The Taming of Xander Sterne(59)

                ‘Do you really want me to stop?’ Xander murmured throatily.

                Of course Sam didn’t want him to stop, not when his lips and tongue were tasting the dips and hollows of her throat, his teeth gently biting her earlobe, his breath warm against her skin.

                ‘We could always look on it as research,’ he murmured throatily, his hands roaming the length of her spine as his lips now plundered the sensitive hollows at the base of her throat, the five o’clock shadow on his chin a pleasurable rasp against her sensitive flesh. ‘A way of settling once and for all which position is most comfortable for me to make love?’ he teasingly reminded her of that previous conversation.

                Sam knew that she really shouldn’t let this go any further than it already had. But it had been so long since a man had touched her in this way. Since any man had touched her with such gentle appreciation. As it had the week before, her long-denied body betrayed her, reacting instinctively to just the thought of that pleasure, her breasts swelling, nipples hardening to sensitive pebbles, and heat building between her thighs.

                Xander smelled so good too, a light and spicy cologne, and the lemon shampoo she knew he used to wash his hair. There was an underlying smell that was all Xander; a healthy male in his sexual prime.

                Sam wanted this.

                Wanted Xander.

                Surely any regrets could come later?

                And she had no doubt there would be regrets. The main one being that she could never mean anything more to Xander than a single night—or possibly two, if she was lucky!—of pleasure.

                But other women went to bed with men all the time just for the pleasure of it, so why not her?

                Yes, why the hell not her?

                Xander didn’t need to profess undying love for her to be a caring and considerate lover. A lover she already knew was capable of giving her pleasure. Any more than she needed to be in love with him in order to give him that same pleasure.

                Live a little, Sam, she mentally encouraged herself. Take what he is offering and think of the consequences later.

                She looked up at him sharply. ‘I’m not on any sort of contraception.’ She couldn’t think of those consequences later.

                His eyes darkened at the realisation her comment signalled her capitulation. ‘I’ll take care of it,’ he assured her gruffly.

                Of course he would; no doubt Xander had a bedside drawer full of condoms. After all, who knew when he was going to get lucky?

                Could she really do this? Indulge in hot and meaningless sex with a man—with Xander—just for the pleasure of it?

                Oh, yes!





                                      CHAPTER NINE

                SHE LOOKED UP at Xander shyly. ‘Your bedroom or mine?’

                Xander gave her an approving smile as he released her before taking her hand firmly in his much larger one. ‘My bedroom is where the condoms are,’ he reminded teasingly as they walked out of the study together and down the silence of the hallway.

                Sam felt her cheeks warm at the intimacy of their conversation. Which was pretty silly of her, when she intended getting naked with this man in just a few minutes’ time.