Page 21 of Claimed
“I suspect you’re thinking too much again,” Stefan said, leaning forward to brush his lips against her hair. “For a woman of action such as you, it’s a surprising defense.”
Nicki snorted, and her tension unraveled that much more, her back muscles easing until she leaned more heavily against Stefan’s rock-hard chest. “I should be verifying whether this particular activity is moving our mission forward, shouldn’t I?” she asked, smiling as he tightened his hold on her. She was surrounded by the strength of his body, its solidity. This may be ground that she hadn’t covered in some time, but Stefan moved without hesitation.
He dropped his head down near her ear, his breath soft against her hair. “I assure you, this is absolutely essential to ensuring the mission goes off without a hitch. You trust me, don’t you?”
With my life.The words were so forceful in her own mind it was a miracle she hadn’t spoken them out loud. Instead, she managed a breathy, “Of course.”
“Then I think it might be best if I tell you what to do at this point. So there’s no confusion.”
Nicki stiffened a little, and Stefan’s chuckle was deep and rolling, filled with masculine certainty. “And here I thought you could take direction. Going back on your word, Nicki?”
The tension filled her to bursting then crested over again, and she sighed against him. “Not at all. You ask for it, you get it, though. So be prepared.”
“Excellent. I think this will work out for us both.” He loosened his hands on hers. “Turn around. I want to see you.”
Obligingly, Nicki turned in Stefan’s arms. No sooner had she done so than he lifted his hands to her face, drawing her closer to him. His lips brushed hers and she caught her breath as he nuzzled her mouth. “You taste like the sky,” he murmured, and his voice held a note of wonder that made her stomach tighten and her limbs feel a little too loose, too unsteady.
She lifted a hand to his chest, feeling the steady beating of his heart. He leaned back from her and stared at her intently. “I want to make love to you underneath the open sky,” he said, his lips quirking into a rueful grin. “Unfortunately, I can only trust my men so far.”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t expected that. “Would they spy on you?”
“I would if I were them. So this is the better option.” He held out a hand and pulled her back into the shadowy confines of the room, but he left the large French doors open to the deck, the brilliant sky beginning to turn a soft orange. In the shadows, Nicki almost felt self-conscious again, but Stefan didn’t give her a chance to back down.
“Now where were we,” he murmured, stepping close to her. “Oh yes.” He dropped his head to hers as his hands came up to cradle her face in his palms. “Yes, much better.”
This time, when he kissed her he didn’t restrain himself to nuzzling her lips. He pressed firmly, insistently, and her lips opened naturally against his, the silky intrusion of his tongue foreign and right all at once. Her heart rate picked up then, but only in the best possible way, and she wrapped her fingers around his. He pulled away from her and his eyes glittered with intensity. “I think the next directive is definitely that you surrender your clothes.”
A strange flare of power shivered through Nicki. Sex to her had always been merely recreational, but with Stefan, all of a sudden it felt momentous, like every second was something she wanted to preserve in her memory banks. She stepped back and grimaced down at her serviceable tank and cargo pants—perfect for a walk into a scavenger’s den, but not for seduction. “I’m afraid there’s no easy way to do a strip tease with these,” she said.
“That’s good,” Stefan said. “Because I have no interest in waiting for one.” He walked her backward until the back of her legs hit the bed. “If you’re not out of those clothes in the next thirty seconds, however, I can’t be responsible for what I do.”
“Noted.” She pulled off her tank with one tug, then dropped her pants to the floor, leaving her standing only in her underwear. She thought Stefan would stop her—after all, he’d seen her this naked already—but he didn’t. So with a slight hesitation, she reached behind her back to unhook her bra, letting it fall forward.
If she had any doubts about how he would react to her body, his expression of profound pleasure resolved them.
“Perfect,” he muttered.
Fourteen
Stefan was nearly out of his head with need as Nicki reached down to shimmy her panties down her legs, her body everything he knew it would be—and not simply because he’d seen her with a swimsuit plastered to it a few hours before. Her muscles moved sleekly beneath her skin and practically shouted of her strength and flexibility to take on any challenge.
He wasn’t sure she was ready to take on him, but he was more than willing to find out.
“I’m kind of feeling under—hey!” Nicki gasped as he bent forward and flattened her on the mattress, half tossing her toward the head of the bed where a dozen pillows waited to cushion her fall. Then he climbed after her, his hands sliding up the outside of her legs as he rose to his knees.
“You’re still dressed,” she protested, giggling as he leaned into her. “And maybe you’ve never done this before, but you definitely don’t want to be dressed for the next part.”
“Maybe I’ll kiss you for a while first,” he murmured, deepening the kiss for a long, silken moment. Strangely, however, she didn’t relax. He pulled away and met her searching gaze. “You don’t like to be kissed?”
Her return smile was quick, but a touch of uncertainty remained. “I really, really want to see you without your clothes on. Any of them.”
He recognized the overture for what it was, and rolled with it. “Perhaps you could help me out with that.”
“I definitely can.” She lifted her hands to the edge of his shirt and pushed it up, the heels of her hands pressing against his abs, then his pecs as she bunched the material up in her fingers. She pushed the shirt over his head then focused on his chest, the appreciation in her eyes sending a jolt of awareness straight through him, pooling in his groin. In fact, his cock was presently the most aware part of his body, by far.
Her gaze dropped to his waist, then further down, and her smile turned satisfied. “See? I told you clothes would quickly become a liability.”
He sat up, but stayed on his knees and she unbuckled his cargo pants and pushed them down over his hips, dragging his boxer briefs with them. But while his legs were trapped with his pants around his thighs she shifted her hands, reaching forward to cup his balls in one palm while the other encircled his shaft.