He stepped between her thighs and caught her face in his hands. The instant he entered her space, her senses filled with the scent and power of him and her bones melted.
“Marry me,” he coaxed. “You won’t regret it.”
Her heart jolted as he regarded her somberly. With his proposal ringing in her ears, she gripped his sweater, and then hesitated, uncertain as to whether to push him away or pull him close.
“Nathan.” His name left her lips in a low plea for him to stop, to continue. He swooped into her moment of indecision and took charge. Dipping his head, he grazed her lips with his. The action froze them both.
“Sweet heaven,” he murmured.
An astonishing tumult fluttered in her breast as he dragged his mouth over her
s, absorbing her breath, teasing her with the promise of passion. Emma lost herself in the pliant caress of his lips. A sigh broke from her throat.
Then shock dimmed, replaced by a sweet wildness. Her heart plummeted to her toes only to rebound into glorious rapturous flight. She opened to the questing fire of his tongue, and the whirling increased, forcing her to hang on for dear life.
Hard arms came around her, binding her so close to his chest, their hearts beat in time. She wanted control of her body. She wanted control of her mind. Emma got neither. Nathan’s kiss seduced reason from her world.
She slid her fingers into his hair, savoring the caress of softness against her skin. His hands moved slowly down her spine, unleashing an earthquake of trembling. Every nerve ending came alive with rollicking, shivering delight. Behind her eyes, stars sparkled.
No one but Nathan made her feel like this.
So much.
So fast.
Buffeted by emotion too strong to resist, she watched dry land recede. Protecting herself in a harbor might be dull, but she wouldn’t drown in heartache. But it was too late to turn back. She was adrift in a stormy sea of passion. She would have to trust Nathan to guide her safely home.
Releasing fear, disregarding the promises she’d made to herself, Emma locked her legs around his thighs, holding him close with her soles pressed against his calves. His kisses became more demanding. With her arms wrapped around his neck, she surrendered to his strength, needing his mastery, yielding to his passion.
By pressing his hips toward hers, he made her aware of his arousal. His need. The hard length of him nudged against her core, already lava-hot. Her blood pooled and pulsed between her thighs, awakening a hunger that could only be slaked by this man.
He swept scorching caresses up her sides, edging the fabric of her T-shirt up. She moaned as he swallowed her breasts in his palms, fingers gliding along her skin, measuring and caressing, driving her crazy as he circled her hardening nipples.
“Emma.” He rasped her name, half entreaty, half demand. “Look at me.”
Losing herself in the sensations raging through her would be a lot easier with her eyes closed. She could concentrate on his deft touch and pretend that Nathan caressed her with emotion as well as passion.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“You can’t run from this.”
No, but she could hide.
A sigh slipped from between her lips as she opened her eyes and met his gaze. The expression on his face warned her that he intended to devour her. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She couldn’t. Her longing for him trapped her as effectively as the steel bars of a cage.
“Good.”
When he ducked his head, Emma watched him swirl his tongue around her breast and she arched her back, pushing into the caress, as aroused by his touch as she was by the sight of what he was doing to her.
His hand slipped beneath the elastic of her pajama bottoms. Her breath emerged in a frustrated groan as his fingertips dipped between her thighs and stopped short of where she wanted him. She pressed herself against him, gyrating in a manner that demonstrated her need.
“Touch me,” she pleaded, long past caring how smug he might be at the depth of her desperation. All pride and every hesitation flew out the window whenever he touched her.
She moaned as he obliged, her body shuddering as his clever fingers slid against her.
“Oh baby, that’s it,” he crooned before claiming her mouth again. “Let go.”