and damp against her nipples. The tingle between her legs deepened into an almost painful throbbing.
As they kissed, his hand roamed down her quivering stomach and slid across the throbbing center of her desire. She shuddered and strained up for his touch. But the brief caress was a tease and nothing more. His hand moved downward, along her thigh to her ankle. With strong, sure hands, he shoved her skirt up to her waist. Once again she felt the coolness of the night air against
her hot flesh.
The skirt and drawers seemed to melt off her body. His gaze turned to liquid fire and slid down her naked body. She lay still and trembling beneath his perusal, her hair fanned out in a tangle around her face, her breasts shuddering in shallow, expectant breaths.
His hand curled around her throat, moving slowly downward, as if he were savoring the velvet-soft feel of her flesh. Her pulse thrummed and beat beneath his fingertips.
She swallowed thickly, nervously, trying not to be frightened by the intensity of her need. She'd never wanted anything, anyone, as much as she wanted him right
now.
"Jack." His name slipped past her lips in a whisper of
longing.
"Touch me," he said in a harsh, ragged voice that matched her own. She knew then that it wasn't just her. He was also out of control.
/>
The realization gave her confidence. She took a deep, shuddering breath and let go of her fear.
The moment she made the decision, her inhibitions melted away. Without them, she was left ragged and aching for his touch, desperate for the feel of his flesh against
hers. With trembling fingers, she grabbed the waistband of
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his drawers and dragged the fabric down the length of his body.
Naked, breathless, they came together. Their bodies fused into a hot, throbbing whole. The drawers slipped through Tess's shaking fingers and fell to the floor.
He kissed her again, and this one seemed to go on forever. She clung to him, feeling the shifting of his muscles beneath her fingertips. The masculine scent of him filled her nostrils. Sweat sheened his back, turned it slick. Her hands clutched at him, nails raking his back. "Oh, God," she whispered throatily. She'd never known she could feel this way, never even imagined it.
He rolled her on top of him. Tess pressed her fists into the pillow and looked down at him. Her hair cascaded around them, creating a shimmering curtain of golden silk.
He gazed up at her through eyes that looked like burning emeralds in the half-light. His lips parted slowly; his tongue slid out to wet them. Tess stared at the moist pink tip and felt something deep inside her clench. His breath caressed her nipples in hot, ragged spurts.
His hands curled around her body and clutched her buttocks, dragging her against him. His hardness slid against the curly thatch of her hair and touched the core of her desire.
Tess shuddered at the contact. Longing pulsated through her body in fire-hot waves. Need made her bold and wanton. She straddled him. The feel of him against her, hot and ready, made her whole body shake.
His name slipped past her lips in a breath of wonder. His hands slid up her back and anchored behind her neck, pulling her down for a dark, desperate kiss. As they kissed, she ground her hips against his in a slow, tantalizing circle.
He groaned and pushed her away gently. Quivering,
T
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breathing hard, she stared down at him in confusion. "Did I do something wrong?"
"God, no," he rasped. "It's just so ... different."
Tess felt a cold stab of fear. She should have known, should have prepared for it. This was the one change a husband would notice for sure. "Oh. I ..."
He looked up at her, and in his eyes she saw all the love she could ever want, and more. "It's better," he said quietly.