Free High Maintenance by Lia Fairchild Page A

throbbing heat between her thighs made its presence known. She reached for his neck, pulling his mouth back to hers for another kiss, this one intense and needy. She parted her lips, inviting his tongue in to discover her mouth. The starry ceiling glowed above them like a canopy. The kiss grew more passionate by the second, becoming so overwhelming that Lexy pulled back to catch her breath. In a way, it frightened her that her reaction to Tate’s kiss was so powerful, nothing like she’d ever experienced before.
    Their eyes locked just long enough for Lexy to see a look in Tate’s eyes that set her on fire with lust and had her chest heaving. It was all Tate needed as confirmation. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her tight against his firm body, meeting their lips once again. As he kissed her, he ran a hand down her back, over her ass, stopping under her thigh. He pulled her leg over his hip, then smoothed his hand under the backside of her skirt, pressing her body deeper into him.
    The feeling of him hard and pressed between her legs worked Lexy into a hot mess. The room spun and not from the alcohol. One touch in the right spot and she might not last. But, she wasn’t ready to let go just yet. She needed her release to be with Tate deep inside of her, relieving that burning ache by filling her up.
    Tate’s mouth left hers and slid to her neck just below her ear. “You know I wanted you the first moment I saw you,” he whispered. Then, as if reading her mind, his lips went to every spot she needed them. First, he pulled down her strapless top, exposing her bare breasts. He froze for a moment, seemingly struck by the sight of them. He rubbed his thumb slowly across one of her nipples, driving her insane with want before he lowered his mouth to it. He cupped one side as he deliberately licked and sucked it into his mouth. Lexy dug her fingers into his hair as he worked magic on her, bringing her so close to the edge. “Tate,” she murmured. He lowered his hand down, reaching inside her panties, feeling her warmth, sliding his fingers across the wetness he’d elicited in her. “Oh, God, Tate.”
    Hearing his name again, he lifted his head and gave her a hint of that smile she loved so much. “You keep saying my name like that, and I’ll fucking lose it.” He took the moment to lift his shirt over his head in one swift motion, revealing a smooth, rigid chest that Lexy admired and noted was so different from Julian’s wiry frame. She reached up and ran a hand down his chest, following a thin line of hair down his stomach and to the top of his jeans.
    She tugged on them playfully. “Hold on a sec.”
    She rolled to her side, grabbing the sound machine as she got up from the bed. She set it down on the side table and quickly opened the drawer, snatching out a condom and setting it on the bed.
    “Wait,” Tate said when Lexy started to move back onto the bed. She then realized she was still half covered. “I want to see every inch of you first.”
    One corner of Lexy’s mouth turned up as she slowly pulled down her skirt and let it fall to the floor. The strapless top that had been lowered down went along with it, leaving her standing in only a black lace thong. She watched as his eyes devoured every curve of her body.
    “The rest,” Tate said, not taking his eyes off of her.
    Lexy’s insides reignited at his commanding words and she complied.
    “Shit, Kitten. You’re amazing…so beautiful.” Tate got off the bed and moved in behind her. He slid his hands around her waist and up to her breasts, where he stroked them eagerly and ravaged her neck with slow sensual kisses. With her pulse racing, she hooked her arm around his neck, turned her head, and pulled his mouth to hers, hoping to satiate her hunger for him.
    Tate broke from the heated kiss, pulled off his jeans and boxers, and then swiftly pulled her against him with one arm around her waist. His steely length pressed against her backside,