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His mouth twisted. ‘Not violence. But you will be honest because I am finished with games.’
They were talking, but words were only part of the communication between them. There was the subtle brush of his hand against her cheek. The meaningful look. The sudden rapid sprint of her heart as it hammered against her ribs. It was useless to pretend he had no effect on her. That she was immune. She was as susceptible now as she always had been. And he knew it. And the fact that he knew it made her furious. Furious with herself. Even more furious with him.
Avery pulled away and stalked over to the bathroom that adjoined the master suite. She knew her way. Had been there before. But even here the memories followed her because they’d used this room for more than a shower. ‘You’re crowding me and I need time to think. Don’t follow me, Mal.’
And because she didn’t trust him not to do that, she locked the door. And then spent several minutes just staring at it, knowing he was on the other side and discovering that a locked door wasn’t enough to keep the feelings away. And that was because he wasn’t the problem, was he? The problem was her.
She stripped off her clothes, then walked into the shower and stood under the sharp needles of hot water, washing away two days of hot, sticky travelling in the desert. She lathered her hair in expensive shampoo that smelt like lotus flowers, massaged conditioner and then stood for ages with her eyes closed while the water washed over her.
But she couldn’t stay in the shower for ever.
Reluctantly, she turned off the flow of water and wrapped herself in one of the large fluffy towels that were stacked inside a glass cabinet.
Then she turned and found him standing there.
‘You forgot that the bathroom has two entrances. You only locked one door.’
‘Another man would have taken that as a hint.’
‘And you know that how?’ His ebony hair glistened dark and his broad shoulders were still damp from the shower he’d clearly taken in another bathroom. He was in the process of knotting the towel around his hips. ‘Have you had other lovers in the time we’ve been apart?’
Other lovers? The question would have made her laugh if it hadn’t hurt so much. He didn’t have a clue what he’d done to her.
She was distracted by the flat planes of his abdomen, as hard as a board and with a tantalising line of dark hair vanishing beneath the towel. ‘Of course I had other lovers. Why do you ask? Did you think I’d been pining for you?’
‘Be grateful that I know you’re lying. And I take it as a good sign that you’re trying to protect yourself.’
‘Well, if you think you know so much about me, why ask?’
‘Because I want you to admit how you feel.’
‘Right now? Pretty annoyed. You’re in my personal space.’
‘You think I’m in your personal space? Try this—’ He moved so fast that she didn’t see it coming and before she could even murmur his name his mouth was on hers and the chemistry was instantaneous and as powerful as ever. Everything they’d been holding back came rushing straight at them. His hands were on her hips, tugging away the towel and hers were doing the same to his until they were both naked and the only sounds in the room were his harsh breathing and her soft gasps. Abstinence bred desperation and desperation had him scooping her into his arms and carrying her to the bedroom, still kissing, their mouths hungry and demanding as they made up for lost time.
‘Only you can do this to me.’ He murmured the words against her mouth as he lowered her into the centre of the huge hand-crafted bed. ‘Only you, and this time we are doing this properly. No more encounters in the bathroom or desperate snatched moments wherever we can take them.’
She didn’t care. She didn’t care where they were as long as they were together and when he came down on top of her she immediately rolled so that he was underneath.
‘Battle for supremacy?’ His eyes glittered dark and she smiled down at him, her lips skimming his because after so long without touching him she needed to touch.
‘Can you take it?’
‘Can you?’
And it was a question she was to ask herself over and over again as he used all his skill and knowledge to drive her wild. She didn’t believe in love. She didn’t believe in happy ever after. But she believed in this and wondered how she’d survived so long without his touch and then realised that she barely had. That every day since they’d parted she’d been starving for him.
He was hard, hot and hers, and being with him again felt crazily good. So good that she was clumsy as she moved against him and of course he took instant advantage of that, rolling and pinning her beneath him.
‘I missed you.’ He groaned the words against her neck and she closed her eyes because hearing him say it choked her up so badly.
‘No, you didn’t.’
‘Yes, I did. And you missed me too.’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Yes, you did. Say those words back to me, Avery. Be honest.’ His hand cupped her face. ‘It doesn’t make you weak to admit it.’
