Champagne Cravings by Ava McKnight Page A

leave us?” I asked.
    He reached for me and pulled me into his arms. I wasn’t
hesitant to go. My arms wrapped around his neck as he held me in a tight
embrace. The feel of his hard body against mine was heavenly. His cologne was
an earthy, woodsy scent that made me think of making love in a meadow on a warm
spring day, the sun caressing our naked bodies.
    It did not escape my attention I couldn’t be this close to
him and not think of sex. He inspired erotic fantasies without even trying.
    His thoughts were a bit cleaner than mine. He said, “We take
our time, but agree to exclusivity.”
    The meadow melted into oblivion. Tension gripped me as a
warning sign flashed in my head.
    This is how people get hurt!
    “Come on, Lace,” he whispered in my ear. “Take a chance on
me.”
    “It’s not just you,” I murmured back. I had to take a chance
on me too.
    “We can do this.”
    With his fingers gently stroking my spine and his muscles
surrounding me, his scent arousing me as much as his touch, it was impossible
to say no. So I didn’t.
    My lips grazed his neck and he groaned. My fingers tangled
in his hair and I lifted my face as his head dipped and his mouth crashed down
on mine. He kissed me with the kind of red-hot passion that made my pulse race
and my head spin.
    Eventually, I dragged my mouth from his. “I don’t know how
we’re going to take this slow.” I was breathless and my heart hammered in my
chest. “You kiss me and I want to rip your clothes off.”
    He gave me the cocky grin that had ensnared me from the very
beginning, the one he’d flashed me after he’d punched Brandon in the nose for
humiliating me at Sharon’s wedding.
    “I wasn’t ruling out all physical contact,” he said with a
wink. “I can restrain myself from jumping your bones, but that doesn’t mean I
don’t want to touch you.”
    “How ironic that you’re more controlled than I am.”
    “Well, you haven’t had sex in three years.”
    “Sad to say.”
    Suddenly, he scooped me up in his arms, startling me. “I
have an idea.” That wicked glint returned to his eyes and it turned me on as
much as his passionate kiss. So much so, I couldn’t argue with him as he
carried me into the bedroom.

Chapter Five
    May I Have Another, Please?
     
    Mike set me in the middle of the bed and then toed off his
boots before joining me. He stretched alongside me and I admired his hunkiness
as the moonlight seeped in between the narrow gaps of my blinds.
    “Whatever you’re thinking, I already like it,” I told him. I
grabbed fistfuls of his T-shirt and tugged the material from the waist of his
jeans. He reached behind him, at the nape of his neck, and hauled the shirt
over his head, tossing it aside.
    A soft moan fell from my lips. He was positively
mouthwatering.
    The image of him standing naked and wet in my bathroom
flashed in my mind, causing me to reach for his button fly. He stopped me,
though, his hands closing over mine.
    “You’re the only one getting naked tonight, sweetheart.” His
tone was low and sensual, sending a ripple of excitement down my spine.
    He slipped my tank top over my head, sending it the way of
his shirt. My bra followed and he let out a sharp grunt as he gazed at me. A
large hand palmed my breast and he massaged it with just the right amount of
pressure to set off fireworks inside me. His head bent to my chest and his
tongue flicked over my hard nipple before he sucked the taut bud into his
mouth.
    “Mike.” I gasped as my insides lit up brighter than a Fourth
of July night sky.
    His mouth moved to the other nipple while he still kneaded
my breast with his hand and swept the pad of his thumb over the tight center.
My fingers plowed through his hair and my back arched as I attempted to get
closer to him. His hand left my breast and skimmed down my quivering stomach to
the drawstring at my waist. He pulled the bow apart and slid a hand past the
band. His fingers grazed my pussy lips through the satin