***
Luc struggled to catch his breath, seismic quakes from his orgasm still jolting through his body.
Christ, he hadn’t felt such intense pleasure since…
Since the last time he’d been in bed with Madison, he ruefully acknowledged.
He had no explanation.
He’d been with women during the past eight years, although not as many as people assumed. Once he’d ended his competition for his father’s approval he’d learned that he needed more than just a willing female to stir his libido. But absolutely none of them had been capable of making him feel as if he was connected to them on some level that went way beyond the physical.
Only Madison.
Rolling to the side, he held her tightly in his arms, trying to work up the energy to reach for the phone to call room service.
Tonight deserved a bottle of champagne. The finest the hotel had to offer.
Madison stirred against him and Luc instinctively tightened his arms around her. “God. That was—”
“Sex,” she interrupted his fervent words.
Luc frowned. Was she serious?
“No,” he growled. “Sex doesn’t make the earth move.”
She tensed at his description, almost as if he’d embarrassed her. “So poetic.”
“I have my moments.” He buried his face in the satin softness of her hair, breathing deeply of her sweet, vanilla scent. Instantly he hardened, ready to feel the wet heat of her body wrapped around his thickening erection. Or maybe this time he had the control to actually feel her lips wrap around his cock. “In fact, I feel another moment coming on.”
Allowing his hands to lower, he cupped the smooth curve of her ass, tugging her closer.
Not just because he wanted to feel her warm body pressed against his aching cock, but because he suddenly sensed that she was pulling away from him.
And that was…unacceptable.
As if to prove his point, Madison laid her hands against his chest. “Luc.”
He pressed his lips to the top of her head, sucking in a deep breath. He didn’t want to discuss what had just happened between them.
He just wanted to savor round two. And three.
Tomorrow they could dissect this passion that had only become more explosive over the past eight years.
“Mmm. Vanilla,” he murmured. “Every time I smell it I think of you.”
She pressed her palms against his chest. “Luc, wait.”
Reluctantly, he pulled back to study her face that was still flushed with arousal. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to get up.”
Every instinct rebelled against the thought of allowing her to leave the warmth of his arms.
“Why? We have all night.” He peered deep into the hazel eyes, searching for…what? An assurance that she’d been as shaken as he’d been by the intensity of their lovemaking? “Hell, we have as long as you want.”
“I…I have to use the bathroom.”
“Damn.” He grimaced, loosening his grip so she could scramble off the bed and head for the bathroom. “Don’t be long,” he called after her retreating form, again noticing the smudge of makeup on her lower hip. Sometime he intended to ask her if she had a birthmark. He didn’t want her to feel as if she ever had to hide anything from him.
Scooting up on the headboard, Luc phoned down to order the champagne and a plate of fresh fruit and chocolates. He hoped that Madison wasn’t one of those women who always felt the need to starve herself. He had an erotic vision of her eating her dinner off his body.
Just the thought of her tongue lapping champagne off his bare skin was enough to make him groan. Christ. He needed Madison back in this bed.
He glared across the hotel suite, wondering what could possibly be taking so long.
Surely she didn’t think she needed to fuss over her makeup and hair?
Yeah, he was male enough to appreciate her beauty, but it wasn’t what made her so fascinating.
Or why he was so desperate to have her back in his arms.
He’d known a hundred beautiful females who hadn’t made him look twice.
On the point of barging his way into the bathroom and hauling her back to the bed—or maybe he’d just lure her into the shower—the connecting door was shoved open.
“At last—” His words came to a sharp halt, his brows snapping together at the sight of Madison wearing a casual yellow sundress with a scooped neckline and spaghetti straps. Her hair pulled into a simple ponytail. “Why are you dressed?”
Opening a large Gucci bag, she set it on a chair and began collecting her clothes that were scattered over the carpet.
“I think that should be obvious.”
Luc watched her jerky movements with a strange sense of incredulity. Was this the same woman who’d just shattered in his arms? Who’d cried out his name at the height of her pleasure?
“Obvious to whom?” he demanded. “Certainly not me.”
She shoved her gown and shoes into the bag, not even glancing in his direction. “I’ve done what I came to do and now I’m leaving.”
“Leaving?” His sluggish thoughts struggled to make sense of this abrupt change from lover to stranger. “You said this was your room.”
“I paid for the night.” She at last turned to face him, her expression unreadable. “Feel free to stay if you want.”
With an impatient growl, Luc shoved himself off the bed, stalking toward her. “What the hell is going on here?”
She tilted her chin, her body rigid. “Come on, Luc. You’re an intelligent man.”
He halted directly in front of her. “I used to think so, but clearly there’s something wrong with my brain since I can’t think of one reason you aren’t in this bed with me.”
“I told you, I finished what I came to Vegas to do.”
Luc flicked his gaze toward the packed bag before returning to Madison’s aloof expression. Anger abruptly replaced his confusion.
She was packing to leave.
“You came to screw me?” he snarled.
“To seduce you,” she corrected.
“Why?” He glared at her in disbelief. “You wanted a quickie for old times’ sake?”
She kept her chin at a defiant angle, but Luc didn’t miss her covert step away from his tightly coiled body.
“I wanted you to feel what it’s like to be lying in a bed when someone else walks away.”
“Son of a bitch,” he breathed, suddenly remembering his earlier suspicion that Madison was hiding something from him. Now he knew. “This was revenge sex.”