matched his intensity. It amazed him that they hadnât set the foyer on fire.
The next time they made love it would be on a mattress, with her naked and sprawled out to await his pleasureâand hers.
She was a woman worth appreciating.
âShall I tell you what Iâm going to do to you?â
Her breath caught on a quick inhalation. âNo.â
Yet despite her denials, she didnât push him away. So he capitalized on her ambivalence, using words as a prelude to action.
âFirst, Iâm going to strip you out of your very sexy dress.â He grazed his knuckles along her side where the zipper started below her armpit and ended at her hip.
She made a grab for his hand, but he brushed her fingers aside. Her attempt to stop him had been halfhearted at best. Already her resistance was dissolving beneath the heat of this thing between them.
âThen, starting with the spot on your shoulder that drives you crazy when I kiss it, Iâm going to take my time with you.â He hoped this was working on her because he was driving himself crazy. âYouâre not getting away until I put my hands and my mouth on every inch of you.â
He shifted his grip lower, drawing her tight against the unruly tension in his loins. His breath slipped out in a half sigh, half groan as she rotated her hips against the pressure of his hands.
âAre you wearing the black thong and strapless bra again? Or something different?â
His palms itched, and his fingers tingled as he remembered the way her nipples had hardened as he learned the shape of her full breasts. Tonightâs midnight-blue dress seemed equally infatuated with her figure because it clung to her lush form with adoration.
âLetâs have a peek,â he cajoled, only half-serious. Last time, half the fun of their brief encounter had to do with how flustered sheâd gotten at his teasing.
âNo.â The word broke from her lips in a passionate moan somewhere between protest and plea.
Her hand slid against his chest, finding his heartbeat. He wondered what sheâd make of its increased tempo.
He cradled her face while he turned up the volume on her shivers and smiled against her skin as she tipped her head into his palm, giving him better access to her neck.
âCome on, letâs go somewhere we wonât be disturbed.â He drifted his lips along her cheek, devouring her with languid, sultry slowness.
âIâm not going anywhere with you.â Her objection ended in a murmur of pleasure as he leaned his chest against her breasts, pressing into her slowly. She stretched like a cat, rubbing against him, a dark, husky rumble deep in her throat.
It amused him that she continued to deny him. They both knew he would get his way in the end.
His lips descended until they were a hairbreadth from hers. âWhy not? We were incredible together.â One hand swallowed the curve of her buttock, coaxing her against the aroused hardness below his belt. âFeel how hot I am for you. I know youâre just as hot for me.â
The hand on his chest became a fist. âYou have any number of women hot for you.â
Is that why sheâd been dodging his phone calls?
He smiled indulgently. âBut youâre the only one I want.â
Â
Emma lost the ability to breathe. His words intensified the ache inside her, a potent craving that left her shaky. And tempted. Oh, so tempted.
Flirting with him at Grantâs party three weeks ago had seemed like a harmless lark. After all, heâd had no trouble resisting her ten years ago. At twenty heâd been broad of shoulder and delicious to look at, with a cocky charm that dried her mouth and left her at a loss for words. Sheâd pulledout every trick in her sixteen-year-old arsenal in hopes that heâd look her way. To her shock, it seemed to work.
Until the devastating one-two punch to her ego.
Her cheeks blazed anew at the memory of the