* * *
Need stormed over him.
Hot. Wild. Demanding.
Vaughn couldn’t get enough of Abigail. Not her sweet mouth that he could kiss for days, or her beautiful body that tempted him beyond reason. It didn’t matter what drove them together. Only this red-hot blaze of need that burned away everything else. All the reasons they shouldn’t be together. All the reasons he wouldn’t be right for her tomorrow.
Tonight, there was so much heat, so much hunger, that nothing mattered but the next exquisite touch. The next mind-blowing kiss.
And that she was his.
He wanted her skin against his, her breathy moans in his ear, her legs wrapped around his hips. With impatient hands, he hauled up her skirt, sliding her to the edge of the table so the cradle of thighs met the hard thrust of his need. She felt so good. So right. For a moment, he had to close his eyes against the rising tide of want, fighting for control.
Her breathing was ragged, her hands restless on his shoulders, her nails skimming lightly up his back. He lifted her up, carrying her to a couch in the living room, wanting to be careful with her.
Protective of her beautiful body, he laid her down on the sofa in the far corner.
“Please,” she whispered in his ear. “Don’t stop.”
He met her gaze, bright with desire. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted a woman. Needed her beyond reason. He worked the buttons of his shirt with ruthless efficiency, shedding the button-down. His every thought of Abigail. Touching her. Tasting her. Filling her.
Making her his.
His belt was next, and his pants, though he had enough forethought to find the lone condom in his wallet. Set it aside.
All the while Abigail’s gaze tracked him, her luscious breasts spilling out of the lace cups that his kisses had displaced. When he was naked, he returned to her, flicking open the clasp that held the bra in place. Freeing her to his touch.
His kiss.
She combed her fingers through his hair, arching her back to give him more access. Her skin was impossibly soft everywhere he touched. He raked down the zipper on her skirt, tugging the cotton lower until only a thin scrap of lace kept him from where he most wanted to be.
Seated beside her on the sofa where she was sprawled, he touched the damp lace. Skimmed it aside. Watched her cheeks flush with color, her head thrown back. Her heat flooded through to his fingers until he couldn’t resist kissing her there. Licking her again and again until his name was a hoarse shout as she came for him.
Over and over.
Only then did he skim off the lace panties and settle between her legs. He rolled on the condom, his heart slamming inside his chest. By the time he slid inside her, inch by tantalizing inch, she wrapped her legs around him. Her arms. Kissed him with a passion he could taste.
The fire that raged inside him flared hotter. Searing over him. She met him, thrust for thrust, as lost in the moment as him. Each time her breath hitched, her lip caught between her teeth, it drove him higher. He wanted to feel her pleasure—that vibrant glow of her—all around him. It was the only thing that kept him in check when his body demanded release.
He rolled her on top of him, careful of the small curve of her belly. He let her set the pace at first, watching her face while her eyelids fluttered once. Twice.
Reaching between them, he stroked the tight bud of her sex.
Felt the answering shudder that went through her. He sat up just enough to palm one generous breast, guiding her to his mouth so he could kiss her there.
She cried out softly, her body sweetly responsive. He drove into her deeper. Harder. Her fingers fisted in his hair, her lips parted on a silent cry.
And then he felt her release shudder through her, raining sweetness all around him until his own restraint fell away. Pleasure overran him. Inundated him. He couldn’t do a damn thing but hold on to Abigail, steadying them both as sensation bombarded them. This time when she called out his name, he shouted hers in an echo of bliss. Total fulfillment.
A devastating oneness than robbed him of breath and left him panting for long moments afterward.
He’d never felt such utter contentment in the silence that followed. His breathing slowed as she fell on top of him, her beautiful body curling into his as naturally as if they’d slept together for a lifetime.
Tugging a lightweight blanket off the back of the sofa, he pulled it around her and kissed the top of her dark hair.
He caressed her shoulder through the veil of curls that fell around her. Breathed in the spicyandcitrus scent of her fragrance.
And wondered how he’d ever walk away.
Nine
Abigail wouldn’t allow herself to fall asleep.
Not when she knew how stressed Vaughn had been the last time they had shared a bed together, spending too long wondering if he would have nightmares and how to avoid waking her up. She regretted that he experienced that kind of anxiety, but she empathized even though she couldn’t possibly fully understand what he was going through. But she’d seen the agony in his eyes. She couldn’t bear for him to go through that again.
So after he’d stroked her hair and kissed her temple for a while, she sat up. Reaching for his shirt, she slid her arms into the fabric that held his scent.
“Aren’t you exhausted?” he asked, levering up on his elbow. “Was I keeping you awake?”
“I thought I’d make something to eat before you have to go home.” She said it matter-of-factly, like it was no problem that they couldn’t share a bed for sleeping. After her brief fling with a man who had deceived all of Royal, Abigail was willing to
