wave of heat slamming into him. He nearly came right then.
“Again.” He didn’t know who said the word as her fingers tore at his belt.
“This time…I want you inside me.”
“Yes…” He wasn’t sure he could survive another ten seconds if he wasn’t inside of her. With whatever thin grip he had on his control, Roman managed to retrieve a condom from his pocket before his pants and belt hit the floor.
Her arms locked around his neck, her teeth sank into his shoulder. Then she whispered into his ear, “Make me come again.”
Roman’s head reeled.
“Protection,” he said in a desperate attempt to keep his focus. His fingers shook as he sheathed himself.
“You’d better hurry.” She nipped his earlobe, then pulled his mouth to hers. “I want you now.”
“Right now.” Gripping her hips, he hitched her up and drove into her where they stood. The door slammed hard into the jamb, and he was certain he heard his control snap in the same instant. Then her taste exploded inside of him, and he knew that he might never get enough. Of it. Of her.
His body took over, moving faster and faster. Hers kept pace, meeting him thrust for thrust until he knew nothing else, wanted nothing else but Philly. When she tightened around him like a slick, hot fist, he lost himself in her.
WHEN MY BRAIN CELLS clicked on again, I was straddling Roman’s lap, my head on his shoulder. Bright moonlight streamed through the open balcony door. I had no idea how long we’d been sitting there like that. But I didn’t want to move. Gradually, more details filtered through the sensual fog that still held me in its grip. I could see Roman’s slacks pooled on the floor beside us. His back was against the door, his arms were around me…and he was still inside of me.
As my brain alerted my body to that fact, I felt my inner muscles tighten around him. Incredibly, fresh desire rippled through me.
He slipped a finger under my chin and drew my face up until our eyes met. I read concern in his.
“Are you all right, Philly?”
I smiled at him. “I keep telling you I’m not Philly.” And I didn’t feel like Philly anymore. It was as if my decision to seduce Roman and then finally making love with him had changed me. “But I am fabulous.”
His gaze remained intent on mine. “You’re sure I didn’t hurt you?”
“Positive.” I trailed a finger down his throat to his shoulder. “But I left teeth marks on you.”
He smiled then. “Feel free—anytime.”
Maybe it was the fact that he’d never smiled at me in quite that way before—a mixture of friendliness and intimacy. Or perhaps it was because he moved his hand until his fingers were spread against my cheek—but something stirred in me then. A knowledge, a certainty that I usually only experienced when I was communicating with animals.
This is the one.
An alarm sounded at the back of my mind. How often had Aunt Cass used just those words to describe what she’d felt, what she’d known the first time she’d seen my uncle Demetrius?
No. Roman Oliver wasn’t the one. Panic bubbled in my stomach. That was something the old Philly had dreamed of for seven long years. I was not about to fall into that trap again. Roman and I were going to have a torrid affair, and I was going to get him out of my system. When we returned to San Francisco, we were going to go our separate ways. No harm, no foul.
More than that, I wasn’t going to waste a moment of our time on Corfu worrying about silly childhood fantasies. Not when I could spend the time having incredible sex with Roman.
I traced my fingers over the bite mark. Then I lowered my mouth and bit him in the exact spot on his other shoulder. I felt him harden inside of me.
“Philly.” He gripped my waist to lift me, but I clamped my legs on his thighs as I nibbled my way to his neck.
“You told me to feel free.”
His fingers flexed at my waist. “If you keep that up, my plan to seduce you is going to be postponed again.”
“Speaking totally for myself, I think your first plan worked out fine.”
The laugh that vibrated from his throat sent a quick shiver through me. Straightening, I met his eyes. “I think it’s my turn to seduce you. Only there’s a rule. You can’t touch me until I tell you to.”
He raised his brows at that.
Since he was still wearing his shirt, I pushed it off his shoulders and down his arms, trapping them. “No cheating.”
I bit into his lower lip, and his shudder had new flames igniting inside of me. Unable to resist, I crushed his mouth with mine, and my tongue tangled with his. This time, I had control of the kiss, and I tried to take my time, savoring his dark rich flavor.
But I wanted more—my body craved more—so I lifted my hips and lowered myself onto him again. I hadn’t thought it possible for him to grow harder or larger, but he did both. And the flames inside of me threatened to turn into a wildfire.
With a moan, Roman dragged his mouth away from mine. “We need a new condom.”
“Yes.” I glanced around.
“In my pants pocket.”
I lifted my hips, nearly groaning in disappointment when he was no longer inside of me. While I located the condom and removed it from the package, Roman, in spite of his “shackles,” managed to dispose of the old one.
I sheathed him then, treating myself to the feel of the hard length of him as I did. There was a part of me that wanted to linger—to taste, to savor. But there was an aching emptiness inside of me, driving me. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I straddled him and slowly sank onto him. Each second of my descent was a delicious torture until he completely filled me. Our mouths met then, hot and wet and hungry. And my hips began to piston up and down.
I heard the rip of his shirt, and suddenly I was beneath him. We rolled across the floor, into thin streams of moonlight and out. I was as desperate as he, my hands as greedy. If it was a battle, we were both winning. Finally, trying to keep a grip on my sanity, I rose over him again. His fingers dug into my hips as we found that perfect speed and rhythm. My vision grayed, but his eyes were locked on mine as the madness took us.
7
I STOOD ALONE in the open doorway of my balcony. In the distance, the Ionian Sea gleamed bright blue in the morning sunshine, but my thoughts were still trapped in memories of the night Roman and I had spent together. Just thinking about what we’d done to each other was enough to heat my skin and melt parts of my body.
The word insatiable had taken on a new meaning for me. I’d learned things about myself and about my appetites that had shocked me. And driven me to learn more.
Together, we’d been like greedy children gorging ourselves on forbidden treats. The sky had been turning light and birds had been chirping when we’d finally fallen asleep. My last thought was that I fully understood Shakespeare’s Juliet when she’d cursed the lark that heralded the dawn.
I’d taken some time in the bathroom to study myself in the mirror. The seeds of change I’d sensed in myself when I’d decided to proposition Roman for the second time at dinner had come to fruition during the night. I wasn’t the same Philly I’d been before I’d come to Corfu. Something about being here on this island had made me…what? Stop dithering and decide to grab what the Fates were offering. My lips curved. That’s exactly the way my aunt Cass would put it.
I realized now that I’d given up way too easily when I’d visited Roman’s hospital room a month ago. I’d believed his lie and run away. Maybe I’d still been running by coming here to Greece. But I wasn’t going to run anymore. I’d