"I've never felt this way before. I feel like … I need you like I need air to breathe."
Emotion clogged his throat. He clasped her hand and held it against his cheek. "I feel the same way. Whatever I have to do to make this work, I will." Releasing her hand, he bent his head and pressed his mouth to hers. This time his kiss was soft. Reverent.
He licked a path down her throat, lingering in the sensitive bend of her neck. He stroked a hand through the folds of her sex, letting his thumb circle her swollen nub.
Shivering, she thrust her legs apart farther. "Now, Dante. I want you inside me."
She was slick and hot. Ready. He slid one finger into her sheathntouse, teasing her, teasing himself. With a short snarl she flipped him onto his back and straddled his hips. She took him in a slow, devastating descent that robbed him of breath. Of his mind. He arched, his heels digging into the mattress, the move pushing him even deeper.
She planted her hands on his shoulders, bracing herself as she lifted her hips up and down in a rhythm that threatened to shatter him. She took … everything. And he …
He was finally willing to let go and love her.
Chapter Sixteen
Several hours later, Tori awoke in a sweat. It took her a second to figure out where she was, but once she remembered, she knew right away the reason she was so warm. She had a hot, naked man pressed against her back. Dante's soft, even breathing told her he was asleep. His right arm was draped over her, a welcome weight. His hand cupped her breast, and his left thigh rested between her legs.
She carefully slid off the bed and padded into the bathroom. Once she'd finished, she crawled back into bed with him, lying on her side so she could look at his face subdued in the light of dawn. In repose his face was softer. Even though he carried himself with such a carefree attitude, he was anything but. He worried about his sister. He worked hard on his career. He was concerned that he'd somehow do wrong by Tori. He really was a kind man, a genuinely nice guy, though sometimes he let the bad boy show. Most important, he made her laugh. That combination was impossible to resist. And as a lover …
My God. He was incredible. She'd felt cherished, as if she were the only woman in his world. That was a heady feeling.
She reached up and brushed a fringe of hair off his forehead. Lying here in the still hours of early morning, with only the light of the moon illuminating their small island of solitude, it was easy to push aside the anxieties of the day. She could look at this man for the rest of her life.
Her gaze traveled down the strong column of his neck, across the sharp ridge of his collarbones, over the light dusting of hair that sprinkled his pecs. She rose up on one elbow to get a better look at him.
"Like what you see?" Dante's voice was husky, whether from sleep or arousal, she didn't know. Maybe a combination of both.
"Very much." Tori stroked her fingers up and down his stomach. "I'll need to leave soon. I have to go home and get ready for work."
"Well, then, give me a minute and we can get a head start." He slid off the bed and went into the bathroom. After a few seconds she heard the toilet flush and then he was back, scooping her up into his arms.
Not expecting the move, she gave a startled squeak and grabbed his shoulders. "What are you doing?"
His grin was pure devilry with the promise of more sensual wickedness. "Takin' a shower with my lady," he said as he walked into the bathroom. He set her feet on the plush rug in front of the shower and held her close to his heart while he turned on the water and held his hand under the stream, waiting for it to warm up.
The glass-enclosed shower was big enough for two, with an adjustable shower head and a small built-in bench at one end. Anti-slip strips were evenly placed on the tile floor.
He stepped into the stall, helping her in, and pulled the glass door closed behind them.
"You know I could've managed to walk from the bedroom into the bathroom under my own power," she said, watching water splash off his broad shoulders and trickle down his chest.
"Hmm. No doubt. You're the strongest woman I know, both physically and mentally." There was such cariidth=d tng, such love in his voice it brought tears to her eyes. "However, you deserve to be carried every now and then."
Not even a strong woman like her was proof against that kind of sweetness. She pulled his face down for a long, slow kiss. When they broke apart, they both were breathing heavily.
Tori put shower gel in her palm, inhaling the spicy, manly scent, and ran her soapy hands over Dante's massive shoulders. She marveled at the differences in their bodies. He was so big, so broad, muscles flexing and releasing as the two of them moved against each other, touching, seeking. Finding. His hot erection stroked against her belly, making her go soft and slick between her legs.
He reached out and squirted a dab of shower gel into his wide palm and then rubbed his hands together to create lather. "Let me," he murmured. He ran his hands all over her, washing her with exquisite care. He brought her nipples to hard buds, using his mouth after the water rinsed the soap away.
She sighed and undulated against him, feeling the velvety soft head of his cock rubbing against her stomach. He ran his hands under her breasts, between her thighs, making her legs threaten to stop supporting her weight. His hands trailed down to her legs and then he went on one knee and washed her feet, first the right one and then the left.
As he set her left foot on the shower floor, he knelt on the tile before her, looking up at her with hot, dark eyes. Water flowed over his shoulders, running in rivulets down his chest. Their gazes locked and his mouth went to her belly, pressing against her skin before his tongue dipped into the tiny hole. Lightning zinged to her core.
As he kissed his way over her hip, she braced her back against the wall, shivering at the coolness of the tile on her back, and widened her stance. He blazed a trail to her inner thigh, pausing there to nip her lightly with his teeth.
She gasped and arched against him. To make more room for him, she lifted one leg and draped it over his brawny shoulder. "Please," she said, her voice raspy with need.
He nuzzled her thigh, the stubble on his jaw rasping against her skin. His tongue licked through her folds with one sure stroke, ending with a jab against her swollen clit. She gasped and moaned, arching into him even more. His fingers sank into her hips as he held her still, his head buried between her thighs as he got down to serious work. Lapping and sucking and thrusting until she slid down onto the bench, unable to support her own weight. He stroked two fingers into her sheath, his tongue sucking and flicking at the top of her sex.
Tori came hard, her keening wail rising above the sound of the pounding water. When she was finally spent, she collapsed against the tile, panting and staring at him with eyes she knew had to contain some of the wildness she felt inside.
He pulled his hand back and brought it to his mouth, tasting her. Looking at her from beneath dark brows, he said, "I love it when your eyes go amber like that," his voice rough and low.
She saw his erection, hard and ruddy, and knew he needed release. Knew that she needed him right then and couldn't wait another moment. Reaching out, she urged him to sit on the corner bench and knelt between his legs. She took him in her hand, marveling at the strength of him, the vulnerability he was loath to admit.
Using more shower gel to lubricate her hands, she began to stroke him. The sight of his blunt head sliding through the ring of her fingers, the tip ruddy and weeping, made her hot all over. His chest rose and fell as his breathing accelerated, his lips parting with his rising pleasure.
"You're such a beautiful man," she murmured, squeezing the fingers of her right hand a little tighter around his length. She reached her left hand between his thighs en ckiand grasped his sac. She focused her attention on bringing him to completion.
"Ah, God, I don't think I'm gonna last much longer … "
He was so sensual, so open in front of her, powerful and vulnerable at the same time. The house could have caught on fire and she'd have remained transfixed by this sight.
"I'm going to … " He threw his head back, the cords of his neck straining, his hands clenching and unclenching on his thighs. His hips punched up, driving his flesh deeper into her fist.
"Come on, Dante," she said. She wanted this to last forever. "Come for me."
As if her voice was all the trigger he needed, his orgasm roiled through him, spilling onto her hands and breasts. He bucked and moaned, his flesh straining through her fingers until finally he was still.
He met her gaze before leaning forward, snagging her chin with one hand, and kissing her. Then he stood and drew her to her feet, turning her into the water to wash away the evidence of his release.
After their shower, they dried each other off, hands lingering, bodies touching. Dante pulled a new toothbrush from the medicine cabinet. "An extra one I got the last time I went to the dentist," he said. "You can use it if you'd like. After some breakfast, of course."
He wrapped a deep-green towel around his lean hips and went into the bedroom, returning with a soft, well-worn T-shirt. "This might be better than just a towel."