‘‘Mitch,’’ she breathed.
It was better than what he’d done with her breasts. It was better than anything she’d ever experienced before. She didn’t know she could feel this much pleasure and live.
He brought his free hand up and cupped her right breast. As his tongue danced with hers, he worked magic on her nipple and between her legs. A long finger moved in and out. His thumb circled that one incredible spot she hadn’t even known existed.
She clutched at him, at his head, his shoulders. She strained toward him, pulsing and pushing into his touch, urging him deeper and faster. The tension increased until she thought she was going to explode or die or find paradise. She parted her legs more, sank into him, then found herself shaking uncontrollably. Her body was no longer hers to command. It was Mitch, only Mitch, who shaped her destiny.
He shifted his hands beneath her, then she felt the thick pressure of two fingers thrusting inside of her. It was too intense, too wonderful. She held on to him and waited for the explosion.
It began with a trembling in her thighs and her belly, then rocketed out until even her skin quivered. Bursts of pleasure filled her, spilling out, making her tense and release and push and gasp, until she was spent and could only sag against him.
Alex felt as if she’d almost lost consciousness. Nothing in her previous life had prepared her for this moment. She slowly became aware of her surroundings to find Mitch holding her tenderly as he rained soft kisses all over her face.
‘‘Thank you,’’ he whispered against her mouth.
‘‘I think that’s supposed to be my line,’’ she murmured.
‘‘I loved doing that to you.’’
She pressed her lips together to keep from telling him to feel free to indulge whenever he might like. She hadn’t known that her body was capable of such incredible sensations. Looked as though she had a passionate nature, after all.
She gave a brief thought to her nakedness, but before she could get embarrassed, Mitch was helping her slip on her panties, then her jeans. He kissed her breasts and now-sensitive nipples, before sliding on her bra, then her shirt. In less than five minutes she was dressed and curled up next to him on the bench seat of his truck.
‘‘Thank you for everything,’’ she said softly.
‘‘You’re welcome. I’ve had a really good time tonight. But I should probably get you home before your folks start to worry.’’
It took her a minute to remember the game they’d started earlier, about being two teenagers parked out here for a make-out session.
‘‘I wish I’d known you then,’’ she said. ‘‘Back when we were young.’’
‘‘We’re hardly old now.’’
‘‘I know, but it’s different.’’
He started the truck engine and headed back for the main road. They drove in silence for several minutes, then he took her hand, brought it to his mouth and kissed her fingers. ‘‘I wish that, too.’’
* * *
Mitch stood naked in front of his bedroom window and watched the sun come up over the eastern mountains. The room was cold, nearly cold enough to distract him from the discomfort of his erection. He’d been hard since he’d first kissed Alex the previous night, and he’d stayed that way all through his restless night.
Sleep had been impossible. Some of it was the physical manifestation of his desire for her, but some of it was the different thoughts flashing through his brain. Thoughts that boiled down to one main thrust—he was getting in way over his head.
He’d recited the facts a thousand times. She was royalty. She might even become queen of her country. Someone like her wasn’t going to be interested in someone like him, and even if she was, their lives had nothing in common. There was no way in hell she was going to give it all up to live on a ranch, taking care of horses and cattle while raising three or four kids. He knew enough about himself to know that he would never be happy in her world even if she invited him for a test drive. So what was he thinking?
Last night had been a mistake, he thought to himself. He never should have taken her to Submarine Point. He certainly never should have kissed her or touched her or… His body flexed in reaction to his thoughts. To the memories of the taste of her and the feel of her. He recalled every second of their time together, especially the way she’d responded so exquisitely to his touch. When she’d climaxed, he’d watched the pleasure tighten the muscles of her face, even as he’d felt the rippling contractions around his fingers buried deep inside of her. He couldn’t help wondering how it would have felt if he’d buried himself inside of her instead.
‘‘Don’t go there,’’ he said aloud. It was dangerous territory. Nothing was going to happen between him and Alex. He couldn’t let himself fall for her. If he ever married again, he needed it to be for sensible reasons to a woman who understood his life-style and wanted the same things he did. He’d learned a lot from his first marriage, and one of the most important lessons was that love wasn’t always enough to make something last.
Chapter Eleven
Alex tried to pay attention to what her mother was saying, but she found herself drifting back in time to all that had happened with Mitch the previous night. She hadn’t been able to think about anything else. Not on the drive home, not while she lay in bed, unable to sleep, not that morning while she’d been showering and dressing.
Everything was different, although she couldn’t exactly say how. Maybe it was her heightened awareness of the world around her, as if she’d suddenly realized all the vivid colors and sounds that filled her day. Maybe it was her sense of her own body, of the texture of her skin and hair, of the incredibly intricate marvel of engineering that was the human body.
And when she wasn’t stumbling around like an alien discovering a new planet, she was reliving every moment of their time together, from their conversation in the diner to the way he’d touched her when they’d been in his truck. She still couldn’t believe her body was capable of those amazing sensations. What had she been missing all her life?
Except… Alex drew in a deep breath. Except her instinct told her that what had happened between Mitch and her had been special. Not that another man wouldn’t make her enjoy intimacy, but with Mitch there had been an extra jolt of chemistry. She had a feeling that being with someone else wasn’t going to be as wonderful, nor would she feel as safe and comfortable after the fact. Which was all too confusing.
