“Wishful thinking on my part," he said. "I projected what I wanted onto you." He was taking the fall for this? She couldn't believe it. "I… You…" She blinked. "Projecting?"

“The kiss was hot. It made me want more." She processed the statement. The ripples of horror changed to tingles of excitement as she considered the possibilities. "You don't mind that I'm interested in a no-strings affair? You don't think that's tacky and cheap and sleazy of me?" His mouth curved into a slow smile as fire flared in his irises. "Do I look like I mind?" He released her arm and reached up to stroke her cheek. "You're attractive, sexy and you kiss like a wet-dream fantasy come to life." Oh, my. Speaking of wet, his words made her go all squishy inside. An ache began between her thighs and spread out in every direction. She felt both weak and incredibly powerful. Desire swept through her-the kind of desire she'd hadn't felt in what seemed like a lifetime.

“Why don't you ask your question again," she said. "I'll try not to run this time." His expression tightened and grew more intense. Around them, the air thickened as tension crackled. She could feel the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck standing up. Her gaze locked with his.

“Are you interested in an affair?" he asked, his voice low and heavy with what she was pretty sure was sexual need. "Sex, fun and when my time in town is up, we both walk away. No regrets. No expectations." It sounded wicked. It sounded perfect.

“Yes," she whispered. "That's exactly what I want." She couldn't believe she'd spoken the words aloud, but before she could give in to self-doubt, he pulled her close.

“It's what I want, too," he murmured. "I've been hearing rumors for years, and I finally get to find out if they're true." Rumors? "About me?" He pressed his mouth against her neck. Delicious tingles tiptoed down her spine, making it nearly impossible to think.

“Not you specifically," he told her. "Older women." Stephanie had already placed her hands on his shoulders and if his thick muscles didn't feel so good as she pressed her fingers against him, she would have snatched them back. Instead she shifted a little, without actually breaking contact with his hard body.

“Older women?" He raised his head and grinned. "You said you're thirty-three. I'm thirty-one. Ever since I first figured out the possibilities between a man and a woman, I've been hearing stories about how great it is to be with an older woman. All that experience. All that latent desire as they reach their sexual peak. I've always wondered if everything they say is true." She supposed there were two ways to respond to his challenge. Duck and run, or challenge him back. While her first inclination was to do the former, something told her there was more fun to be had in the latter.

“Of course it's true," she said as she leaned close. "I hope you can keep up." He gave a low, throaty laugh right before he claimed her mouth.

The hot, hungry kiss took her breath away. His lips pressed against hers with enough pressure to make her a hundred percent sure he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She parted instantly and he swept inside.

He tasted of coffee and sin. She shivered in delight at the first brush of intimate contact. Heat poured through her, making her legs weak and her breathing catch. Need exploded, surrounding her, crashing over her, making her want with a desperation that left her ravenous and achingly alive.

As she tilted her head to deepen the kiss, he pulled her closer still. They touched everywhere. Her breasts flattened against his chest, his arousal throbbed along her belly. His hands roamed her back, moving up and down in a rhythm that matched the pounding of her heart.

While she traced the breadth of his shoulders, he explored her waist, then her hips. One hand slipped to her rear and squeezed. His fingertips just grazed the very top of the back of her thigh. The light contact shouldn't have been anything special, yet it burned through her clothes and singed her skin.

Unexpectedly Nash bit down on her lower lip. She gasped. When he drew the sensitized skin into his mouth and gently sucked, the gasp turned into a moan.

They had to get closer, she thought, need turning frantic. Closer and naked and touching. Now. This instant.

The message traveled from her brain to her hands. Even as he shifted so that his fingers grazed her nipples and jolts of wanting arrowed down to the thick swollen dampness between her legs, she tugged at his shirt. The fabric pulled free of his waistband. She fumbled with buttons, unfastening the first two. He slipped his hands under her sweater. She caught her breath in anticipation. His large, warm hands cupped her breasts.

Her thin bra felt like a steel barrier keeping him from touching bare skin. Torn between wanting tc get his shirt off him and wanting to feel his skin on hers, she tried to shimmy out of her sweater while still unbuttoning his shirt. At the same time, she turned and bumped the bottom stair with her foot.

Nash caught her as she started to fall. His strong arms held her upright.

“We need to take this upstairs," he murmured as he kissed along her jaw to her left ear.

“Okay." Her head fell back in supplication. She silently begged him never to stop. His hands returned to her breasts and she couldn't think…couldn't do anything but feel. It was all too good, too amazing, too incredible. The wet heat of his mouth, the way he flicked his tongue against the sensitive skin below her ear. Then there were his fingers and the way they teased and played and pressed against her nipples. Not hard, not soft. Just right. Very right.

“Stephanie?"

“Uh-huh?"

“Hang on." He swept her up in his arms, just like Rhett Butler carrying Scarlett. After an initial moment of being disconcerted, she felt light and feminine and too sexy for words.

“I wish I was naked right now," she said.

His dark eyes brightened with need. "Me, too. My room's closer. Is that all right?" She couldn't answer because he was kissing her, but she tried to tell him "yes" with her lips and her tongue. Apparently he got the message because the next thing she knew, they were on the second floor and heading down the hall.

He pushed open his door and stepped inside. The blinds were open and sunlight filtered through the lacy curtains. The door bumped closed behind them, then they were next to the bed and she was sliding to her feet.

The second she felt firm footing beneath her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him. He hauled her close and deepened the kiss.

Every part of her body screamed for his touch, for nakedness, for release. She tried to kick off her shoes, but her brain wouldn't focus on anything but the feel of his mouth against hers and refused to send messages to muscles. Nash fumbled with his shirt, then chuckled.

“We're not making progress," he said as he broke the kiss and took a half step back.

He finished unfastening buttons and shrugged out of his shirt. She managed to slip off her shoes and reach for the hem of her sweater. But before she could pull it off, he bent low and kissed the bare skin below her bra band. Soft, damp kisses tickled along her ribs. Savoring the delicate caress, she froze with her hands clutching her sweater, her arms half-above her head. He cupped her breasts, then reached for her sweater and finished the job.

He returned his mouth to hers and kissed her. As he teased her tongue, he unfastened her bra and pulled the straps down her arms.

Her already taut nipples brushed against the hair on his chest. The contact both tickled and aroused. Every part of her was so hyper-sensitized that she desperately wanted more of everything. She clung to his shoulders and turned her torso back and forth so her nipples slid against his bare skin. At the same time she sucked hard on his tongue and pressed her belly to his arousal.

Nash groaned low in his throat, brought his hands up to cup her breasts and rubbed her nipples with his thumbs. Pleasure spiraled through her chest, then dove deep and landed between her thighs. Heat increased, as did the swelling. She was so ready, she thought desperately. They were both still half-dressed and she was shaking with need.

She dropped her hands to her waistband and unfastened her slacks. He followed her actions, which moved them closer to naked, but left her breasts wanting more.

In a matter of seconds, she'd pulled off the rest of her clothes. Nash pushed down his jeans and briefs, tugged off his socks, then gave her a brief kiss, followed by the command "Don't move." He disappeared into the bathroom. She heard fumbling, three swear words, then something hard fell on the floor. He reappeared holding a box of condoms.

The sight of birth control should have been sobering, but Stephanie was too far gone for rational thought. She didn't want to know how or why he'd been prepared, but she was grateful.

When he rejoined her, he tossed the condoms onto the nightstand, then urged her to sit on the bed. From there he eased her onto her back and knelt next to her. One leg slipped between hers. As he bent low and took her right nipple in his mouth, he pushed his rock-hard thigh up against her waiting dampness.

The combination of the pulling, sucking kiss and the pressure against her pulsing need nearly sent herover the edge. She gasped wordlessly and dug her fingers into his hair.

“Don't stop," she breathed, not wanting either point of contact to end. She pulsed her hips shamelessly, rubbing herself against him, squirming to get closer, to get the pressure higher, faster, harder.

He switched his attention to her other breast and shifted so he knelt between her legs. He moved his leg, then replaced it with his hand.