Slow Burn (A Madaris Family Novel) Read online

  She scrambled like heck to restore her brain cells, the ones that had literally gotten fried when she’d seen him at the airport, but found that she couldn’t. And when he came to a stop directly in front of her, she saw how his nostrils were flaring as if he had picked up her scent.

  “We’re alone, Skye,” he said huskily. The rich baritone of his voice caused heat to form between her legs, and she didn’t have to figure out why. There was something about Slade that connected to her, reached out to her, and started her entire body to react on all levels. She was attuned to him like she’d never been to another man, and his proximity had tingles invading her entire body.

  She swallowed. “Yes, we’re alone,” she agreed.

  He leaned down to kiss her, immediately invading her mouth with his tongue, and she was right on it, quick and eager to take everything he was offering. She participated, sucked on his tongue like it was something she had missed doing the past couple of weeks. And it had been. Each time she remembered their kisses, this was the part she remembered the most—all the tongue play they had shared. But she had a feeling they were about to share something else. And it was something she needed and so badly wanted.

  “You taste good,” he whispered, pulling back slightly, dotting the side of her face with his kisses. “It’s even better than I remembered.” And then he was staring at her, holding her gaze with his seductive one as if he was determined for her to read what was in his eyes. She knew he wanted for her to see only assurances. No doubts.

  And what she saw took her breath away. There was an overwhelming sense of longing in his gaze. She had never encountered this level of desire, a height filled with such intensity. The air surrounding them was becoming too intimate, too cozy, too downright tension-filled. She wanted to look away, break his hold on her captured gaze, but she found herself incapable of doing so. She was too sexually attracted to him.

  Then he slowly reached out and ran his fingers through her hair while still holding her gaze. He pulled on her hair and gently tugged her mouth to his. He didn’t kiss her again; instead he whispered words against her moist lips. “I want to make love to you, Skye.”

  His voice was raw with desire and need. She heard it, felt it, could actually taste it against her lips. Awareness stirred within her and she could barely stand the heat escalating up her body from it. Goose bumps covered her skin from top to bottom, and at that moment she knew she wanted the same thing Slade wanted.

  She didn’t bother questioning why this was happening to her. How Slade had the ability to do this to her, make a perfectly rational person act totally irrational. If she was drunk, then she wasn’t ready to sober up yet. And if this was insane, then you could just call her stone crazy.

  She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, brought her body closer to his, felt the intensity of his need for her in the lower part of her body as she looked deep into the darkness of his eyes. “And I want to make love to you, too, Slade,” she whispered against his lips.

  As if her consent was just what he’d been waiting for, he bent his head again, captured her mouth with his, and wrapped his arms around her waist to draw her even closer.

  As if he wasn’t about to be hurried, as if he had all night and then some time to make love to her, he savored her mouth once more. Each stroke of his tongue was gentle, greedy, yet as close to perfection as a kiss could get. And she shivered in his arms under the onslaught of what he was doing to her.

  Moments later Slade broke off the kiss and took a step back to remove his jacket. Then he reached out to unbutton her top. He was glad there were just a few buttons. Only four of them, in fact, and each one he set free showed more and more of the colorful lace bra she wore underneath. And when he removed her blouse and tossed it aside, he saw how the fullness of her breasts was pressed against lace. He reached out and used the tip of his finger to trace the outline of her breasts, stroking the tips of her nipples through the material in the process, and heard her breath catch more than once.

  Deciding he wanted to finish undressing her in the bedroom, he swept her off her feet and into his arms. Quickly moving around furniture, he made his way across the living room and down the hall to one of the bedrooms. This particular condo was perfect for her, and he’d known it the moment he had made the offer, not to mention it was conveniently right across the hall from his—something she wasn’t aware of yet.

  The only other condo on this floor was owned by a man who spent most of his time traveling abroad, so from the time Slade had lived here, it was as if he’d had the entire floor to himself. Now he had no qualms about sharing it with Skye.

  Skye released her arms from around Slade’s neck the moment he placed her on the huge bed. She glanced around. The bedroom was simply beautiful, and she could immediately tell it had a designer’s touch. Slade had said this condo was used as a model to show others interested in purchasing other condos in the building. The furnishings and the design had been meticulously well thought out to capture the opulent taste of anyone who truly liked nice things. Skye could just imagine how much a place like this cost, considering the view you got from your living room window every morning.

  The feel of Slade’s hand tracing a path down her jean leg captured her attention. “It’s time for these to come off, don’t you think?” he asked in a deep, husky voice.

  Skye really didn’t know what to think. Whenever Slade touched her it was as if she was launched into a state of being where she was incapable of thinking at all. She could only feel. From the first, he had awakened feelings and emotions deep inside of her that she hadn’t known existed. Thanks to him, she wanted to feel; she wanted to experience the wonders of life between a man and a woman. It was an opportunity she had been fully denied until now. When she thought of what she and Wayne had shared, she knew it wouldn’t be anything compared to this. All she had to do was stare into the darkness of Slade’s eyes to know that he would be the most considerate of lovers. It would matter to him how she felt and what she thought. There was no doubt in her mind that in his arms she would be receiving many wondrous lessons. A frisson of heat zinged through her body at the thought of all the things he could teach her.

  “Skye?”

  She smiled as he continued to hold her gaze. “Yes, I agree. It’s time for them to come off.”

  She swallowed hard when his hand reached out and went to her waist to unsnap her jeans. The moment his fingers brushed against her stomach, she sucked in a deep breath.

  The sound had him glancing up at her after he’d removed her shoes. “You okay?”

  “Yes, I’m okay.”

  He nodded. “Lift your hips so I can pull them down your legs.”

  She did what he asked, glad of two things. First, that they weren’t skintight and he didn’t have to struggle to peel them off her, and second, that she had decided to get rid of the plain Jane white panties and bras and purchase some colorful matching ones. According to the salesclerk, the color of the panties and bra Skye was wearing was an exotic lime. She’d liked the sexy sound of that, and she had liked even more how the color seemed to bring out the complexion of her skin.

  She watched Slade toss her jeans aside, and then he reached out his hand to her. On her knees she crossed the mattress’ short distances to him, and he pulled her into his arms, held her gently. “I like what you’re wearing,” he whispered hotly against her ear. “But I have a feeling I will like you even better not wearing anything at all.”

  Before she could even try to think of anything to say to that, he released her and took a step back, and Skye knew that he was about to remove his own clothes. A part of her was curious, fascinated. She had never seen a man undress before, not even Wayne. He’d claimed that wasn’t the way things were done. He had enjoyed seeing her undress for him but had never undressed for her, and never had he made an attempt to undress her.

  Her attention came to full alert when she saw Slade’s hand go to the belt buckle of his jeans. The movement was as
easy and smooth as anything she’d ever seen. There was nothing mechanical, staged, or planned in anything he was doing. Being sexy came natural for him.

  “Do you prefer that I take my shirt off first?”

  His question had her looking up, meeting his gaze. It was her opinion that it didn’t matter what came off first, as long as something came off. Shaking her head, she said what she knew he would probably say to her if she had been the one asking the question. “Do whatever makes you comfortable. The decision is yours.”

  She then decided to add just so that he would know, “I’ve never seen a man undress while I watched before.”

  “Not even the man you were to marry?” he asked, and she could tell from the sound of his voice and the expression on his face that he was clearly shocked.

  “Yes, not even the man I was supposed to marry. He had a different view on sex than most people.”

  “Doesn’t sound like it was a good one. That’s really sad.”

  Skye agreed. But until now she never thought about just how sad it was. She had gotten used to Wayne’s habits, his unusual take on things. Now she was glad she didn’t have to deal with them…or him… again.

  “So, Slade Madaris, what’s your view on sex?”

  The promising grin he sent her was slowly building fire in her body. “It’s hard to explain. Besides, I’d rather show you.”

  And she wanted him to show her. From the moment he had opened the door to Justin and Lorren’s home a few weeks ago, his presence had affected her, and when she had returned home, she’d had a gut feeling as to why. And today seeing him again only reconfirmed it.

  She loved him.

  She was not one who would normally believe in love at first sight. Skye Barclay, daughter of Tom and Edith Barclay, was too no-nonsense to even consider something like that happening.

  But deep down, Skye knew that it had. With a tenderness she had found endearing and a sense of caring she had discovered was such an ingrained part of his character, without even trying, Slade had captured a huge chunk of her heart. To be totally honest, he had ensnared all of it. He had shown her that all men weren’t cut from the same cloth. And that in itself said a lot.

  Her attention was drawn back to Slade’s hand movement. Evidently he’d made a decision to remove his shirt first, and she watched as he went about performing the task.

  “I might as well warn you,” he said softly as he removed the shirt from his body and tossed it aside.

  “What?” she breathed out, but just barely. Shirtless, he was a fantasy come to life. There was no other way to describe him with his flat chest, muscled shoulders, lean and strong-looking body.

  “I’ve been thinking of making love to you for some time. You, Skye Barclay, have invaded my dreams quite a lot.”

  She decided to be honest with him as well. “It can’t be any more often than you’ve invaded mine,” she said softly.

  He smiled at her admission and she watched his hand return to his belt. “Then the rest of the day should be interesting.”

  There was no doubt in her mind that it would be. He pulled the belt through the loops and then went for the zipper of his jeans. He paused to bend over to remove his socks and boots and toss them aside. When he straightened back up, he gave her a smile that had her entire body drumming with both tension and desire.

  Then her heartbeat began hammering in her chest when he started easing the jeans down his muscular thighs and strong legs, exposing the sexy pair of black briefs he wore, briefs that could barely cover the evidence of the rigid, hard length of his aroused body. Not that it mattered. The heat in his eyes was another clear indication of just how sexually stimulated he was.

  “Now we need to remove the last of our clothing, don’t we?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She couldn’t think of a time she’d even wanted to get out of her clothes more.

  Wordlessly he crossed the room back to the bed, holding her gaze with every step he took. When he was close to her, he leaned his hip against the bed frame and reached out and unhooked the front of her bra. The firm and full breasts jutted forward, the darkened tips of her nipples protruding proudly. Taking his finger, he began caressing each tip. And when her breathing escalated to an almost unbearable height and the low whimpers started, he took his full hand and cupped her breasts and began massaging them gently before taking his fingers to caress the nipples all over again.

  “Slade.” She said his name in a shaky breath.

  “Yes, Skye?”

  “Stop torturing me.”

  He smiled. “Is that what I’m doing?”

  “Yes.”

  He gave her a lopsided grin. “There’re several degrees of torture, you know.”

  And to prove his point, he dipped his head down and let the tip of his tongue replace his finger. The moment he closed his mouth over her breast she moaned deep in her throat as he vigorously began licking the hardened bud, which seemed to grow even harder, making it more distended in his mouth. Moments later he transferred his mouth to the other breast and provided it with his same brand and degree of torture.

  The sexy moans and groans she was making were sending him over the top, pushing him over the edge. He lifted his head and whispered in her ear, “Tell me when you’ve had enough.”

  She didn’t hesitate in saying, “I’ve had enough.”

  “Umm, that’s too soon.” He then eased her back on the bed. “We haven’t even gotten started good yet.” He then reached out and slid her panties down her legs.

  When she lay naked before him, Slade had to grip the edge of the bed to keep the rumble of desire that was spreading rapidly through his body from overtaking his control. Never had he wanted to make love to anyone like he wanted to make love to Skye. He reached and gently rubbed a hand over her bare belly, feeling the shiver that passed through her beneath his hand.

  He then trailed his fingers across her stomach, as if to brand the letter S into her skin. His fingers then moved lower until they reached the area between her legs, and then he eased his finger into the moistness of her womanhood.

  “Now you’ve really done it,” she warned breathlessly.

  He smiled. “Trust me, baby. I haven’t done anything yet.” And with that said, he began gently stroking her in a way no man had stroked her before.

  Another shiver ran down Skye’s spine with Slade’s intimate caress, and she dug her hands into the bedspread to keep her sanity. The logical side of her brain tried to convince her that making love wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be over before these sorts of feelings could overtake your mind.

  But not with Slade. He was slow, exceedingly thorough, and painstakingly torturous in his dealings with her.

  “Earlier you asked what was my view on sex.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on her bare belly. “This,” he said, cupping her feminine mound, “is the best view I’ve ever seen.”

  He placed kisses along her inner thigh before pulling back to remove the last of his clothing. Afterward, he stood before her naked and aroused as he retrieved his wallet out of his jeans and pulled out a condom packet and then proceeded to sheathe himself.

  He walked back over to the bed and eased his body onto it. The first thing he went for was her lips. His tongue slid between them in an invitation that she readily accepted, devouring her mouth with a need that he felt all through to his bones.

  Now that he was getting satisfied with the taste of her, he wanted to go further and get inside of her. He eased his body in position over hers. He wanted her to feel his need and began rubbing the hardness of his aroused member against the apex of her thighs and could feel her shudder in his mouth. And then she was taking over the kiss, sucking and stroking his tongue like her life depended on doing so, and helplessly he groaned deep within his throat.

  Not being able to handle any more, he tore his mouth from hers and breathed in deeply. He stared down at her. “What are you trying to do to me?” he asked huskily, fighting to get the word
s out.

  “Torture you like you’re torturing me.”

  His face was an aroused mask. “The torture ends. Are you ready?”

  She smiled back up at him. “Yes, I’m ready.” She lifted her hips automatically to receive him.

  He remained still above her, holding himself in check, for one short second before sliding into her slowly, holding her gaze while he did so and watching the display of pleasure reflected in her features the deeper he went. She felt stretched and full and he felt hard and was getting even harder.

  Instinctively she wrapped her legs around his hips when Slade began moving, thrusting into her once, twice, over and over, getting lost in the pleasure of being inside of her to a degree he had never before done with any other woman. He threw his head back and a deep guttural moan forced its way through his clenched teeth. It was as if this was where he belonged and where he always wanted to be, in a place that was uniquely hers and was quickly becoming exclusively his. His heart pounded ferociously against his ribs at the very thought.

  He leaned down and recaptured her lips, taking her mouth with a hunger that sent shivers through him and at the same time drugged his mind with what they were sharing. Delicious sensations overtook him at the slow, rhythmic pace he set while showing her how to move her body in sync with his. Each thrust seemed to stroke and tease, and she arched her hips to mate with his own. He released her mouth to begin whispering intimate words into her ear and described in detail just how she made him feel.

  When he felt her entire body shudder, indicating she was drowning in sheer ecstasy, he quickened the pace and locked his legs around her and held tight. His release came as a powerful orgasm rammed into him.

  He called out her name the same time she cried out his; the sensations that were tearing into him were so intense, his body seemed to go into a super-shock mode as waves and waves of pleasure washed over him, seemingly non-stop.