‘Tell me,’ he said, because he needed to hear the words. ‘Tell me what you want, baby.’
Holly caught her lip between her teeth. He was killing her with the touch of his hands, with the heat of his kisses. She was shimmering, glowing, turning into a flame more radiant than any that blazed on the hearth.
She drew back in his arms and looked up at him. ‘Make love to me,’ she murmured. ‘Touch me. Kiss me, taste me…’
The primitive sexuality of her words shot through him like a pulse of flame. The girl he’d been married to would never have said such a thing. Sex had been incredible between them, but he’d always been the one who’d initiated it, who’d whispered words that had brought a blush to Holly’s cheeks. She had been responsive, yes, but she’d never asked for anything.
Instinct warned him that she would not hesitate to ask, now. It made what lay ahead all the more exciting.
He unzipped her ski jacket and slipped it from her shoulders, doing it slowly, dropping his head to kiss her arched throat and brush his mouth over hers. Then he knelt before her and unlaced her boots. He slid them from her feet, one at a time; stripped off her socks; lifted each foot and kissed the tender arch, the delicate toes.
He undid her jeans, and they fell in a rough tangle at her feet. She stepped free of them, and he reached forward and drew her sweater over her head.
Now, she was almost naked.
Almost naked, before a man for the first time in so many years. Holly trembled at the realization. There’d been opportunities, but never the desire. What would Nick say, if he knew she hadn’t been with a man since him?
Her own vulnerability terrified her.
Nick was just standing there, looking at her. Why didn’t he say something? Do something? Once, he’d never been able to keep from touching her. Had the years wrought so many changes? Was she a disappointment, after all this—?
Her breath caught as he reached out and stroked his hand down her cheek, her throat, her shoulder…her breast.
‘Holly,’ he whispered. ‘Holly, my love.’
Slowly, he opened the front clasp of her bra. Her breasts tumbled free and he saw her reach, automatically, to cover herself.
‘No,’ he said, and caught her wrists. ‘Let me look at you.’
He could look at her for ever, if she’d only let him.
She was so beautiful.
Creamy skin. Perfect, rose-tipped breasts. The cambered slope that led to the gentle rise of her belly.
He hooked his thumbs into her panties, slowly slid them down her hips. And he looked at her again, his eyes feasting on her breasts, on the graceful curve of her waist, the roundness of her hips, the golden delta between her thighs.
Need for her raced through him like a flood through a ravine. He whispered her name and gathered her into his arms, lifting her, cradling her, as she put her hands on his shoulders and opened her mouth to the heat of his.
‘Yes,’ she said, against his lips. ‘Nick, please, oh, please…’
He wanted to slow down. For her sake. Hell, for his. It was just the way it was when they were kids, on that hot summer day they’d ridden his old Honda to Gailey’s Pond and he’d undressed her, seen her, touched her for the very first time.
This was different. There was no rush…
With a ragged groan, Nick tumbled down to the blankets with Holly in his arms.
‘Now,’ he said, and his hands and hers fumbled at the zip on his jeans, freed his hot, aching flesh, guided it to hers…
He entered her on one long, hard, heart-stopping thrust.
She cried out and arched against him. His head fell back and he thrust deeper.
And, after so many years of being alone and apart, they were one.
* * *
When he figured he had enough energy to stand, Nick got up and took off his clothing.
Holly watched through half-lowered eyelids.
‘Mmm,’ she said. A smile played across her lips. ‘Very nice.’
He flushed. She’d seen him naked a thousand times before. Still, there was the feeling that this was their first time together.
‘All testimonials welcome,’ he said, with a smile. He came down beside her and took her into his arms. ‘You’re even more beautiful than I remembered.’
‘Thank you.’
She said it so seriously that Nick’s brows lifted. ‘Thank you?’
‘Well…’ Holly blushed. ‘Six years is a long time. I haven’t gotten any younger, you know.’
‘Ah. Well, that’s true. I suppose a man can’t expect too much from an old broad of twenty-five… Hey!’ Grinning, he rolled her onto her back and pinned her hands gently over her head. ‘You’ve got sharp elbows, you know that?’