Her eyes widened and a faint blush crept over her cheeks, but when he stretched out on top of her, she welcomed him, twining her arms around his neck. He kissed her again and let his weight bear down on her, pressing right up against the front of those pretty pink panties.
Touching her with only one gossamer barrier between them was a heady experience, the most tantalizing of his life, and it quickly proved too much for him. Bringing his penis into play this early had been a mistake. It wanted to tear through her panties and push inside her with no further preliminaries.
Groaning, he rolled away from her.
She murmured a protest. “I was enjoying that.”
He grimaced. “So was I.” Too much.
When he thought he had control over himself again, he hazarded another glance at her. She was panting lightly, her eyes closed and her nipples pebbled, her breasts erotically framed by black lace.
Maybe he could do something else she enjoyed.
He slid his palm along her inner thigh until he met the edge of her panties. Through the thin fabric, he could feel how hot she was. Moisture dampened his fingertips. Amazed by physiology, high on endorphins, he cupped her gently, learning the graceful swell of her pubic bone and the slight dip of her femininity. “Tell me how to touch you.”
Her eyes flew open.
“What do you like?”
“I-I don’t know.”
He was curious about her past sexual experiences, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment by asking her too many questions. Sweat broke out on his forehead, because he wanted to make it good for her and wasn’t sure how. Taking the plunge, he slipped his hand down the front of her panties, into wet curls and sleek heat.
Oh,
“It’s okay.”
“I want to-”
“Yes.”
Heart racing, pumping more blood to his already raging hard-on, he pulled away from her, fumbling with the condom as she took off her panties. As he positioned himself over her, it occurred to him that he must be dreaming. He’d never had anything but tough luck, and here he was, getting lucky with the most beautiful girl in Tenaja Falls.
Angel was splayed beneath him, eyes like black jewels, breasts provocatively displayed, her body revealed to him. Offered to him. Open to him.
He wanted to savor the moment, but he couldn’t focus on anything but getting inside her. Lack of experience had him faltering a few times before he was there, sliding home inch by inch, going all the way. She felt… indescribable, like nothing he’d ever imagined.
“Oh, God,” he moaned, knowing he was lost.
He tried to make it last forever, he really did. But natural instinct took over and he could only thrust. She wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck, digging her fingernails into his shoulders and making sexy panting sounds in his ear. Every thing fell away but this moment, her body beneath his, his body inside hers. In a burst of heat and light and energy, he exploded.
Dylan wasn’t sure how long he lay there, sweating all over her, smothering her, before he returned to reality.
He lifted his head to look at her. She met his gaze levelly.
It struck him that the pleasure had been completely one-sided. She didn’t come. She didn’t even come close.
Head spinning, he heaved himself off her and stumbled into her bathroom to get rid of the condom. He avoided glancing in the mirror, knowing he was damp-haired and red-faced, while she lay on the bed, unruffled and unaffected.
What a loser he was! A two-pump chump.
Cursing silently, he buttoned his pants and went back out to her bedroom. She’d wrapped the edge of a blanket around herself and was studying him with timid eyes, appearing far from unaffected by their encounter.
“I’m sorry,” he said, feeling sick to his stomach. Sitting down on the bed beside her, he shoved his hand through his disheveled hair. “That was terrible. Worse than Chad.” To his chagrin, his eyes watered and his throat closed up.
“No,” she insisted, snuggling up behind him and resting her head on his bare shoulder. “It wasn’t terrible. I liked it.”
“All fifteen seconds?”
She smiled against his back. “Yes.”
Turning, he put his arms around her and held her for a while, desperate for a chance to make it up to her. Inexplicably, he did the opposite of redeeming himself, and like the miserable excuse for a man he was, he curled up beside her and fell asleep.
When Shay arrived at Dark Canyon, there was a package waiting for her on the front step.
The post office usually delivered during regular working hours, but she hadn’t been around much lately.
With a frown, she noticed there was no name or address on the top. Maybe Mike had left something for her.
She hadn’t noticed it during last night’s rendezvous.
Blushing, she tossed the box on the exam table inside and vowed to put Luke out of her mind. Although Mike had dropped in the day before, it wasn’t his job to take care of the minor duties running a wildlife preserve entailed, and she had a lot of work to do. After a wildfire, there were dozens of routine tasks to be performed, data to compile, tests to run.
Not to mention the procedures to follow in the event of a human fatality, most of which she was unfamiliar with. Right now Mike was handling the press and the state investigation, but Shay knew she’d be asked to take on some additional responsibilities.
The story of her life.
On some weekends she had extra staff, college kids and park rangers, but for the most part, Dark Canyon was a one-woman show. Her first order of business was to clean and inspect the tranquilizer guns she and Luke had inadvertently gotten wet. If they couldn’t be salvaged, she’d have to write up an extensive damage report.
Before tackling the tranquilizer guns, which would require more concentration than she was currently capable of, she went back to her office and logged on to her e-mail account, trying not to think about last night. Trying not to replay every hot, endless moment.
She’d returned home sexually satisfied but emotionally wrecked.
When Luke asked if she was still in love with Jesse, she was floored by the realization that she never had been. If anything, she’d loved him as a friend. She hadn’t continued their affair because he was irresistible; she’d done it because he was easy to resist. Like her father, Jesse was a restless dreamer, handsome and charming and very sweet when he wanted to be. His inability to remain faithful to one woman was actually part of his appeal. By tying herself to him, she’d kept her heart safe. No one could hurt her, not even Jesse, because she hadn’t invested anything in their relationship.
Then Luke Meza came along and shattered her defenses.
Making a sound of frustration, she clicked off the computer and jumped to her feet, slamming the chair against the desk. At least her little brother hadn’t done anything crazy lately. When she got home last night, he hadn’t been debauching the neighbor’s daughter in his bedroom. He’d been sound asleep.
Shay contemplated the mysterious package on the exam table, thinking she should swear off relationships with men for good. God knew she was a total failure at them.
Just as she was about to tear open the box, the office phone rang. “Dark Canyon State Preserve,” she answered, holding the receiver between her shoulder and her ear.
“It’s Mike.”
“Oh. Hi.” It was the most enthusiastic greeting she could manage. “What’s up?”
“There’s been some trouble on Los Coyotes this morning.”
