Derek’s huge bed beckoned to them when he carried her into his bedroom, but rather than lowering her to it, he set her gently on her feet beside it. Then he kissed her, over and over, until both of them were trembling and gasping for breath.
Summer moaned and burrowed deeper into his arms, her silky hair brushing the underside of his chin. “Oh, God, Derek, I was so frightened for you tonight. Please don’t ever frighten me like that again. I wouldn’t want to live if anything happened to you.”
Overwhelmed by her admission, Derek crushed her to him with a sound deep in his throat that might almost have been called a sob. “I love you, Summer. I love you so desperately,” he muttered in a voice raw with need.
“Oh, Derek.”
He held her for a moment longer, then stirred against her, anxious to be rid of the garments that separated them. He undressed her with loving care, sliding the rose silk blouse from her shoulders and kissing each inch of flesh that he exposed. Then he reached for the snap of her gray flannel slacks even as he tugged impatiently at his own garments. They were both nude when he finished. Threading his fingers into the hair around her face, he lowered his head to rub his lips over her eyelids and cheeks.
Luxuriating in his tender caresses, Summer sighed. She felt as if she’d known this man all her life, his thoughts, his fears, his pleasures. She pressed against his hardened thighs and smiled at the low groan of arousal her action drew from him. This was her man in her arms, she reminded herself wonderingly, and she had so much love to give him.
He needed her love, she thought happily. Incredibly, he needed her as much as she needed him.
Derek was trembling when he moved his hands to her creamy, upthrust breasts, then lowered his mouth to taste them. Summer closed her eyes and clung to him for support, her fingers curling into his shoulders as she arched into him. She swayed unsteadily as Derek moved slowly downward. Only her hands on his shoulders kept her from falling as he dropped to his knees to nuzzle her inner thighs.
“Ah, Derek,” she breathed, finally sinking to the edge of the bed. “You’re driving me wild.”
“Good,” he rasped. “I like you that way.”
And then he came to her in a rush of need and desire that drove her back into the soft mattress with a cry of pleasure.
Derek stroked and tasted and nibbled every inch of her eager body until Summer was blazing like a torch for him. Not content this time to lie still beneath his ministrations, she pushed him onto his back and explored his body with the same thorough attention. Derek shuddered beneath her touch, causing her to laugh as smugly as possible in a voice that was little more than a ragged exhale.
Unable to hold back any longer, he twisted until she was beneath him again, making a place for himself between her thighs. Summer welcomed him with a murmur of encouragement.
“I love you, Summer,” he whispered, even as he surged into her.
“I love you, Derek,” she managed before the power of speech left her entirely.
In the lovemaking that followed, Summer found a degree of physical exhilaration such as she had never experienced before—not even before her accident. She had once thought that dancing provided the ultimate physical freedom, as close to flying as possible without leaving the ground. Then Derek led her into a dramatic climax that gave her the sensation of spinning through space, weightless, carefree, unhampered by old injuries or fears. Freedom.
Much, much later Derek stirred against the pillow, pulling Summer closer to his side as they snuggled together beneath the geometric print bedspread. “Lady, you are good,” Derek murmured with gently teasing approval.
Summer smiled against his damp shoulder. “Thank you,” she answered primly. “You’re not bad yourself, Derek.”
“Olympic-class?”
“Not amateur.” She lifted her head to kiss his jaw. “Definitely not amateur.”
“Well, this old pro is about to sign an exclusive contract. For life.”
“That sounds nice,” she told him warmly. “Very nice.”
“Just don’t expect many more weeks like this past one,” he warned her. “I’m really a very conservative kind of guy, you understand.”
“Mmm.” She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, reserving comment on his questionable statement.
And then she lifted her head with a frown as a sudden thought occurred to her. “Speaking of conservative guys, what happened to Joel tonight?” she demanded.
Derek laughed softly but feigned ignorance. “What do you mean?”
“You know damn well what I mean. Just how long have you known Joel Tanner, Derek?”
“Six or seven years,” Derek replied casually.
“How did you meet him?”
“Let’s just say we were business associates.”