Free Let's Pretend (Romantic Comedy, Contemporary, Second Chance, Sensual) by Monique DeVere Page A

had to slow things down because his body wanted to rush ahead and leave his mind behind. If he didn’t take control, this would be over way too soon.
    The problem was that when she kissed him like this, nipping at his bottom lip with her teeth before slipping her tongue into his mouth for him to suckle,   he didn’t feel capable of finding control.
    He growled, enveloping her in his arms, hugging her tight as he reclaimed control of the kiss. Months of celibacy seemed to enhance the heat surging through him. Was it always like this? This intense ? Like nothing mattered or even made sense except the sensation of Belle in his arms, the tingle of her kiss in his mouth? He stroked his tongue against hers in a primal message that pulled a deep moan from her as she sucked his tongue in a message of her own.
    Luc backed them up until he felt the bed behind him. He sat on the edge and pulled her between his legs. “I pray to God you know what you’re doing, Isobel.”
    She held his gaze and stroked his face. His evening stubble rasping against her palms sounded overly loud in the stillness of their room. Was his stubble too rough? He knew Belle’s skin was soft, and he’d given her beard burn once or twice before. Should he shave?
    He was about to ask when Belle smiled down at him, lightly ran her nails over his cheeks to his chin, and, as if reading his mind, said, “Don’t shave it off—I like it. It’s very sexy.” She brought her lips to his in a tease of a kiss. “ You are very sexy. And I’ve told you already. I know what I’m doing.”   
      “Good. Because I don’t think I can stop now.” Sinking his hands in her hair, he kissed her properly, enjoying the sensation of her silky robe moving smoothly against his naked inner thighs. Without him being fully aware, between them, he and Belle had removed most of his clothes, leaving only his black boxer briefs.
    Belle smoothed her hands over him as if she wanted to touch everywhere all at once. Her palms slid over his shoulders, over his deltoid and down to his biceps. She tightened her hands on the bulge of muscle and mewled against his mouth with renewed passion.
    He praised God his job forced him to stay fit. But he knew the extra hours he’d spent in the gym the last few months working off a hefty dose of frustration had given his body a more ripped appearance. From Belle’s reaction, she liked the result.
    Luc brought his hands to her waist, finding the knot in the silk belt. His hands shook as though it were the first time he’d unknotted a woman’s satin garment to reveal her naked body. He fumbled with the knot until it came loose a second before frustrated impatience set in.
    The thin satiny material of her negligee robe brushed against his hands as he separated the edges. Releasing Belle from the kiss, he dropped his gaze to take in the female body he had missed, the body that filled his dreams with liquid heat on a regular basis. As if in slow motion, his hands parted the robe far more leisurely than his eyes would have liked.
    When he finally saw her sexy body, the breath stalled in his throat. It seemed he wasn’t the only one putting in extra time at the gym. Belle had always been slim; her work schedule ensured that. But she’d been soft curves and slender limbs. Now her body sported toned feminine muscles on her stomach, arms, and thighs. Luc spanned her waist with his hands, running his thumbs over the ridge of her external obliques . Heat surged through him; his wife was hotter than he’d thought possible.        
    Belle sunk her fingers in his hair, letting her head fall back. The action brought her breasts inches from his face—his mouth. The full, dusky-pink tipped mounds invited his attention, and he wasted no time in complying. Nuzzling first one hardened peak then the other, he delighted in her deep moan of pleasure.
    Groaning, he pulled Belle onto the bed in a smooth move that had her on her back next to him without Luc