«You’re even smoother than I thought you would be,» Willow whispered as she straightened.

Taken by surprise once again, Caleb fought for control of his own body. The wild little caress was the last thing he had expected from Willow. It slid past all his defenses, leaving him completely naked in her hands. He felt the first shuddering pulses of release tear through his body. With a low sound he gave himself to ecstasy and to the girl who was watching him with wonder in her eyes.

When Caleb could breathe once more, he brought Willow’s hands up his body and kissed them.

«Now you know,» he said.

Willow’s smile was another kind of caress. «Yes.»

«And now it’s my turn to know you in the same way.»

Her eyes widened. «I don’t understand.»

«You will.»

One of Caleb’s hands touched Willow’s mouth, sealing in her questions with a sensual pressure before sliding down to the hollow of her throat. The rapid beating of her pulse was evidence that pleasuring him had excited her. His hand slid under golden strands of hair until it rested between the smooth rise of her breasts.

«No objections?» he asked softly.

Willow shook her head, making light shimmer through her hair.

Caleb’s other hand eased beneath Willow’s hair. When he began sliding the camisole from her body, she made no protest. As the fine lace floated to the ground, he looked at her openly, approving of her, feeling a fierce satisfaction when her nipples became tight pink buds in response to his glance.

«What are you thinking?» Caleb asked.

Once it would have embarrassed Willow to answer, but no more. Caleb had given himself to her without restraint or hesitation. She could do no less with him.

«I was thinking of being kissed,» she said simply.

«Here?» He touched the velvet tip of one breast.

Willow trembled as pleasure showered through her. «Yes.»

«And here?»

The other peak hardened beneath his touch.

«Yes,» she whispered.

«I’m thinking about it, too.»

Caleb bent and kissed Willow’s breasts, brushing his mustache across her slowly, repeatedly, enjoying the breaking of her breath at each caress. His long fingers stroked her waist, then retreated down her body, taking the last of her clothing.

«I’m thinking about kissing you here, too,» Caleb said, pressing a fingertip lightly into her navel.

The unexpected caress sent a sunburst of sensations radiating from the pit of Willow’s stomach. Her breath came in with a surprised gasp. Caleb’s hand slid lower, drawing a shivering sound from her. She was soft, sultry, welcoming.

«And here.»

Willow made a breathless sound that was pleasure and surprise combined.

«Open for me,» he whispered, bending down, touching his tongue to her navel.

The gentle brush of Caleb’s fingertips between her thighs was exquisite. Willow gave a ragged little sigh and shifted her legs, allowing him more freedom. The gliding, probing intimacy of his finger made her gasp. The liquid ease of his penetration was a sweet revelation for both of them.

«Hot little cat,» Caleb said, biting her belly gently. «I can feel how much you liked making me lose control. I’m going to enjoy doing the same to you.»

Gently, Caleb bore Willow back onto the blanket until she was lying down once more.

«Tell me if I hurt you,» he said, easing deeply into her. «You’re so small…»

Willow shuddered.

«Did that hurt?» he asked.

«No.»

«You trembled.»

«I was remembering.»

«What?»

«You. Inside me.»

Caleb smiled and bit Willow a little less gently, drawing another small cry from her. His thumb moved and splinters of fire pierced her, melting her in a shimmering rush. She felt the spreading warmth of her response and stiffened in shock.

«Caleb, I didn’t mean to —»

«It’s all right,» he interrupted, laughing softly to feel the heat of Willow’s pleasure on his hand. «It happened in the pool, too, but you couldn’t feel it. I could, though. It drove me right over the edge.»

He smoothed his cheek against the golden thatch that shielded her softness.

«Open more for me,» Caleb whispered.

Willow’s legs shifted again, making room for him to kneel between them. A hard thumb circled the satin knot of nerves that was no longer hidden. Streamers of pleasure burst through her, making her cry out. When he lifted his thumb, she moaned a protest. He smiled and redoubled his touch inside her, pressing sensually, teasing her with the memory of what it had been like to be filled completely. The heat of her response spilled between them.

«That’s it, little cat,» Caleb said, bending down to Willow. «Tell me you like my hands as much as I liked yours.»

His tongue circled the satin nub, touching her with a whip of fire. The caress excited her beyond bearing. Pleasure burst again, a hot rain that she shared helplessly with him.

«Sweet woman,» he said, tasting her.

«Caleb,» she said urgently, for the tension in her was becoming unbearable. «I —»

Pleasure burst within Willow again, taking her voice. Caleb made a low sound of satisfaction and encouragement, asking for more of her response, luring her closer and closer to the brink of ecstasy with each sultry flick of his tongue, enjoying her in a way he had never enjoyed a woman before. His teeth closed gently on the violently sensitive nub, holding her captive for silky caresses that were like nothing she had ever imagined.

Suddenly, Willow knew what it felt like to be touched by lightning. A sound of anguished pleasure was torn from her as her whole body tightened. She called Caleb’s name again and was answered by a caress whose intimacy ripped away the world, hurtling her into wild ecstasy.

After a few more moments, Caleb reluctantly released Willow’s shivering flesh and kissed a path up her body. Her eyes opened, dazed by the pleasure whose aftermath was still rippling through her in ever widening rings.

«Such beautiful eyes,» Caleb said. «Beautiful mouth, beautiful breasts, beautiful…woman.»

Willow saw the luminous approval in Caleb’s glance and shivered again. She slid her arms around him, urging him to press full length against her, needing to feel him along her whole body. Understanding her need, for it was also his own, he braced his weight on his elbows and lowered himself until he touched every inch of her.

Sighing, Willow hugged Caleb even closer, quivering with every other breath, still captive to the ecstasy he had given her. The weight and textures of his body covering hers felt incredibly good. Without thinking, she rubbed against him, liking the heat and strength of him. He eased more of his weight onto her, no longer trying to keep her from feeling all of him. When she sensed the hard masculine need in him, her breath came in swiftly.

«You have the damnedest effect on me,» Caleb said, his voice gritty and rueful. «So stop wriggling and hug me until it goes away.»

«Is that the way it works?»

«I don’t know. I’ve never had this problem before.»

«You haven’t?»

«No,» he admitted, biting Willow’s ear delicately. «Just with you.»

Willow gasped and tightened her grip on his big body. The heat and power in Caleb sent pleasure rippling through her once more. Instinctively, she shifted, wanting to bring him even closer. He tried to throttle a groan but was only partially successful.

«Caleb?» she asked huskily.

«Hold still, honey.»

«I have a better idea.»

Willow’s legs shifted again, separating until she could feel the blunt thrust of his hunger pressing against her. She moved her hips slowly, wanting a different kind of closeness. The sound of Caleb’s breath hissing out told her that he was as aware of her welcoming, sultry core as she was.

«Damn it, Willow. I don’t want to hurt you.»

«Does the key hurt the lock?» she whispered.

«Not when they’re made for each other. Were you made for me, little cat?»

«Yes,» she said huskily. «Only for you. Take what’s yours, Caleb. Give me what is mine.»

For a long, burning moment he looked down into Willow’s hazel eyes, in thrall to her honesty. Certainty condensed within him, the realization that he could no more turn away from her than a river could run back from the sea.

Caleb breathed Willow’s name as he bent to kiss her. Slowly he claimed what was his and gave what was hers, merging their bodies a shimmering fraction at a time, feeling the sharing all the way to his soul. The breath came out of her in a long, rippling sigh that was his name. He wanted to ask if he was hurting her, but before he could find the words, her body answered. The tiny, secret contractions of her pleasure urged him deeper, gilding him with her response. He answered with a silky pulse that mingled his essence with hers, easing his way even more until their joining was deep and complete.

The feeling was exquisite. Willow’s eyes opened as she felt herself coming slowly undone, ecstasy stealing through her. She whispered Caleb’s name, trying to tell him of the beauty he was giving her, but she knew no words to describe the transformation taking place in her body. His kiss told her that he understood, that he was being transformed as surely as she was. She heard her own name breathed against her lips, sensed the pulses of his ecstasy rippling through his body into hers.

The knowledge that Caleb was coming undone as slowly and completely as she was sent another shimmering tide through Willow, consuming her and him as well, fusing them in a union that was both primitive and sublime. Neither knew where self ended and other began, for there was no self, no other, simply an incandescent whole where once two halves had been.