He heard her faint gasp of protest turn to a moan of ecstasy as extended his voyage of discovery and pushed the boundaries of intimacy.
‘Jake, please…’ His name was a sob on her lips. ‘Please…’
He knew what she wanted—knew what she was asking for—but he wanted more from her, wanted to push her to the very edge of sanity, and he used his fingers and mouth to do exactly that, his own arousal heightened by her cries and the fierce reaction of her body as he pushed her through clouds of sexual excitement to a powerful climax that rocked her whole body.
Only when the violent spasms finally ceased did he slide up the bed and roll onto his back. He was so aroused he thought he might explode, and he lay for a moment, trying to focus on something other than Miranda. Trying to regain some semblance of control.
And she was silent, too, eyes closed, her lashes dark against her pale cheeks.
‘Miranda?’ Worried about the lengthy silence, he turned his head towards her. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m not sure.’ And then her eyes opened and she gave a slow, satisfied smile. Her gaze fixed on his, she slid a leg over him and then sat up, her cheeks flushed and her dark hair falling forward. ‘Is it OK to do this?’
There was a purposeful, seductive gleam in her dark eyes that he found intensely arousing. Dimly aware that she’d asked him a serious question, Jake sucked in a breath and forced himself to think like an obstetrician. ‘It’s fine,’ he groaned. ‘I’ll be gentle, I promise. Sweetheart, have I told you that you’re incredible? And beautiful?’
Despite the intimacy of their position, her smile was shy. ‘Do you need glasses?’
‘No, I need you.’ He slid his hands over her hips, positioned her carefully and felt the silken heat of her womanhood tease the tip of his arousal. Afraid that he might explode within seconds of entering her, he slowed the pace, controlling her movements, refusing to allow her the satisfaction she so clearly craved.
‘Jake—I need to…’ Her breathing shallow, she pushed his hands away impatiently and sank onto him, taking him deep inside her, destroying his plans to take her gently and carefully.
Heat exploded through
his sensitised body and he gave a harsh groan and opened his mouth to tell her to slow down, but she lowered her head and kissed him, her delicate tongue coaxing his into a dance every bit as intimate as the rest of their encounter.
Struggling to find his customary control, Jake tried to hold her hips but she grabbed his wrists and anchored them above his head, moving with a slow erotic rhythm that reduced his world to nothing but sensation.
Dimly he knew that this wasn’t how he’d intended it to happen. He’d intended to orchestrate the whole thing but somehow she’d taken the initiative.
Reluctantly her mouth left his and she sat up, her hair sliding over her bare shoulders as she moved over him with the smooth grace of a dancer. The heat in his loins reached intolerable levels and he tried to warn her that she really, really needed to slow down, but the only sound that came from his mouth was a hoarse groan of encouragement. Aware of her own soft cry of release, he felt her body spasm around his and he exploded inside her with propulsive force, driven past the point at which he might have been able to regain his slippery hold on control.
She woke to find him watching her.
‘Good morning.’ His voice was husky and deep and he leaned forward to deliver a lingering kiss to her mouth. ‘You slept well. I’m pleased. How are you feeling?’
Unsettled by the look in his eyes, she rolled onto her back. ‘Fine.’ Shy? Embarrassed? She thought of all the things she’d told him, the things they’d done…
‘Fine? Miranda, do not, for one moment, think that you’re going to be allowed to pretend that last night didn’t happen.’
‘I know it happened.’ How could she not, when the memories were still so clear in her head?
‘And do you also know that I love you?’ He spoke softly and then raised himself up on one arm and looked down at her with a gentle smile. ‘You’re beautiful and good and I want you to be my wife. And, just in case you think I say those words to all the girls, you ought to know that I’ve never said that to anyone in my life before now.’
His wife?
Her stomach dropped and she looked into those sexy blue eyes and wished that her life wasn’t filled with mountains to conquer. No matter how much she loved him, and she did love him, she’d never be able to say yes. She owed it to the baby to refuse him.
‘No, Jake.’
‘It isn’t difficult, Miranda. All you have to do is say you love me, too, and I know you do.’
He was so confident, she thought enviously. Not arrogant, just very sure of himself.
‘I care about you,’ she said finally, her voice slow and still slightly husky from sleep. ‘Of course I do. You’ve been an amazing friend to me, Jake.’
If she confessed that she loved him, there was no way he’d take no for an answer.
‘Friend?’ One dark brow lifted as he studied her face. ‘Last night had absolutely nothing to do with friendship, Miranda.’