With a soft cry, she anchored herself to him, her arms around his neck, her body hugging him, her legs tight at his waist.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she panted. “That feels so good. Will...please...more.”
He took her completely then, with everything in him. Pounding hard, his blood racing, his mind fogging to anything but the feel of her hot skin, her breath on his throat, her silky hair against his cheek.
He felt her next orgasm begin in the quiver of her limbs. Moments later, he was looking into her blue eyes and calling out her name. And as he gave her everything—and she did, too—he had the strangest sense of being owned.
No one had ever owned him. Not since he was a kid, when it felt like his father had wrapped a tight and jagged chain around him.
But when he was with Harper, it was as though something eased inside him.
Like a sweet refrain telling him everything was—finally—all right.
* * *
Harper couldn’t let go. Didn’t want to. Not when letting go meant returning to the world.
To reality.
She felt so wonderfully engulfed by Will, his skin warm, his muscles hard and hot. She wanted to stay like this, without thinking or questioning, just indulging her senses a while longer before they let reality seep back in.
Only...all the things she’d done with Will were the wild and crazy acts of another woman. A sexy siren. But she was so not that. And already the jittery nerves were rising again.
He’d called her baby. And in the moment, it had sounded so sweet, almost gut-wrenching. But she knew she needed to be honest with herself about the fact that it was a pet name most men used for casual sex buddies. Which should be fine, since that’s exactly what this was. She had to keep that firmly in her mind.
“Making love with you was absolutely perfect,” he murmured into her hair.
Again, though they were easy words, it felt like Will was infusing them with so much emotion, almost as though he was saying it had been more than just sex for him. Which, of course, he wasn’t. This had just been weeks of teasing, some really hot pheromones swirling in the air, and a fast ride in—and on top of—his sexy sports car.
She needed to remember that’s all it was.
Still, she wanted a few more moments in his arms. Just a few more and then real life could start up again.
“I must be crushing you,” he finally said, but he rose slowly, swiping his tongue over her shoulder. She’d never known a man like him before, such an innately sensual creature, always touching, licking, kissing. As he eased away from her, he trailed a hand over her skin and said, “The things you do to me.”
Except for her bra, she was naked on top of his car, her body still glistening with desire. And when he went to toss the condom, it was cold without him. Cold and exposed. So even though her limbs still felt boneless, she found her panties and dress on the hood beside her, tucked herself back into her bra, then slid off the hood of his expensive car and stepped into the dress.
A few moments later, he was beside her again, his hand warm on her back. “I’ll help you.” He did her up with a slow slide of the zipper, the brush of his fingers teasing her skin. “Taking you out here wasn’t exactly what I had planned for our first time.” He was nuzzling her neck, and it did things to her insides all over again. He bit the soft flesh between her shoulder and neck, sending shivers of delight through her. “But it was so damned sexy, Harper. You’re so damned sexy.”
She’d bought pretty lingerie, a new dress, and made a trip to the drugstore, all in the name of seducing him. She’d had intentions. And now she’d just had the most amazing sex of her life. She would not ruin everything because she couldn’t stop thinking of all the other women before her to whom he’d likely said the exact same thing.
She turned in his arms, looped hers around his neck, and said, “It was perfect.”
Her voice was too high and bright, overenthusiastic, like Jeremy’s. She needed to bring herself under control. The problem with Will was that he could make a girl lose her head.
But Harper couldn’t afford that.
* * *
Will changed his torn shirt while Harper corralled her brother. As soon as Jeremy climbed into the passenger seat of her car, he nodded off.
“You two should spend the night.” Reluctant to take his arm from around her waist, Will herded her a few feet away so Jeremy wouldn’t overhear their conversation, just in case he woke up.
“No.” Harper shook her head.
She could be stubborn, Will realized. And the truth was that one of the things he appreciated about her was her iron will. No one would ever hurt Jeremy while she was on watch. She would be the same way about her kids, he knew—protecting them with her life.
“We need to get home,” she told him. “Thank you for giving him a fabulous day. And,” she added with another one of those pretty blushes, “for the fabulous evening I had, too.”
Fabulous didn’t even begin to cover it. And even though he wasn’t nearly ready for the evening to be over, it was easy to guess that she didn’t want to sleep with him when Jeremy was in the house.
“I have several guest rooms. You don’t need to sleep in my bed.”
“Jeremy’s better with his routines at home.”
Clearly, Will wasn’t going to sway her. But he was going to leave his stamp on her one way or another, damn it, so he crushed her into his arms and took her mouth hard and fast. “Do you want to know my next intention?” he asked a beat later, his lips still touching hers. He could feel the rapid tattoo of her heartbeat against his chest. Her breath was fast against his mouth. She wasn’t unaffected—nowhere near.
“Will...tonight was a great break from reality, but it was—”
“Not a one-time thing.” It never had been, not for him, not when it was Harper in his arms. “I don’t want to lie to you. Not now, not ever. So you need to know I intend to do that again. Over and over. Every single delirious moment. And more. Whether you spend the night or not. Whether it’s in a bed or not.”
Then he kissed her one last time for the evening, a lingering moment of pure bliss that he hoped would make her long for him in the middle of the night as much as he’d be longing for her.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Will called early on Sunday morning, just after eight, but Harper was already up. “You and Jeremy want to come over for a little work on the car?”
God, how she wanted to. Inside, she wanted nothing more than to run to him. Being with him was so good but so dangerous. Too much of a good thing got you hooked. Besides, she didn’t want Jeremy to get too dependent on Will.
“Thanks, that’s nice of you, but we’ve got chores.”
He was silent for a moment, one in which she knew he wasn’t at all happy with her answer. But instead of pushing her, he said, “All right. But if you need anything—” He lingered on the word anything. “—don’t hesitate to call.”
He couldn’t possibly know how badly she wanted to say yes to his offer. But she shouldn’t do it. Not so soon after losing herself in his arms last night. And not so soon after he’d made his next round of intentions perfectly clear.
All night long in her dreams, his voice had echoed in her ears: I intend to do that again. Over and over. Every single delirious moment. And more.
“Thanks.” The fact that the word came out sounding a little breathless only solidified her decision to put some space between them, giving her time to recover from last night’s wonderland. She put on her best breezy and independent voice as she said, “Talk to you later.”
Because, for all that she worried about her brother, she was the one who could become dependent on Will if she wasn’t careful. Good sex was like chocolate truffles. Every so often, you gave yourself one as a treat. And she knew darn well that if she saw Will today, he’d manage to get her into bed. Or onto the workbench in the garage while he sent Jeremy off to have lunch with Mrs. Taylor. And then she’d end up even more deeply under his spell...
No, she couldn’t let herself forget that what she was doing with Will only worked as long as she didn’t let herself get too emotional or too involved. Short-term pleasure, that’s all this was. And when it hit its inevitable end, she needed to be absolutely sure that she could walk away with her head held high and no regrets.
* * *
Harper should have known better than to think Will would simply back off. On Monday, he wanted to talk to her while he was on Skype with Jeremy, but she told her brother she was too busy. A few minutes later, however, she had to step away to answer the doorbell…only to find a flower delivery guy waiting with a huge bouquet that Jeremy couldn’t stop marveling over. She might have done more than her fair share of marveling, too, when her brother’s back was turned.
On Tuesday, he had a gourmet lunch sent to her office, complete with chocolate and a split of champagne. She’d saved that for later when she got home.
The man was relentless. Which was probably why he was as rich as Midas. But she’d determined that she wouldn’t see him until Saturday. A week seemed appropriate. It kept things casual. At least, that was what she told herself during the day when she was rational.