“Yes, and no.” She took a deep, unsteady breath. “This is because of the account, but it’s more about you and me.”
He was afraid of that. “We didn’t…”
“I know, I know,” she interrupted. “I used the same arguments. But my mother was upset, and to be honest, she was right. Deep down, I knew how important this was to my family. I knew that on some level, getting involved with you would jeopardize our chances. I knew all of that, and I chose you anyway.”
He swallowed hard against the knot in his throat. “But you didn’t lose the account because of me,” he said staunchly, desperate to convince her. To convince them both, really.
She leaned over, putting her hand against the side of his face. “The point is, even knowing that…I’m still choosing you. I wouldn’t be here right now if I didn’t.”
He was humbled by the admission. Turning his face, he pressed a heated kiss into her palm. “I love you, Sophie,” he breathed. “And I hate to see you hurting like this. Especially because of me.”
“Then help me forget.”
She reached for him, her eyes full of need and sadness. He stood, tugging her to her feet. Then with great tenderness he swept her up, lifting her as though she weighed nothing, and carried her to his bedroom. He placed her on the bed gently. “Sophie,” he murmured, kissing her before releasing her. Slowly, he took off his shirt. She simply watched him, so he reached for her, helping her out of her clothing. He removed her jacket and unbuttoned her silk blouse with fingers that trembled. He’d had sex plenty of times in his past—and he’d had incredible, scorching-hot sex with Sophie, for that matter. But somehow, this time, it all seemed different and new. It meant more. This time wasn’t clandestine—they weren’t sneaking around, and the specter of business no longer loomed over them. They weren’t pretending this was “just one night” that didn’t mean anything, that didn’t affect them. She’d chosen him, she’d said. As far as he was concerned, this was the beginning of forever.
He kissed her neck as he stripped the blouse away, and she threaded her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, holding him tightly against her. He bit her skin delicately, then sucked, hard enough to leave a mark. She gasped but didn’t release her hold on him. If anything, she clung tighter.
It had been two weeks since he’d had a chance to talk to her, much less touch her. He wanted to drink her in. In the heated frenzy that was overtaking him, he felt as if he never wanted to be apart from her again. His mind reeled from the impact of that thought.
To get his bearings, he focused on the moment: the feel of her, the scent of her, the taste. He seemed hyperaware of her. “You’re so amazing,” he whispered, tugging off her skirt. “So beautiful.”
“You make me feel beautiful,” she replied. “When you make love to me…I can’t explain it. It’s magic.”
She was now in just her matching black underwear and stockings, complete with garter. He groaned as his body tightened in response to the inviting picture of her, lying on his bed in that state. He broke away from her long enough to strip off the rest of his clothes and roll on a condom. Her gaze devoured his body every second he was away. He dove for her, tenderness starting to slip in the face of an overwhelming hunger.
She obviously felt the same way because the moment he hit the bed she was touching him, her fingers gliding over the planes of his stomach, circling his shaft and stroking it until he groaned and involuntarily pressed forward. She kissed his chest, licking his clavicle lightly before nibbling at his shoulder. The counterpoint of butterfly-light caresses versus the insistent hand closed over his cock was enough to drive him wild. To his surprise, she nudged him onto his back with force.
“I want you,” she said, her eyes ablaze with it. “Right now. I want to take you.”
“Have I ever said no?” he answered with a rasping laugh.
“It wasn’t a question,” she said, and he was relieved when she laughed as well. It was a small step, but the grief in her eyes was receding. It was replaced with desire, yes, but something else…something he’d dwell on later, since now she was positioning herself over his taut body, taunting him by slowly edging herself onto him, teasing the tip of his cock with her entrance. Her breathing had gone shallow, and her eyes went half-lidded, her smile slow and bemused.
“You’re going to kill me,” he said through gritted teeth, after the torture had continued for several minutes.
“You’re a big guy. You’ll survive,” she said, but obligingly she lowered herself more, finally taking in all of him. Feeling the tight clutch of her body circling him forced him to concentrate everything he could on taking his time, not simply gripping her and driving his way toward completion. The feel of her was enough to make him lose his mind if he let her. He struggled, feeling every muscle in his body tense in the battle of willpower versus pleasure.
“Oh, Mark,” she said in a low voice as her body moved sinuously over his. His fingers dug into her hips, trying to somehow control her pace and hold her to him. She laughed, her hips moving in with a slight twist that made his eyes cross from sheer sensual overload. “This feels so good…”
His breathing was ragged. “Now I know you’re going to kill me,” he gasped.
“You’ll thank me later.”
Despite the joking quality in her statement, her face grew serious, her eyes closing as she focused intently on the task at hand. Her breasts jutted out proudly and he shifted his hands to cup them, eliciting a moan of pleasure from her. She pressed forward and he circled her nipples with his thumbs, gratified by her panting gasps of surprised desire. The action made her circle her hips yet again, and he almost lost it. His hips rose to meet the juncture of her thighs.
She leaned down, pressing the full length of her body against his, her hands gripping his shoulders, her legs twining with his and drawing him deeper into her welcoming warmth. Her breathing was now rhythmic and quick, her face drawn in sexual concentration. She was close, he knew it. “Come on, baby,” he whispered near her ear, biting her shoulder as he slammed upward, groaning when she moaned and ground her body against his.
“Ah…ah…” She threw her head back, her hips moving spasmodically against his. “Mark!”
She shuddered over him, and he drove himself into her, relishing in the sensation of her release closing around him. He waited for a full minute as she collapsed against him. It took everything he had not to give in and surrender himself with her. But he wanted this sensation to last.
“That was amazing,” she said finally, lifting her head. Then she looked at him, puzzled. “You didn’t, though, did you?”
“That one was for you,” he said. Then, with one deft motion, he flipped her onto her back, never exiting her body. “We’ve got all night, Sophie.”
All night, and the rest of our lives…
She laughed, and he delighted in the sound. The laugh turned husky as he moved inside her, the slickness of her orgasm making the motion fluid and easy. “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you,” he said as he began to move in and out in a simple, continuous motion. The tight feel of her, clenching around him, was like coming home. He had always enjoyed sex, but it had never felt this perfect before. He kissed her shoulders, her neck, the sliding caress of her body beneath his feeling both passionate and yet somehow comforting.
“I’ve never felt this way,” she responded, her legs anchoring themselves over his hips as she rose to meet his every thrust. She arched her back, exposing her neck to his heated kisses. The low, throaty moans that she whispered only seemed to heighten the sensations he was feeling.
She’s the most amazing woman, he marveled. How did I get so lucky?
They moved as one, rhythmically, as perfectly as a symphony, their bodies in a harmony of heat and beauty. She clutched at his shoulders, and he leaned down, his tongue twining with hers as they kissed deeply, their bodies connected in every way possible.
He gave himself over to her, the snug closeness, the way her every noise and movement seemed to turn him on even more. After a few moments, she was breathing hard again, and he could sense his own climax building.
“Sophie…baby, I’m…”
“Yes,” she said, her fingernails raking down his back and causing his pleasure to redouble. “I’m there, I’m going to…”
She cried out, and the sound and the sensation of her body closing around him yet again finally pushed him over the edge. His orgasm ripped through him like a cannonball, and he slammed himself against her willing body with a muted shout of release. For a second, there was absolutely nothing else in the world but her and the sensation exploding through him. He collapsed against her, his heart pounding, the blood rushing in his ears as he struggled for breath.
After long moments, he rolled to his side, still holding her. “That was amazing,” he said.
“That is an understatement,” she said, laughing. Then she smoothed the hair off his forehead, away from his eyes. “It’s always been this way. Indescribable.” She shrugged. “I never thought I’d be this insane for great sex.”