He freed himself from his boxers while he muttered, ‘Protection.’
She stared into his eyes for a beat longer than he expected before she said, ‘Got it covered.’
Praise be to heaven for that.
No more waiting, no time to think. He plunged into her hot slippery sex in one swift glide. He knew it was only physical but the groan that erupted seemed to come from the very depths of his being.
Clamping her legs around his waist, she answered with a low keening sound of her own and latched onto his shoulders, her fingernails digging hard into his flesh. He relished the exquisite pain, returning the favour with lips and tongue and teeth on the delicate fragrant skin beneath her jaw.
She was the sweet new temptation of a spring morning, the sultry seductress of summer’s heat. And wherever he led, she kept pace with him. To places of hot, dark pleasures and whirling dervishes and erotic delights.
He told himself it was all need and greed and speed yet…for an infinitesimal hiatus, there was a lifetime in her eyes. But there was no time to puzzle it, less to wonder. He drove faster, harder, until he heard her cry out as she came, the wonder of it as he lost himself inside her.
For a long moment he rested his head on her breast, listening to her heart’s rapid pounding, his own heart beating in his ears while they both came down to earth. What had just happened here? Was this intensity normal? Surely it hadn’t been so long he’d forgotten what it was like?
‘You okay?’ he murmured, moving his lips over her skin. He looked into her eyes.
She blinked at him. ‘Mm-mm.’ It was a lazy, satisfied sound. ‘I reckon so.’
‘I think I can just about feel my legs again. What say we find somewhere a little more comfortable?’ Without waiting for an answer he carried her across the patio and inside.
He set her on her feet in front of the white leather couch and stared at her. With only the underwater lights from the pool beyond the window to lend them light, awe and…something more…filled him.
She was a picture of perfection. Her lips were ripe, full, thoroughly kissed, her eyes wide and soulful, her long bare legs, dainty feet crammed in the sexiest pair of shoes he’d ever seen. Who was this dishevelled Sophie with her hair a tangled dark halo, her nipples pinched in the cool air? ‘Are you cold?’
Sophie looked into his eyes and wondered who this woman was that she’d suddenly become. And how could she be cold bathed in all that stunning heat? She shook her head. ‘But there is a problem here.’
He frowned. ‘What?’
‘I’m the only one naked. Hardly seems fair.’
A slow smile touched his lips. ‘You’re probably right.’
Her gaze drifted down his dishevelled torso. His shirt was crushed, his trousers hung open and low on his hips. She reached for his top shirt button. ‘My turn, I think.’
She worked the rest of his buttons, then she was dragging the shirt aside so she could see if her dream lived up to the reality. To splay her hands over hard, bronzed skin sprinkled with dark hair. ‘So hot,’ she murmured, then leaned forward to press a kiss over his heart and feel the strong beat beneath her lips.
Still stroking his skin with its hard muscle beneath, she flicked her tongue around a tight male nipple. A tingle of salt, a whiff of masculine soap, the unique scent that was Jared. Sliding her hands over his shoulders, she eased the shirt off his arms. The immediate urgency over for the next few moments at least, she continued her journey of exploration in a leisurely, indulgent fashion.
Enjoying her newly discovered feminine power, she tugged the waistband lower and ordered, ‘Everything off. Now.’
‘Bossy little creature, aren’t you?’ he murmured, voice tinged with amusement.
When he’d obliged, she took a moment to admire the view. Gorgeous. Perfect. She had to touch. So many places. So many textures. He reigned over Michelangelo’s David any day… Venice, Rome.
Her joy in the moment slipped a little. Soon she’d be far from here and this would be a memory. And it could never be anything more with him. This afternoon with baby Arabella had confirmed she’d never be the woman for Jared.
Oh, but what if she could? Rather than meet his gaze, she pressed her lips to his chest. What if he didn’t care that she couldn’t have kids? What if he could love her for who she was and it would be enough?
Love? She yanked herself back. Whatever was she thinking?
‘Regrets?’
‘Oh, no.’ Now she met his eyes. ‘No. I was thinking, that’s all.’
‘Sad thoughts.’ He slid his arms around her and held her close. And his skin when it touched hers was like fire, intensely arousing yet quietly comforting at the same time.