Mina's Heart (8 page)

He headed to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Mina watched as he took clean plates from the dishwasher and cut pieces of cake for each of them. As cakes went, the appearance was unremarkable.

“If she was grateful, then she’d be a dog.” Mina reached for the knob on a likely cupboard in search of glasses. She’d spied some milk, which seemed like the perfect accompaniment for chocolate cake.

Ever pointed her in the right direction, flashing one of those smiles that made his eyes sparkle mischievously. “True. I don’t think I’m quite ready for a dog yet. No yard.” He cleared a place at the island and put down the plates. “What about you? Any pets or aspirations for one?”

Mina shrugged. “I’m not ruling it out, but I’m not settled enough to be responsible for a pet. My mother has feeders all over the yard. She seems to have developed a special relationship with birds and rodents. I think I can safely rule them out as pet options.”

She thought it was sad that her mother spent time feeding wild animals. It seemed those little things were her only companions. Her mother needed to get out more. The move would be good for her.

Ever regarded her soberly. “I like to watch wildlife. It’s very peaceful and sometimes wonderful. I can see why your mom would set out feeders. How did she like the flower baskets?”

Mina handed him a glass of milk and climbed onto a high stool next to him. Ever’s feet touched the floor, but she had to perch hers on a rung. At the mention of the baskets, she blushed a little, but not because it had been the first time a man had bought her flowers. “She loved them. We didn’t have any hooks to hang them, so we took the hangers off and put them on the back patio.”

Half of his mouth lifted in a teasing grin. “You didn’t tell her they were from me.”

No, she hadn’t mentioned running into Everett or that she’d be having dinner with him tonight. Her mother thought she was meeting friends in town. Throughout high school, Mina had assured her mother that she had friends. The one time her mother had advocated for Mina to be allowed to go to a friend’s house on the basis that if she didn’t socialize, she couldn’t keep friends, her father hadn’t reacted well. Mina didn’t want her mother to have to suffer from guilt on top of everything else.

“She was so delighted by them that I couldn’t tell her they were mine. I hope you don’t mind.” To cover her embarrassment, she shoveled a bite of cake into her mouth. She didn’t expect much, and she found herself pleasantly surprised. It was moist and flavorful. The cream cheese frosting was just sweet enough. “Mmmm. This is really good cake.”

“Thanks.” He finished chewing his mouthful. “I don’t mind about the flowers. They brought joy to you both, so they’ve served their purpose.”

He had a crumb of chocolate at the corner of his mouth. She reached out, intending to brush it away with her thumb. He seemed to guess her intention, because he held still. Something came over her, and at the last second, she leaned forward and licked it away with the tip of her tongue. He tasted every bit as delicious as his kiss.

Never in her life had she been so bold. The moment she pulled away, she froze, not certain to which degree her behavior had mortified her.

Ever’s eyelids fell to half-mast, and he regarded her with a sultry expression. “Moves like that will get you thoroughly kissed.”

She took stock of her emotions. “I’m okay with that.”

Almost before she finished speaking, his lips closed over hers. At the same time, he snaked his arm around her and cradled the base of her skull with his hand. He tangled his fingers in her hair, knocking her hairpins loose. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, not bothering with the soft sensuality of his earlier foray, and stole her breath with his mastery.

She was conscious of the feel of his hands moving through her hair, freeing the long strands from their confinement. Her breasts seemed to swell, and she found herself leaning against his body. Somehow he had moved without her knowing, and now he stood in front of her, his thigh wedged between hers. She scooted forward and pressed her mons against his leg.

A delicious sense of anticipation built in her core. It was hot and wet, burning with a sense of something more. She wanted to rub against him, but she didn’t have the courage. He skimmed one hand down her spine and slid it under her ass, lifting her closer. It solved part of her problem, but it also created a powerful need.

All this time, he ravaged her with his lips. He abandoned her mouth to nibble along her jaw and nip at her earlobes. When he pressed his hot kisses on her neck just below her ears, she moaned loudly.

The noise seemed to fuel him even more. He must have taken it as permission, because he pushed up her skirt with his free hand and caressed her bare leg. Up and down, he seared the tender skin with his hot hands until at last he lifted her leg and secured it around his waist. These high stools put her in the perfect position.

Until now, she’d kept her hands on his shoulders, too timid to explore him the way she wanted. His behavior made her bold. She teased her fingertips down his chest. When she arrived at the waist of his jeans, she tugged at his shirt, wanting it out of the way so she could touch his skin the same way he touched hers.

Her move seemed to jolt him away from the place passion had taken him. He wrapped his hands around her wrists, halting her tentative exploration.

“Please don’t stop.” She didn’t know where that heartfelt plea had come from, and the fact that it tumbled from her mouth shocked her into silence.

Everett put her hands back on his shoulders. “Honey, if we don’t stop now, we’re going to go farther than you want. I love that you’re so affected by me, but I can’t let you do something I know you don’t want to do.”

She didn’t want to stop. Primal needs rushed to the fore, taking over her brain. “I’ve changed my mind.”

He pressed his forehead to hers and inhaled. “For now, you have. But tomorrow you’ll regret it. In times like this, it’s my job to take care of you. That includes making sure that you never regret what happens between us.”

Mina felt herself fall a little further for Everett Burke. This was definitely a benefit of his protective and slightly alpha nature. It just made her want him even more. She did something the thought she’d never do: she begged. “Ever, please.”

“The first thing you did when we met tonight was lay down a hard limit. You decided on it when you were sane and rational. I want you to understand that in the heat of passion, I will never lose control. I will always take care of you, and I will never, under any circumstances, do something you truly don’t want me to do.”

His sincere declaration took her aback. In a million years, she’d never thought a man would turn her down, especially not after she’d begged. Yet she didn’t feel he’d rejected her. Evidence of his desire branded itself into the thigh he’d trapped between his legs, and still he held fast to his principles.

She nodded her acceptance of his ruling. “I just don’t want you to stop kissing me.”

He chuckled and played with a handful of her hair. “I don’t want to stop kissing you either. You taste like heaven with a dash of chocolate thrown in.”

To her disappointment, he made no move to kiss her again. She wasn’t skilled in the art of seduction—she wasn’t even particularly skilled at kissing—so she had no idea what her next move should be. He continued to play with her hair and study her face.

“Right now your lips are a little swollen, and you look so ripe and ready. I think I could kiss you all night. I’d strip away your clothes and kiss every inch of your body until you’re writhing under me, screaming as you come in my mouth.” He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “Would you like that? While it is sex, it wouldn’t technically violate your rule of no intercourse.”

Nobody had ever talked to her like that before. She had the sense that Everett could—and would—get quite graphic. She felt her eyes widening with shock, which she was sure only made her appear more wanton than he’d already described.

“You’d keep your clothes on?” She didn’t ask to make sure. What he offered was very one-sided. She knew that he wouldn’t let her reciprocate even if she begged, which wouldn’t happen because she wouldn’t know what to do anyway. She’d never in her life seen a naked man.

“I would probably take my shirt off.”

That was a sight she’d very much like to see. Before her brain could think on his offer too much, she found herself nodding eagerly. He lifted her against him, banding one arm around her waist and cupping her ass with the other. She wrapped her legs around him and held on as he carried her into his bedroom.

The change of location made her a little leery until he turned on the overhead light. He knelt on the bed with one knee and set her down. She unlocked her legs and slid to the mattress, careful to keep her low-heeled shoes off the bed. In another move she hadn’t expected, he stood up instead of scooting her to the center of the bed. Suddenly self-conscious, she straightened her skirt, which had ridden up high enough to expose her panties.

“If you want me to stop, say ‘Oasis.’ That’s an important point to remember, Mina. Simply telling me to stop won’t have an impact. You must use the safe word.”

Though she had never heard of a safe word, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what he meant. It seemed Everett Burke was into playing sex games, the kind where a woman might utter fake protests. Mina couldn’t see herself doing that. She simply nodded at his directive.

He stared at her. “Say the safe word.”

“Oasis?” It came out like a question, not because she wondered about his command, but because she didn’t understand why he’d want her to repeat it.

“Yes. Now say it like you mean it.”

Now she understood. He was testing to make sure she would use the right word in the right way. “Oasis.”

He melted her leg muscles with that special smile. “Very good. We’ll start slowly. I’m going to kiss you and touch you.”

He toed out of his shoes. Then he bent down and removed her shoes, sliding his hand up to caress each bare calf. He spent some time there, seeming to measure the places where he could wrap his entire hand around her flesh and simultaneously enjoying the texture of her skin. Good thing she’d shaved. His thorough exploration both calmed her and made her feel anxious. She wasn’t used to being with anyone who was so blatantly enamored with her body.

Then he bent his head and kissed the inside of each ankle, his actions slow and almost reverent. “Move back and lie down with your head on a pillow. Get comfortable.”

She did as he directed, and that sense of uneasiness returned. He watched from his crouched position next to the bed, his observant eyes no doubt capturing every detail. He seemed almost predatory, yet that sober air of protectiveness hadn’t faded. Her perception of him altered subtly as she realized he was deadly serious about the things he’d said to her tonight. He truly saw it as his duty to care for her, and he enjoyed assuming that role. It was part of his core identity.

When she calmed down, he stood and swiftly pulled off his shirt. She wanted time to look at him, but he didn’t seem interested in posing for her. He tossed the wadded piece of fabric onto the floor and shoved the messy covers to the foot of the bed. He had a determined air about him that made her expect he would lie between her legs and get to work right away.

She’d never let a man touch her where he was about to touch her. She didn’t mourn the loss of her innocence, but while she embraced the pleasures this new experience would bring, she was still very apprehensive about having a man’s face between her legs.

He settled over her body with his pelvis pressing her thighs open and his stomach against hers. She hadn’t been aware of her shirt riding up, and the feel of his flesh was surprisingly intimate. He stared down at her, his eyes so light they seemed to glow. From the hungry way he regarded her, she wondered if he might skip the preliminaries and just devour her from head to toe. She wouldn’t have a problem with that.

“You haven’t done this before, have you?”

His unexpected question had her squirming. Was it that obvious? What was she doing wrong? Though most of his weight rested on his elbows, he had positioned himself in such a way that she couldn’t move very much. Instead of feeling trapped, she felt protected, sheltered from the place her fears might trap her.

She wasn’t sure exactly what his question implied, but she kept their purpose for being in that room in mind and gave her head a quick, small shake. He kissed her, claiming and massaging her lips with bold strokes, and she felt her honesty had been rewarded. He wasn’t gloating as she thought the first man to claim her like this might. He seemed to have accepted the fact and moved forward from there.

When he at last broke away, he gripped the side of her head and lavished kisses on her cheeks and eyelids before moving to her throat. He slid her shirt up, lifting her shoulders to tug it over her head. Her heart beat faster as she watched him lean up even more and take in the sight of her lying there wearing only a white lacy bra.

Though his expression didn’t change, his eyes smoldered. He resumed kissing her, but his attention had moved to her chest. He slid his strong hands up her rib cage and cupped her breasts. His heat seared through the thin layer of material, and her nipples pebbled in anticipation of direct contact.

He lulled her with the spell of his deft caresses so that she didn’t know he was going to unhook her bra until she felt the sudden looseness around her ribs. Right away, she grabbed his wrists to stop him. That piece of clothing didn’t need to come off for him to do what he was going to do.

Rather than heeding her unspoken protest, he rotated his wrists. Suddenly he was the one holding her captive. He gathered her wrists in one hand and pressed them to the pillow above her head. Then he lifted the cups away from her breasts. Having never been exposed this way, she wiggled, trying to escape and cover herself. She didn’t know why; she certainly didn’t want him to stop. Everything he did felt so good. Even the way he held her down appealed to a need she never knew she had.