Humor danced in his eyes. "I value my skin too highly to risk disappointing your legion of fans. And it would be a pity to deprive the world of your tremendous talent."
"Do you truly mean that?" Julienne asked, warmed by his praise.
"Unequivocally. I have the greatest respect for your acting skills. Your genius is what brought down a traitor." Dare bit into a cream-drenched strawberry, then offered her the other half as he chewed thoughtfully. "Although… you may want to consider retirement once we have children."
Julienne turned to gaze at him solemnly. They had never discussed the issue. "Do you want children?"
His gaze was serious and devilish at the same time. "Not only do I want children, my darling, but I want the sublime pleasure of making them with you."
"May we begin soon?"
His slow, lazy smile was absolutely devastating. "I thought you would never ask," he replied, raking a searing look over her.
They undressed each other without haste, pausing to savor the texture and feel of each other's bodies… the sun-warmed skin, the heated pulses, the vital curves and hollows.
Julienne shivered when Dare's lips suckled the breast he had just bared.
"I know some inventive methods of using cream," he murmured, "but right now I only want to taste you. Come here, love."
He lay back languidly on the blanket, the image of virile strength, and reached his arms up in invitation.
Julienne, however, hesitated, wanting to treasure this moment. She could scarcely believe she wasn't dreaming. Dare was actually her husband at long last.
Breathless with wonder, she let her gaze drift over his body, drinking in his incredible masculine beauty…his lithe elegance, his lean hardness, his erotic smile, his emerald eyes that smoldered now with heat.
Every part of him was dear to her. She loved him with such deep certainty that he was part of her.
He was her heart, her passion, her joy. He was her destiny; he had always been so. Yet this moment had been so long in coming.
Rapt desire filled her as she bent over him. She ran her hands up his body, her fingers splaying along his muscles, supple and rippling beneath his feverish skin. She heard his ragged moan as her lips met his in a lingering kiss…
But Dare apparently wasn't willing to allow her control this time. Impatiently he shifted their positions, so that she lay beneath him, at his mercy.
His touch was exquisite and scorchingly sensual, his eyes bright and burning as he caressed her with his long, skillful fingers. He made love to her just as he had all those years ago, tenderly but impossibly demanding. He cherished her with his mouth and hands and body, arousing her to the burning point.
When he at last entered her, Julienne sighed with utter bliss at the sleek power and hardness of him.
Wrapping her legs around him, she moved with Dare in perfect unison, arching against him, crying his name as he claimed her, filled her, possessed her. And when the shattering explosion came, they melded together, two hearts coming home at last, forged into one by endless caresses of fire.
Afterward they lay together dreamily, breaths mingling, relishing the blissful sense of entwinement. Holding Julienne close, Dare felt a contentment so rich it vibrated deep into his soul.
This was pleasure, he thought. The kind of heartfelt pleasure that came from true love. This was joy. The kind of precious joy that made his heart sing.
Almost as if she could read his mind, Julienne nuzzled his shoulder with her lips, her voice weak when she whispered, "I can well see how you earned your nickname, the Prince of Pleasure… But I confess I don't mind disappointing your legion of fans… all the countless damsels who will be heartbroken because you are retiring from the lists."
Summoning his strength, Dare raised himself up on one elbow so that he could see her beautiful face.
"I'm not retiring," he contradicted, offering her his bone-melting smile. "Merely concentrating all my effort on one particular damsel." Bending, he touched his lips to hers as his voice lowered to a rough whisper. "I want to pleasure you all the way down to your soul, my beloved Jewel."
Julienne reached up to bring his beguiling mouth down to hers. "You always do," she murmured, giving herself up again to his enchanting caresses.