His control snapped. She felt so wonderful he couldn’t make himself slow the pace. Her passion more than equaled his, and her response to his touch was wild, uninhibited.
She lifted her hips to meet each hard thrust, and when at last he climaxed inside her, she was there with him, screaming his name as she came apart.
She thought she just might die from the sheer ecstasy shimmering through her. Alec collapsed on top of her and buried his head in the crook of her neck. It took him several minutes to calm his labored breathing.
It had never been this good, no, not good, perfect before. She had overwhelmed him, and he was staggered by his need for her.
He slowly regained enough strength to move. He lifted up and looked into her eyes. “You okay?” His voice was no more than a raspy whisper.
She was still reeling from what had just happened. She’d read about it. She’d heard about it, but until tonight, she had never experienced it.
Amazing, she thought. Simply amazing. And beautiful. There weren’t enough words to describe what had happened to her. She still felt a warm glow all over. Could he feel her heart pounding against his? Did he have any idea what he had done to her? Had he experienced the same splendor? Or was it different for a man? The wonder of their lovemaking stunned her, and she couldn’t stop trembling.
“Regan?”
“Yes, I’m okay.” That had to be a gross understatement.
He kissed her once hard then rolled away from her and went into the bathroom.
His abrupt departure startled her. She didn’t want him to leave, not just yet anyway. She wanted him to hold her in his arms and whisper all the romantic words she longed to hear.
She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes. Oh, God, not now. Don’t let me cry now. She took a deep breath, groaned, and then pulled the sheet up and rolled onto her stomach. His scent was on the pillow. She had the urge to pick up that pillow and bury her head under it. She couldn’t believe how vulnerable and self-conscious she was feeling. What was the matter with her? She had started this. What had she expected? For him to drop down on his knees and tell her how much he loved her? That was the stuff of fairy tales.
A tear spilled out on her cheek. She impatiently wiped it away. Tonight was driven by lust, not love… for him, anyway. She groaned again. She wasn’t going to regret tonight. Her heart was too fragile to ever let it happen again, but she wouldn’t be sorry.
She didn’t hear Alec walk back into the bedroom. She felt him when he sat down on the bed beside her. “Move over,” he said.
She rolled onto her side to face him just as he tried to yank the sheet down. She held tight. “I thought you were getting dressed.”
“You didn’t notice my clothes are all over the floor?”
“No, I didn’t notice.”
They were involved in a tug-of-war with the sheet. He won. He stretched out beside her and pulled her to him. “I should go.” He began to nuzzle her neck. “Yeah, I should go. How come you smell so good?”
“I bathe.”
He laughed. Then he pinched her backside, and she yelped.
“How come you’re so soft?”
She kissed his neck before answering. “I’m a girl.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
She couldn’t stop touching him. She loved the feel of his hard muscles beneath her fingertips. They glided over his shoulders and his chest. His body was warm and hairy and sexy. She wrapped her arms around his waist and decided she was never going to let go. He was going to have to peel her off of him. That image made her smile.
“It was better than my fantasy,” he said.
“You’ve thought about it?”
“Oh, yeah. You did too.”
She didn’t deny it. “Yes.”
“Was it as good as your fantasy?”
Her voice dropped to a whisper. “It was… so-so.”
He laughed. Then he pushed her onto her back and leaned over her. “So-so?” he repeated.
He looked a little worried. She realized then that there was a thread of insecurity hidden under all those layers of arrogance. She was stunned. How could he not know how much pleasure he had given her?
She cupped the side of his face. “It was perfect.”
He leaned down and kissed her. He thought it would be a see-you-later kind of kiss, but as soon as his mouth touched hers, everything changed. His tongue rubbed erotically against hers. He kept telling himself he just wanted a little bit more and he’d be satisfied. How come he couldn’t get enough of her?
She moved restlessly against him. “Alec?” she whispered.
“You want to go again?”
Her eyes widened. She pushed his shoulders. “Go again? What kind of pillow talk is that?”
She honestly didn’t know if she wanted to yell at him or laugh.
Then he grinned and laughter won out. “I can do pillow talk,” he boasted.
“Prove it.”
He got sidetracked by the devilish way her lips curled up. The dimple was interfering with his thought process too, and so he looked into her eyes. It seemed to hit him all at once, the reality of what had just happened. This beautiful, sweet, perfect creature had taken him to her bed.
She nudged him. “I’m waiting,” she whispered, and then she batted her eyelashes at him.
He laughed again. “Okay. Here’s what I think we ought to do.” And then he explained in the most graphic detail how he wanted to make love to her and what he expected in return.
By the time he’d finished, her cheeks were bright pink. “What kind of women have you been hanging out with?” she asked. She tried to sound shocked.
“Gymnasts, acrobats. Why do you ask?” His hands moved down to her hips.
“Alec, what are you doing?”
“It’s called multitasking. I’m talking and touching at the same time.” He slowly moved down her body, and his mouth and tongue were driving her wild. “We could try something new,” he said. He kissed the valley between her breasts and then whispered, “But why mess with perfection?”
Chapter Thirty-six
Alec wouldn’t spend the night. She tried to entice him, but she couldn’t get him to change his mind. He was far more concerned about protecting her good name than she was. She put on a blue silk robe that didn’t quite reach her knees and sat on the side of the bed while Alec got dressed.
Her legs distracted him from what he was doing. When he realized where his thoughts were taking him, he turned and walked into the living room.
“What’d I do with my phone?”
She followed him. “It’s in your coat pocket.”
He turned around to tell her good night. She stepped closer and buttoned his shirt for him while he clipped on his holster and flipped the leather snap in place over his gun.
She stretched up on tiptoes and kissed him just below the jaw. “Sleep over,” she whispered.
“No.”
His harsh tone didn’t bother her because he was kissing the side of her neck while he refused her.
“Don’t you want to?”
“Of course I want to,” he said. “And if the circumstances were different, I would.”
His hands slid inside her robe. He couldn’t get enough of her. Not good, he told himself. He pulled his hands back. “The whole world is watching you, and I don’t want anyone talking…”
“The whole world? Surely not.”
“You’ve got the police department, the security team, the hotel staff, and your brothers watching your every move. Did you forget there’s a policeman standing outside your door? I don’t want anyone speculating about you or gossiping or teasing…” She was kissing his neck and tormenting him with her tongue. “Stop that.”