The thought nearly sent her into another crying jag, but instead of giving into tears, she moved close and kissed him.

His lips were warm, his arms strong as they came around her. Within the tender confines of his embrace she forgot her family, her pain, her loneliness-everything except being with Zach. His tenderness reached inside and gently nudged her romantic heart into wakefulness. His touch excited her body. The combination made her slip closer and press herself against him.

While she’d initiated the kissing, he quickly took over. His head angled as he licked her bottom lip. She parted for him, wanting him to excite her, pleasure her, heal her. He placed a hand on her side and gently urged her onto her back. Her long hair spread out on the pillow, and he toyed with several strands.

“How you doing?” he asked quietly.

She opened her eyes and looked at his face. Concern darkened his irises, passion thickened his voice.

“Good.”

He stroked her cheek. “Despite my reputation, I don’t travel with protection. Any condoms in this girly place?”

She smiled. “An unopened box in my nightstand.”

“I like a woman who plans ahead.”

“I’m very organized.”

“I know.”

He leaned close and pressed his mouth to hers. She wrapped her arms around him, surrendering to the sensations that flooded her. He moved his hand from her face to her stomach where his long fingers rested lightly on her sweater. His tongue slipped into her mouth and brushed against hers.

He kissed her deeply, thoroughly, erotically, until she couldn’t breathe. Slow kisses went on forever and made her bones melt. Teasing kisses that made her squirm. Passionate kisses that sucked the will right out of her and left her wanting to beg. Kisses that made her feel she’d never been kissed before. Not like this.

Slowly he moved his hand, sliding up her belly, along her rib cage, and between her breasts. She found herself touching him back. Tracing the width of his shoulders and the powerful muscles in his back.

Zach stroked her arms, returned to her stomach, then repeated the circuit. Up and over, between her breasts to her shoulder, her arm, crossing her stomach, slipping close to the apex of her thighs without actually slipping between them.

She found it difficult to keep breathing. Her skin seemed tight, and if her breasts swelled any more, she was going to spill out of her bra. She wanted to start screaming instructions. And then something amazing began to happen. The anticipation took on a life of its own.

Because she knew that eventually he would touch her in every place she wanted to be touched. As their kiss went on and his hands continued to move, she thought about him touching her breasts or between her legs and the tension grew.

When he reached for the hem of her sweater, she nearly moaned in relief. He tugged off the garment and tossed it onto the floor, then flicked open the front hook on her bra. The lace sprang free, leaving her breasts exposed to the evening air. For a second her heart stopped. She froze in anticipation. Then he touched just the tip of one finger to her hard, tight nipple.

The sensation was exquisite. She almost bit her tongue as fire shot through her. Before she could fully comprehend the feeling, he gently pinched her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She gasped. Then his mouth was on her other breast, and she had her fingers in his hair urging him on.

“Don’t stop,” she breathed, surrendering to the wanting.

He continued to caress her until she alternately clung to the bedspread, then to him. Tension increased, impossible tension that had only one cure.

When he finally lifted his head, she wanted to cry out in protest. Fortunately he went right to work on unfastening her jeans. While she kicked off her shoes, he pulled down the zipper. Jeans, panties, and socks came off in one easy push that left her naked.

She made a halfhearted gesture toward his shirt, as if maybe she would undress him. Bless the man, he never gave her a chance. Instead he slipped between her knees and kissed her stomach. Muscles tightened in anticipation. He stroked the length of her legs, then bent low and licked the inside of her knees.

He’d done this before, she thought, already finding it difficult to think. He’d done it and done it well.

She tried to sigh, but the sound came out more like a purr. This time, when he moved slowly and deliberately, she abandoned herself to the reality that was his fingers, his mouth, and his tongue. She didn’t urge, didn’t plead, didn’t do anything but let him seduce her into sensual mindlessness that made every cell in her body stand up and applaud.

He rubbed her thighs, moving closer and closer to her waiting heat, but not quite touching her there. He licked and nibbled and sucked on her skin, moving north, always moving north, but again, not touching there.

She arched her hips slightly in invitation, her legs parted, but he ignored her. The man had his own pace and he would not be rushed.

She soon found that pace suited her just fine. Slowly, and slowly, inching up until she could feel his hot breath on the apex of her thighs. Need, want, and desire collided. She trembled and he hadn’t even touched her intimately. Not yet. But soon. Very soon.

Finally he slipped his fingers along the seam of her outer lips and gently drew them apart. The cool air contrasted with her hot skin. He put his mouth on her and gave her an openmouthed kiss that sent a scream of satisfaction racing through her body.

Katie stiffened and melted all at the same time. He licked the length of her, then found nature’s magic place and reintroduced himself.

Quick flicks and slow sucking robbed her of free will and left her gasping. He inserted one finger inside of her, touching her from below. His finger and his tongue circled in perfect harmony, once, twice…and she was lost.

The release caught her off guard, sending her flying. She found herself coming endlessly as her body shuddered, sending waves of pleasure crashing through her. Zach read her mind, or maybe just her body, continuing to touch her perfectly until there was nothing left but a gentle hum of contentment.

When it was over, he kissed his way up her body, first her stomach, then her breasts. Finally his head was level with hers. She had a feeling she looked as wiped-out and two-dimensional as a badly drawn stick figure. Zach had that expression of male superiority that claimed he’d just pleased his woman. Frankly, Katie thought he’d earned it.

“Wow,” she whispered because she didn’t have the breath left to talk any louder. “That was really-”

Words failed her. She gestured with her hand, flicking her wrist and then touching his cheek. He smiled.

“Wow works,” he said.

She stared at his face, at the lines by his eyes, and the firm set of his jaw. For the rest of her life, whatever happened, she would remember this moment, this night, this time with him. Even if she had to face him over breakfast at family Christmases for the next forty years, she couldn’t find it in herself to be sorry.

She reached for his shirt, but found she didn’t have the strength to do much more than lay there.

“Maybe you’d like to get naked,” she murmured.

“Maybe I would.”

He stood. While he unfastened his shirt, she reached in her nightstand for the promised box of condoms.

“Jumbo size?” he joked as he unfastened his trousers.

“Super colossal.”

He pulled off his trousers, then his socks. Finally his briefs joined the pile.

She studied his naked body. He had long legs, narrow hips and an impatient erection that seemed to demand her attention. He looked as good as she remembered.

She shifted onto her knees and moved to the edge of the bed. Once there, she wrapped one arm around him, drawing him close, and slipped her other arm between them so she could touch his hardness. He responded by cupping her rear and squeezing.

Something about touching him made her start to tremble. When he kissed her, she found herself frantic. He responded in kind, sucking on her tongue, cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples.

She released his penis and ran her hands up and down his chest. The contrast of cool hair and hot skin delighted her. She slipped lower to cup him, then parted her legs, wanting him inside.

“Not so fast, young lady,” he whispered.

She rolled onto one hip, then onto her back while he opened the box of condoms and pulled out a plastic packet. He ripped it open and slipped on the protection, then moved between her knees.

He deliberately pushed her knees farther apart so that he could see all of her. She looked at him looking at her. A shiver rippled through her. Being with Zach was more intimate than being with anyone else. There weren’t any secrets between them, no masks or disguises.

When he rubbed a finger against her dampness, he shifted his gaze so he could watch her reaction. She bit her lower lip and groaned. He moved again. She wanted to close her eyes, but she wanted to watch, too. She’d never watched before. At least not so obviously.

He continued to touch her, stroking faster and faster until she started breathing heavily and straining toward him. Tendrils of excitement moved through her; tension increased. She could feel herself getting wetter, swelling, needing.

Faster and faster, rubbing over and around. She pulsed her hips in time with his movements. Then she felt something thick and hard pushing into her. Even as he continued to touch her, he filled her.

She couldn’t believe the sensations he created within her. He withdrew and plunged into her again. Her release was just out of reach. She pulsed faster, her breath coming in gasps.