Meeting her eyes deeply—as if he was trying to communicate something wordlessly—he sank into a kiss.
It was so sweet and so rich that Amy closed her eyes and moaned against his mouth. Not from erotic desire but from the overwhelming need in her heart. His lips brushed against hers with soft, tantalizing pressure, and his tongue traced her open lips and then dipped into her mouth to tease and soothe.
She gasped in relief when he finally pulled away, since she was almost weeping from the beauty of it, the depth of it, and what she wished it meant. “Wow,” she drawled, trying to lighten her feelings by underestimating the kiss’s effect on her. “That was pretty good.”
He didn’t respond to her words. Just kept gazing into her eyes. And then lowered his mouth again, causing Amy to tense in preparation. He pressed little kisses into her cheek, her jaw, then down to her throat.
She’d thought she’d be safer when he moved away from her mouth, but every touch of his lips was purely tender.
He was demolishing every calculated barrier she’d built up around her heart. “Owen,” she breathed, because she couldn’t help but say his name.
His face was buried in the crook between her neck and shoulder. “Hmm,” he murmured, tangling his fingers in her hair.
Her hands were clutching at him, as if they resisted ever letting him go. “Owen,” she said again, her voice wispy, needy.
“Hmm,” he hummed again, his mouth busy once again at the pulse in her neck.
His tongue was now stroking her heartbeat—and her heart was drumming the pulse of her love for him. Her mouth fell open and she arched up into him, the need in her heart far stronger than any need she’d ever felt between her legs. “Oh, God, Owen,” she whispered, her fingers tightening on the hard muscles of his back. “I…”
She couldn’t believe she was so close to saying something she wasn’t supposed to even feel. Every nerve in her body was humming with the emotion, and her voice was aching to speak it.
“Hmm?” This time, his low murmur lifted at the end, making the sound a question. His lips had grown still, were pressed motionless against her pounding pulse.
Amy clenched her jaw. Didn’t speak again. Her sense of self-preservation was still the strongest part of her soul.
Owen’s body was suddenly tense, and he raised his face from her neck to stare down at her. “You what?” he asked hoarsely.
She just looked at him, knowing she couldn’t tell him the truth but having no idea what to say.
It was too new. Too risky. She still didn’t think it could possibly be real—since it was wrong in every way. There was no possibility of letting go of her control enough to say it.
Terrified that she’d given something away, she made her voice light and casual. “I…think you’ve set a very dangerous precedent this afternoon.”
For just a moment, he looked almost disappointed, but then he smiled dryly so she assumed the first impression was just wishful thinking on her part. “In what way?” he asked, both his expression and body relaxing.
“I’m going to expect this kind of performance from you regularly from now on.” There was safety in their teasing banter—so she clung to it.
“In that case, you’re going to be disappointed. This is not something that occurs every day. Lesser men wouldn’t have the stamina. And even I… Well, most days my will of iron is slightly less iron.”
Amy giggled, feeling a little better. “What a shame.”
He slid one hand up to stroke her breasts. “If seven orgasms was a common occurrence, then this wouldn’t be much of a challenge, would it?”
She closed her eyes as his mouth closed around the nipple he’d been fondling, but she was closing them in a pleasure that was only partly physical.
He shifted lower on her body, trailing his kisses down to her belly. She sucked in her stomach instinctively as he sweetly brushed his lips along her skin.
Her legs were already parting—her thighs spreading unconsciously to make room for his chest and shoulders. His hands slipped under her to cup her bottom. Raising her hips slightly, he poised his mouth over her sensitive flesh.
“Whatever you do down there,” she said breathlessly. “It doesn’t count. Remember, your cock has to be in play.”
He arched an eyebrow. “I know the rules. I’m just killing time before my cock feels like playing again.”
She tried to stifle her amused grin but didn’t do a very good job.
Then she didn’t feel like grinning at all when he started to nuzzle her intimately.
Spreading her legs farther apart, she bent her knees up for leverage to hold her hips in position. She was rather wet and messy from their earlier lovemaking, but Owen didn’t seem to notice or to mind. He nudged her open and gave her one long stroke with his tongue, causing her to sigh in pleasure.