Whit laid her back on the bed, his bed. In his room. His house. Finally, he had her here after three and a half long years.
He stretched out on top her, hot flesh meeting flesh. Her curves melded to him, enticed him, made him ache all the more to be inside her.
The thick comforter gave underneath them. He stroked up the creamy satin of her skin, cupping her lace-clad breasts. Her nipples tightened against his palms. A low growl rumbled in his chest and he took one of those hard pebbles in his mouth, teasing and circling with his tongue through the fabric.
He reached a hand behind her and unhooked her bra. Then, yes, he took her in his mouth again, bare flesh this time, and she tightened with pleasure at the stroke of his tongue. Her fingers dug deeper into his shoulders, cutting tiny half moons in his skin.
The moment was so damn surreal. He'd been hoping for this chance to be with Megan since the day he'd met her. He'd held himself in check because she'd shut him down cold for so long.
She wasn't cold now. Not even close.
Megan matched him stroke for stroke, taste for taste, exploring him as he learned the landscape of her naked body. Each panting breath came faster and faster, hers and his, and he knew restraint was slipping away. He angled off her to reach into the bedside drawer and pull out a condom.
She smiled a thanks before plucking the packet from him. She tore the wrapper open, her eyes intent but her hands trembling. He understood the feeling well. She pressed a hand to his shoulder and nudged him onto his back.
With a smooth sweep of her leg, she straddled his legs. Her fiery red hair tumbled over her shoulder in a gorgeous tangled mess of curls. He reached to cradle her breasts in his palms, his thumbs circling. Her eyes fluttered closed for a second before she looked at him again and rolled the condom over him, one deliberate inch at a time, never taking her eyes off him.
He cupped her hips and drew her closer until his erection pressed against her damp cleft. She rocked against him and his fingers dug deeper into her flesh. Much more and this would be finishing too soon.
He lifted her from him and lowered her back to the bed, sliding on top of her again. She hitched a leg around his, gliding her foot along his calf and opening for him. He nudged against the warm, moist core of her, pressing and easing inside with a growl echoed by her sigh. He thrust deeper as she arched up with a with gasping "yesss."
Her hips writhed against his, her arms looped around his shoulders and holding him close. She gasped and whispered in his ear, nonsensical words that somehow he understood. He moved inside her, the velvety clamp of her body around him so damn perfect. Like her.
The need to pleasure her, to keep her, pulsed through him along with each ragged breath. He linked fingers with her, their clasped hands pressing into the comforter as they worked together for release. Damn straight he'd been right to wait for her, because being with Megan was more than special. This woman had him tied in knots from wanting her.
And even as he chased the completion they both craved, he was already planning the next time with her, and the next. But first, he had to be sure she felt every bit as rocked by the moment as he did. Whatever it took. He pulled a hand free and hitched her leg higher around him, kissing and stroking as he filled her.
Her head dug back into the pillow, thrashing, her gasps coming faster and faster, the flush on her chest broadcasting how close she was to...flying apart in his arms.
She arched against him, her arms flinging up to lock tighter, draw him closer and deeper as she dug her heels in and rode through each shivering echo of her orgasm.
The bliss on her face sent him over the edge with her.
He growled as his release shuddered through him again and again, each ripple of pleasure reminding him how much and how long he'd wanted this woman.
And how damn important it was to keep her.
* * *
Good sex mellowed a person.
But great, incredible, unsurpassable sex?
That made Megan nervous. She'd been looking for a brief, no-strings affair. What she and Whit had just shared made an already complicated relationship even more tangled.
Megan sat on a barstool at Whit's kitchen island, wearing his white linen shirt, while the man himself foraged in the refrigerator. He'd tugged on a pair of jeans and nothing more and heaven help her, he offered up an enticing view. His perfect butt in denim...his broad, bare shoulders... She swallowed hard and looked away.
She'd just had the best sex of her life. She should be rejoicing. Instead, she kept thinking about all the ways this could go so horribly wrong. And if it did, that failure would be in her face every single day because living in such a small town made it all but impossible to ignore each other.
Regardless of her intention to keep things light, tonight was a game changer. She knew that. To protect herself and her daughter, Megan would have to tread warily. Easy enough to do since her feelings for him made her jittery.
For now? Her best move would be to get to know as much about him as possible and figure out quickly whether or not to run.
Whit grabbed two bottled waters and closed the refrigerator. He opened a cabinet and pulled out two cut crystal goblets. He poured them each a glass and set them on the island just as the microwave dinged. He'd warmed their crème brulee dessert they'd brought home rather than waiting any longer at the restaurant.
He snatched up a potholder, pulled out the warm pudding and placed it on the island. The image of him all domestic and sexy had her mouth watering.
She eyed the empty bottles and walked to the counter, letting her hip graze his as she passed. "I'll just toss these for you. Where's the recycling?"
"Thanks. Check the door beside the pantry."
She tugged open the door to reveal a line of high-end built-ins, labeled with brass plates. "Be still my heart. This is amazing."
She smiled over her shoulder at him, then opened the bin marked glass. She found it empty and pristine, clearly never used. She tamped down disappointment and tossed the two bottles inside. She turned back to find him standing right behind her with a sheepish grin on his face.
Whit slanted his mouth over hers. "Forgive me?" He kissed her again, then teased her bottom lip lightly between his teeth. "I promise to try to be more earth-friendly in the future. Scout's honor."
"I wish you would do it because it's a good thing to do and not just to impress me." She enjoyed the bristle of his five o'clock shadow, savoring the masculine feel of him. "But I'll take the win for our planet however I can get it."
He chuckled softly against her mouth. "I appreciate your willingness to overlook my shortcomings."
His hands tucked under the hem of the shirt, cupping her hips in warm, callused hands. Goosebumps of awareness rose on her skin and she stepped closer, her feet between his as she flattened her palms to his bare chest. His heartbeat thudded beneath her touch, getting faster the longer the kiss drew out.
In a smooth move, he lifted her and set her on the island, his fingers stroking along her legs as he stepped back. "Food first. Then maybe we could share a shower-in the interest of conserving water, of course."
His promise of more hung in the air between them. He opened the silverware drawer and passed her a spoon.
Megan tapped the caramel crackle on top of the crème brulee, Whit's shirt cuffs flopping loosely around her wrists. "So I told you why I went into animal rescue. What made you decide to go into property development?"
He raised an eyebrow, his spoon pausing halfway to his mouth. "You say that like it's a something awful."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound...judgmental." She winced as she set her spoon down and folded back the shirt cuffs. "But I guess I wasn't successful in holding back."
"Well, I do have three and half years' worth of cold shoulders from you to go on."
"Help me to understand your side." She spooned up a bite and her taste buds sang at the creamy flavor. Of course, her senses were already alive and hyperaware after both of the spine-tingling orgasms Whit had given her.
"I like building things. I like helping businesses and people put down roots." He stood at the bar beside her, so close he pressed against her thigh.
"You can build things anywhere. Why destroy wetlands with high-rise office buildings?" Damn it. There came her judgmental tone again. But she had values. She couldn't hide what she believed in just because it might stir old controversies.
"I'm not destroying the wetlands around here." He said with an over-careful patience. "I'm relocating them, responsibly and legally. Tell me how that's a problem."