he worked it until she felt like a pleasure bomb just waiting to go off. She hadn’t even known such a spot existed.

  Connor pressed his thumb down on her little button, exerting the right pressure to keep her on the edge. When she didn’t answer him, he stopped everything. “Tell me, Lara. What are you going to do when my cock is so deep inside your pussy you can’t tell where I end and you begin? What are you going to do? Let go of all your inhibitions. Talk dirty to me. I want it.”

  She ached. The pleasure swirled, consuming her, overwhelming her. Her heartbeat roared. She couldn’t stop herself from blurting the first words that flooded her brain. “I’m going to squeeze you so tight, Connor. I’ll clamp down hard and do everything I can to keep your cock inside me because I won’t ever want you to leave.”

  “Hmm, princess. I knew you could have a dirty mouth.” His finger moved faster, as though her words spurred him on. “Do you have any idea what that does to me?”

  She had a pretty good notion. His hips started to rock against her backside as though he couldn’t stop himself. Captured between his hand and his cock, she felt like she was riding a magnificent beast. She couldn’t control anything so primal. All she could do was hold on and trust him.

  “Come for me, princess. Give me what you’ve never given another man in your life,” he growled in her ear.

  Her body tightened until she was sure something would burst. Just when she thought she couldn’t take another second, his thumb rubbed with the perfect pressure as his finger thrust deeper. Lara went over the edge.

  In the back of her head, she realized that all her previous orgasms had been tiny bursts, inconsequential flutters of pleasure. In Connor’s arms, she experienced something completely different. This orgasm flashed white-hot, blistering through her system. The pleasure seized her, possessed her. She jolted against his hand and went wild, trying to squeeze out every second of the exquisite sensation. For long moments, she twisted in his grip, like a marionette dancing for a puppet master as he prolonged the ecstasy far longer than she had the breath to scream.

  Finally, Lara fell back, completely exhausted.

  The world upended as he stood, cradling her in his arms as if she weighed nothing at all.

  “Good. Now that we have that out of the way, it’s my turn. And I don’t intend to go easy on you.”

  She shivered at the promise in his voice. She’d been sure she couldn’t possibly experience anything more earth-shattering than what he’d just given her, but Lara was suddenly convinced that he intended to try.

  She didn’t bother to put her arms around him. Connor wouldn’t let her fall. She’d finally found the man she could trust with her body. She knew her heart was already halfway there, too.

  “Anything you want,” she vowed.

  He carried her into her bedroom, and Lara was certain that she would never be the same again.

  SEVEN

  Connor couldn’t remember a time when his dick had been harder. He’d been worried about how silent the damn thing had been since Greta had nearly fileted him. She’d been a supermodel of an operative. Sex on two very long, dangerous legs. He’d had some of the world’s most stunning women in his bed, but this short, curvy little sprite who’d induced him to dry hump her like a fucking fifteen-year-old had nearly undone him. He never lost control like that, and he swore as he carried her into her bedroom that he wouldn’t do it again. He wasn’t going to sink into her and fucking forget why he’d tracked her down in the first place. He would make sure she was taken care of but he wasn’t going to lose his head.

  Or anything else.

  She trusted him. She’d proven it by giving herself over to him. The minute her body had fully relaxed, he knew he had her. All he had to do was reach out and take, and she would be his—only his.

  That was the moment he’d decided to keep her.

  Anything you want, she’d offered him.

  Well, he’d never wanted anything more than he wanted her, but he could manage that desire. He could wrap her up in bonds so strong that when she discovered the truth, she would still choose him. Eventually, he would tell her his real name and that those close boyhood friends he’d mentioned were now superpowerful men, but she never had to know everything. He’d tell her that he’d acted to protect her. If he gave her enough pleasure, she would believe him and stay. He could have all that warmth and softness for himself.

  He laid her down on the bed and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. He tugged it over his head and tossed it aside. He would take care of her and provide for her. She never had to know he was anything but an analyst with the CIA. He would pull back on foreign assignments and he would make sure she stayed out of trouble.

  In exchange, he would give her the family she craved, the stability she required. Hell, he would find all the dirt on her parents and bury it so no one would ever find it—especially her. He would protect her and her folks the way he’d protected his friends all these years. Surely that was a good exchange.

  He shoved out of his jeans, his cock desperate to be free.

  She’d managed to sit up among the myriad pillows that littered her bed. Her dark hair fell in tumbling waves all the way down to her breasts, curling around one nipple. Now that he had her naked, she seemed perfectly comfortable. She watched him, her eyes wide. She looked ethereal in the moonlit room, like any fairy princess should. The drapes were open, but her unit was up higher than all the surrounding buildings, so he didn’t worry about anyone peeking in.

  He liked seeing her in the silvery shadows. It made her skin glow. And as she watched him undress, her stare zipped right to his cock and a flush darkened her cheeks.

  “Do you like what you see, princess?” He found himself a bit self-conscious. Every inch of her skin was dewy perfection. He was covered in scars. He was older than her other lovers. She tended toward doe-eyed idealists. He was as far from that as a man could be.

  She twisted up, crawling toward him in a way that made her breasts bounce, and his dick tightened almost painfully. She balanced on her knees, ass resting on her heels, her hands perched on her thighs as she looked him over. “You’re a beautiful man. I’ve never known anyone like you.”

  His gut coiled up. She didn’t know him at all. He couldn’t correct her, so he rationalized his every deceit. If he hadn’t come after her, Roman would have sent someone else who wouldn’t have even tried to protect her. He could still make this right for her. He would.

  “Come here,” he cajoled. “Touch me.”

  He needed to slow down, feel her hands on him. Now that he had her in her bedroom, he wanted to take this slow. They only had one first time together.

  It damn sure wouldn’t be their last.

  When had he turned into a fucking sentimental old man?

  As he’d been thinking in circles, Lara had risen to stand in front of him. She touched her palm to his chest and brushed over his skin, her fingers finding the scars. She caressed the thin white line on his bicep leftover from a knife fight in Macau. She traced the jagged flesh along his ribs where he’d taken fire from a double agent in Dubai.

  She stopped at the newest mottled flesh, a short but nasty scar from the blade Greta had shoved into his chest. She leaned over and placed her lips there.

  The moment vibrated. Sensation rushed him.

  Stunned and unmoving, Connor barely dared to breathe as she kissed her way across his chest. Her hair fell against his skin, a soft touch that sensitized him. As if he needed to be more sensitive to her. His cock was so hard he was sure it would thump against her belly in a desperate bid for attention.

  Finally her hands made their way to his hips.

  She bit her bottom lip and cautiously brushed her hand over his unruly cock. Her fingertips found the head of his dick and she seemed utterly fascinated by the pearly drop seeping there. It was evidence he’d been so close to the edge. She swiped her thumb across it and he was right back there, fighting against the loss of control.

  He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t take another second of her hands on him or he would lose it. “Lie down on the bed. I want your ass on the edge, knees in the air, wide apart.”

  “What?” She shook her head like she hadn’t heard him properly.

  He sank a hand into all that hair and used it to tilt her head up so she was forced to look him in the eyes. “You. Bed. Edge. Legs spread. I’m going to eat your pussy and you’re going to lie very still while I make a meal out of you.”

  Her breath came in sexy gasps. Her heavy breasts with their hard tips pointing up, along with her pink cheeks and dilated pupils, were like a barometer for her arousal. Not three minutes after her first orgasm, she was starting to squirm.

  He could seize control again by making her beg. “Now.”

  She nodded and nearly stumbled in her haste to reach the bed. Once she’d decided to obey him, she did it with all the enthusiasm she put into one of her causes. If she felt awkward now, he couldn’t tell. Her breasts bounced as she lay back on the bed and splayed out. “I’ve always wanted to know what this felt like.”

  How could she make him laugh in the middle of something that felt so fucking serious? Or incite that twinge in his chest when he realized no man had ever given her this pleasure. There was zero artifice in the way she acted. She wasn’t trying to seduce secrets out of him. She wasn’t trying to gain the upper hand. She simply wanted him to make her come again, to make her scream, and she would enthusiastically comply with his every order to get it.

  “Touch yourself. Stroke your pussy.” He had to be very specific.

  “I’ve done that before,” she said, blushing. She shook her head, but her hand trailed down her body and she gently worked two fingers over her labia.

  He dropped to his knees, putting those wet, swollen folds right at eye level. Her pink-tipped fingers were already glistening with her own arousal. He’d done that to her, gotten her wet and creamy. “No man has ever eaten your pussy? Keep stroking yourself.”

  Transfixed, he watched her fingers glide over her flesh.

  Her voice was deeper than normal, a little husky. “Tom never wanted oral sex.”