All thoughts of talking fled from Kaldar's head. He kissed her smile, tasting her lips, so sweet and pliant. He kissed her because he had to. He couldn't help it. She tasted of wine and apples and that enchanting indescribable feminine spice that drove all reason from his head.
Her mouth parted, inviting him, and the tip of her tongue licked his. The taste of Audrey exploded in his mouth. Finally.
Kaldar pulled her toward him, his hands sliding over the firm, supple curve of her ass, and drank her in. Audrey gasped into his mouth. He pressed against her and let his tongue explore, teasing, taking, daring her to do something about it. Her left arm slid around his neck, accepting his challenge. Her right hand slipped down, along his chest, lower, to the bulge in his pants, caressing him, her skin soft and warm. Her fingers brushed against him. His body tightened in response, straining, begging for her touch. He couldn't get any harder. She ran her hand over his shaft and stroked him, propelling him right to the edge, to the desperate place where nothing but Audrey mattered. He wanted her more than anything in his life.
They needed privacy. The dark rectangle of a door loomed on the right. She kissed him again, and he blindly found the door handle. Locked. Magic stung his hand, and suddenly the handle turned. He opened the door, and they slipped inside, intertwined. He locked the door one-handed, afraid to let go of her, and hoisted her onto the desk.
FEW people recognized the moment they fell in love. Audrey had no idea when it happened. She knew only that touching Kaldar, being with him, feeling his lips on hers, was the most important thing. Somehow, between their fight and this second, she had fallen in love with him, and when he kissed her, it felt like pure heaven.
She kissed his face, his jaw, his lips, caressing him. All of the good solid reasons she should push him away and stop seemed so stupid and small compared to what she saw in his eyes. There wasn't even a word for it. Admiration? Affection? Desire? Bliss? Love. That had to be it.
Kaldar brushed the seam on her side, found the clasps, then her breasts were free. He bent his head down and kissed her neck, his hands caressing her body, his roughened thumbs sliding over her nipples, sending tiny shocks of bliss through her. Audrey arched her back. Every stroke of his hands, every touch, every heated press of his lips against her skin, felt overpowering, as if her senses had suddenly sharpened. The air grew hot. Pressure built inside her, squeezing her everywhere.
She reached for his vest and worked the clasp open. He shrugged it off and yanked off his shirt. As he pulled the fabric over his head, she unbuckled his belt and slipped her hand inside, pulling his shaft free. He groaned, his body tight, the muscles on his chest and stomach hard, strained bulges.
He was beautiful.
Audrey stroked him again, running her hand up and down his hard shaft, and he slipped his hand under her skirt, up her thigh. He pulled off her panties. His fingers dipped into her, right into the center of the aching pressure.
Oh God. She almost cried out, and he kissed her. "Shh, love. Shh."
He slid his fingers higher and touched the sensitive mound just above her ache. A thrilling jolt shot through her, so intense she jerked back, then immediately leaned into him, eager for more. He kissed her neck, sending small shivers down her spine. His fingers made small, slippery circles, sliding, hot, clever, touching just right. Pleasure spiked inside her, the pressure rolling, concentrating down, toward that spot and his hands, each touch bringing the rush of euphoria closer, as if it spiraled down. Her breath was coming in short, rapid gasps. The tension built and built. She felt as if she were flying, her brain flooded by bliss and Kaldar.
The pressure came together into a single tight knot. She couldn't stand it any longer. It peaked, and a wave of exquisite, intense pleasure swept through her, quick and followed by spasms.
He thrust into her, his shaft a hot hardness inside her. She locked her legs behind him. They moved in a steady rhythm. She kissed him, winding herself around his body, echoing every thrust, feeling every movement he made inside her. A steady ache began to build in her again, that same insistent, exhilarating pressure.
Someone tried the door handle. She clamped her hand on Kaldar's mouth. They froze. If they got busted, she would say . . . To hell with it. She didn't care.
On the other side of the door, a woman made an irritated "Hmm" noise. Kaldar pulled out of her - she'd almost gasped in frustration - and moved across the carpet to the door.
Another "Hmm."
The sound of retreating steps seeped through the door. Yes!
Audrey slid off the desk. Her gown had to go. She wanted to feel him, all of him, without too many annoying layers of fabric between the two of them. Audrey pulled the dress off and dropped it to the floor.
Kaldar crossed the distance between them. She turned her back to him. His hands closed about her, cupping her breasts.
"I want you," she whispered.
"Marry me," he told her.
"No." He just kept asking and asking. What if he kept asking for the rest of her life? What then? "Why does it have to be marriage?"
"Because I want to be with you forever, and that's the only way I can prove it. I want to stand there in front of everyone and promise to love you. It's a promise you can't break."
His hand slipped down on her thigh, pushing her legs wider. He thrust into her, sliding in, harder and harder, in a possessive rapid rhythm. She braced her hands against the desk. He wrapped one arm around her waist, clamping her to him, his fingers hot on her skin. His right hand slipped down, over her hip, over her stomach . . . She tensed in anticipation. His fingers found that same sensitive spot, stroking her back to the edge, where the bliss waited. She pushed against the desk.
The pressure inside her crested.
Kaldar released her waist and leaned back, thrusting fast, deep, hard.
Joy drowned her, radiating through her in waves. They came and came, flooding her, overloading her senses. She felt weightless, exhausted, and happy.
He shuddered behind her. A second later, he pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her. She sagged against him, so thoroughly tired and completely content. She didn't want to move. She didn't want to speak. She just wanted to stand there, wrapped in him.
He kissed her cheek.
She was so happy.
Footsteps sounded down the hallway. Probably one of the Texas sharpshooters - the boot had a heel by the sound of it.
They couldn't stay like that forever. Sooner rather than later, someone in the ballroom would notice they were gone. No matter how much she loved being held like that, they had to clean up, get dressed, and go on with their plan before their absence drew enough attention to put them all in danger. Audrey gently pushed at Kaldar's arms, and he let go.