Full Surrender

He pressed the keys into her palm without touching her and she was pretty sure he’d kept his hands to himself on purpose. He hadn’t been kidding about being wired.

Her pulse pounded. She could feel it thrum everywhere, an insistent internal beat that urged her on. Soon, they were going to be together.

“Okay.” Her fingers closed around the cool metal. “Deal.”

Levering herself out of the car before he could even think about getting her door for her, Stephanie practically sprinted up the cobblestone walkway. The weathered cedar-and-stone structure had been built in a bungalow style with multiple roof peaks and dormers, plus a cute second-level deck. She reached the entryway door and slid open the lock, letting herself inside while Danny retrieved the small suitcases they’d brought.

She’d tried having sex two years ago during her failed relationship with Josh, but it had been awful. It wasn’t necessarily his fault, but she’d thought about Danny nonstop and ultimately known she was with the wrong guy. Of course, she’d been so slow to admit that to herself that she’d missed the opportunity to be with Danny on his last visit home. Her timing had been all wrong. Or, more likely, she was just slow getting herself together after her abduction. There’d been the year of nightmares, the fear of the dark, the counseling, the debacle of the book...

Now, she was where she needed to be.

She’d found the light switch and flipped it on when he came into the foyer behind her. Her longtime fantasy, come to life.

He bolted the door and took the keys from her, setting them on a window ledge in the living room, which was decorated in white and neutrals with a few dark wood pieces. A pair of old oars hung above a small stone fireplace. Antique snowshoes stood in the corner near the kitchen.

“You’ll warn me if you want to stop,” he told her, his voice low in her ear as one hand slid beneath the white cotton peasant blouse she wore. His palm was warm on her skin, his touch possessive.

“I won’t want to stop.” She swayed slightly, mesmerized by the thought of being with him.

Of ending a five-year dry spell that had made her fear she’d never feel this way again.

He turned her in his arms to face him. His green eyes burned right through her until she thought she’d go up in flames before they ever got to enjoy this time together.

“But if you need to, or if you have any worries—”

“I will warn you. I promise.” Her heart squeezed tight at his need to make that point very clear.

His nod was so quick she almost didn’t see it before he leaned down to take her mouth. She swooned like an old-time Southern belle, her knees going out from under her as she sank into him. Slipping her arms around his neck, she tried to anchor herself against the hard, muscular length of him.

He groaned and the sound echoed everything she was feeling. She knew she could lose herself in the moment. He’d proven it multiple times to her over the past two days. Now, she could simply enjoy sex like a normal, red-blooded woman.

There was no better gift he could have given her.

“Upstairs,” he managed to say between kisses. “Come with me.”

“I plan on it.” She released him and took his hand, following his steps as he turned a corner and climbed a staircase to the second level.

Dark hardwood floors were covered with a few woven rugs, while overhead the exposed ceiling beams were painted white. A few windows were open to let fresh sea breezes inside, as if someone had readied the place for Danny’s return. She hoped that whoever had prepped it didn’t mind waiting a little longer to see him. After five years, she refused to feel guilty about claiming dibs on him first.

They reached a large bedroom that overlooked the water in the distance. Big elms brushed up against the deck outside, the close branches making her feel as if they were in a tree house.

He took his shirt off and any fanciful tree house thoughts vanished. He was hard everywhere, his abs chiseled into rows that led her eye downward to more rock-solid body. His need for her could not have been more obvious. Or more gratifying.

She walked toward him, flicking open the top button on her skirt along the way. His gaze followed the movement, zeroing in on the small patch of bare skin she exposed.

“Let me,” he coaxed, his hands reaching for the next button. “I want to undress you.”

A shiver went through her at the scratchy roughness of his voice, the throaty rasp that made her feel as if he was dying of thirst and she was the drink.

“I’d like that.” She rocked her hips from side to side, edging the garment down a little more without ever touching it.

Her thighs brushed together, adding to the ache between her legs that had been growing since they’d been in the car. He hooked a finger in the V of the open placket and tugged her closer by the material. She stepped out of her flip-flops on the way. His shoes were already gone. She knew because they brushed toes on the carpet.