He would gladly leave them that way, content for the moment to kiss her, to have her cling to him and to feel her body against his. But he wanted so much more than a kiss, especially if it only took her kiss to affect him like this.

He raised his hands to finish unbuttoning her suit coat and bumped into hers, scrabbling at his shirt placket. His heart started to pound against the wall of his chest.

It became a race. By the time she had his shirt unbuttoned to the waistband of his jeans, he had her suit jacket on the floor and her shirt around her elbows. Breaking off the kiss, he looked down. The plain white bra confining her breasts made him that much more determined to get rid of it fast.

He lifted his hands to remove it, but stopped before he ripped it away. He heard his breathing, hard and heavy, and lust pumped through his body.

Slow down. Take it easy. She’s not going anywhere. And you’re not a teenager.

Hell, even as a teenager, he’d never been this out of control.

And it was all her fault.

He stared down at Annabelle, his cock throbbing as she stared up at him. She wasn’t smiling but the heat in her eyes seared him, made him burn.

She held on to his gaze as she bared his chest, pushing aside his shirt. He swore she should be able to see his heart pounding through his ribs.

As she watched, she leaned forward, pressing her lips to the center of his chest and nuzzling her nose in the hair, then kissing a path to his left nipple.

Slow down. Slow down.

The words chanted through his head, even as his body urged him to lay her on the floor and take her.

As slowly as he could, he reached for the front clasp on her bra. Feeling as unsteady as a teenager, he snapped it open and watched the cups part to reveal a tantalizingly small portion of creamy skin.

When he reached up to nudge them open even more, Annabelle’s gaze lifted to snag his. She didn’t say a word, but he caught a hint of something vulnerable, something cautious in her eyes. Something he’d put there by his actions on New Year’s Eve.

He brushed his hand across her eyes, urging her to close them, then fastened his mouth over hers again. Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her into him, her breasts crushing against his chest.

He heard the thump as her shoes hit the floor, felt her warm hand move to the zipper of his jeans. She slipped her fingers into the opening and caressed him through his boxers, shivers of pleasure making his flesh leap toward her.

If she kept that up, he’d come in her hand.

Holding her against him with one arm, he reached for her skirt zipper with his free hand and pushed her skirt to the floor. The pantyhose would be tougher, he knew from experience, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He reached for the waistband…and found a garter belt instead.

Jesus. His cock gave a hard pulse as he realized there was still a little bit of the woman he’d met on New Year’s Eve under all these prissy clothes. Releasing her mouth, he trailed kisses over her jawline and up to her ear. “Annabelle, I want you to leave those on.”

She nodded. Or she shuddered. He wasn’t sure which. Either way, she didn’t argue. He never looked to see what underwear she wore. He just hooked his thumb into one side and pulled, letting them drop to the floor.

Setting her on her feet, his mouth took hers again as one hand wrapped around her neck and the other landed on her mound, petting the pretty little patch of curls there before sinking lower to her bare lips. Her bare, wet lips.

She moaned around his tongue as he breached her mouth. The taste of her made his blood run thick, and the hand on her pussy stroked between her folds, his fingertips slick from her moisture.

The scent of her arousal acted like a drug, making him oblivious to everything but the smell of her, the feel of her.

He had to have her. He lifted his head, his eyes searching…

Christ, there’s so much stuff. Not as much as in the front room but still…Wait, there. That would do just fine.

“Jared, wa—”

He kissed her again, cutting off what he was sure would’ve been “wait.”

He didn’t want to wait. Hell, he didn’t think he could. She’d infected him like a virus. And he knew she wanted him. She arched against him, pushing her mound into his hand, her body telling him she didn’t really want to wait.

Lifting her again, he strode toward the ornate velvet chaise in the corner by the far wall. Luckily it had a cushion, but he wouldn’t have cared at this point if it were covered in nails.

But instead of placing Annabelle on it, he set her on her feet as he sat. Drawing her between his legs, he feasted on her breasts, now at the perfect height for his mouth.

He felt her fingers dig into his shoulders, her deep moan incentive to suck harder. His fingers kneaded flesh wherever they landed, sliding down the sensuous silk of her stockings. He stroked her bare bottom, her hips, and up to her breasts, where he suckled until her nipples stood out in tight peaks.

From his shoulders, her hands swept down his arms and up into his hair, her fingers tugging him closer.

“Jared.”

Her husky voice stroked along his skin, pouring more gasoline on the fire.

He felt the rapid rise and fall of her chest, the restless movements of her body. She wanted to press even closer but he held her steady, enjoying the slight burn as she pulled harder on his hair.

Finally, with a not-so-gentle nip, which made her shudder, he released her breasts and began to string kisses across her abdomen.

Her hands skated across his shoulders, then her fingernails dug into his skin as he slid a hand between her legs again.

He brushed against her hard little clit, eliciting a cry from her that made his heart thunder. Her hips thrust forward, the little patch of curls on her mound brushing against his lower chest and making him crazy.

Faster. He had to go faster.

With his jeans still clinging to his hips, he grabbed for his wallet in his back pocket. Setting it next to him, he used his free hand to shuck out of his jeans then released her altogether to lay back on the chaise.

Standing beside him, Annabelle watched him with the sharp eyes of a cat. Her gaze traveled the length of his body. Like hot candle wax, heat dripped all over his body, sharp and stinging, but erotic as all hell.

She stared at the condom in his hand for several agonizing seconds before reaching for it, her expression almost fatalistic. But the heat in her eyes scalded him.

“You know,” she said as she ripped open the packet, so slowly Jared wanted to grab it and do it himself, “I would have been perfectly happy if I’d never seen you again.”

He spoke through gritted teeth as she reached for his cock, held it away from his body and rolled the condom into place. “I had to see you again. You’ve haunted me.”

Okay, maybe that was a little too honest. He froze for a brief second, but the sweet smile that barely curved her lips made him forget he’d said anything.

“Good answer, Jared. Very good answer.” In one sleek movement, she straddled the chaise, her knees on either side of his hips, and positioned herself over him. Gripping him in one hand, she guided him to her and sank onto him in a moment of perfect bliss.

His hips thrust up to meet hers and he sank as far into her as he could get. Her tight sheath gripped him like a fist, pulsing around him, egging on his climax.

He felt it building in his balls but forced it back as he reached for her hips to hold her steady, to keep her from going too fast.

“Slow down, baby. I don’t want this to be over before we really get going.”

Her expression glazed with passion, she stared down into his eyes as she continued to lift and lower her body over his. “And I don’t have the time to let you play. I shouldn’t have let you start this but I couldn’t…I couldn’t not…”

She never finished. Instead, she covered his hands with her own and drew them up her body to her breasts. She molded them to those plump curves, her eyes closing as he squeezed them, his thumbs caressing the hard tips.

Her deep moan made his balls tighten even more.

Then, as if she couldn’t stand it anymore, she moaned and her eyes drifted closed. Her back arched, thrusting her breasts into his hands. He let his gaze drop to watch his fingers pinch those pointed rosy nipples.

Goddamn, she had beautiful breasts, the kind a man should worship. He thought about sitting up so he could get his mouth on them again but didn’t want to disturb her.

She rode him so deliberately, so achingly slowly, as if she were testing him. Testing his control. And this was a test he would pass.

Even though, as he watched her curls bounce on her bare shoulders and the slight curve on her lips, his caveman instinct began to rear its head.

He wanted to make her beg.

Releasing her breasts, he let his hands drift down her sides to her hips. Her skin slid against his like silk on steel. Without warning, he braced her with his hands on her hips and thrust upward. She gasped, her eyes widening and locking with his.

“Jared.”

“Did I hurt you, Belle?”

“Oh, God, no.” She sighed. “Do it again.”

He did, several times, until her lips curved into an outright smile.

Flat on his back, Jared watched her, his hands caressing her breasts, making her arch into his hands.

She maintained eye contact as she worked him in and out of her body, her green gaze slumberous and hypnotizing. Every movement pushed him closer to the edge of his control.