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“So I’ve been told.”
He was suddenly serious. “You know, I never meant to hurt you.”
“You didn’t,” she lied.
“I wish I could believe you.” He leaned back on his elbows and stared at her. “If I could change things—”
“You wouldn’t. You have a beautiful daughter, a successful business… What more could you want?”
“I already told you earlier.”
I want you, Bliss, he’d said. Not I love you. Not I want to marry you. It was more than she should have expected.
“I don’t know,” she said as the breeze ruffled her hair. She reached forward, spanning the small distance between them, and touched the back of his hand with her fingers. That one gesture was her undoing. The heat of his skin, the cords running along the back of his hand, caused her blood to ignite. She felt her pulse begin to throb, saw his gaze shift to the hollow of her throat.
With a groan, he moved closer. His fingers linked through hers and an intimate heat like none other she’d ever felt passed from his skin to hers.
Stop this, Bliss, while you still can. But it was too late. She was mesmerized by the depths of his eyes, the curve of his lips, the flare of his nostrils. He pulled her next to him and his mouth, wet and hard, found the pulse point in her neck.
No! No! No! a part of her screamed.
Yes, oh, yes! a deeper, more feminine part responded as Mason’s fingers twined in her hair. His lips tasted and touched, pressing soft kisses along the column of her throat. “I’ve wanted you for so long,” he whispered in a voice that was rough with need. “So damned long.” His lips found hers again, and desire, new and hot, danced wantonly through her blood.
She couldn’t think, could scarcely breathe as his hands lowered and he cupped both breasts in his rough hands. Bliss’s heart nearly stopped as he buried his face in the cleft, and through the thin cotton of her blouse his breath fanned her skin.
Somewhere deep within her a wanting, warm and moist, began to awaken. A night bird sang a soft song and a breeze stirred the long grass and madrona leaves. Her head lolled back and passion, so long denied, awakened in a rush that stole the breath from her lungs.
“Bliss,” he whispered against her throat before lifting his head and staring into her eyes again. Even in the darkness she saw streaks of brown in his golden gaze, witnessed his own apprehension before he lowered his head and kissed her full on the mouth.
She couldn’t resist. Her blood pounded in her head and the touch and smell of him invaded her senses. His tongue flicked against her teeth, then delved farther. And yearning, like a silken cord, unwound deep in her core and spread throughout her body. She knew she should stop, that touching him, allowing his hands upon her body, would only lead to disaster; but being with him was too seductive, and when he lifted her blouse from her jeans, she didn’t stop him. Nor did she protest as one by one, the buttons were undone and her skin was exposed to the breath of the breeze. She felt the lapels part as the soft cotton slid over her shoulders and his fingertips traced the path of the fallen fabric.
“So beautiful,” he murmured as he tugged on her bra strap and bared her breast to the pale light of the moon.
She could barely breathe and rational thought escaped into the night. The air was warm and silky, his touch forbidden and so, so wanted. He kissed the tip of her breast, watching as her nipple puckered willingly. Her spine curved as if pulled like a bowstring, and silently she offered herself to him.
His hand was rough and hard against her nipple, his fingers callused as he lifted her breast and brought it to his lips again. Slowly he laved the little bud, teasing and tasting, breathing fire over her wet skin.
A needy moan escaped her lips. Heat roiled deep between her legs. Desire swept through her blood and she was certain her heart, pounding so loudly it echoed against her ribs, would surely break. She couldn’t give in to him but had no will to stop his lovemaking. “Bliss—” he whispered across her nipple, and some final wall of resistance inside her crumbled. ‘Tell me to stop.”
“I—I can’t,” she admitted.
For a second, he lifted his head. His jaw tightened and he stared straight into her eyes. She reached forward and unbuttoned the top fastening of his shirt. His teeth gritted and he grabbed hold of her wrist with fingers that felt like steel. “You’re asking for trouble.”
“I know.” Her voice was low and husky. She slid another but
ton through its hole.
“Listen to me—Oh, for the love of—” He drew her into his arms and locked his mouth over hers as she pulled his shirt from his waistband and in one swift movement he discarded the unwanted clothing. Bliss’s hands explored his body, the corded muscles of his shoulders, the mat of curling hair on his chest and the taut planes of his abdomen.
He let out a low, primeval sound when she touched his nipples with her fingers and his lips became more demanding. He reached for the waistband of her jeans, yanked hard enough that her button fly gave way in a series of pops and the denim slid easily over her hips and thighs.
“Bliss. Sweet, sweet Bliss,” he whispered, lowering himself, kissing each of her breasts and the hollow between them, then moving lower to the flat of her abdomen, where he circled his tongue slowly around her navel.
A spiral of heat and need wound through her insides as his tongue slid along her skin. “Mason, oh,” she cried as his hot breath invaded the thin lace of her panties. She wriggled against him and he kissed the lace and the downy curls beneath it. “Please,” she begged in a voice that was not her own. “Please, oh, oh, ooh!”
His tongue worked magic through the fragile barrier of lace and she closed her eyes, her entire body centered where he touched her. Desire throbbed between her legs. She moved against him, silently begging for more until at last he stripped her of that last shred of clothing and kissed her intimately.
The world seemed to collide with the stars. She gasped for breath and convulsed. She was on fire, needing more. Wanting only this one man. Her body, slick with sweat, convulsed again and again before he kicked off his jeans and parted her legs with his knees.
