The Man From her Wayward Past

‘What are you doing now?’ she said as he tugged his top over his head.

‘Equalling things up a bit,’ he admitted.

‘But my chest isn’t naked,’ she protested.

‘Not yet.’

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Get a great dance teacher

Right about now you ‘re probably thinking, ‘How can she be thinking about dance teachers at a time like this?’

Well, with the best dance teacher in the world currently holding me in Perfect Hold, I feel confident in this area of my life too.

Well, sort of …

LOVEMAKING started with kisses, strokes and whispers of endearment, and that much she could do.

The lightest brush of Luke’s mouth sent pleasure jolting through her body. Her dreams had been full of this since the first day she’d seen him galloping flat out on the beach—though not as good as this … not nearly as good as this. And Luke proved to be the master of the outrageous suggestion, which aroused her even more.

She worried he wouldn’t find her full figure sexy, but when Luke tossed her top aside her breasts fitted his big hands so perfectly that for the first time in her life she didn’t wish them to be any different. There was such a connection between them she couldn’t have summoned up a gram of fear even had she wanted to. Her only wish was to be closer and to sink deeper into incredible sensation, and then have it last for ever.

Lacing her fingers through Luke’s hair, she kept him where she wanted him as he dipped his head to tease her nipple with his mouth. Each tug of his lips brought a corresponding reaction of pleasure that throbbed insistently between her thighs. She loved the feel of strong sun-bleached waves springing against her palm, and the rasp of his stubble as he raised his chin to look at her.

Seeing the look in her eyes prompted him to move down the bed, while she writhed beneath him, wondering about nerve-endings that must have been sleeping but were now leaping into life. Unable to bear the frustration a moment longer, she undid the buttons at the waist of her suit trousers and slid them down.

Dark heat was burning in Lucia’s eyes. Her hunger revealed itself in swollen lips and peaking nipples. Her inhibitions were lost in the need consuming her. All he wanted was for her to forget her fear, to be able to move past the block she had created in her mind to protect herself from the pain of what that man had done to her. He tasted innocence when he kissed her, which only made him all the more determined to protect her. He took time to enjoy the pleasures of her body. He drew deeply on the fragrance of her skin and revelled in her plump, smooth softness as she pressed herself against the hard, unyielding muscles of his chest.

‘You’re beautiful,’ he murmured against her mouth.

‘You have no idea what it took to get here.’

‘Stop it,’ he said gently. ‘Stop with the jokes, Lucia. I mean it when I say you’re beautiful. You’ve always been beautiful to me, and you’re even more beautiful now.’

She gasped when Luke’s hand touched her leg, but her eye contact with him didn’t waver as he stroked and reassured, aroused and excited her—though she sucked in another fast breath when his hand reached her thigh. But Luke was in no rush, and now he teased her lips apart and her brain grew woolly. Stroking his tongue with hers was the greatest intimacy she had ever known with him, and as he deepened the kiss she welcomed the thrust of his thigh between her legs. She even angled herself in an attempt to catch more pleasure, but Luke was too clever for that, and always managed to keep just that little frustrating distance away. Breath gushed out of her in an excited sigh when he cupped her buttocks. The heat of those big rough hands was holding her so safely, even as they placed her in the most unimaginable danger.

Falling in love is dangerous.

‘You’re such a brute,’ she murmured, making it sound like a compliment, which made him laugh.

Luke knew everything about delay and how it heightened pleasure. He knew she was swollen with need and that a pulse beat greedily at the heart of that need. But all he did was to cup her with one big hand, refusing to touch her where she wanted him to, almost as if he were stealing away her chance at pleasure.

‘How can you?’ she whispered heatedly, in an agony of desire. This was the worst frustration she had ever known. ‘How dare you?’ she complained when Luke just gave her that crooked smile.

‘How dare I?’ he said, lips tugging in amusement. And he kissed her with deadly efficiency and still held back.

‘Luke …’

‘What’s the problem?’ Luke murmured, lifting his head.

‘You,’ she said, biting down on swollen lips. ‘Why must it be like this? Why make me wait so long?’

‘Because pleasure should be savoured, and I want to make sure you are ready.’

As Luke said this she decided that if there was to be no reprieve she would take matters into her own hands, but her hands were shaking as she started to battle with the buckle on his belt. At least she had the satisfaction of knowing that Luke was massively erect, and by the time she managed to get her hands to the right place the zipper on his jeans didn’t so much open as explode. Maybe he was right about taking things slowly.

He rested motionless while Lucia undressed him. She was right in that compared to her he was a brute. He was twice her size and goodness knew how much stronger, and as he bathed in the light of her clean, bright innocence he felt like a satyr on the loose. The thought that Lucia had never known true pleasure at the hands of a man made him doubly aroused, and doubly determined to serve and satisfy, but he would wait for as long as it took for Lucia to feel confident.