* * *
Mark’s intense kiss made her burn down to her toes. Darcy clung to him, her own passion flaring in the face of his obvious need. If he’d tried to seduce her, she thought she might have been able to be strong, although maybe not. But his pain, the lost look in his eyes, the way he’d come to her first, had all conspired to make her unable to resist him.
His mouth brushed frantically against hers. She parted for him and he plunged into her, tasting her, tempting her to do the same to him. His hands moved restlessly, rubbing up and down her back, drawing her closer until she pressed against him so tightly she thought she might merge with him and become one.
His need made her want him more. She clung to him as their world began to spin slowly. She touched his face, his shoulders, felt the cool, silky strands of his hair. His chest rose and fell with each labored breath. She felt herself surrendering without a single thought to what this all could mean to her heart.
When he tugged at her sweater, she raised her arms. He pulled off that garment. As he shrugged out of his own shirt, she kicked off her shoes and removed her socks. Before she could take off anything else, he reached for her bra and unfastened the hooks.
His mouth was on her in an instant, sucking her already tight nipples, licking them, making her gasp and beg him never to stop. He cupped her breasts, using his fingers to match the movements of his tongue. She rubbed his bare back, digging into the flexing muscles there, murmuring his name, wishing she had the will to stop him, yet knowing she wouldn’t even if she could.
He dropped to his knees and opened the fastening of her jeans. He pulled down the denim, along with her panties, then supported her while she stepped out of her clothes. Clasping the curve of her hips, he bent forward and kissed her between her thighs. He touched her most private place with the tip of his tongue, promising her much, while teasing her with the lightest of contacts. She sucked in her breath.
Without saying a word, he rose and led her to the bed. At his urging, she lay on her stomach, her head cradled in her arms.
“Protection?” he asked quietly, whispering the single word in her ear. She shivered as his warm breath tickled her skin.
A little embarrassed at her own boldness, she pointed at the nightstand drawer.
“I bought some a couple of days ago.”
He knelt beside her and licked the sensitive skin just below her ear. “I thought we were only going to be friends. Or were they not meant for me?”
She gave a strangled laugh, torn between listening to what he was saying and the nibbling sensation on the lobe of her ear.
“I, ah, thought I might have a moment of weakness. I didn’t want to be unprepared. And with the weather as cold as it is, I didn’t think you’d want to be running back to your place.”
“What kind did you get?”
“Extra large.”
He chuckled, then grew quiet. One of his hands settled on her rear. He rubbed her skin, circling across to her opposite hip before returning. She felt a puff of breath as her only warning before he bent down and lightly bit the skin on her side.
As he nibbled his way up and down her back she felt herself growing more and more ready. Then he shifted and bit down firmly on her rear, making her shriek.
“Mark! What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
He moved lower, licking his way down her thighs to her knees. His ministrations began to tickle. She squirmed, trying to get away without accidentally kicking him. He held her in place, licking the inside of her knees.
Darcy finally managed to break free and turn onto her back.
“Better,” he said, returning his attention to her legs, but this time on the front.
Tension tightened her belly. Her thighs began to tremble. He licked his way up to her tender, willing femininity, then kissed her there. She sank back on the bed, grateful for both his skillful touch and the fact that the shadows had faded from his eyes. She wanted to think about what he’d told her, but she couldn’t—not with him licking her center and making her breath come in ragged pants.
He slipped one finger inside of her, teasing the place that would soon welcome him. His tongue touched her from above, his finger from below. Both moved in tandem until she knew her release was inevitable as the tide.
“Mark! Please…I want to finish with you inside of me.”
“You will,” he murmured against her. “The second time.”
She wanted to protest. She wanted to pull him so that he was forced to enter her, filling her, stretching her until she had no choice but to surrender.
The erotic image was a mistake. As the fantasy fully formed, she lost control and slipped over the edge into the glory of her release. Her body arched toward him, carrying her to paradise.
She quivered and gasped until the last whisper of her climax had faded. It was only then that he shifted, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and pulling off his jeans and briefs. He leaned toward the nightstand, pulled open the drawer and removed a condom. When he was protected, he knelt between her thighs.
