The silence between them stretched out. Two beats. Then three. At last, when Nick was quite sure she’d had all the time in the world to make her decision, he reached for her. Candace never hesitated. She flew into his arms.
It wasn’t a gentle kiss—Nick was far too aroused for that. The tension that had been rising in him for days had reached a breaking point. By the time it ended, he was breathing heavily.
Their eyes met. Something shifted, subtle, impossible to recognize.
Nick’s hands came up to tangle in her silky hair, holding her so that when he lowered his head a second time his mouth slanted across hers, creating the perfect kiss.
Candace didn’t object. She kissed him back with enough eager intensity for him to know that the blazing attraction was mutual.
Hunger twisted inside him, hot and wild.
When the kiss ended this time, Nick had to battle for control as tremors of anticipation quaked through him.
Slowly…
He’d thought he could leash the power, but Candace quickly proved him wrong. It didn’t take much. Her hands crept up, along his shirtfront…up…until they rested on his shoulders. Rising on her toes, her tongue tip tantalized his bottom lip, shredding what little restraint he still possessed.
His hands shaking, Nick unfastened the frustratingly small buttons of the chemise-style front of her dress. The edges parted, and his fingers found the soft skin of her breasts. She wore no bra. Heat exploded in him.
Nick groaned.
“I don’t know how much of this I can take,” he muttered hoarsely, his hands closing over the curves.
She leaned closer, her body pressing up against his. Nick released the soft flesh, and his arms slid around her. He let his hands wander down her back, over the cotton jersey that fell in soft folds over her hips. He clasped her hips, pulled her close to him, so she could feel his body’s hard response.
Candace moved in little restless circles against him. Nick’s erection leaped, straining to be free.
This was more woman than he’d ever held…even in his dreams. Nick groaned again.
She nibbled his bottom lip. Nick yanked her closer so that she was plastered up against him, her softness yielding to him. The shoestring straps of her dress slid down her shoulders. He bent his head and pressed openmouthed kisses along the crest of her shoulders tasting her…inhaling the hauntingly familiar sweet, spicy scent of her until Candace shuddered in his arms.
Nick’s heart pumped furiously, the blood pounding in his head.
He became aware of the chandelier blazing above them, of the backdrop of arched windows illuminating them to the deserted garden outside.
Scooping her off her feet, he headed past the closed doors of Jilly’s rooms to his suite beyond. He kicked the door shut, and four long strides took him to the king-size bed with its pile of casually arranged pillows. Muted light pooled from the two bedside lamps, warming the dull gold cover. He let her slide down his torso onto the bed with excruciating slowness, tormenting him, prolonging the pleasure. By now he was shaking inside, the desire he’d been suppressing spilling over.
“God, but you’re beautiful.”
With the straps already half-down her arms, and the bodice open, Nick pushed the dress over her hips. Underneath she wore tiny lace panties. Those went next. Grabbing the collar of his shirt, he yanked it—still buttoned—hurriedly over his head. Undoing his belt, then his pants, he shucked them off. They landed in a heap on the carpet.
Then he followed her down onto the bed among the mountain of dull gold and black cushions.
Her skin was pale and creamy. Luscious. He touched her with a trembling hand. So soft. So warm. Impatience clawed at him. He stroked her, his fingertips exploring the rise of her breasts, the valley between, the flat plain of her stomach. Driven by increasing desperation, he sought out the sweetest, most responsive spots.
By the time his hand found the moist skin between her inner thighs, she was damp and superbly responsive. He slid two fingers into the moist channel. Her hips came off the bed, and Nick almost came apart.
He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t wait…
There was a moment when he thought about the new pack of condoms in his bedside drawer, then he abandoned it. What did it matter if he impregnated her? He was going to marry her. Nick wasn’t conscious of making the decision—he simply knew that it was the right one.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, drawing his fingers out. She shuddered, her hips undulating. “I can’t wait.”
Nick shifted over her, covering her.
“Are you okay? I’m not too heavy?” He caught a glimpse of her incandescent silver eyes as she shook her head forcefully, her hair whipping around her face.