She tasted like strawberries and chocolate and feminine temptation, and he lost himself in the sweetness of her mouth, her uninhibited response, and the eagerness now apparent beneath that formal, practical facade of hers.

With a soft mewling sound rumbling up from the back of her throat, she fisted her hands in his T-shirt and pulled him down onto the couch with her. He followed her lead, willing to go anywhere she took him. The couch was nice and wide, and he settled himself to the side of her, so that half his body covered hers and one of his legs was nestled between her parted thighs.

Their greedy, insatiable kisses continued. Rebecca’s hands impatiently tugged the T-shirt from his jeans, and he groaned when she flattened her palms against his stomach and began pushing the hem upward in a hasty attempt to remove the article of clothing. The material caught beneath his arms, and when she made a sound of frustration he moved away slightly, giving himself enough room to tug the shirt over his head, then toss it aside.

She gazed at his bare chest in awe and feminine delight. “Oh, wow,” she breathed as she reverently skimmed her hands up over his pecs and across his shoulders. “You’re absolutely gorgeous.”

Her hands were cool against his fevered skin, and the need to touch her was driving him crazy. He glanced down, saw the press of her tightened nipples against the silky fabric of her top, and wanted to see her naked, too.

“Your turn,” he murmured, and she didn’t say a word to stop him as he slid one of the thin straps of her camisole down her arm, then the other, until both of her lovely breasts were bared to his gaze. She was perfectly shaped and filled his hand as if she’d been created specifically for him.

He grazed his thumb across the velvety tip, and she sucked in a quick breath, her back arching in a silent plea for more. Her hands slid upward and into his hair, and her fingers twisted around the strands as she guided his lips to her breast. He took her in his mouth, grazed her taut nipple with his teeth, and soothed the sting with the soft swirl of his tongue before giving her other breast its fair share of attention.

She shifted restlessly beneath him, and he placed a hand on her knee, gently spreading her legs wider apart. They fell open effortlessly, and he slipped his hand beneath the hem of her skirt and trailed his fingertips up the inside of her smooth thigh. She shivered and moaned, offering no resistance as he continued his slow, lazy quest until he reached the damp fabric of her panties. He pressed his fingers against her, and her entire body jolted.

Abandoning her breast, he crushed his mouth to hers in a kiss that was hard and deep and explicitly carnal at the same time that he slid his fingers beneath the satin material covering her mound. She was so soft and warm and deliciously wet, and as he began to caress and tease her in the same rhythm that matched the stroke of his tongue along hers, she went wild.

Her hands dragged down the slope of his back, until she reached the waistband of his jeans. Her fingers gripped the belt loops and she tugged at his hips, trying desperately to shift their bodies into a more intimate position. Without words, he knew she wanted him inside her. Hell, he wanted to be inside her, but he didn’t have a condom with him. Never would have anticipated that things would go so far so quickly tonight.

So, he improvised. Without breaking their kiss, he moved over her and settled the hard, pulsing length of his erection, still confined beneath the zipper of his jeans, right up against the barrier of her panties. He pulled her leg up high over his waist and rolled his hips against hers, deepening the contact. The hard ridge of his cock pressed and rubbed against her sensitive flesh with each successive thrust, taking over where his fingers had left off.

She shuddered and whimpered against his lips, the needy sound and the arching of her body into his telling him that she was so, so close. And then she was there, at the peak and tumbling over the edge, and it was a beautiful sight to see. She tossed her head back, clenched her thighs tight against his, and unraveled.

He’d meant for the pleasure to be all hers, but between her cresting orgasm and her unabashed desire for him, he was too far gone to hold back. So, he didn’t even try. He surged against her, hard and deep, one final time, and a ragged growl tore from his chest as the friction launched him into a climax right along with her.

In time, beneath him, Rebecca’s muscles relaxed and her breathing slowed. He moved back to the side so the bulk of his weight wasn’t on her, then smoothed her skirt back down and adjusted the straps of her camisole.

Her lashes gradually drifted back open, and she stared up at him with a shocked and dazed look on her face.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded jerkily, slid her quivering legs back down to the couch, and covered her face with her hands with a groan. “I can’t believe that you, that I, that we…”

He chuckled in amusement, because she was so damn cute when she was flustered. “Believe it, sweetheart. It’s called making out.” Gently, he pulled her hands away and traced her chin with his thumb, not wanting her to hide anything from him. “And the last thing you should be is embarrassed.”

“I can’t say that I’ve had a whole lot of experience with your kind of making out,” she admitted, a slight frown etching her brows, even as her gaze roved over his naked chest. “And I’ve never had an orgasm with my clothes still on.”

“If it makes you feel any better, neither have I,” he said wryly. She just had the ability to make him lose control. He could only imagine what it was going to be like when he was inside her for real. Mind-blowing, no doubt.

Her head turned to the side, and she eyed the open box with the strawberries inside. “I swear, there’s something about the chocolate…”

He wasn’t about to let her blame her enthusiasm and passion for him on the chocolate, no matter how good it had been. “Becca, that chocolate had nothing to do with what just happened between us.”

She sighed. “You’re probably right.”

Connor thought about the next three days he had with Rebecca, and between the wedding activities and ceremony that were planned, he wanted to make sure he got as much quality time with her as possible. And not just for the sex that she assumed this affair was all about. He wanted the chance to get to really know her, and vice-versa.

He smiled as he came up with the perfect idea and hoped she didn’t balk when she discovered what he was planning, because it was certain to test just how adventurous she was willing to be with him. “Tomorrow night, after the wedding rehearsal and dinner, how about you and I sneak away from this place and do something fun?”

That perked up her interest and made her forget all about the chocolate. “What did you have in mind?

He wanted her to be surprised, but he was beginning to realize that she was a woman who liked to be prepared. So, he only gave her as much information as she needed to be ready for their adventure. “All you need to know is to wear pants and bring a jacket. I’ll take care of the rest.”

3

“SO, HOW WAS your girls’ day at the spa?” Greg asked Celeste and the bridesmaids sitting at the dinner table around him.

The Friday evening wedding rehearsal for the outdoor ceremony tomorrow had gone smoothly, and now the wedding party and Greg’s family were enjoying dinner at The Delaford’s five-star restaurant, The Winery. Rebecca had deliberately taken the seat next to her sister and across from Connor to give herself distance. But now she realized her mistake. It put him in her direct line of vision and she found her gaze straying to him much too often. Not a good thing when he met her surreptitious stares with a slow, sexy, bad-boy smile that made her toes curl and reminded her of the wicked things he’d done to her the night before.

Rebecca started in on the salad a waiter put down in front of her and listened as her sister told her fiancé about their day getting manicures, pedicures, facials and massages, while the guys had been out enjoying a game of golf. Celeste was animated and bubbly and filled with excitement, and who could blame her? In less than twenty-four hours she was going to marry the man she loved and become Mrs. Greg Markham the Third.

Rebecca was feeling a tad excited herself, but her anticipation was centered around the man who’d rocked her world the night before-and they hadn’t even had sex. He’d been on her mind all day, and she couldn’t wait to find out what he had up his sleeve for the two of them tonight. She felt as giddy as a young girl anxiously awaiting her first date, and it had been forever since she’d had that kind of reaction to a man. It was a heady, thrilling sensation she embraced whole-heartedly.

“Those spa treatments must have done wonders,” Connor said as he set his fork on his empty salad plate, then shifted his gaze across the table. “Rebecca is positively glowing and she looks more relaxed than I’ve ever seen her.”

Rebecca nearly choked on the drink of water she was swallowing. Oh, his comment sounded innocent enough, but she knew darn well that his “glowing,” and “relaxed” remarks had nothing to do with the spa and everything to do with the orgasm he’d given her last night. Heck, he was practically gloating.

Celeste smiled from Rebecca to Connor. “Yeah, she is glowing, isn’t she?”

She set her glass back on the table, refusing to let Connor shake her composure out in public. “There’s something to be said for a nice, long, pleasurable massage. It has a way of releasing all kinds of tension.”

“Ummm, I might have to try one of those massages,” Connor said with an incorrigible grin.