'Ah,' she murmured as he brushed her mouth with his.
'Shall we go inside and continue this in greater comfort?' he suggested.
'Yes, why don't we do?'
His senses roared. One moment she was the innocent, and the next Eva was like no other woman he had ever known. There was only one certainty and that was that he wanted her. And this time she wouldn't say no. He deepened the kiss and she softened against him. He closed his arms around her and she pressed her body into his. His erection thrust against her. She moved a little, and then with more confidence, taking her pleasure from him. He cupped the back of her head and laced his fingers in her wild, silky hair. She groaned deep in her throat in response. He lifted her and carried her the rest of the way to his bedroom, and when she saw that his bed faced the lights of the city through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she gasped.
'No history lessons now,' he warned as he lay her carefully down on the bed.
'I hope you're going to join me?' she said.
'I've got nowhere else to go.'
Laughing, she reached out for him. 'Am I ever going to knock that arrogance gene out of your system?'
'I doubt it,' he murmured, starting on her zip.
Kicking her shoes off, she pushed the jacket from his shoulders and unbuttoned his shirt. He shrugged it off, and by the time he'd slung it on a chair and turned around she'd taken off her dress. He moved back to the bed, and she reached for the buckle on his belt. Unfastening it, she freed it from the loops and then reached for the button above his zipper. They did that at the same moment and their fingers tangled. They laughed, and he left her to it. He stood in low-slung boxers staring down at the woman on his bed, wondering how he ever got so lucky.
'Are we overdressed?' she queried, putting a cheeky finger beneath her chin as she stared up at him.
'You definitely are,' he said, viewing her bra and pants.
'And you're not,' she said, hooking her fingers into the waistband of his boxers. 'Do you have something in that nightstand to rectify that situation?'
'Might have.'
He sat on the edge of the bed, toying with her hair. He didn't want to rush a moment of this. Tiny auburn curls framed her face and a fan of gold-red hair cascaded across his snow-white pillows. She looked like a promise and a dream all wrapped in one. And, hell no. He was not a born-again romantic. It was simply a fact.
* * *
She wanted him so much and this felt so right that all the fear had left her. Their previous disastrous encounter had faded into oblivion. She had changed and so had he. Roman had deepened. He had revealed more about himself, so she knew now that he was more than a warrior in business, or an irresistible sexual animal-he was a man like any other with all the same struggles and flaws, and that was what made him perfect.
She felt close to Roman in a way she had never felt close to anyone before. But she needed to be closer still. She longed to be one with him. This wasn't a whim, or a need to prove she could overcome her fears or even a memory to lock away of one night with an incredible man. Her feelings went so much deeper than that. It was something she couldn't put a name to, unless she called it love. And yes, she was taking an incredible risk with a man who had always laid his cards on the table. She was risking her heart and her pride and her future happiness, but none of that mattered. Nothing added up to this. Only Roman making love to her was important now. Nothing else came close.
Roman stretched out beside her and took her in his arms. He was leisurely and confident, as if they had been lovers for years. She felt so safe in his arms, and so turned on. Roman's body was magnificent, but it was the man beneath the rugged frame who would keep her safe. This was like no feeling on earth. Every part of her was singing with arousal, and every part of her was primed and ready for whatever would come next...in her heart, in her body, in her soul. She was desperate for physical release, but every time she sighed and clung to him like a desperado, he smiled against her mouth and held her back. 'You can't keep me waiting for ever.'
'But I can try,' he argued.
'This is one battle I won't let you win.' Reaching up, she laced her fingers through his hair. Feeling it spring against her palm, as strong and virile as he was, was the ultimate torture, and then he added to that torment by rasping his stubble across her neck.
'You're merciless,' she gasped as sensation shimmered through her.
'Lucky for you...' Roman smiled wickedly against her mouth.
'You're right,' she agreed, panting. 'I deserve this.'
'For however long it takes?'
'Oh, I hope so.'
'We could be here some time.'
'I'm planning on it.'
Breath left her body in a rush as Roman swung her beneath him. He judged the weight of his body on hers, supporting most of it on his arms as he nuzzled her mouth, her lips, her eyes, her forehead, not forgetting the very sensitive lobes of her ears before moving on to her neck. And then he kissed her mouth, and she floated away on a sea of sensation...wanting more...always wanting more.
She gave a shaking cry as he lodged a thigh between hers.
'Not yet. You have to wait, Eva.'
'Why?' Her voice was shaking with need.
'You know why-'
'Let me,' she said, taking the packet from his hand. 'Lie back.'
'And think of England?' he teased.
'Stockholm, please... Though perhaps you'd do better thinking what a mess I'm going to make of this.' She was only half joking.
'You are not going to make a mess of anything, Eva. You operate complex machinery in Skavanga, don't you? This should be well within your technical capabilities. I'm pretty sure my aide's exhaustive report mentioned your expertise with power tools.'
'Yes to all the above. But unfortunately, I don't have too much experience with machines that can feel or are quite this complex.'
'Damn. And there was me thinking you were going to say you weren't used to dealing with machines of this complexity and size.'
They laughed and she forgot to be worried. Because she trusted him, Eva realised. And because she loved him. What could possibly go wrong?
Nothing went wrong. Roman drew her beneath him and she was soon lost in sensation; he saw to that. When his hand found her she was more than ready and she didn't even flinch when he brushed his erection against her, teasing her with the tip. He finally eased carefully inside her and when she was used to the new sensation, he almost brought her to the brink with shallow strokes. It was a happy shock to find she wanted more. Give and take, thrust and relax, rise and fall, arch and subside, rhythmically, eagerly... She was greedy to take more of him than she would have believed possible. Turned out she had quite a talent, Eva realised as Roman groaned with pleasure as she drew him in.
'I'm supposed to be telling you to wait,' he growled against her ear.
'And now you're having a problem? Think drill bits and diamonds and you'll be fine.'
'You think?'
She wasn't doing too much thinking, as she was right on the edge herself, and could only give in gracefully as Roman pressed her knees back and upped the pace.
'That's so unfair,' she said when speech was possible. 'You didn't even give me a warning.'
'Did you need one?'
'No,' she decided, thinking about it. 'I like to be surprised.'
'Big surprises as often as possible?' Roman guessed.
'All the time.'
'More?'
'What do you think?' She rose against him, welcoming him back.
They made love all night. Neither of them tired. Why would they be? She had waited a long time for this, and Roman was inexhaustible. They were well matched. Turned out she was a closet nymphomaniac, and Roman had the answer to her every need.
'There's one thing I don't understand,' he said as they lay with their limbs entwined during one of their brief resting periods.
'Tell me,' she managed groggily, easing comfortably against him. Roman was so big and she was so small, and yet every part of them fitted so perfectly together. How did that happen?
'Why were you frightened of men?'
She lifted her head, suddenly wide awake. 'I'm not afraid of men.'
'Really?' Roman murmured. 'So why haven't you had any affairs, Eva? You're not exactly a troll.'
'Well, thank you for that,' she mocked. 'And how do you know I haven't had hundreds of affairs?' But then she remembered Roman's people in Skavanga and their famous reports.
'I don't believe you've ever allowed a man to kiss you as I kiss you, because that would put too much power in their hands.'
'Now you're being ridiculous.'
'Am I?'
There were some things she never talked about, and she was in no mood to spoil the moment.
'Relax, Eva. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to tell me.'
But the craziest thing of all was that she wanted to tell him everything, but the memories had been buried so long she couldn't just flaunt them as if they meant nothing. She didn't trust herself to go back to that dark place just yet without losing it-without losing him and losing all the gains she had made in confidence.