Dangerous Tides (Drake Sisters 4)

"Son of a bitch, Libby," he managed when his first coherent thought finally formed. "You nearly killed me."

She sank back on her heels. "I know." She was pleased with herself. "We'll frame that book, too."

"Hell, yes, we will." He loosened his fingers in her hair, struggling for breath. She was just kneeling there, her smile wide and her eyes bright with satisfaction and love. She looked utterly happy and he hadn't even touched her body. He had to turn his head away, afraid of showing too much. No gift would ever be so important, so treasured by him. She hadn't asked anything for herself, but her pleasure in the giving, in his body was nakedly obvious. Libby was so very transparent.

Tyson caught her arm to lift her to her feet, enfolding her close to him. "That was an incredibly selfless act, Libby."

She laughed. "Silly. It was selfish. I loved it." Her hand stroked down his chest, rested a little possessively on his shaft. "I'm very good at the things I love."

He swooped her up to hold her against his chest. "We actually have a bed. Since we've never tried one, I thought it might be a good idea."

The bedrooms were on the lower floor and he carried her down the spiral staircase. Not once did he turn on a light, but seemed to know his way through the house to the master bedroom. He laid Libby on the bed. "I finally had the electricity turned on, but I'd rather use candles."

She caught his arm. "I'll light them." Libby cupped her hands around her lips and blew softly toward the wick. A small flame flickered and she waved, creating a slight stir in the air. At once the candle sprang to life.

"Okay, that's very handy. Can you teach me how to do it?"

Libby laid back, her hair spilling across the pillow, without a stitch on, wondering how she could feel so completely at ease with him. "I wouldn't know how to teach it. I think we're just born able to do certain things."

He stretched out beside her, slightly on his side, head propped up with his hand. "Will our children be able to do that?"

Libby shook her head. "Nope, not like we have it. Elle's children will."

"What if something happened and Elle couldn't have children, would the magic just die out?" He dipped his head to flick her taut nipple with his tongue, drawing a quick inhale from her. "Because that would be a shame."

Libby smiled. He was talking, but he had that look on his face of utter concentration and he seemed far more interested in her body than the conversation. Even his voice was beginning to fade and that was all right with her. Every cell in her body was alive and pulsing with need. She was acutely aware of his fingers splayed wide on her belly and the brush of his hair against her breast. Every curl of his tongue sent heat radiating through her straight to the welcoming dampness between her legs. Libby wrapped her arms around him, holding his head to her, giving herself up to the slow leisurely pace he set as he explored her body.

"I love this little ridge right here, your hip bone." He rubbed the pads of his fingers over the bone. "Do you know how often I'd find myself staring at your hips and imagining myself lying just like this, your legs open and my face buried between them? I wanted to taste you so bad, Libby. I'd go to bed thinking about you and wake up with such a hard-on I thought I'd explode. I still can't believe you're here with me."

She tugged hard on his hair until he yelped. "I'm here, but I can't believe you were having erotic fantasies about me. I certainly never thought of myself as sexy and I never would have guessed you were looking at me that way."

Tyson retaliated by nipping the inside of her thigh. "I was looking at you. I realized somewhere in the second year of college that I was fixating on you. I didn't want to be a stalker--even in mind only--so I forced myself to stay away."

"Come here." She crooked her finger at him again.

"Where?"

"Right here." She patted her belly and widened her legs to accommodate his larger frame.

Tyson lifted his body over hers and settled down on her like a blanket, sliding his body deep inside hers. "You feel so good." It was an understatement, but it was the best he could do under the circumstances. His brain was malfunctioning again, wires crossing and electricity arcing so that every circuit was fried. And it was perfectly okay with him.

He began to move, long, slow strokes, watching her face closely to see her reaction to every pressure, every caress. He wanted to know her body, know what made her gasp, what forced those small moans from her throat and especially what had her bucking her hips and crying his name.

In the end, when she was nearly sobbing and he could no longer remember his own name, he allowed them both release, taking them over the edge so that they clung to one another, barely able to move.

Libby felt like spaghetti, so relaxed she wasn't certain she could make her way to the shower. She lay beneath him, holding him to her. "I love you, Tyson Derrick. I love you more than you'll ever know."

He kept his face buried in the softness of her neck, struggling to keep the tears burning behind his eyelids from being shed. Why did she have to go and say things like that when he had no idea how to respond? He tried to think back over his life, to remember if and when someone had said they loved him. "My Aunt Ida."

"What?"

"She said it to me once when I was very ill. I remember she came to my room and sat with me because my fever was so high. She told me she loved me."

"Of course she loved you. She left you a share of the house. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't think of you as her son."

"You're good for me, Libby."

"Silly man. I know that. I'm going to take a shower."

"I forgot we'd need towels."

She laughed as he eased his body away from hers. "You remembered candles but forgot the towels. I guess you hit all the essentials. I'll just drip dry."

"I'll be happy to lick the water off of you."

"Thank you. I may take you up on that." Libby slid off the bed and made her way to the large bathroom with the double shower and the glass doors. "Whoever built this house wasn't in the least bit modest, was he?"

She didn't wait for Tyson's answer, but stepped beneath the spray of water, allowing it to run over her skin like a downpour of rain. Even something so simple as a shower felt sensual. Tyson had changed her entire world, especially how she felt about herself. She rinsed her hair and wrung it out as best she could.

"I'm going to need a sheet," she announced as she returned.

"I thought I was going to be your towel."

"Take a shower, crazy man."

Libby laid down on the cool sheets and let the air dry her body as she listened to Tyson whistling in the shower. He was happy. She knew he was happy and she'd contributed to that, to making him feel loved and wanted. There was satisfaction in that knowledge.

She let herself drift on a tide of elation waiting for his return. She was nearly asleep when he came back, droplets of water running down his skin.

"Do you mind if I pull the drapes back?" Tyson asked, padding across the floor on bare feet. "I love looking out at the ocean."

Libby propped her head up on one hand. His thoughtfulness on asking her only made her love him more. "I definitely don't feel anyone hanging around the house. By all means, open the drapes." He looked delicious standing by the window with his hair slicked back and the small beads of water running into intriguing places.

The view of the shimmering sea was extraordinary. The moon was nearly full and spilled light across the water making it sparkle like a thousand gems.

"Look at the ocean, baby," Tyson said, opening the wide sliding glass door so the cool night breeze swept into the room. "The moon has such an amazing effect on the water. Do you realize that the sun has only a forty-six percent gravitational force on the earth? That makes the moon the single most important factor for creating tides."

He turned his head to look at her as she sat up, pushing her midnight black hair from around her face. There in the moonlight she looked otherworldly, a little fey, a little bit witch with her enormou

s eyes, generous mouth and pale skin.

Libby smiled at him. "The earth and the moon are attracted to one another, like magnets. The moon tries to pull everything on earth to bring it closer, but the earth is able to hold onto everything but water."

He walked back to her and bent down to kiss her temple before seating himself on the bed beside her, staring out the window. "Water is constantly moving so the earth can't hold onto it." He wrapped his arm around her. "I'm going to hold you still so there's no chance the moon will make a grab for you." He pretended to frown. "You don't fly on a broomstick across the moon, do you?"

She kept a straight face. "That requires levitation and only Hannah is really adept at that, although Joley might be as well."

He yanked his arm away, narrowing his eyes, studying her face. "You're lying through your teeth."

"Am I?"

"Why would anyone fly around the moon anyway?" he challenged.