As Sandor’s touch ignited raging fires of need inside her, Ellie realized her former lover might have known more, but he had not been particularly good at lovemaking. And that knowledge took away some of the lingering sting the memories had on her emotions. If that man had been as good at evoking a response as Sandor, she would never have escaped the relationship relatively unscathed. She might not have escaped at all, despite what she’d learned back then.
At the time, she’d thought her heart was decimated by his calculation and betrayal, but five years on, she had to admit that it could have been so much worse. That truth served as a chilling reminder for the present, bringing her back to reality with a vicious jerk to her emotions. Because thiswas Sandor. Shedid love him and his potential to hurt her was beyond anything she’d ever known.
Terror coursed through her, cooling blood heated by wanton desire.
She’d learned to expect less from her dad, but would she ever be able to affect the emotional distance necessary to accept that kind of relationship with Sandor? She didn’t want to, even if she could. She didn’t want a half-life in her marriage. She wanted something fully vibrant between them. But was that a fool’s dream?
“What is the matter?” He was looking at her face now, his expression marred by a slight frown.
She blinked and stared at him realizing he’d stopped touching her completely. “Nothing.”
But it was a lie. Worries were pounding inside her mind with painful frequency and power. He could hurt her. So much. Was letting him make love to her the smartest thing she could do? Did she want to give him a bigger hold on her heart than he already had?
He wanted to marry her, the side of her brain that housed her libido reminded her with strident urgency. He wasn’t going to leave her in the dust. But her first lover had wanted to marry her, too. Only his reasons hadn’t been what he’d said they were, or what she needed them to be. Love had not even been a minor variable in the equation.
“You were thinking of something else,” Sandor said, not willing to let it drop.
“And that bothers you?”
“Considering what we are doing. Yes.”
“Ah, male ego. No need for yours to get dented. I was thinking about you.” The words this time weremore sarcastic than she intended, but she felt powerless to change her tone.
His dark brows drew together, but he did not pull away. “Right now, I want you beingwith me…thinking only ofthis. ”
She wasn’t expecting another assault to her senses so quickly. Probably because her thoughts and feelings were so divergent, she expected his to be impacted as well. But Sandor knew what he wanted and he went for it.
This was a kiss so carnal, it shattered her fears and her ability to think, leaving her reeling in a maelstrom of need she could not navigate. This was touching and caressing that left her mindless with need and so incoherent she didn’t even realize she had been undressed until she was naked and being carried to her bedroom in Sandor’s strong arms. She must have done some clothing removal herself because his torso was fully exposed and his bare feet slapped against the hardwood floors of her apartment.
Her body burned with the need to fuse with his and she pressed against him as if she could achieve it in that position.
“Yes, go wild for me, Eleanor. You are everything a man could wish for.”
“Ellie,” she gasped, needing him to call her by the name she preferred, the one that in her mind fit the true woman she was. This was too intimate for the formal name no one but her father used anymore.
Dark eyes glittered into hers. “Ellie.” Then he said a short Greek word that carried a wealth of meaning.Mine .
He was claiming her and right that second she could not gainsay him. She needed him more than the air she breathed…she did belong to him. At least for tonight.
Pressing feverish kisses along his collarbone, up his neck and along his jaw, she refused to think. She could only feel. Emotions deep inside, physical pleasure along every nerve ending, joy and purpose radiating off of Sandor. It all mixed together in a combustible package that rocked her to her very soul. She had been born for this moment and she would revel in its splendor.
“Sandor…” She licked under his jaw.
He growled and fell on the bed with her. She landed in a sprawl on top of him, but he quickly flipped her over and took her mouth. She opened her lips, inviting his tongue and deepening the kiss. He rubbed his lower body against hers and she went rigid with shock at the pleasure.
He’d gotten rid of his pants with the rest of his clothes and his erection was touching a place no one else had gotten near in five years. It felt amazing. He was rock-hard and yet the skin was soft and felt totally delicious pressing against her most feminine place.