She undid the button and lowered his zipper. “Lift up,” she ordered and he did, flexing that fantastic
butt of his so she could get his jeans down his legs.
Yes, she had all the time in the world, and she was going to use it. She kissed his mouth, his jaw, his taut, exquisite chest, and continued downward. He raised his head at one point to watch her and give her an encouraging grin.
She skimmed her lips lightly over his abs, her fingers following her mouth as she explored the chiseled planes. Her cheek brushed the hard length below and he groaned. Ever so slowly, spinning out the moment, she moved down, feeling him shiver in anticipation.
Once she’d made it down to his erection, she didn’t shy away. Deliberately, she worked her mouth up
and down him. At first, she had just the luscious tip in her mouth, and his fingers wound through her hair.
She could tell his control was slipping; rather than breathing calmly, he was panting roughly.
“Take all of me?” he asked hoarsely.
She smiled. Yes. All of him. The sleek slide of his flesh through her lips was an erotic tease. The muscles in his thighs tensed as she pleasured him.
Moments later, he groaned and pulled away. “Dani, I want you.”
His fingers flexed, opening and closing as he still fought to stay in control. She was teasing the tiger and she knew it, but she wanted him as undone and lost in the moment as she was.
So she pushed him over the edge.
“Say please.”
HE SMILED AND braced one arm above her head. His other hand was tenderly stroking her chin and
cheek.
As soon as he rolled on a condom, her fingers sliding along his, he brought her down on his erection,
pushing slow and deep. Turnabout was fair play; she’d teased him, and now he would tease her. But Dani
felt amazing, surrounding him so intimately. Actually, she was killing him, it felt so good.
Perfect. This was perfect, and he’d make sure it was perfect for her.
One tempting second at a time.
Her fingers tightened their grip on his shoulders, “Daeg,” she breathed. Her eyes were on him intently, and his passion and possessiveness welled up inside him. His.
“You are incredible. You...you’re...”
He drew back and then sank forward, slowly moving in and then out. He wanted to make this last for
her as long as he possibly could. She deserved every bit of joy. She moaned and tightened her grip on his shoulders, her nails pressing into his skin, her body begging for what she wouldn’t ask for. He’d give it to her, give her everything if she’d let him.
He set a deep, pulsing rhythm. Her hips met his, her breathing all sexy moans punctuated by sharp gasps when he pressed himself fully. The tension that must have been driving her spread to him, her body
hugging his in a sweet, private caress for him alone. He hung on at first, but then gave himself over to her, burying himself in her.
She climaxed with his name on her lips, and that had him smiling against her throat. Though it was near the end, he loved how she kept tugging him close and closer still. Skin to skin. Heart to heart.
Right before he came, that one word she’d asked for tore from his soul. “Please,” he roared.
The all-consuming sense of pleasure overtook him and he pressed deep, holding her to him, sheltered
lovingly in his arms. His Dani.
His. For this moment.
17
“LET’S GO INSIDE,” he’d suggested, feeling a crazy, happy grin spread over his face as he’d looked at
her. She’d been made love to, good and proper, her lips kiss swollen. “We’ll start all over.”
And they had.
One great afternoon and night in her cabin, acting out every sexual fantasy he could remember from her
list, and then, finally, when it was already growing light outside, moving on to the simple and sweet. That face-to-face, arms-around-each-other contentment until they tumbled over the edge into sated sleep.
He wasn’t sure who had seduced whom here, but this night had been the best sex of his life—and it was
more than just sex. Dani wanted a summer fling, an island fantasy. And he wanted more. He tested the idea, tensing as he came fully awake. Was that what he really wanted? A happily ever after with this woman? He thought about staying put with Dani and it fit. Felt right. This time, he wasn’t going anywhere.
Problem was, he still had to convince her to stay. With him.
She dozed peacefully. He noted her pink skin tone and that her lips were still pouty and red; her hair
was tangled where he’d run his fingers through the honey-colored strands. She was naked, too, and he was glad. He didn’t want anything between them, not even clothes. Enjoying the view, he ran a hand down her arm. He did it lightly, since she needed the sleep. They’d worn each other out.
She looked damned good.
She looked like the woman he loved.
She rolled over in the bed, taking the sheet with her. That was fine. She could have the sheet. After all, she already had his whole heart.
Her eyes opened while he watched. Nothing coy or cautious, just closed one minute, and then, in the
next moment, she was watching him. Man, he hoped she liked what she saw. That last night wasn’t a
mistake she was regretting already.
“Hey,” he said, dropping a kiss on her nose.
He sure liked the pink flush on her cheeks. Better, he liked the way he felt when he was around her.
“I should get up.” She started to move, dragging the sheet with her. He stopped her by sliding an arm
around her waist and bringing her closer to him.
“What’s the hurry?” He nuzzled her neck, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. She was under his skin
now.
“Daeg.” The amusement in her voice was all too clear. “I have a business to run here. So do you. We
can’t stay in bed all day.”
“Half the day,” he countered. When he kissed her ear, her breathing stopped short. “You could do that.”
“You don’t want to leave.” Her words were more a question than a statement.
“Nope.” He had no desire to put distance between them. More to the point, why would she? Sliding a
hand into her hair at the back of her neck, he rubbed the surprisingly tense muscles there. “I’d like to stay.”
There. It was the opening strike in his campaign to keep her by his side and in his arms. He pretended
he wasn’t holding his breath, waiting for her answer.
“You don’t mean that.”
He couldn’t see her face, so he tipped her chin up so her eyes meet his.
“I do.”
This time she didn’t sound so amused. “You don’t do that, Daeg. You never have.”
“Are you staying?” he asked. It wasn’t much of a cautious opening gambit, but it was the best he had.
He wanted to blurt out how he felt, tell her everything that was going on in his mixed-up head. The restraint was just about killing him, but he didn’t want to screw this up. He needed to play it the way she needed it played.
“At Sweet Moon? Duh.” An impish smile lit up her face. “I thought you knew that.”
“Not for the summer, but...forever,” he clarified.
“Forever’s a long time.” She eyed him, a familiar little crinkle forming between her eyes as she worked
through the implications of what he was saying. She’d have thinking lines there when she was older and, yeah, he wanted to be there to see that, wanted to be the one holding her for the next fifty years or so.
“I like forever just fine.”
She winced as if he was crazy. “You and forever in the same sentence? I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Get in, get out and get the job done. That’s what you told me,” she said matter-of-factly. Like there was no arguing with the statement.
“Some jobs take longer than others.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged, and her hair moved about her shoulders. She looked deliciously mussed.
Everything about her, from her warm glow to the sheet tucked over her bare breasts, screamed I just had sex. Really, really hot sex.
That was a good look for her.
He wanted to pull her back into his arms and do it all over again, but talking mattered, too. Now that
he’d started this conversation, he wanted to finish it. He needed to explain to her somehow that forever, if it involved her, sounded like a good time frame.
“But, okay, I have been thinking about staying on the island,” she continued. “Maybe I’ll help out at
Sweet Moon or maybe I’ll do some consulting. A lot of what I do doesn’t have to be done in an office. I can telecommute.”
“I might stay, too,” he offered noncommittally. Just to test the waters. “Stick around.”
“Deep Dive?” She smiled. “I have a hard time imagining you not re-upping.”
“I can do other things,” he protested.
“Right.” She shook her head. “But I look at you and I see soldier. You drop in, get the job done and then you go away. Think about that summer on the island ten years ago. You came, you kissed me, you
went.”
“Maybe,” he allowed. That was the truth, if he was being brutally honest. “But I never stopped thinking about that kiss. I regretted walking away.”
Her look was pure disbelief. “Right,” she said. “One juvenile kiss on prom night and you spent the next ten years pining for me.”
Pining wasn’t the right word, but he didn’t know how to explain how she’d stuck in his memory. He’d been young, but he’d known something, someone, special when he held her in his arms.