Her chin came up, suddenly strong, almost defiant. Surely a woman was allowed one indiscriminate love affair in her life? From her back-catalogue of practised smiles, she fished out an I-don't-care one.
'I didn't mean to.'
'Good.' He stroked her cheek and she kissed him, softly and sweetly, and then harder, and deeper.
He groaned. Closed his eyes and let the world dissolve away. He moved his head and heard her catch her breath as the rough rasp of his jaw skated over her breast.
She swallowed as he caught a nipple in between his teeth, nipping and licking at it until she gave a sharp little cry of pleasure.
'Like that?' he murmured.
'No, I hate it.'
He laughed. That was better-easier by far to make love to a woman when she wasn't coming over all helpless.
'Jay, do you … ?'
'Do I what?' he questioned thickly, between licks.
She had almost forgotten what she was asking, but then his hand snaked between her thighs again and she knew she must not be led by feeling alone. But it was hard to think of anything other than this hot, dark mist of wanting.
'Do you often do this kind of thing?'
'Funnily enough … ' The pad of his thumb circled cool, silky flesh, and he felt her sigh of pleasure against his neck. He smiled as he moved it to where it was more heated, so that her head fell back against the rug. 'I don't often find myself marooned in the snow with beautiful models.'
Which hadn't been what she had been asking at all.
He stopped what he was doing and raised his head to look at her. Her eyes were closed, her expression abandoned and her hair spread out behind her, like a glorious shiny black pillow, and he felt the unexpected leap of his heart. 'If you're asking whether I sleep around indiscriminately,' he said huskily, 'then the answer is no. If you're asking for numbers, then I'd say it was none of your business-just the same as I wouldn't dream of asking you. Is that fair, Keri?'
Fair? She couldn't say, and frankly didn't care, because by now all she wanted was for him to carry on with what he had been doing. She had succumbed to his lovemaking and it wasn't going to last beyond the thaw, when they found their way out or someone found them. He had her in his thrall, and to deny that would be stupid-so why not just lie back and make the most of it?
But it seemed that Jay had other ideas, for once he had stroked on another condom he effortlessly lifted her up, bringing her right down on top of him, his eyes narrowing as he heard her startled gasp of delight as he filled her.
'Do it to me,' he murmured, on a note of sensual invitation. 'Will you, Keri?' She was shy, he saw that now, and he shook his head in a gesture which spoke of both despair and elation. What kind of men had she known in the past?
He smoothed the flat of his hand gently down the side of her hip and saw the look she gave him-a look full of tentative trust and yet fear-and silently he damned his own sex for the way they sometimes took pleasure and left a woman with none. His voice softened. 'Only if you want to.'
He felt so hard inside her, as though he had been made to impale her just like that-the key fitting the lock in a door which had finally swung open.
'Yes, I want to,' she whispered. 'More than anything.'
His laugh was low and full of delight, and he let out a slow breath. 'Oh, me, too,' he murmured. 'Me, too.'
It felt different. Strange but wonderful. And Keri was filled with a suffusing kind of warmth and power as she assumed the dominant position over such a dominating man. She began to move, tentatively at first, seeing what pleased him most and then finding out what pleased her too.
He whispered soft words of encouragement and enticement, and touched his fingers to her breasts, and somewhere along the way she lost her inhibitions completely-taking him with her-wild and free-exulting in the sweet, shared journey-only bending her head to kiss him once she saw the rapture take him over and then felt herself caught up in it too. It overcame her with a force which was unstoppable, and she gasped and gasped until there was no air left in her lungs, shuddering out his name in a shaking voice.
She looked down at him, and their eyes locked in a long and silent moment before he pulled her down into his arms.
For breathless minutes they lay there, his arms wrapped tightly around her damp back. Her skin felt like smooth satin against his fingertips and Jay felt an inexplicable sense of contentment creeping over him. As if he could sleep for a million years, maybe more. For once he didn't fight it, just rested his head against her neck and yawned.
'That's three,' he murmured lazily, and fell asleep.
CHAPTER SEVEN
KERI awoke, naked and aching and glowing beneath a blanket, and batted her eyelids hard in confusion, certain that she must still be sleeping. Cautiously she opened her eyes fully against the sharp light.
Where the hell was she?
Pale winter light filtered down through high stained-glass windows, and the blur of white outside the big picture window was a bank of snow. Snow. And then back forged the memories of the long, erotic night and she turned her head to find the space beside her empty.
Jay.
Gone.
She blinked her eyes against the sun dazzling off the snow, remembering the long, sweet night. He had made love to her over and over again-she had lost count of the times-and just as sleep had finally laid its claim on her she had been aware of him disentangling his arms and getting up. She had felt the warmth of blankets as he had floated them down over her-but their warmth in no way matched up to the heat generated by his body. 'Jay,' she had murmured, on a protest.
'Go to sleep,' he had commanded.
Automatically she smoothed down her hair, her hands drifting to breasts which still tingled from his touch, and she felt the slow creep of colour into her cheeks, uncertain whether it was caused by desire or remorse.
But she wasn't going to feel ashamed-most definitely not. What had happened between them had been beautiful-Jay had said so himself, over and over again through the exquisite night which had followed-and how could something so beautiful ever be wrong?
Because life isn't like that, jeered a little voice somewhere in her head. You can't just take pleasure and expect there to be no outcome; there is always a price to pay.
She sat up, her hair falling down all about her shoulders. Where was he? And why on earth should she feel shy about calling out his name when last night she had given herself to him completely? And called it more than once then.
'Jay!'
And suddenly there he was, standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb and surveying her with thoughtful eyes. He was, she noted with a disappointing sinking of her heart, already dressed. The darkening of his jaw made him look even more elemental than he had done the night before, and he just stood there, watching her, a curious and unreadable half-smile on his lips.
She could see for the first time that his eyes were green-grey, the colour of sage-wise and all-knowing, all-seeing. Just what did they see? she wondered. Say something, Jay, she pleaded silently. Just say something.
'Good news,' he said, his mouth relaxing into a smile.
Her heart missed a beat. 'Oh?'
'The power's back on. See.' He lifted his hand and flicked a switch and electric light flooded the room, dazzling her even more than the sun outside, so that she blinked her eyes against the bright artificial light.
She knew she ought to be enthusiastic, but this wasn't the conversation she wanted to have. The power supply was about the last thing on her mind. 'That's good. But could you please turn it off-it's blinding me?' Her voice sounded flat as he did as she asked, and she turned her head to stare unseeingly at the bank of brilliant snow outside.
She had expected him to say … what? That last night had been wonderful? That he wanted to do it all over again? She felt a slow, melting ache as she looked at him, because heaven only knew-she did.
But she felt shy again, and unsure of herself-the wild, free woman of last night was now like a cold and distant memory. If he wasn't going to mention it, then should she? Could what have happened between them be classified as a one-night-stand? And, if so, was there some kind of etiquette as to how you behaved afterwards? Because she sure as hell didn't have a clue what it was. She felt like the new child in the playground, where everyone else knew how to play the game and wasn't going to tell her the rules.