Her short, neat fingernails scraped at his back as she twisted beneath him. She slid her hands up, into his thick, golden hair and held him to her as his mouth continued to work at her br**sts. “Jesse…”
“Soon,” he promised, his words a whisper of a caress against her flesh.
It had to be soon, or she would die of the wanting. She felt her body coiling tighter and tighter and knew she couldn’t take much more of his. “I need you. Inside. Jesse, please.”
He lifted his head, stared down at her and she saw the same passion she was feeling mirrored in his eyes. Her heart turned over in her chest and something wild and wonderful spilled through her bloodstream. There was more here than want. More than just need. There was a soul-deep connection between them. She felt it. Knew it. Recognized it.
Then he kissed her, plunging his tongue deeply into her mouth and thoughts scattered like dead leaves in a cold wind. His fingers continued to stroke and tease her, even as he moved to settle himself between her thighs.
She lifted her h*ps in silent invitation and when he eased back from their kiss, sitting on his haunches to look down at her, Bella felt like the most beautiful woman on the face of the planet. He looked at her with such a craving, she felt powerful and strong and enticing.
He parted her thighs farther, sliding his hands up and down the inside of her legs until she hissed in a breath and whispered brokenly, “Jesse, now.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, pushing his body into hers in one long, heated slide, “now.”
She groaned as he filled her and her body stretched to accommodate him. He held perfectly still inside her for one long moment. Until she moved beneath him, showing him that she was ready for him. For all he could give her.
Jesse watched her eyes glaze and felt the thrumming of her heartbeat as he lowered his head to kiss her br**sts, each in turn. His own heartbeat was galloping in his chest. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath and he didn’t care. This was what he’d been searching for these last three years. This woman. This moment. This link.
But as she sinuously moved beneath him, his mind blanked and his body took over. There would be time for thinking later. Much later. For now, he had everything he could want, right here in his arms.
He moved within her—sure, long strokes designed to draw the pleasure out, to stoke it so high they might both burn in the aftermath. Again and again, he laid claim to her and with every stroke. She met him, lifting her h*ps into him, sliding into a smooth rhythm he’d found with no one else. It was as if their bodies recognized what their minds had been fighting. That they belonged together. They fit.
He braced his hands on either side of her head, looked down into chocolate-brown eyes that sparkled and shone in the moonlight and gave himself up to what was happening. He felt her body stiffen, knew the moment when her cl**ax claimed her and watched the magic in her eyes. Only then did he allow himself to follow after, his body shattering.
When the last of the tremors finally ceased, he collapsed atop her and felt her arms come around him, cradling him to her chest.
The night passed too quickly and Jesse couldn’t seem to get enough of her. Again and again, they made love and each time was better than the one before. They came together, dozed briefly, then made love again. Finally, around 2:00 a.m., they threw on robes and raided the kitchen, at last getting around to eating the meal his housekeeper had left for them. It was cold, but they didn’t care. They drank wine, ate their meal and then he had her as dessert on the kitchen table.
He couldn’t keep his hands off her and even as he experienced it, Jesse knew how different this was for him. He’d never wanted a woman to stay the night with him before. And with Bella, he didn’t want her to leave. As long as he kept her there, at his house, nothing would change.
Once the world intruded, everything would be different.
But he couldn’t ignore the dawn. Jesse was used to waking up early. The habit came from all those years of pulling on a wet suit and heading to the beach to sit on a board and watch the rising sun blaze across the surface of the water. As far as he was concerned, the dawn was still the best part of the day.
Bella was sleeping when he slipped out of bed to start a pot of coffee. His housekeeper wouldn’t arrive until noon, so breakfast would be up to him. He smiled as he thought about taking Bella some coffee and then convincing her to take a nice, hot shower with him.
Still smiling, he hit the button on the coffeepot, then walked through the quiet house to the front door. He stepped outside, picked up the paper off the porch, then went back into the house, unfolding the paper as he strolled at a leisurely pace back to the kitchen.
While he waited for the pot to brew, he leaned back against the counter and flipped through the thin, local paper, checking out the news and admiring the ad King Beach was running. He finally hit the editorial page and paused to pour his first cup of the day. Taking a sip, he skimmed the letters to the editor and smiled as he read the complaints on everything from skateboarding kids to dogs being unwelcome on the beach.
“Gotta love a small town,” he murmured, “there’s always someone with something to say—”
Then he spotted one specific letter and scowled. He shot a glance at the floor above him, then deliberately took a breath, poured two more cups of coffee and tucking the paper under his arm, headed for the master bedroom. Bella was still snuggled under the quilt when he walked in and just for a second, he thought about ignoring the stupid newspaper in favor of joining her on the big bed.
Then he shook his head, and crossed the room. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he set the coffee on the side table and reached down to smooth her hair back from her face. She was beautiful. And terribly sneaky.
“Bella,” he said, “wake up.”
“What? Why?” She pulled the pillow over her head and slipped deeper beneath the quilt.
Jesse plucked the pillow free, tossed it aside and said again, “Come on, wake up.”
One brown eye opened and glared at him. “Jesse, it’s still dark.”
“It’s dawn and the paper’s here. The Morgan Beach weekly.” He was watching her, waiting for her to respond.
“That’s nice.” She sniffed and blinked blearily at him. “I smell coffee.”
“Have some,” he said, offering her the cup as she scooted around and pushed a pillow behind her back. The sheet was drawn up, covering her br**sts, and her hair was tousled. She looked beautiful. And so damn innocent.