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as though she had turned into a fragile thing. But gentleness wasn't what she wanted. She deepened the kiss, drawing him closer with her own eager fingers wound in the soft nest of his hair. |
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He cupped her jaw in his hands. His mouth did not stay still and pliable upon hers but roved over her face, her eyelids, her chin, and along the sensitive softness at her throat. She moaned, and he sucked the sound into his own mouth as his hands tugged at the buttons of her blouse. She helped him undo them, then felt the material and the thin chemise below disappear. Somehow, the mattress was beneath her, and she lay back onto the bed. |
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Her breasts were bared to him, and she slitted her eyes open sufficiently to see how his gaze devoured her. His hands cupped her, squeezing just enough to cause her nipples to spring up to meet his lips. She gasped at the sensation that shot flames through her, causing her hips to writhe. |
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"I'm so sorry, Mariah," he said, and she felt him touch the healing wound at her shoulder. The minor pain that remained there was nothing like the yearning ache that spread throughout her, and she gently removed his hand, kissing its heel and placing it back on her chest. |
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"I'm fine, Thorn. Or I will be, if . . . " |
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She didn't finish, but he got the message. His hands stroked where she had placed them, then forged a path downward, over her belly and beneath her skirt, till she felt him urge her legs farther apart, exploring her. "Oh, Thorn," she murmured, rising enough to allow him to remove her skirt and to grant him freer access. |
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But his touches were not enough. She opened her eyes to find that he was still fully clothed. "Hey," she protested, pushing him gently away. |
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And then it was her turn to fumble with clothing, to pull it away and touch and taunt and investigate. To inhale his masculine aroma, to taste the saltiness where his skin was smooth and where it was covered with hair. The territory had been explored before, but that made it no less exciting. His enjoyment was obvious in the rasping of his breath, the swell of his arousal. She held him in her hand, rubbing his length |
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