Excitement whipped through her, even though she reminded herself this was temporary insanity. He moved between her thighs, forcing her legs even wider. His cock was a hard arc that danced just under his navel, pre-come already rolling in slow beads down the long shaft. The sight made her belly clench and molten heat pumped through her veins. She waited for him to touch, to take, but instead he just stared down at her. When he spoke, his voice shook. «You are so damn beautiful.»

She swallowed, made a smile quirk her lips. «You're not so bad yourself, cowboy.»

It was nothing less than the truth. Jericho had a gorgeous body-the kind that made women pant, all broad shoulders and narrow hips, rippling abs and tight pecs. Plus, he was hung. She tried not to drool, but this was a fantasy come true. Bound, naked, and offered up like a buffet for his pleasure. With any other man, that might be a problem for her, but this was Jericho. She knew he'd make it good for her. In that, he'd never failed her.

He reached for her. His dark hair fell over his forehead as he leaned forward, his heavy-lidded gray eyes shining with naked desire. Her nipples tightened when his gaze touched them, and she strained against the silk scarves, wanting to get closer to him. That she couldn't only made it better for her, made her burn. A fine tremor ran through his hands when he stroked over her collarbone, down to shape her breasts in his palms. Her breath caught as his callused hands stimulated her sensitive nipples. He lifted her breasts, kissed the soft, plumped curves. His touch was gentle, and far too slow to satisfy her. She was so ready when he took her nipple into his mouth and began to suckle that she screamed and jerked on the scarves. Tears blurred her vision and tingles flowed in rippling waves over every inch of her flesh. She was damp, flushed, ready for him to take her and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to hurry him up. God she loved this, loved him, loved the way he touched her, kissed her, pleased her. She gritted her teeth to suppress the urge to tell him. Giving him that much would destroy her, and she knew it. All she could do was take what he offered-sex-hot, sweaty and dirty.

The smooth, hard head of his cock brushed over the lips of her pussy. Need clawed at her, made her writhe in response. She arched herself for him, a silent offering, a demand, and he chuckled. The sound was nothing short of sinful, and it ratcheted up her anticipation even further. «I can't wait much longer, Jericho.»

«Yes, you can. You will. And you'll like it.» He moved down her body, his broad shoulders keeping her thighs spread wide, and his breath whispered over the moist folds of her swollen sex. «I promise.»

She whimpered, tugging hard on her bindings, desperate for the wild, mindless pleasure only he had ever given her. The first stroke of his tongue on her pussy made her jolt, scream and twist. His lips closed over her clit and sucked. The breath exploded from her lungs and she couldn't drag in enough oxygen to plead, beg, and cry for more, for relief, for anything and everything he had to give her as long as he kept that wicked promise. Her muscles throbbed with the strain of pulling at the ties on her ankles and wrists, but she couldn't lie still. She craved him so much.

His rough, callused fingertips brushed up the insides of her thighs, raising goose bumps on her flesh and making her shiver. He teased the lips of her sex before easing two thick fingers into her slick channel. The rhythm he set for her was hard, punishing, his fingers and tongue working her until her eyes rolled back in her head. Her entire body shook, fire flowing through her in scorching waves. Her pussy spasmed, locking tight around those fingers. Then he twisted them, hooking his fingertips until they rubbed her in just the right place. A high wail broke from her throat as she convulsed in his arms. Still he pushed her, stroking her and sucking her wet flesh until the need rebuilt, until she was sobbing with the force of a second orgasm rocketing through her.

«Jericho. Jericho, please. I need…I can't…please.»

«Oh, but I think we've already established that you can.» He all but purred the words, his lips brushing against her clit as he spoke.

She licked her lips, trying to focus. «I want you inside me, Jericho.»

«I want to be inside you,» he whispered, his cool breath on her hot flesh making her pussy clench around his fingers. «I want to be deeper inside you than you've ever let anyone. Even me. I want you to trust me enough to let me in that deep.»

The words sent an ominous shiver down her spine, and she knew he was talking about a lot more than trusting him during sex. It was more than she could give him. She closed her eyes, pulling at the silk around her wrists. She wished it was just the bindings that made her helpless in his embrace, but she knew it wasn't. He didn't need to know that though. She swallowed, moaned when his hand began thrusting again. «Jericho, please…»

He sighed, and she could feel his disappointment roll over her, and it hurt to upset him. She knew she shouldn't feel that way, but logic and emotion were two very different things. Rising on his elbows, he settled over her and slid his cock into her. It was so good she wanted to cry.

The hair on his chest rasped her nipples, and she couldn't help how she arched under him to increase the stimulation. He moved within her in tiny thrusts that drove her mad. She lifted her face for him to kiss, wanting his lips on her skin, but he just smiled down at her. His fingers stroked over her cheekbone, and the way he looked at her, so hot and sweet and tender… God, it was the look he used to use when she'd told herself he loved her. What a joke. And, in the end, the joke had been on her. She turned her head into her arm, unable to bear the memories that bombarded her, but she was tied down, so there was no escaping him, even if she wanted to. She shivered. What a horrible, awful mess.

«Don't look away from me, darlin'.» He feathered a kiss over her jaw. «Be here with me.»

Meeting that silver gaze that always saw too much, she waggled her bound wrists. «I'm not going anywhere.»

His gaze searched her face for long moments before a look of stubborn determination molded his features. «That isn't what I meant, but it'll do. For now.»

The slow strokes of his cock picked up speed, and she wished she could wrap her legs around his waist to lift herself into his thrusts. As if he'd read her mind, he angled his hips so he moved within her just right. It was so perfect it was painful, and something crumpled inside her. God, it was going to hurt to lose him again. She stared up at him, wanting to see his every expression, wanting to remember every detail. Wanting something to offset the ugly way things had ended the first time.

Squeezing her walls tight around him, she smiled when he groaned for her. She saw the moment his control snapped, felt the shudder that wracked his big body. He plunged into her hard enough to make stars burst behind her eyes, and she gasped. He buried his face in her neck, but his rhythm didn't falter and his cock filled her again and again, his sharp hipbone slapping against her clit. Orgasm shimmered through her, building so high and fast, she had to bite back a scream.

His bellowing breath rushed against her throat. «No one else has ever done this to you before, have they, Tori?»

«Only you.» As if she'd ever been able to let anyone take control of her pleasure this way. As if she'd ever put herself out there again after how monumental her failure had been the first time. She bucked beneath him, jerking at the silk ties. She wanted him to go even faster, to push her over that blissful edge.

«Only me.» His voice was warm, possessive. Dangerous.

A warning sounded in her mind, distracting her from the drive to ecstasy. Her movements faltered.

His didn't.

If anything, he only made it worse, going faster and deeper, just the way she needed him to. He pounded into her, grinding against her clit, and sent her careening into ecstasy. Her sex pulsed around him, and she did scream then. His head lifted, and his gaze snared her. There was nothing but him, her whole world narrowed to this moment with this man, this fulfillment. Her pussy milked his cock, the contractions rippling deep within her, her orgasm going longer than she'd ever experienced before. He kept thrusting, kept dragging it out for her. She whimpered, writhing in her bindings, her skin so sensitized it was almost more than she could bear. «Come with me, Jericho.»

Shuddering, he gave her what she wanted, coming hot and fast inside her. His eyes closed, and he groaned, the sound rough and helpless. «I love you. I've loved you since that very first night. I love you so fucking much it's enough to kill me again.»

Shock punched her in the belly, knocked the breath out of her lungs. Then reaction kicked in. The agony was like ripping open a festering wound that had never healed. Bitter rage screamed through her, blackened her vision and she heaved underneath him. «Untie me, Jericho! Untie me right now.»

His reaction was immediate. He lunged for the scarves that bound her, letting her loose. She jackknifed on the bed, scrambling to get away from him. He caught her wrist to steady her when she tripped over the tangled bedspread. «Don't touch me,» she shrieked, ripping her arm from his grip. «Don't you touch me ever again.»

«Okay. Okay, let's just be calm for a second.» He lifted his hands in a placating gesture, wariness and hurt flashing in his gaze. «I'm confused by what's happening here. I told you I loved you and-«

«Liar.» The word exploded from her throat. «You never loved me. Never. Don't even try to feed me that line of bullshit. Those words never crossed your lips, not once. Don't try to rewrite the past, Jericho. I was there.»