Her lids were too heavy to lift more than a fraction. From beneath the fringe of her lashes, even as sensation raged and caught and claimed her flesh, she watched and marveled. They’d shared so many passionate interludes, she would have sworn there could be nothing new, nothing more she had yet to experience with him.
Yet tonight…this felt different.
She’d always embraced the physical side of their marriage, had always gloried in the intimacy of these moments. And while she’d initially assumed that his declaration of love wouldn’t change her, she’d been wrong.
His words had made her stronger in herself, more certain, more confident—more assured of her position by his side—and in this arena, such escalating self-confidence had consequences. Her emotions had heightened, broadened, deepened, and strengthened until it seemed they’d broken onto some higher plane.
Some higher level of existence.
Transparently, his declaration had changed him, too. Never had she sensed him so deeply sunk in the moment, so unshielded and committed, so devoted to all the act could be.
So committed to wringing every last iota of togetherness and mutual pleasure from it.
As, with him, she rode the crest of sensations he expertly called forth, a surging, building crescendo of senses-searing, rapturous delight, with joy rising in her heart, she embraced the change and reveled in it.
Passion, desire, and need raked them, then as if those emotions were tangible forces, they clashed and battered in furious demand, then merged and exploded in a firestorm that cindered every last thought and had them both surging anew, locked together in passionate harmony and desperately striving to reach the final peak.
Seeking to claim the physical solace only the other could give.
Then the moment was upon them, and they held fast to each other as the world gave way.
Release hit them, first her, then him, and they gasped and groaned as reality fractured and ecstasy rushed in and claimed them.
Her heart pounding, spent and drained, she sank deeper into the mattress, and he surrendered to her wordless tug and slumped on top of her.
Pleasure and peace burgeoned within her and spread beneath her skin, infusing every limb with the indescribable warmth that inevitably welled in the aftermath of the ultimate delight.
Gloriously replete, sated to her bones, she rejoiced in her husband’s heavy, helpless weight. She wrapped her arms about him and held him while their hearts thundered and their breathing gradually eased.
Slowly, thoughts seeped into her mind, prompted by innate curiosity rather than anything else. This encounter was so very distant from their first—five years and more of active married life removed—yet as her natural inquisitiveness inevitably compared previous interludes with what had just occurred…in terms of intensity and the depths of soul-shaking completion they’d attained, this interlude had been a first.
Lovemaking made new.
Or was it love renewed?
Renewed by love?
Regardless, as sleep stole over her, she—her mind—saw one fact clearly.
Despite all the years of having told herself that she was happy and satisfied with a one-sided, half love-match, this, tonight, was what, in the depths of her Cynster heart, she’d always wanted and hoped to have.
This, tonight, had been her heart’s true desire made real.
This, tonight, had been a dream come true.
Chapter 12
Therese woke to the sensation of a large, warm palm gliding over her naked hip.
She blinked her eyes wide and stared across the room to the window, where daylight seeped between the curtains.
Stunned, she twisted her head and looked over her shoulder, confirming that the large male body stretched behind hers was, in fact, her husband’s. She blinked again. “You’re still here.”
He’d been watching his hand lazily caressing her. He raised his gaze, and his hazel eyes met hers. “I thought…” He looked down for a second, then his hand closed over her hip, and he bent his head and brushed a warm kiss to her bare shoulder. His lips quirked upward as he met her eyes again and murmured, “That perhaps you might like to try this.”
Her body leapt to life. “This what?”
She tensed to turn, but he leaned closer and prevented it. “No. Like this. Let me show you…”
