Once in Every Life

Jack surged toward her. "I'll get that."

She laughed. "Jack, I've been filling this tub for a half an hour."

He reached out. His fingers curled around hers. The feel of his flesh against hers sent a bolt of desire shooting through her body. They stood side by side, their fingers interlaced over the pot of boiling water. Steam puffed up, pelted their faces.

"I'll do it," he said quietly.

Tess gazed into his eyes. She saw him swallow convulsively, and knew he'd felt the same burst of desire she had.

She didn't look away. Neither did he. Steam continued to spiral upward, curling in hot strands along their joined hands. Slowly Jack's tongue slid along his lower lip, leaving in its wake a sparkling trail of wetness.

Tess's stomach clenched. She let out a shaky breath. Suddenly she realized what was happening here, what was going to happen. And though she'd looked forward to it all day, waited and ached and longed for it, now that it was here, she felt afraid.

She'd had sex before, but only a few times, and those were mostly awkward, silent fumblings in the night that left her feeling more alone than ever. It had never been like this, never with a man who held her heart in the palm

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of his hand. With Jack she felt completely vulnerable, and so very innocent. "Lissa?"

She jumped at the unexpected sound and stared steadfastly at his throat. He touched her chin, tilted her face up. She hesitated, then looked up. "Lissa, what is it?"

She tried to laugh, but it was a watery failure. "I'm ... afraid."

"Don't be." Taking her face in his hands, he whispered her name, and kissed her.

At first the kiss was so soft, it felt like the stirring of his breath against her lips. Tess closed her eyes and tilted her head back. She let go of the kettle and brought her hands to his chest, reveling in the strong, hard feel of him, and in her right to touch him.

As the kiss deepened and their tongues twined, Tess felt something inside her

break free and float away. The heartache and pain of being unwanted and lonely took on the consistency of smoke and vanished.

Chapter Twenty

Tess pulled slowly back. Smiling up at him, she whispered, "That bath won't be hot much longer."

A slow, lazy grin spread across his face. "Then you'd better undress me." He held up two scraped, bloodied hands. "My hands are too sore to work the buttons."

Tess swallowed thickly. Self-consciousness washed through her in a trembling wave. She'd never done anything like this in her life. It was so ... intimate.

Tess looked up and met his gaze. The love in his eyes drenched her, swept her hesitation away like dust in the wind. He made her feel beautiful and sexy and wanted.

For the first time in her life, she saw sex as something different, something more. Making love. Suddenly she understood the phrase in all its splendor, all its promise and passion.

She wanted to make love with this man, to this man. She wanted to show him, in every way, that she loved him.

With shaking fingers she undid his dungarees. The stiff fabric slid down his body and puddled on the floor at his feet. He stepped out of the overalls and kicked them away.

Tess's gaze fell, moved slowly down his muslin-clad legs. The evidence of his desire sent a tiny, flamelike thrill shooting through her. She felt his breathing as a patter of heat against her forehead.

Swallowing thickly, she undid the top button of his 262

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work shirt, then the next, and the next. The tired fabric fell away from his body, exposing the curly black hair that lightly covered his chest. His breathing sped up. Her fingers moved down.

One by one the buttons gave way, the material gaped. She looked up at him, stared at him through eyes filled with a promise. Gently she pushed the shirt off his shoulders and let it fall down his arms. He shrugged slightly, and the shirt fell to the floor.

Her fingertips grazed his flesh. He shivered in response. So did Tess. At the sight of his bare chest, something deep inside her quivered, sent a flurry of sensation to the pit of her stomach. Her throat went dry.