Page 17 of Caspian (HC Heroes #14)

C aspian’s jaw dropped as he sucked in a breath. “That isn’t helping my control.”

“Sorry,” Harper muttered, stepping back, her cheeks flaming. “Didn’t mean to say that out loud, but you’ve got my mind all jumbled.”

He raised an eyebrow, a slow, teasing grin spreading across his face. “I do?” he asked, his voice light but with a hint of satisfaction.

“Yes.” Harper nodded, deciding to lay it all out. “It’s crazy. And you know what, Cas?”

“What?” he asked softly.

She lifted her chin and held his gaze. “I like it. A lot. I like that my brain shuts off and my body turns on when you touch me. You make my legs weak, my pulse race, and my heart pound hard in my chest. They all remind me— you remind me—that I’m alive. Something I haven’t felt in over a decade.”

“I’m glad I do,” he said, stepping closer. “Because you make me feel things I’ve never felt. Good things, but more importantly, you make me feel like it’s okay to feel them. That I deserve some good in my life.”

She frowned. “Because you do. We both do.”

“I agree.” A smile tugged at his lips. “Your directness, and your openness are refreshing, Harper. They’re a couple of the reasons I’m so attracted to you.”

Harper bit her lip, trying to suppress the smile that threatened to break through. Cas’ words, so simple yet filled with sincerity, sent a warm flutter through her chest. “Really?” she asked, her voice quiet, almost testing the waters.

Cas nodded, his expression softening. “Yeah, really. I’ve been trying to play it cool, but you make it pretty damn hard.”

She laughed, the mood easing into something light and sweet. He reached out, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering just a moment longer than necessary.

“So, what do we do about it?” she asked, meeting his gaze, embracing a flash of boldness.

He smiled, the kind of smile that made her heart skip. “We take it one step at a time. No rush, no pressure. Just us, figuring it out together.”

She lifted a hand to touch his jaw. “And if I want to take two or three steps…” Her voice trailed off. She really couldn’t get any more words out with the way her heart was slamming against her ribs.

“Then we run with it,” he replied, reaching up to cup the hand she still held against his face.

The slight scruff from his five o’clock shadow scraped her palm while his rough calluses scraped the back of her hand. How could something so innocent feel so erotic? A tremor started at that hand and raced straight down to her toes, bringing a heated tingle in all her good parts.

A heartbeat later, they were stepping into each other and kissing. His mouth was warm and seeking, and she welcomed it wholeheartedly.

Shifting closer, Harper practically climbed up him, which he helped by lifting her right off the floor without ever breaking the kiss. This sent another round of heat zinging through her body.

He had an arm around her back, cupping the back of her head while the other cupped her butt, holding her in place. And damn, what a place. A great place. Her new favorite place. He was hot and hard, and she felt every incredible inch of him pressing against her.

By the time they broke for air, and he let her gently slide down his body until her feet hit the floor, she was trembling and panting, and grateful his arms remained around her because she didn’t trust her shaky legs.

She dropped her forehead to his chin and drew in a few more ragged breaths. “Okay, that…I want more of that.”

He crooked a finger under her chin and tipped her head up until their gazes met. “Are you sure?” he asked, his brows furrowing. “You and me? We’re going to be great, but I don’t want you to feel rushed. It’ll be worth the wait.”

God, he sounded so sure and so sweet and sincere.

“Yes, I am. Very much so. But I should probably warn you.” She sighed. God, this was hard, especially with his thumb caressing her chin. “I’m not too experienced. Alex was my first and only until about two years ago, and well… that was a disaster.”

Mostly her fault, probably. The guilt had been bad, and tears hadn’t helped. She hadn’t even gotten anything out of it. Just the aforementioned guilt.

Exhaling, she pulled away from him and strode to the sink.

“Harper,” Cas said softly from behind, setting his hands on her shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay. That was the past. This is the present. You’re with me.”

She stared unseeingly at the pasture through the window above the sink. “I just don’t want to disappoint you.”

He turned her around, and she was staggered by the amount of compassion warming his brown eyes. “You could never do that. Pretty sure our kisses have more than proven that, especially our last one.”

Remembering how she’d climbed up him and practically took what she’d wanted, Harper readily agreed and blushed.

“Yeah.” She bit her lip and tried to smile.

“One touch from you, and I can’t seem to get enough.

That’s why I didn’t want to lead you to think I know what I’m doing when it, uh, comes to sex. ”

Cas lifted a hand to brush her cheek with his thumb. “It’s more about instincts, and trust me, Harper, you’ve got fantastic instincts.”

Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened. “I do?”

“Yes, you sure as hell do,” he replied. “And I can’t get enough of you, either.

” As if to prove it, he pressed her against the sink and ground into her.

She inhaled as sparks shot straight to her core.

“I’d love to show you what I mean. In fact, I’d love to show you a lot of things,” he murmured, running his wonderful, calloused hands up her arms, generating a trail of heat, while his mouth lowered to kiss a path up her neck.

“I can guarantee it’ll be the extreme opposite of a disaster. ”

Harper clutched his upper arms as sensations rushed through her body in wave after delicious wave. “Then, like I said before, I’m all in.”

He drew back just enough to smile wickedly. “I soon will be, too.”

She trembled at his words. Damn, the sexy guy was even more irresistible when he was naughty. A thrill shot through her knowing he wasn’t going to halt their embrace this time. “Glad you see it my way.”

His mouth was back on her neck when he chuckled, and the vibration sent delicious goosebumps down her side. Then he sank his teeth into the curve of her neck, and she nearly crossed her eyes. “Mmm.”

He drew back and locked gazes. “Like that?”

She nodded. “Very much. How did you know?”

“Instincts, Harper,” he replied, wrapping his hands around her hips and drawing her up close against him. “Just go with your instincts.”

Insecurity reared its ugly head. “But what if I’m wrong?”

He smiled. “There’s nothing wrong with your body’s reaction to mine.”

Harper searched Cas’ eyes. They appeared earnest and heated, and she was not equipped with the ability to fight the strong attraction flowing between them.

And didn’t want to.

“Look, we don’t have to go any further right now if you’ve changed your mind,” he said, lightly touching her arm. “There’s no need to rush.”

She knew that and appreciated him all the more for his willingness to put her needs before the one bulging behind his zipper. The thing was her needs happened to center on the magnificent bulge behind his zipper .

“I know.” She nodded, setting her hands on his chest.

“So, what have you decided?” he asked, lightly running his hands up her arms again, his gaze hopeful, and yeah, still heated.

“Remember when I asked what would happen if I wanted to take two or three steps instead of one, and you said we’d run with it?”

He stilled. “Yeah?”

“Well, I want to sprint,” she replied. “Marathon sprint.”

One time with him would never be enough.

A smile spread wide across his face and his gaze now smoldered. “Yes, ma’am. It’s time for heat number one.”

Her pulse soared, and need took over. Harper glided her hands up over his shoulders, and apparently this was okay with him because he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed the rest of her senses into oblivion.

This kiss was hotter, hungrier, and more potent now that they’d dropped all their barriers. She moaned and did that climbing thing again, to which he automatically cupped her bottom and lifted while she wrapped her legs around his waist.

It felt amazing, and the effortless way he carried her only upped her desire for the former SEAL.

Without breaking the kiss, he turned them around and walked to the kitchen table where he set her down. Her blood heated further at the action. The lack of air ended the kiss, but not their touching or feeling.

“What if we break the table?” she asked, tugging his shirt up over his abs.

He grasped the hem of his shirt and helped, ripping it up and off, stealing her breath with the sexy move. Her mouth watered at the sight of him. Muscles and ridges beckoned.

“Doesn’t matter,” he stated. “You’re building me a new one.”

True.

Cas leaned closer. “But I’d be happy to carry you to my room, if you’d prefer.”

Harper’s heart rocked hard against her ribs as several naughty thoughts raced through her head at once. She swallowed and shook her head. “Maybe later. I’ve never, uh, used a table for…”

He smiled that sexy grin of his and placed his hands on her knees. “That’s about to change right now.”

Unable to keep her hands to herself, she ran them all over his broad chest and each individual ridge of his glorious abs. Damn, he was so lean and ripped, he looked good enough to eat.

So she leaned forward and licked and nipped while her hands continued to explore all he’d exposed, delighting in his heavy breathing and the way his hands tightened on her legs as he let her have her way.

“Done yet?” he asked, voice strained.

She shook her head. “Almost,” she replied before licking one of his nipples.

His control snapped at that, and with a grunt, he grabbed the back of her head while his mouth came down on hers, devouring, plunging, demanding, until she shook with so much need, she couldn’t think straight.

Then his hands were on her, grasping the bottom of her shirt, and she eagerly held her arms up and he immediately tugged it up and off, brushing his knuckles across her breasts along the way.

She wanted his whole hand there. And his mouth.

Definitely his mouth. He tossed her shirt near his on the floor before he tugged the straps of her bra down her arms until she sprang free.

He inhaled. “You’re so perfect, Harper.”

Her body shivered under the heat of his gaze.

A second later, his mouth was on her collarbone, her breast, a nipple, and when he caught the other between his thumb and finger and squeezed, she cried out and arched into him.

She’d never felt such a pull before. Alex had been a great, at least to her young, inexperienced mind. They’d only slept together a handful of times, but he’d never touched her so lingeringly or greedily.

When Cas lifted his head, his eyes were dark and practically glowing as he took her mouth again.

The erotic sweeping of his tongue while his hand tweaked her nipple had her heart hammering hard in her chest, but when the other strayed further south to stroke between her legs, she moaned against his lips, then tensed briefly when her heated skin met the table surface as he gently pressed her onto her back.

He pulled away and stared down at her. “Gorgeous,” he said, his gaze smoldering. “But not quite perfect. You’ve got on too many clothes.”