really knowing how they’d got there, Kate found herself standing in Tiarnan’s bedroom, facing him. Both were breathing harshly. Her universe had contracted to this moment and this man. It felt utterly right, as necessary as breathing.
She held her half-removed dress to her chest, not even knowing how it had become undone, and with a deep ragged breath let it go. It pooled at her feet in a swirl of vibrant blue silk. She kicked off her shoes and stood before Tiarnan in nothing but lace pants.
‘Come here,’ he said throatily.
Kate moved forward and started to undo his shirt, fingers grazing and revealing dark olive skin covered in a smattering of dark hair. He was so masculine, and it resonated with something deep within her. Recognition of a mate. Her belly quivered. He hadn’t touched her yet, and it was all the more erotic for that. Her breasts felt full and aching and tight, the tips tingling painfully. Kate pushed his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms, and it too joined her dress in a pool of white on the floor.
She trailed her hands down across his defined pectorals, felt his indrawn sharp breath as her fingers trailed lower. She looked down, and amidst the haze of heat that seemed to surround them saw the small cut where her knitting needle had stabbed him just a few nights ago. She traced it lightly, and then bent forward to press a soft kiss to it.
Tiarnan sucked in a breath at the feel of her lips and her breath there. Her hair fell over one shoulder, and when she stood again he looked greedily at her lush form in all its glory. The tiny waist, feminine hips, impossibly long legs … up again to surprisingly full breasts. He quite literally ached to touch her, but this sweet anticipation was too exquisite.
With a voice he barely recognised as his own because it was so full of raw need, he said, ‘Undress me. Please.’
Kate looked up into Tiarnan’s face. She read the restraint and silently thanked him for it. He was giving her time, letting her dictate the pace. Yet she knew if he threw her on the bed right now and took her with no further ado she’d be ready. She felt indecently damp between her thighs. With other men since Tiarnan she’d always felt self-conscious, awkward, but with him it felt natural, right, and that gave her confidence. She had the fleeting wish that she could eradicate all other experiences and make this moment her first time all over again …
Feeling unbearably emotional for a second, she stepped forward and reached up to put her arms around his neck, bringing her breasts into contact with his chest. A shudder of reaction ran through both of them, and it took all of Kate’s strength to stay standing and say somewhat shakily, belying her outward show of confidence, ‘I’ll undress you—but first … a kiss.’
Tiarnan couldn’t resist. He smoothed his hands over her slender arms, then down over the bare curve of her waist and hips, settling on her behind, drawing her close. He dipped his head and met Kate’s mouth with his, and within seconds the flames of desire were igniting around them, their tongues dancing feverishly. Kate forgot about teasing and restraint. She strained upwards on tiptoe to try and get even closer, pressing herself against Tiarnan blindly, seeking more, seeking to assuage the urgent need building deep in her core.
Without breaking contact she brought her hands down between them to his trousers, found the opening, careless in her haste, dragging his trousers down impatiently over lean hips. His hands had gone under her panties, moulding the cheeks of her bottom, making her arch into him, thwarting her attempts to drag down his trousers.
‘Tiarnan …’ She almost sobbed with frustration, not even sure what was hampering her, only knowing that she didn’t want to stop touching him for a second. To lose contact with that hot skin, that heavenly musky scent, would be like depriving herself of oxygen.
His hands came up to her arms and put her back slightly. She felt dizzy, and they were both breathing as if they’d just been running.
‘Kate …’ He sounded hoarse, surprised and slightly bewildered. ‘How could I have denied myself this for so long …?’
With indecent haste he brought his hands to his trousers and finished what Kate couldn’t do. Finally he stood before her, naked and proud, virility oozing from every pore. Kate looked down and her throat went dry as she took him in in all his glory. She looked up again, and even though the room was dark she could see the expression on his face, the look in his darkened eyes. Passion and desire blazed forth—for her.
She was feeling suddenly weak, and as if he sensed it Tiarnan took her hand and led her over to the bed, through the muslin curtains that had been drawn down to protect against the stinging night insects. Surrounded by the gauzy material, the bed was like a cocoon, an oasis of pleasure.
Kate lay back and watched as Tiarnan stretched over her. He smoothed back her hair and it felt unbearably tender. Then he looked down her body, and wherever his eyes rested seemed to throb in response. He cupped one breast and Kate arched her back, eyes widening in a mute plea. She heard a dark chuckle, and felt his breath feather on her hot skin before he took the turgid tip into his mouth and suckled mercilessly, inciting the most intense response Kate could ever remember. She was gasping, grabbing his shoulders, his arms, hands clenched tight around bulging hard muscles as his mouth moved from one breast to the other, torturing her with pleasure. And then he moved down, and down again. The breeze whispered over the wet tips of her breasts and her stomach, where his tongue had touched her.
He pulled down her pants, throwing them aside, and then with ruthless intent pulled her legs apart. Kate stopped breathing for a long moment, her belly sucked in as she watched Tiarnan looking at her with such intimacy that she almost couldn’t stand it.
Rising desire drowned out her mortification. Instinctively she moved on the bed, hips lifting slightly. ‘Please …’ She wasn’t even sure what she was asking for.
Tiarnan looked at her, his hands travelling back up her legs, coming ever closer to her centre, thumbs massaging the tender inner skin of her thighs. His hands stopped at the very top of her legs, thumbs resting on the curls that covered her. They started moving slowly, back and forth, seeking, exploring, kneading her flesh.
Kate sucked in a breath that felt like a sob. ‘Tiarnan.’
‘What? Tell me what you want?’
As if it was the easiest thing in the world.
‘I …’ Kate began brokenly. ‘I want you to touch me … I want you inside me …’
One hand moved, and Kate felt long fingers thread through the damp curls, exploring ever inwards until he felt her slick heat for himself. She felt his reaction run through him. His erection lay thick and heavy against her thigh. She moved restlessly.
‘Like this? First I touch …’
And he did. He touched her intimately. Fingers moving in and out, testing her, drawing out her response, his thumb finding that small hard nub and massaging it until Kate’s hands clenched in the bedsheets so tight that her knuckles were white. She felt all at once helpless, wanton and insatiable. And mortified at how he was turning her into someone she didn’t even recognise. He bent his head, his chest close to hers, brushing against sensitive breasts, and kissed her deeply, erotically, as his hand and fingers caressed her intimately.
But just as she could feel the elusive peak she’d rarely reached with anyone else come like a vision through the haze of desire Tiarnan broke the kiss and removed his hand.
‘Now you touch …’
He brought her hand down to cover his shaft. Kate’s eyes grew big and round, glued to his as she allowed herself to feel and explore as he had done. It was his turn to shift restlessly, colour slashing his cheeks as she moved her hand, tightened her grip, feeling the satin smooth skin slip up and down over the steel-hard core. She could feel their heartbeats thudding slowly and heavily.
When he looked down at her with tense jaw and fever-bright eyes she took her hand away, and shifted herself so that she lay under him. She spread her legs, opening herself up to his welcome heat and heaviness.
‘Now …