"You can thank Mel for that, too. She picked it all out for me."
"Remind me to buy her something nice." He stood up behind her and removed his tie and shirt, never taking his eyes of her scantily clad body. She looked like an underwear model with her toned body and high heels.
"I can't believe you hid this body under all those ugly clothes. Think of all the months we've wasted."
"I shudder to think," she said, unable to take her eyes off his own fantastic form. It was the first time she was able to really see his body in the light. Their previous time together had been fast and furious, lust and heat and fulfillment found by groping in the dark.
"Yummy," Anna said, licking her lips. "You're not too shabby yourself."
Dylan brought her close, so their bodies barely touched, and kissed her passionately, their lips melding in perfect accord. The intensity grew and the kiss became softer, slower, deeper, until he was sure he'd die with the taste of her on his lips.
Anna slipped her finger just under the edge of his slacks, touching the sensitive skin around his middle. She unhooked them so they pooled around his feet, and she found him ready for her, heavy with arousal.
"I need you," she said, kissing the underside of his jaw. She hitched herself up and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. The only thing separating them was the thin swatch of lace that covered her mound. Her hands skimmed up and down his back, and her nails bit into his shoulders as she felt her bra slip away, leaving her totally bare before him.
Dylan kissed her again, this time hotter and harder than before, branding her with every stroke of his tongue. The scent of her was everywhere, clouding his mind with the haze of lilac and desire.
The sun was setting and the last rays of light reflected off her golden skin. He couldn't help but kiss his way down to her breast and sample the sweetness there. He trailed his fingers over the arch of her back as she leaned across his arm, her legs still wrapped around him firmly, and he devoured the sensitive flesh.
"You are so beautiful," he said as the sun's final light illuminated her body. He lifted her higher so she arched over the back of a leather recliner on the private jet, and he ran his fingers just inside of the black lace panties she wore.
He left the soft flesh of her breast and nuzzled his way down to the taut skin of her belly, making her muscles quiver, and then jump as his lips closed over the thin lace.
"Oh, God. . ." Anna moaned out at the feel of the wet heat of his mouth against her core. "Mmm. . ."
Dylan moved her to the chaise lounge and laid her down gently. He removed her panties and looked at the petals before him, glistening with need and desire for him. He placed his palm over her heat and watched as her eyes clouded with surprise as he drove her up to a fierce peak.
He replaced his palm with the tip of his tongue and stroked her gently, watching as she went up in flames again, sobbing out his name until she went limp with pleasure.
He'd never wanted another woman as much as he wanted Anna, and now he knew he never would. He was determined for her need to be as fierce as his own, for her love to mirror his. Love. There was that word again. He was tired of fighting it.
"I need to touch you," Anna said, reversing their roles. She pushed him over so she rose above him and devoured him with her mouth and hands, desperate to feel him against her.
"Let me. Let me touch you," she begged desperately.
He was so hard beneath her touch-hard and hot enough to set them both ablaze with one embrace. She skimmed her mouth down his body with wet kisses and then finally took him in her mouth.
The breath hissed out of his lungs at the feel of her mouth circling him, stroking him until he knew he wouldn't last a minute longer with any more of her sweet torment.
"God. . .stop," he begged. "I won't last."
She needed to be joined with him, more than she'd ever needed anything. She straddled his lean hips and prepared to take him to the hilt.
"Not yet," he said as he flipped their positions once again, rolling her onto her stomach. "I want to feel you under me."
"God. Please. Please Now," she yelled. She was mad with want, and she felt the control leave her body as she hurtled toward insanity. She gripped the head of the chaise in a fierce grip as he bit the back of her neck in passion, like a stallion ready to mount his mare.
"Now," he echoed as he plunged into her.
He seized her hips in a hard grasp and rode her hard, spurred on by the little cries she made in the back of her throat. He felt her close around him in a tight grip, her silky sheath made especially for him, and cry out a scream of ecstasy in her release.
"More," Dylan said as he turned her back over to face him.
He slipped back into her easily, her flesh swollen and clasping him tighter in its embrace. She arched into him, the rise and fall of their bodies like a sinuous dance, as flesh met flesh. He watched her turquoise eyes as they clouded over with pleasure, and he hoped with all his heart it was love he saw shining in their depths.
She pulled him to her tightly, gripping fiercely with her arms and thighs, as she came in a violent climax that left her shattered.
"Dylan."
The sound of his name coming from her lips brought forth his own climax, and he emptied himself inside of her with the promise to love her forever spoken from his lips.
Dylan felt her stiffen beneath him and knew he'd spoken the words from his heart aloud. He wasn't about to take them back though. They were spared from having to talk about it by the captain coming over the intercom announcing they'd be landing in the next few minutes.
Dylan got up slowly on shaky legs and helped Anna into an upright position. He watched her as she kept her gaze down and gathered up her clothes.
"I'm going to clean up in the restroom and get myself put back together," she told him, never making eye contact and closing herself in the bathroom.
He pulled on his clothes, thoughts weighing heavily in his mind. This wasn't the way he'd imagined love between two people. He didn't really have anything to compare to since his first marriage had never come close to experiencing the emotion. But Anna was different. He loved her, and the pain piercing his chest told him it was real because surely if it was only lust it wouldn't make him feel as if his heart had been ripped out when she didn't reciprocate the feelings.
He sat down in his seat and downed the untouched glass of champagne he'd poured Anna earlier. The plane touched down in Dallas with little fuss and he grabbed both of their bags and headed to the bathroom door.
"Are you ready?" he yelled through the closed door. He felt they were miles apart instead of mere inches. He'd been taking one step forward and threes steps back since the beginning of their relationship.
Anna stepped out of the restroom with a forced smile plastered on her face, but her eyes were wary and a little scared. "I'm ready when you are."
Dylan seriously doubted the statement, but followed her out of the plane and into the waiting car anyway.
Chapter Twelve
The Mansion on Turtle Creek was a five star hotel and restaurant Dylan had frequented often when he'd lived in the city, for business and for pleasure, and he'd wanted to give Anna a memorable experience on their impromptu trip. So far, memorable was definitely an apt description.
"Good evening Mr. Maguire." The bellman greeted Dylan like an old friend and took the two bags from the trunk of the rental car.
"Nice to see you again, Maurice. It's been a while," Dylan said, discreetly palming a tip into his hand.
Anna looked at the hotel in wonder. It was perfect. Small and tucked away in its own private forest, the running water of its famous creek a trickle in the background. She followed Dylan up to their suite and kept silent, unsure of what she could possibly say. She felt empty and ashamed that she'd let herself fall in love with a man who wasn't capable of loving her for an eternity.
She'd heard the words she was thinking slip through his lips, but she'd also seen the expression of regret as soon as he'd said them. She knew logically that men said things they wouldn't normally in the heat of the moment, but it didn't make the want to hear them or the need to believe them any less painful.
Dylan had probably said those words to dozens of women over the years. Why should she be the exception? In fact, why should she be the one to spill her guts and take a chance on love when it was all just a word game to him? She was the one who had the most to lose. Love wasn't something that came easily to her. She knew she loved Dylan, but she was still afraid of what it meant. And now her fear was doubled because what would happen when he realized he didn't really love her back?