‘You really want me?’ She could barely believe this was happening. That he felt the same way she did.
‘Oh, I want you.’ He dipped his head to kiss the hollow of her collarbone. ‘Se thelo. I want you so much, Maddie. You blow my mind.’
Pleasure rippled down her spine. She affected him that much?
Then again, she reacted in exactly the same way to him.
She reached out and undid the buttons of his shirt. Slowly, achingly slowly, savouring every moment until she pushed the soft cotton off his shoulders. ‘You’re beautiful, too.’
He smiled at the whimsy. ‘Can a man be beautiful?’
‘Oh, yes.’ Her nod was emphatic. ‘And you are.’ He wasn’t lean and skinny, but he wasn’t fat either—just beautifully toned, with powerful shoulders and strong biceps and narrow hips and strong thighs. He really did look like a Greek god, one of the statues carved lovingly by sculptors in ages past. And the contrast between his olive skin and her own very fair English complexion made her shiver with pleasure.
He responded by sliding the straps of her bra off her shoulders and kissing the bare skin he’d revealed before unsnapping her bra and letting it fall to the floor between them. Then he dropped to his knees and teased her with his hands and his lips and his tongue, stroking her skin and kissing her until she was quivering.
And then it was her turn to touch him, to kneel down next to him and let her fingertips skate over his pectorals and down over his abdomen before undoing his belt and the button of his trousers.
‘My beautiful, beautiful Maddie,’ he whispered, and unzipped her skirt.
She’d thought that if their control ever did snap and they made love, they’d be ripping each other’s clothes off, desperately needing, wanting each other so badly that they couldn’t wait. But this slow, deliberate exploration of each other’s bodies was even more exciting. Taking the time to explore each other’s skin, learning the texture with their fingertips, discovering where a touch would make the other shiver with pleasure and where a kiss could elicit a little involuntary murmur of desire.
When they’d finally finished removing each other’s clothes, Theo brushed his mouth against hers. He teased her lips open so he could deepen the kiss, then he picked her up and laid her against the soft down pillows. He stroked her cheek, then kissed his way down her body; he paid attention to the curve of her inner elbow, the soft undersides of her breasts, discovering erogenous zones she’d had no idea existed. And then he started again from the hollows of her ankles and worked his way upwards, feathering kisses against her skin until she was quivering and parting her thighs.
‘Theo. Please. I need…’ she whispered, sliding her hands into his hair.
The first touch of his mouth against her sex made her shiver. The second made her breath hitch. And when he circled her clitoris with his tongue she couldn’t suppress an ‘Oh’ of pleasure.
The waves of pleasure built and built, until finally her climax hit. And when she’d stopped shaking, she realised that she was in his arms and he was holding her close. ‘Better?’ he asked softly.
She nodded and reached up to kiss him. ‘But I haven’t finished yet.’ She curved her fingers round his shaft, stroking and caressing until he arched against the bed and gasped with pleasure.
‘Now?’ she asked.
He opened his eyes; his irises were almost pure gold with pleasure.
This was a celebration of life. A reminder that life could be good as well as bad.
And how.
‘Now,’ he said.
But as she was about to move over him, his fingers encircled her wrist. ‘Nearly now,’ he amended, and reached with his free hand into the drawer of his bedside cabinet to fish out a condom.
Lord, that had been a near miss.
To think that making love with Theo could put her in the state where she actually forgot to be sensible…
‘Having second thoughts?’ he asked softly.
She knew that if she said she wanted to stop, he’d respect her enough not to push her—despite the fact that he was clearly very aroused. But she believed in being fair. He’d driven the demons away for her. She’d do the same for him.
She undid the little foil packet and rolled the condom over his shaft, then shifted so that she straddled him before lowering herself onto him. He tilted his pelvis slightly so he slid even deeper into her, and his fingers laced through hers as she moved over him.
To Madison’s amazement, her climax built again—far more rapidly than she would have believed possible. As she felt her body tightening round his, Theo released her hands, sat up, wrapped his arms round her and buried his face in her shoulder, breathing in her scent.