stroking her breasts as he nibbled her neck.
She closed her eyes, arched her neck back, and then trailed her ringers down his stomach. The muscles in his abdomen flexed in response, and he growled low in his throat.
She knew her touch pleased him, but she wanted more. Ever so slowly her fingertips circled his navel and then moved lower. Her hand slid down between his thighs. His deep indrawn breath told her how much he liked what she was doing to him.
She became more demanding. She wrapped her hand around him… and sent him right over the edge. He grabbed her hand, rolled on top of her, and kissed her passionately. His tongue rubbed against hers as his hands caressed her. He moved lower, and when he began to kiss her breasts, she arched up against him and let out a ragged sigh. He told her he was going to kiss every inch of her body, and then he set about proving it. He tickled her navel with his tongue, then moved lower still until he was touching the very heat of her.
The pleasure was exquisite, consuming. Her nails dug into his shoulder blades and she cried out.
Alec’s control was in tatters now, and he was desperate to be inside her.
“Alec…”
“It’s okay. I just need to protect you.”
He reached down and grabbed his trousers. Regan rolled on top of him and was fervently kissing his shoulders while he fumbled in the back pocket for his wallet. He found what he was searching for and gently rolled back until she scooted off him.
When he was ready, he grabbed her hands, stretched her arms high above her head, and held her there. And then he once again began to make love to her with his mouth, his tongue, and his fingers.
The first tremors of ecstasy caught her unaware. It should have ended there, but it didn’t. The pleasure was gathering, building, so intense she almost couldn’t bear it. Terrified of what was happening, she struggled to stop it.
“It’s okay,” he whispered as he continued to stroke her. “Just hold me and let it happen. It’s okay, Regan.” He moved between her thighs, and with one swift plunge, he was inside her, deep inside. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw tight for the pleasure was almost too much to bear. She cried out and arched up against him, then drew her knees up and wrapped her legs around him.
His control snapped. She felt so wonderful he couldn’t make himself slow the pace. Her passion more than equaled his, and her response to his touch was wild, uninhibited.
She lifted her hips to meet each hard thrust, and when at last he climaxed inside her, she was there with him, screaming his name as she came apart.
She thought she just might die from the sheer ecstasy shimmering through her. Alec collapsed on top of her and buried his head in the crook of her neck. It took him several minutes to calm his labored breathing.
It had never been this good, no, not good, perfect before. She had overwhelmed him, and he was staggered by his need for her.
He slowly regained enough strength to move. He lifted up and looked into her eyes. “You okay?” His voice was no more than a raspy whisper.
She was still reeling from what had just happened. She’d read about it. She’d heard about it, but until tonight, she had never experienced it.
Amazing, she thought. Simply amazing. And beautiful. There weren’t enough words to describe what had happened to her. She still felt a warm glow all over. Could he feel her heart pounding against his? Did he have any idea what he had done to her? Had he experienced the same splendor? Or was it different for a man? The wonder of their lovemaking stunned her, and she couldn’t stop trembling.
“Regan?”
“Yes, I’m okay.” That had to be a gross understatement.
He kissed her once hard then rolled away from her and went into the bathroom.
His abrupt departure startled her. She didn’t want him to leave, not just yet anyway. She wanted him to hold her in his arms and whisper all the romantic words she longed to hear.
She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes. Oh, God, not now. Don’t let me cry now. She took a deep breath, groaned, and then pulled the sheet up and rolled onto her stomach. His scent was on the pillow. She had the urge to pick up that pillow and bury her head under it. She couldn’t believe how vulnerable and self-conscious she was feeling. What was the matter with her? She had started this. What had she expected? For him to drop down on his knees and tell her how much he loved her? That was the stuff of fairy tales.
A tear spilled out on her cheek. She impatiently wiped it away. Tonight was driven by lust, not love… for him, anyway. She groaned again. She wasn’t going to regret tonight. Her heart was too fragile to ever let it happen again, but she wouldn’t be sorry.
She didn’t hear Alec walk back into the bedroom. She felt him when he sat down on the bed beside her. “Move over,” he said.
She rolled onto her side to face him just as he tried to yank the sheet down. She held tight. “I thought you were getting dressed.”
“You didn’t notice my clothes are all over the floor?”
“No, I didn’t notice.”
They were involved in a tug-of-war with the sheet. He won. He stretched out beside her and pulled her to him. “I should go.” He began to nuzzle her neck. “Yeah, I should go. How come you smell so good?”
“I bathe.”
He laughed. Then he pinched her backside, and she yelped.
“How come you’re so soft?”
She kissed his neck before answering. “I’m a girl.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
She couldn’t stop touching him. She loved the feel of his hard muscles beneath her fingertips. They glided over his shoulders and his chest. His body was warm and hairy and sexy. She wrapped her arms around his waist and decided she was never going to let go. He was going to have to peel her off of him. That image made her smile.
“It was better than my fantasy,” he said.
“You’ve thought about it?”
“Oh, yeah. You did too.”
She didn’t deny it. “Yes.”
“Was it as good as your fantasy?”
Her voice dropped to a whisper. “It was… so-so.”
He laughed. Then he pushed her onto her back and leaned over her. “So-so?” he repeated.
He looked a little worried. She realized then that there was a thread of insecurity hidden under all those layers of arrogance. She was stunned. How could he not know how much pleasure he had given her?
She cupped the side of his face. “It was perfect.”
He leaned down and kissed her. He thought it would be a see-you-later kind of kiss, but as soon as his mouth touched hers, everything changed. His tongue rubbed erotically against hers. He kept telling himself he just wanted a little bit more and he’d be satisfied. How come he couldn’t get enough of her?
She moved restlessly against him. “Alec?” she whispered.
“You want to go again?”
Her eyes widened. She pushed his shoulders. “Go again? What kind of pillow talk is that?”
She honestly didn’t know if she wanted to yell at him or laugh.
Then he grinned and laughter won out. “I can do pillow talk,” he boasted.
“Prove it.”
He got sidetracked by the devilish way her lips curled up. The dimple was interfering with his thought process too, and so he looked into her eyes. It seemed to hit him all at once, the reality of what had just happened. This beautiful, sweet, perfect creature had taken him to her bed.
She nudged him. “I’m waiting,” she whispered, and then she batted her eyelashes at him.
He laughed again. “Okay. Here’s what I think we ought to do.” And then he explained in the most graphic detail how he wanted to make love to her and what he expected in return.
By the time he’d finished, her cheeks were bright pink. “What kind of women have you been hanging out
