With effort, she managed to resist the instinctive urge to cover herself from Ryan's bold, unabashed stare, but an ingrained modesty prompted her to slide her legs primly together.

Shaking his head in a silent "no," he pressed his palms to her knees before they could touch, and gently eased her thighs apart once again. He remained in the tub, on his knees in front of her, with the water jetting around his waist.

"I'm suddenly ravenous," he murmured huskily.

The look in his eyes was as hungry and primitive as his words implied, and her pulse leapt with excitement. In slow, mesmerizing degrees, he dragged her forward, until her knees bracketed his ribs and she could feel the raw, sexual heat emanating from him.

Reaching for the jar, he scooped two fingerfuls of chocolate body paint and slashed a squiggly line down her throat and along the slope of her shoulder. His eyes lowered slumberously, his dark head bent toward her, and his lips parted for a taste.

Heart pounding in anticipation, Jessica gripped the ledge of the tub and moaned at the first silken glide of his tongue along her neck. A shiver trickled down her spine, and she all but melted at the light suction of his mouth as he savored and sampled the confection he'd smeared on her skin.

He dabbed more of the cool, slick substance down her arm, and drew swirling, lazy patterns on her skin, seemingly enjoying himself.

She laughed breathlessly, certain she'd never survive this lesson, his teasing, the torment. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with your food?"

His warm chuckle was filled with wicked amusement. "Yeah, and she also taught me to eat every bite and clean my plate." Proving his claim, all five of his fingers smeared chocolate syrup along her collarbone, and he followed that with arousing sweeps of his tongue as he lapped up the mess made.

Wanting to play, too, and get even with him in the process, she attempted to confiscate the jar, but instead bumped his elbow, which caused his sticky fingers to graze the upper slope of her breast.

He made a tsking sound of chastisement as he observed the dark streak of chocolate marking her. "Aw, Jessie, now look what you've done. Between the cakes and now this, you're one messy woman."

She laughed lightly. "Oh, no you don't," she said, unwilling to accept the blame for his error. "That wasyour fault, not mine."

His dark brows winged upward. "And I suppose you expectme to clean up the mess?" He sounded appropriately indignant, though the mischievous glimmer in his eyes gave him away.

At the thought of what that task entailed, her breasts strained against the confines of her bra, and her nipples drew into tight, hard peaks. She knew what he was asking held a deeper meaning, and his earlier vow filtered through her mind…I promise you'll keep your underwear on the entire time, and if things go too far for you, all you have to doistell me to stop, and I swear I will.

She didn't want to stop. Not yet. Trusting him, and wanting to seduce him as much as he had her, she drenched two fingers in the edible body paint and traced the line of her sheer bra, and brushed across the tips of her nipples, making an even bigger mess for him to clean up. "As a matter of fact, Iinsist," she whispered, granting him the permission he sought.

Sliding her free hand into the damp hair at the back of his neck, she guided his mouth to the smudges of chocolate on her chest, and let him go to work. He took his time, lavishing attention on her neck, her throat, her shoulder, untilfinally he skimmed his lips over the slope of her breast. He found her aching nipple and through the thin material he tugged on the crest with his teeth, bit gently, then opened his mouth wide and suckled her deeply.

She whimpered as pure, jolting pleasure swamped her. His tongue swirled and laved, possessing her, and she felt that exquisite, coiling sensation all the way to that empty place deep inside her. Her back arched, and her thighs clenched tighter around his waist, wanting, needing… something that seemed just beyond her reach.

Hot, wet kisses trailed to her other breast, where he feasted just as greedily on that plump flesh and her stiff nipple, elevating her to a breathless, sensual daze. She felt his fingers, slick with the chocolate body paint, glide along her abdomen between her bra and panties, and sketch what felt like a heart. His open mouth followed the lines he drew, his tongue occasionally dipping into her navel, while his hands moved on to grasp her hips and drag her closer so that her feminine softness rubbed erotically against his chest.

Her head fell back, and her fingers tightened in his hair, needing something to hold on to. She felt wild. Out of control. Unable to help herself, she widened her legs and writhed against him, increasing the pressure building in her belly, between her legs. Sweet delirium beckoned, blazing hot and rich with promise. More than anything, she wanted to experience that mindless ecstasy no other man had ever given her.

Then his hands left her, but only for seconds. They returned with more chocolate, the tips of his fingers painting the inside of her thighs with long, luxurious strokes that made her skin quiver, and made her moan shamelessly. Then came his lips, his tongue, and his teeth as he treated her to random bites on her sensitive flesh. His nips grew sensuous and indulgent as his mouth inched closer and closer to that intimate part of her.

And then he wasthere, his fingers caressing, his breath hot and illicit. Shock, excitement, and fear all warred within her. Somehow, someway, he'd wedged his shoulders between her legs to keep them spread, and she suddenly felt extremely vulnerable in her thin, diaphanous panties, and very apprehensive of the forbidden pleasure awaiting her.

Realizing his wicked intent, she held him at bay with a fistful of his hair. "Ryan… no." Despite her protest, she didn't sound very persuasive.

He seemed to sense her indecision, her uncertainties, and attended to them. "I want to taste how sweet you are, how heady, howeuphoric."

This is how good sex tastes.

The heaviness in her intensified, and demanded release. Witnessing the unbridled passion etching his features-the same need that trembled within her-she knew she'd forever regret this moment if she let it pass without experiencing this erotic thrill.

Relaxing her fierce grip on his thick hair, she let her hand rest at the nape of his neck, silently offering her surrender.

She expected him to strip off her underwear, but he held true to that promise and left them on. With his hands still splayed to keep her open for him, he lowered his head and nuzzled the silky flesh of her inner thigh, starting his exploration with soft, generous, damp kisses designed to make her melt. With a shuddering sigh, the tension and apprehension drained from her body, and was replaced by a decadent languor… until he turned impatient and greedy and pressed his open mouth against that feminine cove. In one purposeful, scorching stroke, he glided his tongue upward.

She inhaled sharply, and before she could recover from that electrifying sensation, he took her intimately, thoroughly, deeply. He made a mockery of the panties she wore-the strip of cotton was a flimsy barrier against Ryan's skillful methods. With slow, deliberate laps of his tongue, combined with hot, suctioning swirls, he elevated her to that acute edge of desire.

Fearing the steep fall, her fingers dug into his shoulders for support. Her mind spun dizzily as delicious abandon took over her. A pulsing, throbbing heat settled low and deep, then burst into a pleasure so erotic, so blazing, it completely consumed her. She heard him groan deep in his throat as her explosive climax hit, and then she was aware of nothing but her soft, ragged cry and the voluptuous contractions eddying through her entire body.

And in that indescribable moment, drugged by lush sensuality, she felt herself falling for Ryan Matthews, Esquire… hard and fast and incredibly deep.

Before she had a chance to recover her breath or her bearings from that incredible experience, he pulled her down into the heated water and her knees automatically straddled his lap. She only had seconds to assimilate the hard pillar of his erection pressing between them before he tangled his hand into her hair and forced her gaze to his.

His eyes were dark, his features taut with admirable restraint. His lips were damp from his intimate assault on her. "Now, I wantyou to see how good you taste." His voice was rough, sexy, and thrilling.

With his hand at the back of her head, he drew her mouth to his and shared the taste still lingering on his tongue… the sweetness, headiness, and euphoria of sex. She moaned at the eroticism of his gesture, and despite his shocking intent, his audacious words, the actual kiss he gave her was so soulful, so generous and selfless, she wanted to weep. Powerful emotions shook her, and she told herself it was just the aftereffects of the wondrous climax he'd given her. But she didn't completely believe the convenient excuse, because for as satiated as she felt physically, she felt empty deep inside, and restless in a way she'd never before experienced.

Not wanting to analyze the sentiments stealing into her heart and what they meant, she concentrated on the pleasure of Ryan's kiss. Sliding her hands along his shoulders, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed closer to his hard and firmly muscled body. She shivered at the slow, lazy rhythm he set with his lips and tongue, and wondered if he made love in the same exquisite manner.

And just like that, the undeniable ache of wanting him spread through her like a reignited wildfire, from her breasts, to her belly, and settling once again between her thighs. His arousal strained against her still-sensitive flesh, and though he wasn't making any demands, wasn't asking for more than she was willing to give, she suddenly wanted to surrender to the passion and desire he'd merely shown her a glimpse of.