Tremors trickled through her. He cupped her backside, held her against his face, and didn’t stop until a piercing burst wracked her body with delicious spasms.
Ellie whimpered. Still, he didn’t stop until she couldn’t take anymore. Arching and writhing, she wanted to feel him inside her. “I need you, Carter.”
In the light of the moon, his silver eyes gleamed with triumph. “It’s about damn time you admitted it.”
Carter lifted himself above her. Arms outstretched, hands flat on the mattress, he settled his weight in the cradle of her thighs.
With a searing thrust he entered her to the hilt. Ellie cried out as he filled her completely.
Carter lowered his arms to curve around her. One hand cupped her neck. The other pressed against her lower back.
And he made slow, sensual love to her.
It felt so right being with him, her hips rolling to meet his thrusts. No man had ever reached her the way Carter did. He wrapped around her soul and refused to let go.
Moonlight illuminated his smooth skin. She marveled at his muscular silhouette, the way his body moved with hers. “I’ve missed you,” she admitted in the heat of passion. “I’ve wanted you back since the day you left the island.”
“You have no idea...” His thrusts deepened.
Her body reveled in their mutual surrender. He rocked with her. Seconds, minutes, hours passed as he drove her to the peak again and again.
For the fourth time, Ellie felt the culmination building inside. “Carter,” she begged, unsure if she could handle more of this devastating pleasure. She reached another soaring climax. Coming down from the high, she drifted in peaceful waves of bliss. She wanted him to experience the same unbelievable fulfillment he’d given her over the past several hours. She wrapped her legs around his waist.
That seemed to send him over the edge. His drives became faster, more powerful. His body tensed. Breath coming in ragged bursts, he squeezed her tight. With a powerful roar, he hit climax. He pulsed and throbbed inside her until he went still, absorbed in their mutual satisfaction.
Perspiration coated them. Sheets tangled around them. With a final groan, Carter collapsed in ecstasy.
After a few minutes of resting his head between her breasts, he pulled out, rolled onto his side and gathered her against him.
“You’re mine.” His statement hung in the air as they succumbed to sleep.
Twice more he reached for her in the night, woke her with kisses, and made love to her. Incredible , she thought, warm and safe in his embrace, wishing they had never parted. But when rays from the sunrise slanted through the blinds and struck her face the next morning, Ellie shot up in bed.
Carter slept soundly. He looked magnificent, his muscular physique and tanned skin glowing in the sunlight.
A sleeping lion .
The fact that he posed the greatest threat to her dreams—yet was the only one who could make them come true—hit her hard.
Untangling herself from the sheets, she slipped out of his bed. Dressing quickly, she gathered her things. Then she glanced once more at Carter.
The attraction that brought them together the first time, when they were young and naïve, had been based on respect and love. What he was asking of her now defiled everything he’d ever meant to her. And he’d meant so much...
But this was not the young man she fell in love with years ago. The new version of Carter was bitter, angry, vengeful.
Anger and frustration consumed her.
I will not be used as a means to your end .
Heart aching, she left his room. If he wanted her so badly, he would ask for her surrender—not demand it.
She raced back to her room before anyone caught her exiting his suite. Weary, aching in intimate places, she pushed aside memories of their night together. She glanced at the events on her calendar for that day.
The liquor and wine collection would be shipped to Neville in the next hour. A bubble of excitement rose in her chest, bringing with it a glimmer of hope.
When she saw what else awaited her, she groaned.
Arnoff Applestone would also arrive within hour. This was the last thing she needed complicating her life. Yet her uncle insisted she cater to each investor, in the hopes of winning a bid on the hotel that would erase her debt and secure her future.
Carter’s proposition, while achieving both aims, would not allow her any sort of freedom. She would be beholden to him, every move she made directed by him, scrutinized and judged. And what happened when Carter grew tired of their long-distance affair? What if he took up with another mistress, and decided to sell the hotel later on? The notion burned through her stomach like acid.
Would Arnoff be different? Would he allow her to keep her dreams and her freedom, with fewer strings attached?