She was straddled in his lap, and he cradled her, one hand at the small of her back and one in her hair. Slowly, carefully, he started leaning her back. She let her weight rest in his arms and a tremor shook them both—where it originated, him or her, he’d never know. Because she was laid out in his arms, and there wasn’t room for anything but this.

Seb kissed her mouth. His hands clenched on her as he realized that her flavor was beginning to be familiar to him. He could pick that flavor out of a million others. Their tongues found each other and slid, almost chastely. It was like a hug. He had a flashing memory of that day in the farmers market when she’d taken his one hand in both of hers, a hand hug. And now she’d figured out how to hug him this way, too. It had him teasing her lips open farther and taking more of that taste, the slick, secret gateway to her heart.

She was starting to wiggle against him, on his lap in just her bra and underwear. He tipped her farther back, the weight of her back on his forearms, him leaning over her. He convinced himself to tear his mouth from hers and started to kiss down her neck. He was jealous of every stretch of skin that came next. He wanted to taste, to kiss all of her at once. There was always some golden smoothness that called to him. He pressed his face into her breasts, over the lace of her bra, and growled into the soft heat of her there.

Seb used his chin to press one of the cups of the bra down and she gasped at his rough stubble over her soft skin. Her legs tightened around his waist as his mouth closed over her exposed nipple. He used teeth first and then tongue. She wiggled more and more, her fingers in his hair, holding him to her as he tongued her.

Then she reached back and unhooked her bra and tossed it aside, guiding him to her other breast. He growled again, liking this side of her. She raked her hands down his neck and over his shoulders. The movement of her hips became less a hot little wiggle and more a rhythmic ride.

Sebastian pulled back and looked at her. Her eyes were hooded and fuzzy, her mouth was open and pink, all swollen. There was high color spreading over her skin. He felt like an ancient mortal who’d somehow swindled his way into an encounter with a goddess.

He rose up with her, his hands at her ass and her legs clamped around his waist. She wasn’t hard to lift, and Seb suddenly felt a swell of protectiveness for this woman in his arms. His jeans were uncomfortably tight, constraining his hardness. He reached down and flicked open the button on his jeans. It didn’t help.

“Seb,” she whispered as he strode down the hall.