Unexpectedly, he closed his eyes and groaned, a sound of frustration, not pleasure. “I don’t have protection,” he said through clenched teeth.
Derek couldn’t believe now that he was here with Gabrielle, finally about to make love to her, he’d have to call a halt. He’d been so busy thinking about how not to act on his desire, he wasn’t prepared.
She reached over and put her hands on his. “I’m on the pill.”
He raised an eyebrow, surprised. “I thought you hated the thought of putting hormones into your body,” he said, repeating what she’d told him when he suggested that form of birth control when they’d been teens.
She smiled. “You’d be amazed how quickly terrible monthly cramping will change a woman’s mind,” she said wryly. “So don’t worry about pregnancy. As for the rest, I’m safe.”
He understood what she meant. He wasn’t sure he wanted to discuss her love life at the moment, but then, he couldn’t think of a better time.
Before they shared anything else, he needed to know. “What
She tipped her head and laughed. “Helluva question right now.”
“Humor me.”
“Well, after you, there wasn’t anyone for a good long while. I went to the University of Miami and majored in psychology. I threw myself into school.”
“Miami has its share of athletes,” he said, knowing there had to have been guys in her life.
She shrugged. “There were men, Derek. You didn’t think I would become celibate, did you? It just took me longer than it took you.”
He winced, but he deserved the dig.
“But there wasn’t anyone serious for a long time.”
“And once there was?”
“There was an assistant to one of my professors, but he was too uptight. No sense of humor.”
He held on to her hand. “You need a man with a sense of humor,” he said gruffly.
She nodded. “After him, there was a publicist I met while on a book tour.”
He bit the inside of his cheek. “What were his flaws?”
“He was too slick.”
“Slick?”
She nodded. “I couldn’t trust him.” Her eyes twinkled as she spoke.
Damn, but she was enjoying this. “And then?”
“Another author. My editor introduced us at an awards ceremony.”
“Too messy, being in the same profession?” he guessed.
She shook her head. “Too needy. I want a man who’s independent and doesn’t have to know where I am 24-7. Besides, he worked at home and he was around. All. The. Time.” She groaned at the notion. “After that, there was the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker. The butcher was a slob, the baker too heavy and the last guy always smelled like another woman’s perfume,” she said, laughing.
“Wench.” He realized by the end she was teasing him, although he also sensed there’d been some truth in each of them.
No man had suited her.
“How about me? What are my flaws?” he asked.
“Honestly? The fact that you don’t have any. And that brings us back to the issue at hand. Protection and how we don’t need any.” Her eyes darkened as she met his gaze. “I want you, Derek. I always have.”
His body throbbed with anticipation. He’d been hard since he’d seen her again. And he’d wanted her ever since they’d said goodbye years ago.
“The problem is we
She nodded slowly. “I respect that. And it just so happens that I believe in protection, too-with everyone in my past. Even though I was on the pill.” She licked her lips. “But I had a hunch you might feel this way, so look what I picked up?” she asked, obviously pleased with herself. She held up a box of condoms.
“You’re still thinking ahead,” he said, amused that this one character trait hadn’t changed.
And though he’d like nothing more than to feel her around him, her hot slick walls cushioning him in moist heat, he couldn’t break his rule. He needed to protect them both from the damn curse.
The time for talk was finished. He flipped her onto her stomach in the center of the bed. The hem of her lingerie slipped upward and cool air rushed over her bare buttocks.
He groaned and rubbed his hand first over one cheek, then the next. His body shook over hers and he knew he was building their arousal and anticipation. Knew he wanted her as desperately as she wanted him.
Derek leaned down and pressed a kiss against her skin.
Gabrielle’s body trembled, and before she could think beyond the erotic sensation of his lips against her flesh, he straddled her derriere and began to massage her back and shoulders. A delicious pulsing began between her thighs. And as he worked on her shoulders with his hands, he rocked insistently, erotically against her back, his erection obvious. His hard length lay in the crevice of her bare behind and she felt him
“If I let myself go, it’ll be over in two seconds,” he said, his breath hot in her ear. He swept her hair off the back of her neck and leaned forward to press his lips against her skin. As he moved upward, so did his penis. Rigid and unyielding, he pressed himself against her bare cheeks.
Her thighs clenched of their own volition and her body quaked in reaction.
She attempted to roll over, but Derek placed a hand against her back, stopping her. “Not so fast. I’m not finished with you yet,” he said in a gruff voice.
He kissed her neck, nibbling with his lips and tongue, traveling from the sensitive flesh on her shoulders down the length of her back. His touch burned and she writhed beneath him, pressing against the mattress, seeking relief from the building crescendo of need.
There was no relief to be found. With each pivot of her hips, his erection thrust harder against her, heightening her excitement and her desire until she ground herself harder and faster against the mattress, pushing and pressing her lower body until just the right spot hit the bed, sending her closer to the release she desperately needed.
All the while, his movements mimicked hers. His hips rocked faster, harder, his erection exciting her beyond belief. Between her mound grinding against the mattress and his erection thrusting at her back, she could barely catch her breath. She gasped for air, unwilling to choose between breathing and coming apart right here, right now.
Finally, tiny flickers of light danced in front of her eyes. The fulfillment she’d been seeking hit and a fast and furious orgasm followed. And continued until she collapsed against the sheets.
Her body still trembled, her breath still came in shallow gulps, long after the sweet release had ended. When she was able to focus again, she took stock of her surroundings, how her body felt. And she immediately realized something was missing.
She needed him inside her.
But with his delicious weight on her back, he was still calling the shots. She cleared her throat.
With a chuckle, Derek eased off her and she flipped over onto her back. His heavy-lidded gaze met hers.
She let out a contented purr, letting him know she’d enjoyed it. “But it wasn’t enough.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” he said through gritted teeth.
She grinned and decided turnabout was fair play. Through the thin cotton briefs, she cupped his erection in the palm of her hand, sliding up and down his length, pausing only to circle her finger over the damp head.
He leaned back and let out a low groan.
Pain? Pleasure? A mix, she supposed, enjoying watching the play of expressions cross his handsome face.
Her own body was ready again. Dampness pooled between her thighs and her nipples were puckered into hardened peaks. The pulsing had started yet again, as she anticipated finally having him inside her. But she wasn’t ready to give up feeling his strength and power pulsing inside her hand.
Wanting to give him just a taste of the sensual torture he’d inflicted on her, she bent down and flicked her
