Frustrated but still determined, he lowered his head and nuzzled her neck and then gave her a gentle love bite on her shoulder that made her gasp in shock. "God, I want you." His voice rumbled with intensity and raw emotion, more than he'd ever intended to reveal in that moment.

His hold on her had loosened just enough for her to slip from his embrace, and she did so before he could stop her. She climbed up onto his bed and settled onto her knees, with her back to him, showing off the sexy slope of her spine and her bare, heart-shaped bottom. She was still wearing her G-string panties, and attached to the top elastic band spanning her hips were three pink butterfly appliques that made Mia look sweet and innocent, but he knew better.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, a come-hither look in her eyes, and then rose up on her hands and knees. "If you want me, come and get me." A dare. A challenge of her own. A way for her to take control once again. To be the one calling the shots.

She was in for a big surprise.

Hastily, he toed off his shoes and pulled off his socks, then shucked his jeans and briefs. Her gaze dropped to his jutting erection, and she licked her lips in anticipation, fueling the fire already burning within him. He moved up onto the mattress, right up behind Mia, and with his hand splayed in the middle of her back, he gently pushed her upper body down onto the bed until her head was resting on a pillow but her bottom was still raised.

Hooking his fingers in the side straps of her panties, he drew them down her thighs until they pooled around her knees. Then he leaned over her, kissed the base of her spine, then skimmed his lips higher, until he was completely covering her from behind and his face was buried in the fragrant curve of her neck. She was already panting in anticipation, wanting this. Wanting him.

Hips perfectly aligned, he slid his cock between her thighs to the silky soft lips of her sex. The head of his shaft found her opening, and with a long, driving thrust, he was exactly where he ached to be. Her fingers gripped the comforter, and she moaned and arched and pushed against him, drawing him deeper into her body, threatening his sanity and his restraint.

Refusing to give into the orgasm rising to the surface, he denied the demands of his body-not until Mia was right there with him. Reaching a hand beneath her, he stroked her in the same slow, heated rhythm as his pumping hips. Over the past few weeks he'd learned her body well. Knew just how to touch and caress her to make her unravel. Knew what she liked, what turned her on, and what made her come.

And still, she denied him.

A spark of anger flared within him. In that moment, he decided Mia could try and withhold her feelings for him and deny what was in her heart, but there was no way in hell he was going to allow her to take this away from him. He wanted her orgasm, and he wouldn't be satisfied until she finally gave herself over to him that way.

Abruptly, he pulled out of her, shocking her with the unexpected move. "I gave you what you wanted," he said with rough impatience and sat back on his heels. "Now I want you to lay down on your back for me."

She did as he asked and turned over, eyeing him warily. "You didn't come," she said, glancing down at the upward thrust of his erection.

Oh, but how he'd wanted to. He was so fucking hard he was about to burst. But he wasn't going to let her win this round tonight. She was trying to shut him out, make this impersonal when it was anything but. "I will when you do."

That said, he striped off her panties, pushed her legs wide apart, settled in between, and put his mouth on her. She sucked in a sharp, startled breath and tried to rise up, but he pressed a strong hand to her belly to hold her down. He heard her call his name in a trembling panic, felt her fingers knot in his hair to pull him away, and ignored every attempt she made to stop him.

He was relentless in his pursuit. Persistent and tireless as he licked and lapped at her, then swirled and dragged his tongue over her sensitive cleft. Again and again, until she was thrashing beneath his unyielding assault and moaning softly. Minutes could have passed, or an hour. It didn't matter and he didn't care, because he wasn't letting her go, wouldn't stop until she gave herself over to him completely.

He thrust two long fingers deep inside of her, giving her that extra, insistent, ruthless push of sensual pleasure, and it was finally enough to send her over the edge. Beneath the hand still splayed on her belly, he felt her tense. Her inner muscles clenched around his fingers, and her nails dug into his shoulders in a last attempt to resist. Then the wave broke, and she sobbed as her body convulsed with the beginning tremors of a powerful, undeniable climax.

He reared up over her, replaced his fingers with his cock, and drove deep, deep inside of her as her orgasm crested, squeezing his shaft, milking him, enveloping every hard inch of him like a tight, hot, velvet glove. With an unraveling groan, he slid his arm beneath the arch of her back and pulled her hips tighter against his. Then he slanted his mouth across hers in a fierce, devouring kiss and rode her hard and fast. It didn't take long before his own violent spasms jerked and shuddered through him.

He collapsed on top of her, his breathing ragged, his entire body spent. Beneath him, Mia didn't move, though he could feel her thundering heartbeat against his chest. Lifting his head from the damp curve of her neck, he glanced down at her, and his stomach clenched at what he saw. She'd turned her face to the side and her eyes were closed, but there was no mistaking the moisture on her cheeks.

"Don't shut me out, Mia," he said and recognized the desperation in his voice. But he feared it might be too late, and there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it.

So instead, he gathered her in his arms, gently wiped away her tears, and said nothing more because at this point, there was nothing left to say. He'd just given her everything he had, and he could only hope that in the morning light it would be enough for her to stick around and give the two of them a chance at a future together.


MIA had avoidance and denial down to an art form, Cameron thought as he closed the case file he'd been working on the following Sunday afternoon. Pushing away from his desk, he went to the large window in his home office, from which he had an unobstructed view, and glanced out toward the back patio.

Mia was still sitting out on a chaise lounge in a pair of shorts, with her bare, slender legs soaking up the warm sunshine. A few hours ago when he'd told her he had some things to do in his office, she'd taken her sketch pad outside and had been there ever since. Currently, she was drawing something on the paper that had captured her complete attention, and he assumed it was a new stained-glass design.

He released a long breath, knowing the time had come to talk to Mia about the two of them. He was going to have to initiate the conversation, because it was obvious Mia had no desire to talk about what had transpired between them last night, or discuss where their relationship was headed now that her case was over.

After keeping Mia secure in his embrace for most of the night-a huge feat considering she was so used to curling up on her own to sleep-he'd woken up alone in bed this morning and immediately thought she'd called a cab and headed home sometime in the early hours of dawn. That wouldn't have shocked him at all since he'd come to learn Mia was used to running and hiding from her feelings instead of facing them, and there was a helluva lot of emotions for the two of them to deal with after last night.

Mia hadn't run, which he'd initially seen as a positive sign, but when he'd walked into the kitchen to find her making French toast for breakfast, she'd acted as though nothing had changed. She'd been bright and cheerful and chatty as they ate, talking about everything from Carrie, to her gallery show, to inconsequential things that didn't really matter. Not when their entire relationship was at stake.

Cameron recognized her forced, light-hearted attempt at conversation for the diversion it was and decided he'd give her a bit of time and space to come to terms with her feelings for him. He'd hoped mat at some point during the day she'd come to him, but it was becoming increasingly clear that if he left it up to Mia, they would never resolve the one big issue still standing between them.

Where did they go from here?

He knew what direction he wanted to go, but he had no idea if he'd be traveling down that road with Mia or on his own. And it was time he found out.

He headed through the house and out to the back porch. As soon as he closed the sliding screen door behind him, she glanced up from her sketch pad and smiled at him. Unfortunately, since he'd come to know her so well, he could see right through her welcome pretense to the guarded reserve glimmering in the depths of her eyes.

"Hey there," he said, striving for a casual tone when he was feeling anything but.

"Hey yourself," she replied, her gaze searching his features-most likely to gauge his mood. "Is your work all done?"

"Most of it. The rest can wait." What he had to say to her couldn't. Not any longer. He dragged a chair over to where she was lounging, parked it close to the chaise, and took a seat. "You and I need to talk."

She eyed him warily, just as he'd expected. "About?"

"Our relationship," he said, getting right to the point. "Especially now that your case is over. One has ended, but the other doesn't have to."

The change in her was immediate. She set her sketch pad aside, drew her knees up, and wrapped her arms around her legs, as if to safeguard her heart and emotions from what was about to happen. "I knew this was coming, and I've thought a lot about you and I and where we go from here."