‘Just beyond the headland is the Scott farm.’ Ryan was directly behind her now, and he closed his hands over her shoulders, pointing her in the right direction. ‘But everything here is protected land. No building. No people. Occasionally you see someone on the coast path in the distance, but they can’t get down here because the rocks are too dangerous. The path we took is the only way down.’
‘I’ve never been anywhere so perfect.’ Acutely aware of his touch, Jenna could hardly breathe. He was standing close to her and she could feel the brush of his hard body against hers. Her heart racing, she stared up at the roof—and discovered more curving glass. ‘It must be wild here when there’s a storm. Is it scary?’
‘It’s tough glass. You’d be surprised how much sound it blocks out. Do you find storms scary?’ He turned her gently, and suddenly she thought that what she was starting to feel for him was far scarier than any storm.
‘I don’t know.’ Looking into his eyes, she felt as though everything in her life was changing. And not only did she not trust her feelings, she knew she couldn’t have them. She had to think about Lexi. But Lexi wasn’t here now, was she? Maybe there was no future, but there could be a present. She was a woman as well as a mother.
His mouth was close to hers but he didn’t kiss her, and she wondered whether he was waiting for her to make the decision.
Jenna lifted her hand to his face, the breath trapped in her throat. His jaw was rough against her fingers and she felt him tense, but still he didn’t kiss her. Still he waited.
Consumed by the thrill of anticipation, she wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her mouth to his, feeling her stomach swoop. It was like jumping off a cliff. As decisions went, this was a big one, and deep down in her gut she knew there would be a price to pay, but right now she didn’t care. If she had to pay, she’d pay.
As her lips touched his she felt the ripple of tension spread across his shoulders—felt the coiled power in his athletic frame.
‘Be sure, Jenna…’ He breathed the words against her mouth, his hand light on her back, still giving her the option of retreat.
But the last thing she had in mind was retreat. She kept her mouth on his and he slid his hands into her hair and held her face still, taking all that she offered and more, his kiss demanding and hungry.
Someone groaned—her or him?—and then his arms came around her and he held her hard against him. The feel of his body made her heart race, and Jenna felt her linen skirt slide to the floor, even though she hadn’t actually felt him undo it. And suddenly she was acutely aware of him—of the strength of his hands, the roughness of his jeans against the softness of her skin, the hard ridge of his arousal—
‘Jenna—I have to—’ His hands were full of her, stripping off her skirt, peeling off underwear until she was naked and writhing against him. And her hands were on him, too, on his zip, which refused to co-operate until he covered her hands with his. This time instead of stopping her, he helped her.
Hearts pounding, mouths fused, they fell to the floor, feasting.
‘The bed is a metre away—’ Ryan had his mouth on her breast and pleasure stabbed hard, stealing her breath. ‘We should probably—’
‘No—too far.’ Terrified he’d stop what he was doing, Jenna clutched at his hair, gasping as she felt his tongue graze her nipple. Sensation shot through her and he teased, nipped and sucked one rigid peak while using his fingers on the other. The burn inside her was almost intolerable. Her hips writhed against the soft rug and she arched in an instinctive attempt to get closer to him. But she wasn’t in charge. He was. Maybe there was some pattern to what he was doing, some sequence, but for her it was all a blur of ecstasy.
The words in her head died as his hand slid between her legs.
It had been two years since a man had touched her intimately, and even before that it had never felt like this. Never before had she felt this restless, burning ache.
‘Ryan—’ The slow, leisurely stroke of his skilled fingers drove her wild. ‘Now.’
‘I haven’t even started…’ His voice was husky against her ear, and his fingers slid deeper. Heat flushed across her skin and her breathing grew shallow. Her hand slid down and circled him and she heard him catch his breath.
‘On second thoughts—now seems like a good idea…’ He slid his hand under her bottom and lifted her, the blunt head of his erection brushing against her thigh.
Trembling with expectation, Jenna curved one thigh over his back and then groaned when he hesitated. ‘Please…’
‘Forgot something—’ His voice hoarse, he eased himself away from her, reached forward and grabbed something from the cupboard by his bed. ‘Damn!’ He struggled with the packet while he kissed her again.
Jenna was panting against his mouth. ‘Just—can you please—?’
‘Yeah, I definitely can.’ He hauled her under him, dropping his forehead to hers. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Is that a serious question?’ She was breathless—desperate—conscious of the press of his body against hers. ‘If you stop now, Ryan McKinley, I swear, I’ll punch you.’
His laugh was low and sexy, and her stomach flipped as she stared into those blue, blue eyes. And then she ceased to notice anything because the roughness of his thigh brushed against hers and then he was against her and inside her and Jenna decided that if sex had ever felt like this before then she must have lost her memory.
Heat spread through her body and she tried to tell him how good it felt, but the sleek thrust of his body drove thought from her brain. He kissed her mouth, then her neck, ran his hand down her side and under her bottom—lifted her—
She moaned his name and he brought his lips back to hers, taking her mouth even as he took her body, and the pleasure was so intense that she could hardly breathe. Her nails sank into his back and the excitement inside her roared forward like a train with no brakes—
‘Oh—I—’ Her orgasm consumed her in a flash of brilliant light and exquisite sensation and she heard him growl deep in his throat, surging deeper inside her as she pulsed around him. She sobbed his name, tightened her grip and felt him thrust hard for the last time. They clung, breathless, riding the wave, going where the pleasure took them.
With a har