She dusted shimmery powder on her chest in the fragrance Derek had noticed earlier before opening the door and stepping back into the room.
She’d hoped to blow him away, but when she found him lying on the bed, she was the one undone. Sure, she’d seen Derek in a bathing suit earlier today. She’d marveled at how much his body had filled out, how he’d matured and changed. But they hadn’t been alone. She hadn’t had time to drink him in, remembering the past while hungry for a future.
He leaned back against propped pillows, resting comfortably against the headboard. She’d think he was relaxed…if not for the erection tenting the black cotton briefs. Her mouth grew dry and she swallowed hard.
In her dreams, he was always the boy she’d lost. But now she was facing the man—a sexy man wearing nothing but short black boxers.
“I’ve never known you to be speechless,” he said as he held out a hand.
She’d never lied to him before and she wasn’t about to start now. “You’re suddenly real.” She walked toward him and placed her palm in his. “I’m overwhelmed.”
“Same for me.” He ran his fingers over the pulse point in her wrist.
She knew he could feel her heartbeat pounding through her veins.
“I can’t wait to be inside you,” he said, his voice husky and deep.
Her pulse skyrocketed even more and moisture pooled between her thighs.
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 has your love life been like?”
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.”