Devoured Read online

  Oh my.

  “Lick you like the cream-filled center of an éclair?”

  Oh…my…

  “Relish each second of contact with your skin like it’s the final bite of the best—”

  Heath’s words dissolved into a low moan as Bella pulled his lips down to hers. Before she could think twice about the impulsive kiss, his hands were buried in her hair, fingertips digging deliciously into her scalp as he pulled her closer. His tongue slipped past her lips and swept through her mouth, tasting her, devouring her.

  He tasted of melted caramel and coffee, with an overtone of baked cloves that made Bella’s mouth water. He was delicious and she wanted to do all the things he’d said, all of them and more. She wanted to savor the sweep of his tongue in her mouth like the last sip of a dark chocolate latte, wanted to feel him ravishing her center, opening her, penetrating her, fulfilling her in a way she’d never been fulfilled before.

  “Bella.” He hummed her name into her mouth, and every inch of that hard male body pressed into tighter contact with hers. Her breasts smashed into his chest and the solid ridge of his arousal nudged her belly, reminding her that this wasn’t a fantasy or a dream.

  This was the real thing.

  There was a man in her house, in her arms, in her mouth, and if she didn’t put a stop to this pretty soon, there was little doubt that soon he’d be sliding inside somewhere else. He’d push himself into the slick, aching place between her thighs that she’d guarded more closely than the top secret Quinn family candy recipes.

  And once she let that happen, there would be no going back.

  “Stop!” She wrenched her mouth away from Heath’s, shoving at his solid chest.

  “Okay. Sorry.” He stepped away and crossed his arms, looking like a boy who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

  “No, I’m sorry,” Bella said, fighting the urge to cry. “But you have to go.” She slipped past him and made a beeline for the door.

  This wasn’t safe—Heath was too tempting.

  “What?” he asked, obviously confused by the mixed signals.

  She almost felt sorry for him, but forced herself to remember why he was really here. Though he’d seemed to enjoy that kiss as much as she had, he was loaded with ulterior motives. She’d already made a fool of herself, and he had to be sent on his way before she did something she would truly regret.

  “I want you to go,” she insisted, opening the door wide and indicating the way out into the crisp autumn evening.

  “But you just kissed me like I was the last man on earth.”

  “Hardly,” Bella muttered, knowing he hadn’t glimpsed the depths of her need. If he knew how badly she wanted him, how long she had waited to know what it would feel like to give in to the kind of passion she’d just had a taste of, he would run screaming from her cottage.

  No man could stand up to that kind of pressure…or so she’d always assumed.

  But looking into his eyes right now, she began to wonder. If there was ever a man who was up for the job, Heath Miller seemed to be it. He was intense, driven, unswerving and—if the erection tenting his pants was any sign—still “up for it” in every sense of the word.

  She wanted to hold that hard length in her hand more than she wanted her next breath, and that was enough to scare her into action once more.

  “Go. Now,” she begged

  Please go, before it’s too late.

  Heath shook his head. “No, we’re going to discuss my reasons for coming here before you shove me out into the cold.”

  “I already told you I’m not interested in helping you make edible underwear!”

  “Not just edible underwear, the most amazing tasting edible underwear the industry has ever known. Together, we could make edible underwear that will make people come with their mouths at the same time they’re coming with their—”

  “Please!” Bella snapped, unable to handle whatever he was going to say next.

  If someone had told her this morning that she’d be turned on by hearing a man talk about edible panties she would have called them a liar and probably laughed in their face. At the moment, however, laughter was not the response she was considering.

  “Please what!” He raked an angry hand through his shaggy blond hair. “You’re the one who took this to a different level. I was being professional.”

  “You said…stuff,” Bella said, blushing. “Before.”

  “You mean about your body? I told you I was sorry. I mean you’re beautiful, but I just… I didn’t think…”

  “What?” Bella asked.

  “You’re blushing.” He cocked his head. “Really blushing. Dark red.”

  “So?” Bella’s face flamed even hotter.

  “It’s cute.” He smiled and his amber eyes did flashing things above his white teeth.

  “I thought I was beautiful,” she whispered.

  The humor left his eyes as he moved closer. “The way you said that was really sexy.”

  “Will you quit saying that word?” Bella asked, her pussy clenching as she caught a whiff of his distinct scent. The man had to have some powerful pheromones. There was no other explanation for the desire that he inspired. She’d been around handsome men before, but never had she reacted like this, not once in her entire adult life.

  “What word?”

  “Sexy,” she breathed.

  “Why? Don’t you think you’re sexy?” He stepped closer, until she could feel his body heat stroking the front of her body like a living thing.

  “I don’t know.” She blushed again, but no longer cared.

  “How could you not know?” he asked softly. “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen. If I didn’t want to do business with you as badly as I do, there’s no way I’d be able to stop myself.”

  “Stop yourself from what?”

  “From kissing you again, from taking you to that bed in the corner and tasting every inch of you.” His tongue swept his full bottom lip as if he were imagining exactly what flavor he’d find underneath her clothes, and Bella suddenly couldn’t quit imagining those lips trailing down her throat, that tongue flicking across the taut tip of her breast.

  “Don’t stop,” Bella heard herself say, her doubt vanishing in a wave of desire.

  Heath’s eyes flashed again. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  “This is what I’m saying.” Before logic or fear could intrude, Bella gripped the bottom of her green sweater, pulling it over her head in one smooth motion, knowing that the cream camisole underneath was see-through. Her tight, aching nipples would be displayed for Heath’s viewing pleasure, and he’d know for certain the effect he had upon her.

  “Sweet. Mary…” Heath kicked the door closed and sank to his knees before her. Then his hands were cupping the sides of her breasts, his eyes full of hunger, while Bella’s body sang a rousing hallelujah.

  Reality was definitely better than fantasy.

  So. Much. Better.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Heath

  Heath was lost in Bella, helpless to resist the siren call of what could possibly be the most beautiful breasts in the entire world.

  They were perfectly generous, perfectly full and weighty in his hands, and the dusky nipples that puckered hungrily toward him were the sexiest color, the perfect sweet, pebbled size. He was floored, infatuated. They were, without a doubt, the most gorgeous pair of tits he’d ever seen.

  And he’d seen a lot of tits.

  He’d kissed a lot, suckled a lot, licked a lot of flavored body syrup off of a lot of breasts. Probably too many if he were being honest with himself.

  Wasn’t that why he was obsessed with adding other stimulus to the already thrilling stimulus of sexual pleasure? Because maybe he had gorged himself a bit too much? Because for some reason he’d never had trouble making women fall into his bed without much more encouragement than a wink and his signature grin?

  “Heath,” Bella breathed above him, her
hands tangling in his hair, pulling him closer to her skin, her milky-white, soft, hungry, responsive skin.

  Her breath came faster as he trailed his tongue along the top of her breasts, darting now and then below the lace of her shirt. His hands fondled her fullness from below, but he steered clear of her already stiffened nipples. He wanted to torture her a bit, make her beg for it like he’d begged her in a hundred letters to give his company a chance.

  He wasn’t the malicious type, but turnabout was fair play, especially when it was so sinfully delicious.

  “What, B?” Slowly, slowly he pulled the thin fabric of her undershirt down until her breasts sprang free, wrenching a sharp gasp from her throat as the lacy fabric scraped over her swollen tips.

  “Please,” she begged, her head thrown back, her breath coming in little pants that made his cock twitch painfully in response.

  God, this was torture and he loved it, couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this wild to possess a woman.

  “Please what?” he teased, licking ever so slowly, ever so lightly around the darker skin of her areolas, inhaling the delicious scent of aroused female. It was a scent made even more perfect by the sugary candy smell that clung to Bella, enveloping him in a peppermint cloud.

  “Touch me,” she begged, opening her eyes to gaze down at him, her lips parted and face flushed.

  “Touch you where?”

  Shit, he was losing it, losing his will to tease as he got lost in the hunger in her eyes. She wanted him, badly, and the knowledge made him wild to give her everything she wanted, everything and more.

  “Everywhere,” she whispered, cupping his face in her hands before she dropped to her knees, bringing her mouth a breath away from his. Softly, she let her tongue trail over the crease of his mouth. He parted for her immediately, but she kept her pressure light, teasing, meeting the tip of his tongue, but never coming inside, never allowing him to mate his mouth with hers.

  “Kiss me, Bella,” he demanded, capturing her face and drawing her closer, moaning with satisfaction as she finally slanted her mouth against his.

  But after only a few moments she pulled away and rose to her feet.

  Without a word, she turned and walked toward the bed, unbuttoning her long brown skirt as she went, stepping free of it as it pooled around her feet. By the time she reached the bed, she’d pulled her filmy top off as well, leaving her nude but for simple white briefs that stretched temptingly over her full hips, barely concealing the dark thatch of curls between her legs.

  Heath lost the ability to speak as she sat on the edge of the bed, hands primly on her knees, long black hair spilling over her bare breasts and a smile tugging at the edges of her heart-shaped mouth. She was beautiful—exactly his type, with her full curves and wide, intelligent blue eyes. But there was something else about her that brought his excitement to a fever pitch, something that made him just the tiniest bit nervous.

  Maybe it was because he had respected her for so long. Maybe it was because he worried that sleeping together would ruin his shot at convincing Bella to work with him.

  Whatever it was, he suddenly found himself shifting his weight from foot to foot, wondering if he should go ahead and show himself out, after all.

  Damn it, he wished he had time to do a quick headstand. He could use a little extra blood to the brain, especially considering most of his blood supply was presently surging toward his cock. He hadn’t had such a raging hard-on for a woman in years.

  That alone should have been enough to make up his mind for him. So what the hell was wrong?

  “What’s wrong?” Bella echoed his thoughts, a tremble in her voice. Slowly, her arms rose to cover her chest in a gesture that was painfully vulnerable. The doubt in her eyes made him physically ill.

  Screw second thoughts. He wanted this woman and she wanted him. There was no way he’d let a case of performance anxiety—or whatever the hell this weird feeling was—make him pass up what would no doubt prove to be an amazing experience. He would have Bella in every way that he wanted her. In bed, and out of it. He would just have to find a middle ground and discover some way to claim her as his lover while still winning her as a colleague.

  As he moved toward the bed, the kitchen table saved his life. Or rather, what was on the kitchen table.

  He grabbed the bowl, not even bothering to ask what was inside. It smelled great, looked like it tasted even better, and what better way to prove to Bella he was for real than to show her exactly how he’d like to use her unique gifts?

  She frowned. “What are you—”

  “Shh. I have something to show you.” Heath dipped his fingers into the slightly warm, gooey white mixture and slowly reached out to her lips.

  She laughed as she realized what he had in mind, a sweet sound that made him want to laugh right along with her. But then she opened her mouth and reached out with the tip of her tongue, banishing his sense of humor.

  God, she was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen. He was seconds away from coming in his pants, and quickly changed his mind about how tamely he wanted to begin her tutoring session.

  Stopping inches short of her already kiss-swollen lips, he dropped his hand, keeping his eyes glued to hers so he could watch her response when he slowly circled her nipple with the sticky peppermint cream. She didn’t disappoint him, jumping slightly and emitting a soft moan when his hand made contact with her swollen tip.

  Even that quiet, hungry sound, however, was enough to ramp up his excitement another notch. Heath had to fight for control, struggling to keep his pressure gentle, his fingers whisper-soft on her skin. There was a time for ripping off panties and fucking like wild animals, and there was a time for foreplay and erotic torture.

  This encounter was of the second variety, no matter how much his cock might try to persuade him otherwise.

  “What is this?” he asked. Yes, talking was good, talking helped to keep his mind off how badly he wanted to taste something a lot more intimate than Bella’s latest batch of candy.

  “Peppermint fudge.” Her lips trembled and her eyes grew an even darker shade of blue as he flicked his thumb back and forth over her nipple, coating every inch of her.

  Heath was so turned on that he swore he could feel the same thrill of excitement that coursed through Bella as he touched her, feel when his teasing touch started to drive her over the edge.

  “I like fudge,” he said, gently pushing her back onto the bed and lengthening himself above her, depositing the bowl of candy on the bedside table.

  Deliberately he pressed his hips against hers, knowing she could feel the hard length of his erection against her thigh. His cock was seeking her center as if it would rip through his pants in its eagerness to merge with her completely. There shouldn’t be a shred of doubt left in her mind that he wanted her.

  Urgently. Painfully, even.

  “Fudge hardens quickly,” she whispered with a naughty smile, shifting her hips against his.

  A groan escaped his throat. “Then I’d better hurry up.” He held her gaze as he lowered his mouth to her breast and began licking her clean.

  Soon, she began to squirm beneath him, arching her breast toward his teasing tongue, making his breath come as swift and shallow as hers. With each slow lick, his desire to possess Bella grew even more intense. The way she met his eyes—hiding nothing, showing him the full power of her desire—was an aphrodisiac ten times more powerful than any fudge.

  Something in that thought tried to penetrate his lust, but then Bella moaned and fisted her hands in his hair, pulling him closer.

  “Yes, Heath, yes.” She cried out as he took her nipple inside his mouth, suckling on her breast with deep, hungry pulls before he dragged his teeth lightly over her swollen flesh. She dug her nails into his scalp, eliciting a sound from him that was pure animal need.

  He was going to be out of his mind by the time he finished with her, but at least he’d be able to say his sanity was lost for a worthy cause.

 
CHAPTER FOUR

  Heath

  Eagerly, Heath dipped a finger back into the still-creamy fudge. He was a firm believer that anything worth doing was worth doing right. And Bella was more than worth doing right. She was worth every single painful surge of desire that throbbed through his cock as he licked her, sucked her, working her into a fit of writhing need beneath his mouth.

  “Heath, I need…oh God, I need…” Her voice was close to a sob, and it looked like tears were beginning to tease the edges of her eyes. He hadn’t meant to torture her quite this thoroughly, but he couldn’t deny the force of her lust made him wild.

  “You need to come, baby?” Heath’s hands shook as he reached for her panties, ripping the filmy fabric in half in his hurry to free that hot, wet pussy for his mouth.

  He’d buy her another pair, another hundred pair, but right now he needed to taste the feminine heat that he could smell mixing wonderfully with the scent of peppermint. It was driving him wild, making his touch less than gentle as he spread her thighs wide to make room for him.

  “You’re beautiful.” He was choking on the words, panting like he’d been fucking her for hours, not teasing her for twenty minutes.

  He was uncharacteristically out of control, and as he smeared the last of the drying fudge onto the sides of her pink, glistening folds, he knew that everything he had dreamed of was possible. He was going to rock the adult toy industry with the help of this luscious woman. He would have every man in the Kingdom begging to go down on their wives, girlfriends and mistresses, and he would have every woman in the kingdom thanking him for the best head of their lives.

  “Oh no, don’t, I…” Bella protested, her thighs attempting to close and bar him from his prize.

  Heath forced her legs open again with the firm pressure of his thumbs. When his way was clear, he dropped his head, flicking his tongue across the engorged clit that lifted toward his mouth, begging him to lick it for all he was worth.

  Bella stopped fighting him, lifting her hips to his mouth in a way that let him know how close she was, how deliciously close.