Her stomach cartwheeled so hard it kicked her heart into high gear.
“Caro?”
“Straight ahead. I sleep in the sun porch.”
Once they were in her space, she tried to see it from his point of view. Half the room was packed with junk since it doubled as a storage room when she and Kimi weren’t here. Her mother’s sewing machine, dress maker dummy, ironing board, irons and sewing instruments were in the center of the room, along with stacks of material, thread, ribbons, notions, paper patterns, a box of buttons and other odds and ends.
In the corner, she’d pushed the twin beds together, making a decent-sized sleeping area for herself. A bed with pale peach sheets, lots of pillows, a bright reading lamp for the foldable flat board so she could hand sew pieces in bed if she chose. Her closet and dressing area was in the opposite corner behind two floral sheets. She’d hung her clothes on a dowel placed between two chains. Her underwear, slips and hosiery were in an old suitcase she’d cut in half and converted into dresser drawers.
The click of the lock brought her attention back to Carson. He wasn’t looking at her surroundings. At all. His eyes were focused solely on her.
It dawned on her it was the middle of the day. There’d be no darkness, every part of her, every part of him would be completely visible. Every other time they’d been intimate had been at night. And she’d never completely bared herself to another person…well…ever.
“Don’t,” he said softly as he stalked closer.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t think.” He reached her and pushed her hair over her shoulder. “You’re beautiful and I can’t wait to get my hands on every inch of you. Last night was just the start. Trust me.” He rested his forehead to hers. “You do trust me, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. First you gotta lose the clothes.” He hooked his fingers in the hem of her baggy red peasant shirt and pulled it up until she raised her arms.
Her bra wasn’t sheer, just plain white. She fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest.
His fingers slipped beneath the waistband of her skirt near her belly button, using her skin as a guide to find the button in the back. After unbuttoning her, Carson made short work of the zipper too. The navy blue cotton skirt fell to the floor.
Her panties matched her bra—bonus points for that, but her underwear wasn’t sexy, just plain white cotton.
Then his mouth was on her neck and his hands started at her shoulders and moved down. Stroking and caressing her skin. His thumbs following the swell of her br**sts while his palms curled around her ribcage.
At Carson’s show of reverence, she relaxed even when every tender touch and nip of his teeth set her body on fire.
His hands stopped on her hips, those wickedly stroking thumbs of his brushed over the rise of her mound and the sensitive inner skin by her hipbone. And still he didn’t say a word, he just explored. As his hands moved south so did his mouth. He palmed her behind in both hands as his tongue traced the edge of her bra, down one side and up the other.
Carolyn wasn’t sure what to do with her hands. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair. Grip his shoulders. Or should she start to undress him too?
“Unhook your bra for me so I don’t have to stop touchin’ you.”
She twisted her arms behind her back and tugged the clasp.
Carson’s gaze met hers as he eased the straps down her arms. Only when the straps cleared her fingertips did he look at her chest.
“Perfect. Jesus, look at you.” He held her br**sts and rubbed his cheek and jaw from the top of the left side, down to her sternum and back up the right side.
Every kiss, every taste inched closer to her nipple and her body went rigid in anticipation. Then his mouth enclosed the hardened tip.
Wet. Hot. His tongue flicking, his mouth sucking. Her head fell back and she groaned as each determined suck sent chills racing down her body.
Carolyn was so lost in the way he worshipped her br**sts that she didn’t notice his hand had slid down the center of her torso until he was stroking her there. Right there.
“You like that.”
“Yes.”
“I can tell,” he murmured against the side of her breast. “Your panties are getting wet.” He nipped her breast with his teeth and stroked her faster. “Time to take them off.”
She froze.
“Trust me, sugar, you want this.” He captured her mouth in one of those kisses that made her mind fuzzy as his hand slipped inside her panties, his finger connecting with her bare flesh. “Take them off.”
She tugged her underwear down, even while his finger kept up that long glide on her slit.
Carson broke the kiss to whisper, “Sit on the edge of the bed.”
Somehow she managed it, despite the throbbing between her legs and her head floating in the clouds. She closed her eyes and started to lie back on the mattress but Carson’s grip on her wrist stopped her.
“Huh-uh. I want you to watch.”
Carolyn opened her eyes and immediately snapped out of the passion-filled stupor. Her gaze moved over him. He was still fully dressed. Was he going to strip for her? “Watch what?”
Carson dropped to his knees, right between hers. His hands landed on her thighs and he pushed them wider apart, his focus completely on her sex.
She felt her entire body turn the color of a ripe tomato as he stared at her there. Stared and made a growling noise as his fingers inched forward.