God, she’d missed this. So much. What was the harm in indulging just this once? Just one more time before it all ended?
She looked up to find him still focused on her. Against her better judgment, she opened her mouth. “Yes.”
He flipped the coin. She won. Without comment, he inserted the chosen disc into the machine and took his seat next to her.
Three hours later, Nick reached for the remote and turned the TV off.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” His hooded eyes rested on her face in a caressing look that sent her pulse thundering.
“No, it wasn’t,” she answered truthfully. She didn’t know whether it was the recollection of the old camaraderie they’d shared or the decision to let the truce run its course, see where it led them, but when she looked at him, she felt neither the sharp pain nor the bitter disappointment that lurked, ready to pounce.
Now all she remembered was how easily they’d shared laughter at the beginning of their marriage. She smiled at him and rose from her seat.
“I enjoyed it a lot, but I’m tired now. I think I’ll turn in. Good night—” Her words faltered when he grasped her wrist, imprisoning her with a firm, strong hand.
“Don’t go yet, it’s still early. Stay and share a nightcap with me.”
“Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She didn’t trust herself around him, especially when he was being laid-back and charming.
“Why not? The doctor said a small drink won’t interfere with your sleeping pills, so what’s the harm?”
She opted not to tell him she’d stopped taking the pills a couple of days ago. Thankfully, the one terrifying nightmare hadn’t returned. What she wasn’t thankful for was the feeling of knife-sharp hunger that accompanied going to bed, wishing for the strong arms Nick had wrapped around her when her nightmare had seized her.
The pleasure-pain that came with her longing for his warm body next to hers had made lying in the large bed upstairs so much harder to bear. It also didn’t help that her memories of the bliss she’d enjoyed there replayed like a never-ending movie every night.
The need not to experience it again so soon made her nod. “All right.”
His smile was pure, lethal charm. “White or red?”
“Red sounds great.” She sat back down and watched him stride over to the extensive drinks cabinet.
“Would you like to take them out on the terrace?” he asked as he came back toward her holding two filled wine glasses.
The chance to breathe in some fresh air and digest the mezedes, which Demetra had served halfway through their Trekkathon, was welcome. It always amazed her how much of the small dishes of assorted lamb, pastry, and stuffed vine leaves she could put away. At this rate, she’d regain the weight she’d lost in no time.
“Okay.” She preceded him onto the terrace. The view of the rising moon over the sea, creating a shimmering silver path, was breathtaking. She took a sip of her full-bodied claret and felt the slow burn of the liquid ease through her. Nick moved next to her and braced his shoulder against the stone pillar, his gaze fixed firmly on her face.
A soft breeze whispered through her light green cotton dress, making her aware of the cooling temperature. It also brought the sandalwood-tinged scent of Nick’s aftershave, coupled with the muskiness that was uniquely his. Recollection of what it was like to breathe in the warmth of his skin made her shiver.
He pounced on her reaction and moved closer. “Are you cold?”
“Um, no, not really—” His arm around her shoulders, drawing her into the warmth of his body, dried her words. She inhaled sharply, her whole being tightening in reaction to his touch. She felt the familiar flaring of her senses as her body’s antennae strained toward him. The wine goblet wobbled in her shaky hand. She took a huge sustaining gulp, then relinquished it without a fight when he took it from her.
Setting their glasses down on the terrace wall, he wrapped his other arm around her, his unwavering eyes on hers. Her heart tripped at the fierce arousal stamped on his face.
He pulled her closer, crushing her against him from chest to thigh.
After several weeks of self-imposed abstinence from alcohol and months of abstinence from him, the combination of wine and Nick shot her from sober to intoxicated within seconds. He’d been waiting, biding his time. She’d seen the barely concealed hunger with which he’d looked at her the past couple of days as she’d gotten stronger, and had chosen to believe she was imagining it.
But now his hunger was unleashed. She barely gulped in another breath before he lunged with the ferocity of a jungle predator.
The hand on her shoulder traced up her neck and sank into her hair, pulling her head back to tilt her face up to his. She lost herself in the molten silver of his eyes as, with a faint growl, he plunged down and took her mouth with his. The exquisite sensuality of his lips and the undeniable imprint of his arousal against her belly made arrows of sensation shoot through her. Her lips parted in a gasp.
He didn’t take advantage of the opening. Instead his tongue swirled over her upper and then her lower lip in lazy exploration. After endless minutes spent tasting her, he drew her lower lip fully into his mouth, sucked on her tender flesh until she whimpered with need. Feeling her bones turn liquid with desire, she clutched the sleek muscles of his back to stay upright.
When she thought she couldn’t stand another second of the torment, he plunged his tongue inside her mouth, commencing a furious duel with hers. Molten heat pooled between her legs. Her hands contracted, nails digging through his shirt and into his hard flesh. He groaned, and she felt his cock surge against her belly. His hand freed her hair to chart a path of fire down her neck. He traced the frenzied pulse there, then skimmed his hand down over her collarbone to palm one breast.
Her nipples peaked instantly in wanton invitation, eager to feel the rough abrasion of his thumb.