The grind of her against him, the movements not so controlled now, told him she was close. She chased her pleasure and he was happy to give it to her. He dropped his head and sucked on her nipple as she tensed then splintered around him. Crying out his name. He buried his head into the side of her throat, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair as she brought herself up to meet him and gripped hard. He knew she was going to come again and held out for as long as he could till she grabbed his backside hard and dug her nails in deep. She could draw blood and he didn’t care. A bright burst of light exploded in his head as he tumbled over the edge. Her sobbing cries announced she’d gone over with him, again. And as the world righted itself, he heard the whisper he was sure she’d never meant him to hear. Three words that changed everything.
‘Only ever you.’
CHAPTER EIGHT
MORNINGS WERE FOR reckoning, and Eve wondered how swift that reckoning would be today. She’d woken to a body aching, sated and boneless. But her heart and soul weren’t sated. They’d never get enough of this. The touches in the darkness, the furtive kisses. The screaming want that would never go away.
And this morning the fantasies in the darkness collided with the brutal reality of the daytime. What had she said last night? Hidden by the moonlight, it seemed as if any of her most furtive imaginings could be real. That time could be turned back, and she and Gage could pretend they were in their early twenties again, when anything had seemed possible.
So little was possible now, all their history wound up with secrets. She should get up, move. Leave this bed and this room and flee, and to hell with everything. Her family, the company. This, here, was risking her soul and she didn’t think she had enough strength to keep the charade going any longer.
‘Morning.’ Gage’s midnight voice didn’t suit the sunshine filtering into the room through gauzy curtains. It spoke of the night, of twisted sheets and whispered caresses that could be hidden. In the daylight there was nowhere to hide.
‘Morning back at you.’
In moments her world flipped, and she found herself rolled over and underneath a hot, hard body. Any thoughts of getting up and running away evaporated in a welling of need. She shifted under him and winced. It had been a long, passionate night with little sleep, but her aches eased, to be replaced by another—the hot slide of desire working low down. There was no ending to how much she craved this man.
‘Are you hurting?’ His voice sounded so gentle. The look on his face concerned. It was worrying, this time spent with him. He was less the hard businessman, more the generous lover. Someone dangerous in every sense to her health and happiness. He pushed himself further up on his elbows and looked down at her, as if checking.
‘A few aches and pains.’ She shrugged, trying for a nonchalance she didn’t feel. ‘As I said, it’s been a while.’
His eyes darkened to the blue of a stormy sea. His pupils almost swallowed any colour.
‘Ho
w long?’
Gage’s voice was soft, the question sounding innocent enough, and yet a thread ran through it, something dark and dangerous. It felt important and screamed a kind of warning. She’d broken open, leaving herself vulnerable in a way she hadn’t allowed for years. Words had spilled out of her like she’d been given a truth serum, and while most of them could have been excused as being whispered in the throes of passion, the heat of the moment, some couldn’t. She’d hoped he hadn’t noticed, but with Gage she’d never really had room to hide. This soft and caring man unravelled her every time. She looked away.
‘Long enough.’
Why couldn’t she say something sophisticated, urbane? Something a woman experienced in having great sex would say. Something to shut him down rather than crack the door open even wider.
‘Last night you said—’
‘Sugar, I say a lot of things when I’m chasing an orgasm.’ She would not let him use her words against her. Not words spoken in the heat of the moment. ‘Don’t believe everything you hear.’
She covered the lie well enough and what she’d said was designed to be brutal. She could deal with him angry. It’s what she wanted. Safer that way for her and for him. But the words left a sour taste in her mouth, felt tainted, because last night had been something special and beautiful.
She expected him to pull away in disgust, to leave the bed. Instead he settled down, over her. His gaze might have changed fleetingly, a tightness that she couldn’t read, but he didn’t shift. His forearms remained either side of her head, his thumbs stroking at her hairline. She wanted to close her eyes, to soak in the gentleness and the caring, but that would leave her exposed again.
‘I’m coming to realise what I should believe and what I shouldn’t,’ he said, skimming his lips over her mouth. The whole of her flooded with a slick heat. She didn’t care that she ached, she revelled in his hard body against hers. If they made love again, he’d forget this, they could lose themselves in pleasure and he wouldn’t ask the hard questions anymore.
When Gage’s lips descended on hers, she captured them, the kiss soft and coaxing. He groaned and the sound punched right through her. He was hard against her, aroused again with that one kiss and the tangle of their tongues, and she threaded her hands through his hair, widening her legs and rolling her hips against him. He was in the perfect position to slide easily inside her and carry them away to bliss again, but he didn’t, just let her grind against him till they were both panting and desperate. Then he adjusted his position and she sighed at the feel of him easing inside her. He whispered words in her ear that had her melting. ‘The feel of you against me. So perfect. Never wanted this so much.’
And she wanted it too. She wanted it all.
The impossible. Everything.
Tears pricked her eyes. Maybe she could lie about why she’d ended what they’d had, but then this would be like a house of cards, bound to blow over in a rough breeze. With their families loathing each other, there would be plenty of those. Better they remain here in a physical relationship and that was all. The sensation built inside her, that glorious burn, a wave of pleasure that she’d soon ride to oblivion so she could forget everything but his touch.
Except Gage pulled back, threaded his fingers in hers and raised her hands above her head, trapped her. His thrusts were gentle and shallow and avoided the contact she craved. His eyes were intent on her, so blue it hurt to look at them.
‘Look at you. So beautiful underneath me.’
She arched her back but he wouldn’t let her finish, watching her writhe against him. ‘Gage. Please.’
‘I love seeing you want me so badly.’