Stumble into Love Read online

  She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and ran her fingers along the broad plane of his chest. His muscles jumped and twitched under her touch as she circled his taut male nipples with her fingertips. Driven by an urge she didn't understand and didn't want to think about, Laila dipped her head to put her tongue on the places her fingers had just caressed.

  Hal's groan was inspiration enough for her to continue. He caught his fingers in her hair as she lavished kisses along his chest and down further, following the line of crisp, crinkly hair to where it disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. Laila paused there, for just one moment, thinking that if she wanted to turn back, now would be the time.

  She didn't want to turn back. She found the button and unhooked it, slid the zipper down and opened his jeans. Hal wore purple briefs, a sight so surprising Laila sat back.

  "Purple?" She asked.

  He looked down. "I like purple."

  "I like purple, too," Laila said. "But I'd prefer to see them on the floor."

  Her bold words shocked herself into a chuckle. Being with Hal made her feel bubbly, giddy. Lighthearted, she realized. Like she was having fun.

  She helped him push off his cumbersome jeans and socks, but stopped before helping him remove his last piece of clothing. Laila had never been shy about lovemaking. She was confident with her body and how it reacted, and she was assured enough to know she could please a man. But something about this last step made her pause.

  Hal didn't give her time to think. He pulled her close for another kiss, wrapping his arms around her. He caressed her back, still slick with oil. Every slide of his fingers against her skin electrified her.

  She opened her mouth and their tongues met. Hal didn't stab her with his tongue. He didn't force her mouth wide. His every movement was gentle and exactly what she needed and wanted, just when she wanted it.

  Slowly, Hal pushed her back onto the mound of pillows, but he didn't lie on top of her. They lay on their sides, facing each other, and he slid his leg between hers. The feeling of his thigh against her made her gasp. She was on fire.

  She ran her hands along his smooth, strong back, letting her fingers learn every sensitive part of him. All the while, their mouths danced together in kisses so exactly perfect she had to wonder if she was just dreaming all of this.

  When her hands encountered the waistband of his briefs, she knew this was real. No dream would come with persistent purple underpants. Laila hooked her fingers inside the waistband, easing them over his lean hips and down his sturdy thighs. They never stopped kissing, not even when she used her foot to finally push the bulky briefs all the way off.

  Laila was glad she'd left the lamp on. Seeing Hal naked was worth it. His body was lovely, perfectly formed and golden brown in the dim lamplight. The hair around his rising erection was darker than on his head, a springy tuft that crinkled softly against her belly.

  He groaned softly as she pulled their bodies apart to look at him. "Laila--"

  "Shhh," she said. "I want to see you."

  He shivered in response, and he bent his head to the hollow of her shoulder. Now it was her turn to gasp as his tongue found her skin. They rolled together again, Hal's leg slipping further between hers. He ran his hand down her back to cup her buttocks, pressing her more firmly onto his thigh.

  The pressure was delightful, incredible. Erotic. Laila rocked against him and was rewarded when his mouth slanted across hers again. Hal's kisses became more urgent, more focused as she let her own hand slide down to caress the firm bulge of his rear end.

  Laila hooked her leg over his calf, locking them together. Hal's erection rose hotly against her stomach. Suddenly she wanted to touch it. Laila pushed their bodies apart again so she could slip her fingers around his arousal.

  "Oh, Hal," she whispered when he jerked beneath her touch. "You're so lovely."

  Ian would have scolded her for using such a feminine adjective to describe the part he held in highest esteem. Hal didn't say anything. His only answer a short moan. It pleased Laila to think she'd caused him to become incapable of speech.

  She ran her fingers lightly up and down along his length. With a sigh, Hal rolled onto his back and crossed his arms up high, over his eyes. He was even more magnificent in full view. Laila marveled that a man who seemed so unassuming, so unpretentious, could be built so perfectly and not boast about it.

  She knew he was tall, but seeing him stretched out on the bed made his legs seem impossibly long. His flat stomach tapered to lean hips, with bones that jutted just enough to make her want to lick them. Laila did just that, bending to run her tongue along the curved surface of bone. His hair tickled her nose.

  It gave her pleasure to watch the way his mouth tightened when she brushed her fingers along the inside of his thigh. His penis stiffened further as she watched. She encircled him with her fingers, soaking in the sight and smells of his body.

  "Enough," Hal said hoarsely. He sat up, taking her hand gently away from where it had been playing. "I need to slow down."

  Laila nodded, feeling the same way. She throbbed with a need so intense it was almost frightening. And all from touching him. What was she going to do when he began to touch her?

  She soon found out. Hal pushed her back onto the pillows again. He kissed her once, lightly, on the mouth, then moved lower. He didn't stop at her throat this time, but pressed his mouth to the first curves of her breasts, one at a time. Laila felt her nipples peak under the torturous gentleness of his breath against them. Then the hot weight of his tongue, swirling first around one, then the other. He suckled gently, bringing forth a startled gasp from her.

  "Do you want me to stop?" he asked, concerned.

  "Good Lord, no!" Laila cried.

  Hal dropped more kisses onto her breasts, then moved down along the soft curve of her belly. He kissed her thighs, her knees, down her calves to the tops of her feet, her ankles. Even her toes got his full attention, as he kissed them until she laughed out loud at the tickling that also sent shock waves of pleasure directly to her swollen center.

  He moved again to her thighs, parting them with gentle pressure. Laila waited, breathless, uncertain if she should move. Uncertain if she could stop herself from moving. She felt his hot breath against her. He dropped a kiss onto the nest of her hair. He stopped. She waited. He kissed her again as though waiting to judge her reaction.

  Laila sighed, opening herself to him. He kissed her, darting his tongue out like a butterfly tasting a flower. Laila gave herself up to the sensations rocketing through her. It has been so long, so long!

  It seemed like hours but was only minutes that Hal made love to her with his mouth. Laila tossed on a sea of feeling that rose and fell. When he pulled away from her, she felt helpless to speak in protest, such was her daze. The bed was cold without him on it, and she heard the crinkling of foil again. No handwarmers this time, she had time to think before Hal returned.

  He slid up the length of her, pressing his body to hers. His heat slipped inside her, stretching her to delicious tautness. He moved, slowly, and she urged him on by clutching her hands to his buttocks. Her mouth found his chest as he rocked inside her and she tongued his nipples again, relishing the way he shuddered at her every touch.

  "Laila," he whispered in a voice so thick with passion she scarcely recognized it.

  Yet still she couldn't answer him, even though his name was throbbing on the tip of her tongue, begging to be set free. She moaned instead, tilting her head to allow his kisses access to her throat. Laila moved her hips in time with Hal's thrusts, letting him set the pace, but meeting him equally.

  She let her hands explore the firm muscles of his forearms, then up to his shoulders and down his sides. Sweat covered him, oiling her fingers and making their bodies slippery against each other.

  She was close, so close. Her thighs fluttered as every thrust sent her closer and closer to the edge she'd denied herself for so long. Her orgasm hit her like glass shattering, sending shards of