Next to the big four-poster bed, with Kristy in his arms, Jack ignored the heated accusations of betrayal and deceit that pounded away at his brain. Instead, he peeled away her silk dress, revealing her creamy, pink-tipped breasts, and honestly told himself he was the luckiest man in the world.
“Beautiful,” he murmured more to himself than to her. “So beautiful.” Then he placed a soft kiss on one tip and then the other.
Kristy drew in a gasp of pleasure, her fingers curling into his hair.
“I love you,” she gasped, and a knife twisted deep inside his heart.
“And I’m about to love you,” he growled in return, hating that he had to fudge the phrase. She deserved better.
“For just as long as you’ll let me,” he finished.
Then he tugged her dress down to her ankles and gently pushed her back on the bed to stare at smooth stomach, her lacy black panties and the creamy thighs that twitched ever so slightly in anticipation of his touch. He’d pay for this one, that was for sure. But no power on heaven or earth could stop him from making love to her tonight.
She reached for him, and he caught her hand, staring into her eyes as he kissed each one of her fingers.
“I want you so bad,” he told her truthfully. “Like I’ve never wanted anything in my life.”
She smiled up at him, blinking a sheen of moisture from her eyes. He stripped off his shirt, tearing most of the buttons. Then he yanked off his pants, and her eyes went wide at his naked body.
“It’s been…”
He waited.
“A while,” she finished.
A feeling of primal possessiveness welled up inside him. He reached for the delicate wisp of her panties and discovered his hand was shaking.
She covered his blunt fingers with her small, manicured hand.
“Nervous?” she asked.
Hell no.“Trying to take it slow,” he managed.
She hooked her thumbs into the lace strips at her hip bones and pulled downward. “Why?”
He blinked, transfixed by the light downy curls covering her innermost secrets. The rampage of lust that slammed into him almost knocked him over. He grasped her panties and finished the job for her.
“Damned if I know.”
Then he eased down atop her, kissing her deeply, urging her mouth open, capturing her tongue, while his hand worked its way down her smooth skin. He thrummed one nipple, rolling it to a peak, encouraged by the groans and moans and the wriggle of her small body under his thighs. He followed her ribcage, dipping into her navel, teasing her soft curls, feeling the puffs of her gasping breath against his ear.
Then her hands went on a journey of their own, along his side, her thumbs grazing his flat nipples, her fingertips digging into his back, just hard enough to ratchet up his desire. Then they trailed over his buttocks, to the backs of his thighs, her nails grazing his skin, circling in, starting a familiar pulse at the base of his brain.
In an act of self-preservation, he grasped her hands, dragging them up, pinning them firmly to the mattress on either side of her head. She tried to protest, but he kissed it away. He used his knee to nudge her thighs apart. Then he pulled back, ever so slightly, watching her expression as he eased his way inside.
Her lips parted, rounding in an “Oh,” while her hips flexed against him. He gritted his teeth, refusing to rush, letting her heat and moisture envelope him. Though his brain screamed at him to hurry, and his hormones battled his muscles for control, he forced himself to stop, to regroup, then to carry on one centimeter at a time.
Kristy thrashed her head from side to side. She drew up her knees and pushed her hips forward. But he drew back with her, controlling the pace, holding them both on the edge of exquisite torture.
His muscles turned to molten steel, and her pleas for mercy scalded what was left of his self-control. But he didn’t give in…didn’t give in…didn’t give—
A pithy swear word leaped from his soul, and he lunged forward, burying himself to the hilt.
She freed her hands, and her arms wrapped tight around his neck. Her lips and tongue planted hot, wet kisses along his shoulder.
His mouth was jealous, so he cupped her chin, lining her up for a carnal kiss as his body found its rhythm. He teased her tongue, sucked on her lips, tasted the sweet nectar of her mouth.
Her hands squeezed tight on his biceps, her fingernails denting his skin. Sweat formed between them, slicking their skin, adding to the eroticism of their joining. He cupped her buttocks, drawing her tight against him, tighter, tighter, as he pumped harder and faster. He could feel her muscles tense. Her mewls of desire grew higher pitched, louder against his ear.