“I’m thinking about how lucky we are.” I traced the line of his jaw, feeling the bristles rasp beneath my fingertips. Leaning over, I dragged my lips across the stubble. “Whisker burn,” I whispered. “One of my very favorite things.”
He grunted. “Kyle said that Rainier cherries were your favorite thing.”
Ripper acting petulant? Laughter burst from my throat. “I believe he said something about Rainier cherries being my favorite thing to eat, and it’s true that I love them, but there are other things I’d rather put in my mouth.” I batted my eyelashes with mock innocence.
“I like where this is going.” Ripper rolled onto his back and folded his arms beneath his head.
I sat up and threw a leg over his hips, settling my weight on his upper thighs as I straddled him.
“Hmmm...” I cocked my head to one side and swept a salacious gaze over his nude body. “Would you be willing to lie back and let me do whatever I want, for just a little while?”
His lips parted. He drew in a long breath, then slowly expelled it. “I’m all yours, darlin'.”
I nodded and tapped a finger against my mouth while I considered what to do first. Ripper silently watched me, his eyes glittering behind heavy, half-closed lids. Dear God, he was spectacular, his body a symphony of harmonious elements: supple, olive-toned skin, long limbs, and thick muscles. Hard work and self-discipline accounted for only part of his physical appeal. Luck—or divine providence—contributed the rest. I sent a silent thank you to whoever gifted Ripper with that full, biteable bottom lip. That firm jaw. The heavy lashes that framed his gorgeous dark eyes. The single dimple that dented his left cheek. The size of his...hands.
A lazy, self-satisfied smile touched his lips as I ogled him. Ripper knew that he was hot, knew that his looks and dangerous bad-boy allure drove women wild, drove me wild.
But did he know that I loved him? I’d never given voice to the sentiment. Actions speak louder than words. That’s what the old adage said, and Ripper’s actions told me that he cared for me. I wanted to tell him that I loved him, but the words stuck in my throat. Ripper always told me the truth, and I didn’t want to put him on the spot, to risk hearing a response that would shatter my heart. Someday, I’d say the words, I’d speak my truth, but not today, not when we’d just found our way back to each other and our reunion was such a fragile thing.
“You gonna have your way with me, or what?” he asked, startling me out of my reverie.
Oops.
“Sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I must have been distracted by—” I gestured toward the naked body laid out before me like a feast.
Laughing softly, he arched his hips, and his erect cock bobbled against my groin. “Lemme tell you what’s gonna get into you.”
“You’re forgetting who’s in charge here,” I reproached.
He moaned. “Then have at me, woman.”
Exactly what I had in mind. Bending forward, I dragged my tongue over one flat nipple, then lifted my head and blew a stream of warm air over the damp skin. Ripper shivered and when his nipple puckered, I caught the taut nub between my teeth and tugged.
I’d closed my eyes, so I didn’t see him remove his hand from beneath his head. His fingers traced the curve of my ass, and I drew back.
“No.” I seized his hand and pulled it to the brass headboard. “You don’t get to use your hands. Just hold on here.” Obligingly, he wrapped his fingers around the vertical bar. “Other hand, too,” I demanded.
He groaned a protest, but complied with my order, grasping the headboard with both hands. Was this the first time Ripper had ever ceded control to a woman? He was an alpha male, and as much as it embarrassed me to admit it, his natural dominance, his aura of command, was sexy as hell. I never thought I’d be turned on by a Ripper who let me take charge, but life was full of surprises.
I splayed my fingers across his chest, then leaned forward to brush my lips over his. I teased his lips apart with my tongue, deepening the kiss. My nipples grazed his chest, constricting into tight buds as they brushed over his warm, smooth skin. His cock was sandwiched between our bellies, its presence too substantial to be ignored.
After our talk about cherries, I’d intended to suck him off, to take my favorite thing into my mouth. But now that I’d taken control, why not flip the script in more than one way?
You gonna have your way with me, or what?
Yes. Yes, I was going to have my way with him. I broke off the kiss and shimmied up his torso, dragging my wet sex along the length of his shaft.
“You’re going to make me feel good,” I pronounced.
“Oh, yeah? What am I gonna do?”
“You’re going to lick my pussy.” I slithered higher up his chest. “Fuck me with your tongue. Suck on my clit. And you absolutely, positively are not going to let go of the headboard. You understand?”
Ripper’s eyes widened, and I swear he looked surprised by my brazen demands. “Is that so?”
“Yes. That’s so.” I knelt over his face, cradling his head between my thighs.
He could take back control in a heartbeat. Flip the script—and me—once again. The only thing holding him in check was his promise to relinquish power to me. And Ripper always kept his promises.
I braced my arms against the wall, gazing down at his face. His nostrils flared. His eyes hooded. He licked his lips. “Haven’t touched your cunt yet, but I can taste how turned on you are.”
Jesus. He could taste the scent of my arousal. “You can, huh?”
“Yeah. Come here. Sit on my face.” His voice was a husky whisper.
Good thing it pleased me to comply with his request. I spread my thighs, lowering my sex to his face. Undulating my hips, I sketched a figure eight, slowly sliding over his chin, across his nose and cheeks before settling over his mouth. Ripper lifted his head and dragged his chin over my slick folds. I hissed as stubble scraped across the delicate flesh, a sandpaper kiss that lit my senses on fire. His tongue swept through the folds, circling my clit—drawing near but never quite touching it—before spiraling down toward the entrance to my sex.
Moaning, I rocked against his mouth. I opened like a flower beneath Ripper’s touch, a bud swelling until it erupted into bloom, petals unfurling one by one in the heat of the sun. Ripper used his entire face as an instrument of pleasure. He nuzzled and licked, his nose massaging my clit while his tongue probed the entrance to my sex. Again and again, he scraped his chin across the super-sensitive flesh, then soothed the abraded flesh with a wet, wide tongue.
Desire robbed my limbs of their strength and my thighs began to tremble. Afraid that I’d collapse against Ripper’s face, I grabbed the top bar of the brass bed and held on for dear life. I shuddered, basking in bliss when he began to suck on my clit. He drew the engorged nub into his mouth, applying steady pressure while he tickled it with his tongue. White noise filled my ears, and my vision dimmed as my world constricted. Nothing existed beyond my clit and Ripper’s mouth and the tide of pleasure that swept away everything else. I began to pant as an orgasm danced tantalizingly near. Ripper’s teeth gently nipped my clit, propelling me over the edge. I shrieked, my entire body convulsing with pleasure.
My enervated limbs could no longer support me. I rolled off Ripper and collapsed against the mattress, as limp and as helpless as a ragdoll. Through heavy eyelids I watched Ripper release his grip on the headboard and roll on his side, his face glistening with my juices.