Acting purely on instinct, she turned and lay down close to him, resting her cheek on his thigh. Her hair spilled over him like a silky mantle. He sifted through it with unthinking fingers guided only by touch.
She ached with love for him and wanted him to know how marvelous she thought he was, body and soul. She lifted her head from his thigh, bent down, and kissed him.
What happened then was beyond her imagination or comprehension. With a soft moan Cage turned his head and began nuzzling her. Her panties were somehow discarded, though she could never recall quite how that came about.
She felt his hands on her thighs, stroking and caressing and parting. He touched her in the most supremely intimate way.
Then his mouth was there, warm and wet and gentle.
He made love to her and she caressed him with her lips and tongue. The world became a bowl of cream and she was submerged in it. The atmosphere was rich and delicious and velvety. In this realm there existed no jagged edges of feeling, no difficult emotions, no harsh realities. Everything was smooth and complete and understood. There was an absence of ugliness and ambiguity. All was beauty and light.
When he turned and braced himself above her, he whispered, "Open your eyes, Jenny. See the one who loves you."
Her eyes drifted open. They were hazy with passion, but Cage knew she saw and recognized him. With one swift thrust he sheathed himself in her satiny warmth. When he was secured deep inside, he smiled down into her radiant face.
He watched the patterns of expression dance across her features in response to his rhythmic stroking. He saw the wonder dawn in her slumberous eyes when he changed tempos and brought her to ever-higher levels of arousal.
He watched the light burn inside her soul when she experienced her fulfillment … and he saw her shine with love when he experienced his.
* * *
"You're precious to me and I love you, Jenny. I always have." His lips were close to her ear. The dusty blond strands of his hair mingled with the richer brown tones of hers on the pillow. His cheek felt as fevered as hers when he pressed them together. "I love you."
He raised his head and gazed down into her eyes, which were glimmering like emeralds. "I love you, too, Cage." She reached up to touch his cheek, his eyebrows, his lips, as though to convince herself that he was truly there and that it hadn't all been a dream.
"Remember what I promised you?"
"Yes. You kept your promise. It was beautiful, just as you said it would be."
"You're beautiful." He moved.
"No, stay inside me."
"I intend to," he whispered against her lips. "But I haven't even kissed you yet." He remedied that with a thorough kiss that kept his tongue nestled inside her mouth for breathless moments.
Working the T-shirt up, he pulled it over her head and tossed it aside. He lowered his gaze to her breasts and caressed one softly.
"I meant what I said, Jenny. I've loved you for a long time, but I couldn't do anything about it. You belonged to Hal. I accepted that without argument just as everyone did, including you."
"I sensed there was something between us. I didn't know what it was."
"Lust."
She smiled and combed her fingers through his hair. "Whatever it was, I was afraid of it."
"I thought you were afraid of me."
"No. Only of the way you made me feel."
"Is that why you avoided me?"
"Was I that conspicuous?"
"Hm." He was intrigued with her breasts, their shape, their dusky crests. He examined them lovingly. "I'd come around and you'd duck for cover."
"You were dangerous to be around. I would go to any lengths not to be left alone in the same room with you. You seemed to consume all the oxygen. I couldn't breathe." She groaned softly as he dipped his head and bathed the tip of her breast with his tongue. "You still take my breath away."
"I can't keep what you do to me a secret." He stirred inside her. He was hard again.