All or Nothing

Now he had to face up to the fact that it was over between them, and she would move on to live the life she deserved. The one he’d never come close to offering her. She would find the man she deserved who would give her a real home and cute babies.

Forcing out words to set her free damn near split him in half. “Jayne, I never wanted to hurt you.” He clasped her wrists, holding on to her for what would be the last time. “I only want you to be happy.”

She angled back to stare deep in his eyes. “Then make love to me.”

Eight

Leaning forward, her hip digging into the sofa cushions, Jayne skimmed her mouth over Conrad’s, praying he wouldn’t push her away again.

Desperate to see this through.

His admissions, his outpouring from deep in his soul only confirmed her conviction that he was a much better man than he realized. And regardless of whatever else had happened between them, she wasn’t turning back from right now, right here with Conrad.

She sensed his restraint, his lingering concerns about protecting her from her dream or from herself. Whatever. To hell with holding back. She poured all her frustration and bottled emotions into the way her body ignited around him. Arching upward, she swung her leg around and over until she straddled him, bringing her flush against the hard length of his erection. She rocked once, twice, her hips to his until she felt the growl rumble in his chest. His arms shot up and around her, locking her to him.

A purr of relief spiraled up her throat.

“Jayne, are you sure this is what you want?” he asked between possessive kisses.

“Absolutely. We’ve both waited long enough. Stop talking and take me, damn it.”

And thank heaven he listened and agreed. Angling her back onto the sofa, his solid body pressed her into the welcoming pile of pillows. He hooked a finger along the lacy edge of one sleeve, sliding along her shoulder and around until he skimmed her breast, launching delicious shivers of anticipation.

Desire surged liquid heat through her veins in a near-painful, all-over rush. She’d laid awake so many nights, aching for him, tempted to reach for the phone and just hear the sound of his voice. The rumbling timbre of him speaking her name then and now sent her spine bowing up toward him, as she wriggled to get closer.

She thumbed the buttons on his shirt free and yanked the fabric off his shoulders, sending it sailing to rest on a water bottle. Sighing, she splayed her fingers over his chest, up along his shoulders to pull him to her again. The heat of his bare flesh seared through her nightgown, her breasts tingling with awareness. How had she made it through the past three years without him, without this?

Her hand slid between them, down the front of his jeans, stroking his erection straining against his fly until he throbbed impossibly harder against her touch. She fumbled with the top button then eased the zipper down. Her fingers tucked inside his boxers, and he groaned low in his throat.

The steely length of him fit to her hand, familiar even after years apart. Although in some ways it seemed like no time at all, given all the hungry dreams she’d had of him coming to her bed again. Or in some of her more uninhibited fantasies he’d come to her in other places. Whisking her away from work to make love in the car. Joining her on a beach walk where they slipped behind a sand dune together. Or appearing next to her in a dark theater...

But she always woke up alone, unfulfilled and knowing he would never come for her. She had to move on with her life.

God, her thoughts were running away from her, threatening to steal this moment from them again.

Conrad shifted on top of her, and she gripped his shoulders to hold him in place. “Where are you going?”

“Jayne, I’m not leaving.” His hands never stopped moving and arousing her even while he talked. “I packed a box of condoms in my suitcase, because even though I didn’t just assume we would sleep together, I sure as hell wasn’t going to lose the chance due to poor planning.”

“Guess what?” She slid her hands around, digging her nails into his buttocks. “I’m a good planner, too.”

“Then lucky for us, we have plenty to get through the night.” He slid off her and stood, wearing nothing but his jeans, open and low slung on his hips in a tempting V. “So do I go get mine and come back, or do we move to the bedroom?”

Her brain was so fogged just staring at him that she struggled to form an answer. She didn’t want to think. She just wanted to feel him over her, moving into her. But if they stayed here, there would be the awkward moment afterward when they pulled themselves together afterward and walked to separate bedrooms—which was insane, since she was his wife. For now at least.

And she realized exactly what she wanted. To be in his bed, to make love there and sleep in his arms.

“Let’s go to your room.”

Before she could say another word, he swept her against his chest in such a macho show of strength she smiled just before she flicked his earlobe with her tongue then drew it between her teeth, enjoying the slightly salty taste of him.

The lingering scent of his aftershave mixed with the musk of perspiration on his skin. She drew in the smell of him, the feel of him, until even the silk of her nightgown felt itchy against her oversensitized skin. The hard wall of his muscled chest wasn’t the one of a paper pusher or a man who’d become soft from years of high living. He could take charge in every realm, intellectually and physically, and that duality turned her on all the more.

He shouldered open his door, revealing a massive teak bed sprawling in front of a window overlooking the river. Then she didn’t see anything other than the linen drapes on the ceiling over the bed as he settled her in the middle of a simple cotton comforter. He angled to his suitcase on the stand, pulled out a box of condoms and tossed it on the bed before leaning over her again.

With competent and quick hands he bunched her gown in his fists and swept it away. The breeze over her skin made her want the press of his body but he sprinkled kisses along her stomach, took the edge of her bikini panties between his teeth and tugged. She thought of the panties he’d torn from her body in the elevator, of how he’d given her such an intense release.

At the first nuzzle between her legs, her knees fell apart and her bones turned to liquid. The flick of his tongue and gentle suckling brought her to the edge too fast, too soon. She clawed at his shoulders, drawing him up, but he stopped, teasing the tight nipple the way he’d licked and laved the tight bud of nerves.

He had her writhing on the comforter, aching to take this further, faster. His hand slid down to replace his tongue with a knowing touch. He inched his way back up her body until his mouth settled on her breast and his fingers between her legs teased in synchronicity, playing her perfectly. He knew her, just like the night at La Bohème. Except now she was naked and they were alone so he had free rein for more. He stroked the tight bundle of nerves with his thumb while sliding two fingers deep, crooking at just the right spot.

She gasped and pressed harder against his hand even as she wanted all of him. “No more playing. I just want you inside me.”

“And you can be damn sure that’s exactly where I want to be.” He rolled her nipple lightly between his teeth. “But I want that—want you—so much and it’s been so long, I’m not going to last. I need to take care of you first.”

She circled him, stroking...her thumb rolling over the damp tip. And yes, she was every bit as close to coming apart.

“That works both ways you know, the part about having gone without sex for too damn long.” She reached for the condom box and tugged free a packet. “No more waiting. If we come fast, then we get to linger later, but I can’t wait anymore.”

Determined to delay not a second longer, she sheathed him with a familiarity and newness that she still didn’t quite comprehend. The fan rustled the curtains around their haven.

He held her face, looked into her eyes and said, “There hasn’t been anyone since you. No one comes close to turning me inside out the way you do. And even when I resent it like hell, there’s no denying it. I only want you.”

His words stilled her hands. No one since her? For three years?

She wanted to believe him, ached to believe him. Because she felt the same. She even understood the part about resenting the way this feeling for each other took over her body and her life.

And then he kissed her. He thrust his tongue as he pushed inside her. Filling her, stretching her with more of that newness after so damn long away from each other. The sweet abrasion of his chest rasped along her nipples. The hard roped muscles of his legs flexed with each pump of his body. She dug her heels into the mattress and angled up against him until the gathering tension in her pulled even tighter, bringing her closer.

Her hand flung out to grab the headboard, the intense sweetness was almost too much. She wanted to hang on to the sensations as tightly as she held the headboard, but he’d taken her too close to the edge with his mouth and his skillful touch.