“You think too much,” she responded, still exploring his body in a way she had to know was likely to drive him mad.
Richard swallowed hard, trying to maintain some control. “In other words, you’d prefer action?”
“At the moment, most definitely.”
He nodded. “Okay, then. I was taught to always defer to a lady’s wishes, at least in a situation like this.”
“Who taught you that? Destiny?”
“No, Mack. He has a very successful track record.”
“What did Destiny tell you when she taught you about the birds and the bees?”
“That sex is always better when you’re in love,” he said quietly, his gaze on her face.
Melanie’s eyes filled with an emotion he couldn’t quite fathom. He was getting better at reading her, but this was something new. Something tender. It gave him hope.
He wasn’t certain enough of his footing here, though, to say the rest of what was in his heart, that this was the very first time he’d put that theory about sex and love to the test.
The game had just taken a serious turn. Melanie felt the shift somewhere deep inside and it terrified her. She’d come down here because she’d lost the last shred of willpower and sense she possessed. She wanted whatever this trip would bring. She wanted memories to savor and cling to on the lonely nights in the future when Richard was out of her life again.
That day would come eventually. She had no doubts about that. He was obviously attracted to her, but chemistry was a transitory thing. Eventually he’d remember that she drove him nuts and they would stage their breakup. That would be that. It was what they’d agreed to, and Richard was known for not going back on his word. It was one of his most admirable qualities. Even her own preliminary press releases said so.
At least the certainty of a breakup was what she’d been counting on until about five seconds ago, when the look in Richard’s eyes had been so filled with heat and emotion that it had shaken her. Until now she’d had very little at stake. In fact, she’d believed the only real thing she could lose was an important consulting contract, which was why she’d tossed that aside earlier. It no longer complicated matters, and recent weeks had proved to her that her professional ideas and strategies had real worth. She would find other clients. She’d felt relieved the minute she’d quit the consulting job.
Now it was all personal. It all mattered. This heat between them, the growing respect they had for each other, her delight in Destiny and the rest of Richard’s family—all that had caught her off guard. She was flat out in love with Richard, but she’d learned once before that she couldn’t trust herself to accurately assess what a man was feeling. She’d been burned too badly last time.
Play it light. Pretend none of it matters. Those were the lessons she’d learned in her last disastrous relationship. She had to remember that now. She had to protect her heart at all costs. Until and unless Richard said something about calling off their fake engagement, until he suggested making it real instead, she had to operate under the belief that nothing had changed beyond their admission that the attraction between them was too hot to ignore.
“Why so serious?” he asked, his voice low, his gaze intense.
“I just got lost in thought for a minute,” she said. She forced an impish grin. “Where were we?”
He took her hand, kissed the palm, then placed it low on his belly. “Right about here, as I recall.” He gazed deep into her eyes. “And wandering.”
“Ah, yes,” she said, giving herself up to sensation again, thrilling to each touch she initiated, loving that he seemed willing to let her be in charge.
Richard’s gasp was audible when she ventured further, discovering his body in all its masculine splendor. A glint in his eyes, he suddenly flipped her on her back and began deftly undoing buttons and snaps, until she was naked beneath him. The shift in power left her breathless and wanting more.
“Let me see if I understand the agenda you have in mind,” he said, slowly working his way down her body.
Slow, exploratory caresses were followed by long, lingering kisses until she was writhing restlessly. There was definitely no need for external heat now. She was on fire from the inside out, a demanding, relentless fire that only he could quench. She could lose herself in flames like this.
“How long do you plan on tormenting me?” she asked, wanting him buried inside her, needing that connection, that fullness as his body stretched hers.
“A bit longer,” he said with another teasing stroke that was almost her undoing. “Let it go, Melanie.”