He took her hand and pulled her toward the bedroom. When he led her in, she stopped and turned in a circle, her eyes wide at all the flickering candles.
He bent to nuzzle her ear. “I take it you approve.”
She sighed and leaned into his touch. “You didn’t have to do all of this.”
“But I wanted to. I want this to be perfect.”
Rachel turned and slid her hands up his chest to his shoulders. She loved the hard contours of his body, the slight dips, the ridges. Perfect. How could it be anything else? This was what she had waited for.
“It will be, Ethan.”
He lowered his head. She tilted hers to the side. Their mouths were just an inch apart. The first touch of his lips sent a shiver down her spine.
Soft. Exquisitely tender. She curled her hands behind his neck and pulled him closer. It was she who deepened the kiss, she who demanded more.
She felt deliciously wanton, and for the first time in longer than she could remember, she felt beautiful and desirable.
Ethan’s hands ran down her back, then lower, until he palmed her behind. He squeezed lightly, rolling and kneading the cheeks.
She loved how he tasted. It was hard to put a label on it. Part of it was smell. Strong and masculine. She kissed a line along his jaw then pulled his head lower so she could sample the column of his neck.
When she found his earlobe, he let out a long hiss. With a smile, she sucked the lobe between her teeth and teased it with her tongue.
“You realize I’m supposed to be seducing you,” he growled.
She laughed and simply let the joy of the moment wash over her.
“How about we seduce each other?”
He captured her lips again. “I can work with that.”
Their kisses became hotter, more breathless, less teasing. Deep in her belly, desire curled, tighter and tighter, spreading outward in waves.
“First rule of seduction. At least one of us has to get naked. Preferably you,” he murmured.
Nervous apprehension replaced some of the excitement. It was silly. He’d seen her naked. Many times. They’d made love before. But for her it was like the first time all over again.
“Hey,” he said softly. He drew away and tucked a finger under her chin, prompting her to look up at him. “We’ll take this as slow as you need. If I could make love to you with you fully clothed, I’d do it, but I think we both know that’s not an option.”
She giggled and felt some of her unease leave her.
“Let’s not take it too slow or we’ll both be old and decrepit before we ever make love.”
“Mmm, I plan to make love to you until they put me in the grave. That’s what they make Viagra for.”
She leaned into him and hugged him fiercely as another laugh escaped.
“Make you a deal. We undress together. Last one naked is a rotten egg.”
She yanked away as she said the last and immediately began peeling her clothes off.
“Oh hell no,” he sputtered. “Maybe you don’t remember what a competitive family you married into.”
“While you’re talking, I’m getting naked,” she taunted.
A wicked glint sparked in his eyes. “I fail to see how I lose either way.”
To her utter shock, he was out of his clothing before she managed to get her jeans off.
All her breath left her body as she stared, transfixed, at the lean contours of his muscular body. Narrow hips, broad shoulders, a hard chest. At his groin, a dark nest of hair surrounded his jutting erection.
Her mouth fell open and she stared with unabashed fascination.
“Hell, Rachel, you’ve seen me before,” he muttered.
She swallowed and glanced back up at him. To her surprise there was a hint of awkwardness in his eyes. She smiled.
“How on earth did you get out of your clothes so fast? I got a head start for Pete’s sake.”
He grinned, his shoulders relaxing. “You forget I was in the Navy. You have to be able to shuck and jive pretty damn fast.”
“More like you don’t have all the crap we women have to wear,” she grumbled.
“I’d be more than happy to help,” he said innocently.
She gestured down her body at her bra and panties. “Be my guest.”
He closed in on her, and she stared down once more at his cock. She wanted to touch it so bad, and then she realized there was no good reason she couldn’t.
As he pressed against her, she reached down and circled his girth with her fingers.
He groaned. “You don’t play fair.”
Fascinated by the dual sensations of hard and soft, she stroked, amazed when he grew even harder in her grasp.
“Do you like that?” she asked.
“Hell yes.”
“I’m still clothed,” she reminded him.
“Not for long.”
He backed her toward the bed, his hands gliding down her sides and to her hips. His thumbs hooked into the band of her underwear and he tugged.
One hand slipped around to the small of her back and then delved lower to where the panties had covered the spot just above the cleft of her behind. He stroked and then slid his fingers lower, along the seam, and she shivered with pleasure.
He obviously knew all her sweet spots. In truth, she was looking forward to discovering them again with him. How odd it felt to make love to a man who remembered her pleasure points, when she herself didn’t.
“I love your ass. I’d be a happy man if you never covered it.”
She flushed at his statement, but a surge of pleasure at his approval rushed heatedly through her veins.