Thane squeezed his eyes closed as he reluctantly reached under his sweater to remove her hands.
“Thane?” Regan whispered.
He wanted to hear her scream his name as she came, not whisper it in confusion and worry.
She was right. They could go around and around, denying what they wanted and having multiple jealous fights over the course of the next few months. Or … he could have of her what he could before she left him.
His eyes flew open, anticipation thrumming through his blood as he made up his mind.
Regan stared unblinkingly at him, waiting for his next move.
“Just sex,” he said gruffly. “No promises, and no one can know.”
Surprise slackened her features. She hesitated so long, he could barely hear anything over the blood rushing in his ears. Then to his relief, Regan nodded slowly. “Okay.”
Satisfaction slammed through him, and it took every ounce of willpower within him to not pick her up and throw her down on his sofa to have his way with her. Instead, he thought of her misconceptions about him as a gentleman. Best to disprove her of that now. “Go wait for me in the annex,” he demanded. Her eyes widened slightly. “Clothes off. Keep your underwear on because I want to take it off. And lights on so I can see you. When I get there, I expect you on the bed with your legs spread.”
Her chest heaved with surprise; her nostrils flared with arousal.
He leaned down to brush his mouth over hers. “I need to make sure the house is secure.” His hand slipped under her dress, and he touched the damp heat between her legs, making her bow into him with a moan. He licked at her lips, and she tried to chase him with her mouth, but he retreated, taunting her. Then he rubbed her through her tights and underwear, and she gasped. “Don’t touch yourself until I get there. Your orgasms are mine now.”
Before he lost his mind and just took her against the island, he strode quietly upstairs to check on the kids once more.
Doubts niggled at the back of his mind.
What people would think if they knew the gossip was now reality …
How they desperately needed to keep this from the kids …
What a selfish bastard he was letting his desire dictate his actions.
But Thane ignored the doubts … especially the one that whispered how, if it was just about physical attraction, he’d never jeopardize his reputation, his honor. If it was just about screwing some hot young thing, he could do that anytime.
It was about her.
Regan.
About burying everything inside her and watching her shatter around him with the immensity of it.
And doing it for as long as he had her.
No matter what it cost.
19
Regan
I laid there, panting, so excited I trembled with it. The ache between my legs was hot and almost painful. Months of longing had culminated to this point, and all I could think about was having Thane inside me.
I was almost mad with the need of him.
His orders had been a shock, but to my surprise, one my body reacted to. My instinct was to buck against a man’s command, and if it had been anyone but Thane, I would have. But as it turned out, his bossiness made me exceptionally hot.
Lying in my underwear, I felt a little shy, a little weird at first, but as soon as Thane stepped into the annex, everything disappeared but my need for him. He was right. This thing between us was almost a madness.
Nostrils flaring as his eyes devoured me on my bed, Thane walked toward me slowly, his arousal obvious through the pajama bottoms he’d changed into.
“Look at you,” he said gruffly, running a hand down his beard. His expression was a little dazed, as if he wasn’t sure I was real.
“I want to look at you,” I replied softly.
In answer, Thane tugged off his T-shirt and dropped it on the floor by the bed. Then his bottoms followed, and I sucked in a breath. I’d forgotten how much I liked his body. All that natural power, not overly muscled, but strong and so goddamn masculine my body reacted everywhere. His fiery gaze, the way his features had hardened with lust, made me tingle hotly between my legs. My breasts were heavy, my nipples tight.
Jutting proudly between his muscled thighs was an impressive, pulsing erection.
All for me.
Thane produced a condom as if out of nowhere, opened it with his teeth, and rolled it on. But I’d barely had time to ogle him when he crawled over me, bracing himself above me in the bed, falling between my already open thighs.
He stared into my eyes, studying me intently, and I marveled at how weird this didn’t feel. Shouldn’t it feel weird, lying in my lingerie beneath my naked boss?