“Really?” Adam’s brows arched.
“Really.”
“You plan weddings. Marriage ought to be the first thing on your mind.”
“Or the last,” she said.
“You see hundreds of couples pledging their last breath to love. You design the perfect gown and give the fantasy wedding to strangers. And not once have you ever imagined it would one day be your turn?”
Teddy hesitated a long time. “I did once,” she said. “The first gown I ever designed was the one I wanted to be married in.”
“The groom?”
She smiled briefly. “There was no groom. Only my fantasy of the perfect man. But I made the gown, added the finest lace. It was perfect, inside and out, and it fit every part of me.”
“I bet you were a beautiful bride. I’d like to see it.”
Teddy was shaking her head before Adam finished his sentence.
“Why not?” His arms tightened around her.
“I sold it.”
“Why?”
“After I finished it, I took it into the office for Diana to see. She insisted I put it on. While I was dressing, a client came in. Diana was helping her when I came back. The woman saw the gown and loved it. She loved it so much tears rolled down her face. She wanted to buy it. Diana told her it wasn’t for sale, but she kept asking what we’d sell it for. She was willing to pay anything. The business was new. We needed the money.”
“So you sold it?”
“I sold it.”
“Regrets?”
“For a while, but not anymore.”
“Now you’re a cynic?”
Teddy laughed. “Me? What about you?”
“Okay, we’re both cynics,” he agreed.
“It’s a good thing we found each other.”
“You know you are the most intriguing woman I’ve ever met?” he said.
“Really?” Teddy smiled. “Why is that?”
“I never know what you’re thinking or what you’re going to say.”
Teddy nodded, an impish smile on her face.
“And you like that?” Adam asked.
“Absolutely.”
Adam looked at her for a long time before he said, “Yeah.” But he didn’t stop staring at her. His eyes made Teddy warm. She saw the heat there, watched it build into desire. Her mouth went dry, and it was hard to swallow. She endured his gaze as that now-familiar blanket of warmth settled over her. She knew the heat between them would build. This time there was more. She wanted more. Anticipation, need, want. She had many names for it, but she wanted him. The slow cravings inside her spoke of arousal. Her body ached for his. She wanted his mouth on hers, his body working its primal magic with hers. She wanted to feel the weight of him, know that sweet moment of initial penetration. And she wanted to take it all the way.
Then he leaned forward. His eyes dropped to her mouth and settled there for a charged moment. Teddy licked her lips, unable to stop herself from wetting the dryness. Adam kissed her lightly, his lips brushing hers, but she felt the world tilt. She tasted the coffee from their breakfast on his mouth. It acted as an elixir, a fantastic drug with powers to transform her into the wanton tigress that was waking inside her.
The intimacy was tantalizing. Hands slipped under her hair and lifted her head to his.
Teddy’s body went soft and liquid. She felt pliable, her movements like syrup, able to flow into the contours of Adam’s frame as he brought her closer. Her arms, which still had substance, circled his neck, and she closed the small space separating them, connecting their mouths.
His lips changed from the soft, teasing kiss to a hard, hungry one. Adam bent her over his arm, his mouth locked on hers possessively, demanding acquiescence. Heat burned between them. Teddy gave as she got, embracing him, loving the feel of his body as her hands roamed the muscles of his back, muscles that contracted and relaxed under her sensitive fingers.
Heat built between them like the onslaught of a forest fire. Their heads bobbed one way, then the other. Teddy slid under Adam and he slid over her in a choreographed movement. His heavier frame pressed her deep into the sofa cushions. The length of him spread over her, his erection pushing against her stomach. Need sang in her veins. Adam’s tongue invaded her mouth, searing her to him so tightly her breath ran out.