His words made her tremble and his hand stroked her nape and shoulder and hip while his other arm held her lightly.
His hands slid up and framed her face. “I want to be the man in your life and in your bed. And in your body,” he added in a husky rasp. “I want you to open your legs to me and when you do, you’ll open your heart.”
His soft words whispered in her ear made her shake. She felt on fire, torn between wisdom and his promises.
“Cal—”
He bent over her, kissing her hard while his hand slipped along her thigh. If she said no and walked away now, she wondered would she be throwing away something special that she would never find again? And maybe if she took what he offered, she would bind him to her family. After a year of family life and blazing passion, he might be ready to settle down.
He raised his head to look at her, running his finger along her lower lip. “You’ve been giving yourself completely to your family. Tonight, it’s time you take something for yourself. You’ll give to me, but I promise you, Juliana, I’ll give to you, too.”
And she knew he would. He was right—what they had was already spectacular.
His head dipped and he nuzzled her throat. “Let go, Ju- liana,” he whispered. “Let all the old fears and doubts go. Let’s take what we’ve found.”
She capitulated. If it were only this one night, she wanted to be loved wildly. At least once, she wanted what he would give her, his vitality, his passion, his need.
She wrapped her arms tightly around him and returned his kisses, giving and taking with an abandon she had never known.
Cal knew the moment she made her decision and her body pressed against his with urgency. His hands caught the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it up over her head and tossed it aside, hearing it land with a wet plop on the terrazzo floor. He wanted her and he knew he was changing their relation- ship, sealing it tonight. The woman was gorgeous. He felt the thrusts of her hips against him and his temperature climbed. His hands shook as he fought to control the urge to strip her and push her down and envelop himself in her soft warmth.
She was the kind of woman who would give body and soul and suddenly he wanted to bind her to him with more than a diamond and a piece of paper and a ceremony. His hands slid over her body that was cool and wet. He unfas- tened the button to her cutoffs and realized that she wasn’t wearing anything beneath the shorts.
He throbbed, his jeans constricting him, yet he wanted to feast his eyes on her, take time to seal this night in her memory and her heart. He pushed away her cutoffs, held her hips and looked at the perfection of her body, sliding his hand over her tiny waist, the flare of her hips. His finger slipped between her legs and she gasped as his mouth nuz- zled her ear.
“You’re ready for me. You’re wet and warm.”
Letting go of her doubts, she moved her hands over his strong shoulders, the hard muscles of his chest and his flat belly. She tugged at the button on his wet jeans, and finally freed him, pushing them away. Her fingers touched his arousal and he gasped and caught her wrist.
“Not yet, love. I want to discover what I can do for you.” He cupped her breasts, his head bending as he flicked his tongue over her taut nipple.
Juliana closed her eyes, her fingers roaming over his hard body while fires built within her from his kisses. In min- utes, he picked her up, carrying her to the small downstairs bedroom and kicking the door closed behind him. Carry- ing her to the bed, he reached down while he kissed her and switched on a small bedside lamp that shed a faint glow in the room. Cal wanted to look at her, to memorize the sight of her, to watch her reaction to everything he did.
He set her on her feet while he kissed and caressed her and stroked her inner thighs that were silken smooth. Her legs parted as she moaned softly and his fingers stroked her soft folds and found the taut bud. She cried out when his hand moved with a tantalizing pressure against her.
He shook, trying to control the urgency that built in him. He wanted to take her to the heights of passion. She was special, his woman tonight, part of his heart.
Juliana’s fingers bit into his shoulders and her hips moved wildly. Need heightened and she clung to him, while his arm steadied her and he kissed her hungrily. Her body tight- ened, her hips moving, his hand an exquisite torment until her body spasmed with release.
“Ah, Juliana,” he said, kissing away her soft cries and picking her up to place her on the bed.
Instantly, she came up. “No. You haven’t let me touch you yet,” she whispered, pushing his hips and stepping off the bed swiftly, going down on her knees to caress him. His body was magnificent. She ran her fingers over his man- hood, exploring him, feeling the smooth tip, taking him into her mouth and hearing his groan of pleasure as his fingers tangled in her hair. She stroked him with her tongue and felt him shake. Her hand moved between his legs to caress him. Eager to know him as he did her, her hands trailed along his thighs. His legs were hard muscle and she ran her fingers over them lightly, delighting in the masculine feel of him.
Suddenly, with
