Mark scrambled to his rucksack and located the foil packet. He moved quickly as if he’d left a live bomb ready to detonate in the middle of the room. Tearing it open, he covered himself and turned back to Amy. Their eyes locked briefly before her gaze swept over him, the rise and fall of her chest ticked up a notch.
“I like being able to see you,” she said.
Her words drove home the fact that she wanted him, not a faceless escape. And he couldn’t hold back. Mark closed the space between them and lifted her up, guiding her legs until they wrapped around his hips. With one palm on each cheek, he raised her higher. Then he lowered her down, entering her slowly.
Amy’s hands gripped his upper arms, her gaze moving over his muscles. Her tongue touched her lower lip, and he felt the inner walls of her hot, wet core tighten around him. The way she looked at him, as if every inch of his body turned her on, left him struggling to hold back.
He should carry her to the bed. But it was too far. He wouldn’t last, not with her thighs squeezing his hips as she raised and lowered herself.
“Amy,” he growled.
She looked up, her eyes wild and fierce. This was a woman who knew what she wanted, who claimed it. Knowing that right now she wanted him, that she had chosen him—something inside him snapped.
Mark captured her mouth, kissing her hard and deep as he carried her to the door. Supporting her against the wooden surface, he drew back, needing to see her as he drove into her over and over.
“Look at me,” he said.
Her nails dug into his arms, tempering the overwhelming pleasure rocketing through his body with the slightest hint of pain. Her legs held tight, but she no longer fought to control the motions, letting him take over as he pushed her closer to the brink.
He felt the moment her body tightened around him. He saw it in her eyes. She let out a low moan, a sound he knew would be burned into his memory.
“Come with me,” she said.
His jaw clenched as the first spasm shook him, his body ready and willing to follow her orders. He kept his eyes open, letting her watch as the sensations ripped through him. Emotions followed as if surfing the waves of his orgasm, leaving behind words and desires that did not belong in this moment.
Mine. Don’t let her go.
Mark rested his forehead against the door, closing his eyes. He’d meant to do this right, to lay her down on the bed and make love to her. Amy ought to be cherished, not taken up against the door in a frantic mating. This should have been about her, damn it. He knew she’d come, but that wasn’t enough.
“I’m sorry,” he said, slowly stepping back, holding his breath as he waited for her to pick up her clothes and run away again. After the way he’d given in to his desires, he deserved to be left alone to battle his need to keep her.
“For what?” she asked, her voice still breathless as if she was just now finding her way back to reality.
“I didn’t mean for it to be like this.”
She took his hand, leading him past the pile of clothes on the floor, to the bed. Releasing him, she lay down on her side, one elbow bent with her head resting in her palm.
“If you think you can do better,” she said, her voice filled with a sensual promise. “Show me.”
17
AMY PATTED THE MATTRESS with her free hand as her challenge hung in the air between them. Stretching her legs, allowing her thighs to rub together, she drew his gaze to the parts of her that begged for more. She couldn’t imagine anything better than the feel of his powerful body pushing into her with her back up against the door. His lovemaking had felt urgent and necessary, as if waiting would deplete them both of what they needed.
But then he’d apologized while she was lost in the aftershocks of an orgasm. The parts of her still reeling from pure pleasure begged to know what he’d envisioned for tonight. Right now, she’d willingly follow him anywhere. He could tie her up, blindfold her, whatever turned him on.
When she’d set out to redefine her life, she’d never imagined she would end up here. He had awoken something inside her, leaving her blissfully uninhibited. The shy girl who’d waited, watching her life slip by—that girl was gone.
Amy rolled onto her back, running her hands over her breasts, teasing her nipples. She heard his sharp inhale.
“Mark,” she said, turning her head to look at him, noting how quickly his body was recovering from their first round. “Come here.”
Jaw tight, he nodded, turning first to his bag and withdrawing a second condom. But instead of rolling it on, he set it beside her on the bed and climbed up, straddling her hips. Gently, he drew her hands away from her breasts and covered them with his own.
He stared down at her, studying her. Amy knew his face. She had spent years reading his expressions. But this look, lust tempered with something more, was new and unfamiliar.
Amy held her breath as Mark leaned forward, lowering his lips to her neck. He trailed kisses over her skin, swirling his tongue, driving her to arch up and press the hard points of her nipples into his hands. He nipped her earlobe, and she moaned, a soft throaty sound she couldn’t control.
“Amelia Mae.” His rough, low voice left her reaching for him, needing to touch. “I’m going to worship every inch of your body. I am going to feel you come against my mouth, my hands, and then with your tight heat wrapped around me.”