her place, occasionally biting a fingernail as she stared out of the window at the darkness. He was still easing the car into a space in front of her house when she had her seat belt unbuckled and her hand on the door.
“Thank you for dinner. And the lovely necklace. I’ll see you—”
Nice try. “I’ll walk you up.”
Ally seemed poised to argue, but she did wait for him to come around and assist her from the car. At the front door, she put her key in the lock and tried again.
“Good night.”
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Chris. Let’s just take this one step at a time. No need to rush things.”
He stepped closer, close enough to feel the heat radiating off her and see her eyes darken. “Who’s rushing?”
Ally stepped back a pace, the door blocking a further retreat. “I’m not stupid, Chris.”
Her hair had escaped its clip again, and he caught the lock that trailed over her shoulder, winding it around his finger. “I never claimed you were.”
Ally stammered as her breathing picked up pace. “We…we…we can’t just pick back up where we left off. Everything is diff-different now.” Even as she spoke, her hand slid gently over his forearm, belying her words. “There’re so many complications…”
“It’s not that complicated at all.” He shivered as her hand worked its way over his chest, coming to rest over his pounding heart. He traced a finger along the stubborn curve of her jaw, and she lifted her chin, putting her mouth only inches from his. “This is pretty simple.”
Ally lifted her eyes from his mouth and met his gaze. The hunger there rocked him. A second later she rose on tiptoe, and the hand on his chest slid to his nape. “I’m probably going to regret this.”
Her lips landing on his blocked his response, and as she fitted her body against him his argument died in the flames that stroked him.
This he remembered all too well. The inferno Ally stoked in him. The feel of her mouth moving hotly under his. The taste of her as his tongue swept inside her mouth to explore. The little moan that vibrated through her as his hands slid over her back and pulled her tightly against him.
The sound of a car passing penetrated the sensual haze Ally wove around him, bringing his attention back to the fact that they were on her porch, providing a show for the neighborhood. He reached behind her, found the key still hanging in the lock and pushed the door open. Ally stumbled backward, pulling him over the threshold, and he was able to kick the door closed with a foot.
In the half-light and privacy of her living room, Ally’s kiss deepened, turning carnal with need. Her hands tugged at his shirt, pulling it free from his jeans and over his head, and her hands slid over his skin, causing his muscles to contract at her touch. He worked the buttons of her shirt quickly, and it slithered to the floor.
Ally broke the kiss and stepped back. Even in the dim light, he could see the flush on her chest and the rise and fall of her breasts with each shallow breath. With a long look that scorched him, she reached for his hand and led him down the hall.
YOU’RE CRAZY. SEND HIM HOME. Don’t do this. Her conscience hammered the words at her as she led Chris the short distance down the hallway. Her whole body was alive, though, for the first time since she’d left Tortola, and the electric hum thrumming through her easily outweighed any arguments her brain might want to put forth.
Chris had a pull on her she didn’t quite understand, but now wasn’t the time to try to work it out. The light in his eyes and the promise in his kiss were irresistible, and she really didn’t care about tomorrow’s complications tonight.
It wasn’t as if she could end up pregnant or anything.
Chris traced a finger gently down the line of her spine as she walked, and goose bumps rose on her skin. His hand splayed across her back. Two more steps and they were in her room, the bed beckoning.
He caught her shoulders and pulled her against him. The skin of her back met the hard planes of his chest as he nipped the sensitive skin of her neck. Warm hands smoothed around her waist to massage circles on her stomach before moving up to allow his thumbs to graze tantalizingly over the flesh spilling over the cups of her bra.
Her breasts were more sensitive these days, and the exquisite sensation had her grasping at his thighs for support. Her fingers dug into the denim as he increased the pressure and circled a finger around the hard point of her nipple. Her head fell back against his shoulder, allowing him greater access, and the heat of his breath tickled her ear.
She moaned as he slid her straps off her shoulders, and her breasts were released into his hands. Chris murmured in appreciation as he teased her aching nipples, causing her to writhe against him.
One hand on her stomach held her in place as he moved his hips against her, his erection pressing insistently against the curve of her bottom. The other hand inched her cotton skirt upward to the tops of her thighs, and she hissed as Chris’s fingers slipped beneath the lace edge of her panties and found her.
She exploded almost immediately at his touch, bucking hard against his hand as the orgasm moved endlessly through her. Chris whispered words of erotic encouragement in her ear, fanning the flames, until she sagged against him, her trembling legs no longer able to support her weight.
He turned her then, his mouth moving over hers hungrily, stealing her breath, as he made quick work of her remaining clothes. Ally cursed her numb fingers as she fumbled with his straining zipper, the need to touch him overwhelming. When it finally released, she hooked her hands in his waistband, drawing his clothes downward as she sank to her knees.
Chris’s hands threaded through her hair, massaging her scalp as she took him into her mouth. She heard his sharp hiss of pleasure as she ran her tongue over his hard length, and his fingers tightened.
In two quick moves, Ally found herself between the soft bed and Chris’s hard body, and every erotic dream she’d had in the past six weeks came true as he slid into her and sighed her name.
The husky sound of her name on his lips caused her to open her eyes. While the shadows of the room cast hollows around his features, she could see the intensity in his eyes as he moved against her, pushing her to another release.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she held on, greedy for what he could give her, and when the tremors began, he redoubled his efforts, holding her hips firmly and picking up the pace. She arched as the pleasure turned too intense, only vaguely aware that the sounds she heard came from her as she went over the edge. From a distance, she heard Chris groan as he gathered her close and stiffened, and time seemed to freeze as he held her while the aftershocks moved through them.
Chris’s breathing was harsh in her ears and his heart thumped heavily against her chest. Ally chased after her scattered thoughts, refusing to listen to the small voice in her head saying, This is where you belong.
She’d given in to the sensual pull of Chris, knowing full well it would only complicate their situation further. The intimacy of Chris, in her bed holding her while her heartbeat slowed to normal, unnerved her, but even as she worried, her fingers toyed with the fine hairs at his nape, loving the feel of him against her again.
After one last deep, shuddering sigh, Chris rolled to his back, pulling her with him to pillow her head on his chest. His fingers combed through her tangled curls as she listened to the even thump of his heart.
The silence wasn’t quite a comfortable one, and the longer it stretched out, the more tense Ally became, the wonderful afterglow evaporating as quickly as the moisture on her skin.
Fatigue was catching