Sanctuary(109)

she laughed. "It's all pretty much the same."

"I don't think so." He finished off his wine, set the empty glass down. Her eyes went from amused to wary as he walked toward her. "And I'm compelled to debate the subject. Right now."

"Nathan, that wasn't a challenge, it was just a . . ." The words slid down her throat when he swept her off her feet. "Wait a minute."

"I was on the debate team in college." It was a lie, but he thought it too good a line to miss.

"I haven't said I was going to sleep with you."

"What do you care?" He started down the short hallway. "You're ambivalent, remember?" He laid her on the bed, slid his body over hers. "And a little tan never hurt anybody."

"I don't want-"

"Ye s, you do." He lowered his mouth, keeping only a breath between them. "So do I, and I have, right along. You're in an honest mood tonight, aren't you, Jo? Tell me you don't wonder, that you don't want?"

His body was warm and solid, his eyes clear and direct. "wonder

,,That's good enough." He crushed his mouth to hers.

The taste of it, the sudden, sharp demand of it, pushed the worries out of her head. Grateful, knowing he would expect no more than what she had, she lifted her arms to wrap around him.

"Your mouth." He scraped his teeth over that wonderfully overfull top lip. "Christ, I've wanted that mouth. It drives me crazy."

she would have laughed, nearly d'd. Then his tongue was tangling hotly with hers, and the unexpected burn streaked down to throb between her thighs. It ,ook only her moan to have him diving deeper.

Staggered, she clenched her fists in his hair. He hadn't kissed her like this before. she hadn't known that the pressure of mouth to mouth could cause a thousand wild aches in a thousand places. His hands stayed cupped around her face, as though everything he wanted centered only there.

she moved under him, a tremble, then an arch of hips. He had to tear his mouth from hers and press it to her throat to keep himself from rushing both of them. The scent of her skin, that zing of some early spring fragrance, was another welcome shock to his system. He lingered there, tormenting them both until the pulse under his tongue was racing.

He was undoing her, knot by knot. Moment by moment her body loosened, the shifts and quakes inside her spreading, building. There was excitement in not being quite able to catch her breath, not being quite sure where his mouth would travel next. Enchanted, she ran her hands over his shoulders, down his back, pleased with the bunch and flow of male muscle under her fingers.

When his mouth came greedily back to hers, she met it gratefully, delighting in the edgy jolts that snapped through her system. she arched again, mildly frustrated with the barriers that prevented her from taking him inside her. The need for physical release was greater than she had imagined.

He caught the lobe of her ear between his teeth and bit. "We're not settling for ambivalent this time."

He eased back, straddling her. The last rays of the sun streaked through the west window and set the air on fire. Her hair haloed around her face, the deep, smoky red of autumn leaves. Her eyes were high-summer blucher skin the delicate rose of spring.

He lifted her hand, kissing the fingers one by one.

"What are you doing?"

"Savoring you. Your hand's trembling, and your eyes are full of nerves. I like that." He scraped his teeth over her knuckle. "It's exciting."

"I'm not afraid."

"No, you're confused. " He lowered her hand, unfastened the first button of her blouse. "That's even better. You don't know what I'm going to make you feel next."

When her blouse was undone, he parted it, then slowly let his gaze slip down. Underneath she wore a bra of electric blue, the sheen of satin dipping low over the milk-pale swell of her breasts.

"Well, well." Though his stomach tightened with the need to deyour her, he lifted his gaze back to hers. "Who would have thought it?"

"It's not mine." she cursed herself when he smiled. "I mean, I only bought it and wore it out of the store to stop Lexy from hounding me.

"God bless Lexy." Gently, watching her face, he skimmed his thumbs just above the edge of the satin. Her lashes fluttered, lowered. "You're holding back on me." He skimmed his thumbs a fraction lower. "I won't let you. I want to hear you sigh, Jo Ellen. I want to hear you moan. Then I want to hear you scream."

she opened her eyes, but her breath caught when he scraped his thumb over her nipple. "Oh, God."

"You hide too much, and not just this remarkable body. You hide too much of Jo Ellen. I'm going to see it all, and I'm going to have it all before we're finished."