“Y-yes.”
Why was she allowing him to take command of the situation? Why wasn’t she demanding that he immediately take her back to Albuquerque before something else happened? But with all of the bare male skin surrounding her, she found she was too distracted to do much of anything but go along with what he wanted.
“Good.” He gently stroked her hair as his hazel gaze held hers captive. “I want to apologize for the way I acted earlier and set the record straight. I wasn’t upset with you, Alyssa. I was mad as hell at myself for letting you down. I know that’s no excuse. But the truth of the matter is, I failed you, then acted like a real bastard about it. And I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
Her conscience wouldn’t let him shoulder all of the responsibility. “You weren’t in that hot tub alone. I’m just as much to blame as you. I should have thought—”
He stubbornly shook his head. “It’s a man’s place to protect a woman.”
“I beg to differ. Both partners should share the responsibilities of prevention.” When he looked like he was going to protest, she reached up to place her finger to his lips. “But I’m not going to argue that with you now. I think it’s safe to say we both got a bit carried away.”
“You’re right about that, sweetheart.” His sexy grin sent waves of heat coursing through her. “I was so hot for you, I’m surprised we didn’t cause the water in the hot tub to boil.”
His candor and the sound of his low drawl caused her to feel as if the blood in her veins had been replaced with warm honey. Deciding it would definitely be in her best interest to move before she lost sight of what she needed to ask him, she started to stand up.
“Hey, where are you going?” he asked, holding her in place. He brushed his lips over hers in the gentlest of kisses. When he raised his head, he asked, “Didn’t you say you had something you wanted to ask me?”
With every cell in her body tingling and her heart skipping every other beat, how was she supposed to think? Why had she knocked on his door? For the life of her, she couldn’t remember.
But Caleb didn’t seem to mind that she had temporary amnesia. Giving her a promising smile, he lowered his head again to kiss her with such tenderness it brought tears to her eyes. As he used his tongue to trace her lips, spirals of desire slowly swirled to every part of her and a shiver of excitement skipped up her spine. All he had to do was touch her and her will to resist melted away like mist under an early summer sun.
As he teased her to open for him, then dipped his tongue inside to explore her inner recesses, she was shocked at her own eager response. Boldly stroking him, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed closer.
His groan of pleasure rumbled up from deep in his chest and the vibration against her breasts sent a flash of heat streaking through her at the speed of light. When he broke the kiss, his lips seared a path from her neck to her collarbone, making her feel as if she were about to go up in flames.
He pushed her gown and robe aside to continue a blazing trail of nibbling kisses to the valley between her breasts and Alyssa was certain she’d been branded by the intensity of it. The ribbons of need flowing through her began to wind their way to the pit of her stomach, forming a coil of hungry desire deep in the most feminine part of her.
Seated on his lap, she knew immediately when his body began to change, to grow hard with the same passion that was overtaking her. Right or wrong, wise or not, she wanted to be warmed by the heat of his desire, to once again have him claim her body and soul.
“Please, Caleb.”
“I want you again, sweetheart.” His drawl sounded rough and impassioned. He raised his head to give her a look that seared her all the way to her soul. “Do you remember what I told you in the hot tub?”
“I—I’m not sure.” She was about to burn to a cinder and he wanted her to recall something he’d said earlier?
The wicked grin he gave her sent a wave of goose bumps shimmering across her skin. “I promised you that I was going to kiss you all over. That I was going to touch you in all of your secret places and make you cry out with pleasure. Then, when you think I’m finished, I’m going to start all over again.”
His suggestive words caused the coil in her stomach to tightened to an empty ache that robbed her of breath.
“And I have every intention of keeping that promise.” His intense hazel gaze made her feel as if she’d melt right then and there when he added, “I’m going to love you the way you deserve to be loved. Right here. Right now.”
Alyssa’s pulse pounded in her ears and without a moment’s hesitation, she nodded that she wanted that, too.
It fleetingly crossed her mind that she was playing with fire and there was a very real possibility that she’d end up being burned. But she didn’t want to think about that now. She wanted to be held and touched and loved by the man who had stolen her heart.
Chapter Eight
If Caleb had given her time, Alyssa might have panicked at the realization that she’d fallen in love with him. But he was already taking matters into his own hands. Lifting her as if she weighed nothing at all, he stood up with her in his arms and walked over to his king-size bed.
Setting her on her feet, he held her gaze with his as he slowly untied her robe and slid it from her shoulders. “This time we’re going to take things slow and easy. I want to savor every inch of you and by the time I’m through, there won’t be a doubt in your mind about how special I think you are.”
With every word he spoke, her limbs felt a bit weaker and the restlessness deep inside her grew stronger. “I’m going to hold you to that,” she said, wondering if that sultry female voice was really hers.
He slid his palms along her arms, then, taking her hands in his, he lifted them to kiss each one of her fingertips before placing them on his shoulders. “I’d rather you hold me to you.”
She threaded her fingers through the hair at his nape, then, drawing his head down for her kiss, she pressed herself to his hard frame. “There are a few things that I want to do to you, too. Holding you against me is just one of them.”
If she’d thought about it, she might have been appalled at her shamelessness. But it was as if she shed every one of her inhibitions when Caleb took her in his arms. And, for the first time in her life, she felt free to explore her own sexuality.
His smile increased the humming in the very core of her as he gathered her nightgown in his hands and slowly pulled it up over her head. “Let’s get the rest of these clothes off.”