All he could do was mumble something incoherent in return. So good was an understatement. His entire body was coiled tight. The feel of Jamie’s warmth surrounding him was too much. Too good. Knowing he was in danger of losing complete control, he forced himself to go slow, to draw out Jamie’s pleasure before he exploded into oblivion.
“More,” she begged, winding her arms around his shoulders and digging her fingernails into his skin.
He stared down at the beautiful woman beneath him, at the tousled dark red hair and swollen, thoroughly kissed lips and that last thread of restraint snapped like a bungee cord. With a groan, he let go, thrusting into her over and over again, until the haze clouded his vision again and every inch of his body ached with impending release. When he heard her cry out, felt her tighten against him in climax, he threw that last ounce of control into the wind.
As pleasure exploded around him, he knew without a doubt that his entire world had just been changed.
When Jamie crashed back to earth a few minutes later, the lingering ripples of pleasure were replaced with a wave of panic. Panic so strong her throat tightened and her palms began to tingle.
From the corner of her eye she saw Cole’s impressive chest heaving as he regained his breath, the hard ridge of his arousal, the sated expression on his face. Her body reacted instantly, a fresh dose of desire shivering through her veins which just intensified the frantic pounding of her heart.
Unable to stand it, she bounded out of the bed as if she’d just discovered a cockroach between the sheets.
“Jamie?”
Cole’s deep voice, tinged with caution, only succeeded in heightening her panic. Avoiding his eyes, she edged toward a doorway to the left, hoping it was a bathroom as she said, “I’m just going to get cleaned up.”
She hurried into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, then drew in a calming breath and moved toward the sink, where she splashed cold water on her flushed face.
Her reflection in the large mirror showed a woman who’d just been thoroughly satisfied, and she had to move her eyes away. Unfortunately her gaze landed on the black marble Jacuzzi Cole had told her about earlier, which just turned her on again as she pictured making love to Cole in that tub.
“Snap out of it. It was just sex,” she muttered to herself. “Chill out, Crawford.”
Her fretful brain clung to the reassurance. Just sex.
Fine, great sex.
All right, the best sex of her life.
She promptly bent down, cupped some more water between her palms and doused her face again. When she’d come to his room, she’d been fully prepared to sleep with him. She just hadn’t thought it would be so…explosive. Was that how sex always was? How it was supposed to be?
A soft knock rapped on the door. “Jamie?”
Shutting off the faucet, she took another long breath, then straightened her shoulders and opened the door. She found Cole standing there, as naked as she still was, and there was a knowing look in his eyes.
“You panicked,” he said frankly.
As her cheeks went hot, she crossed her arms over her chest to shield her bare breasts. “A little,” she admitted. “I…that was really good, Cole. Too good.”
“Is there such a thing?”
His gruff voice and the crooked smile he shot her chipped away at the alarm that had had been coating her throat.
She gave a rueful shake of the head. “I’m being silly, aren’t I?”
“No, just cautious,” he said softly. “And if I’m being honest, what happened between us just now got me a little scared too.”
“Really?”
He stepped toward her, gloriously nude and looking oddly vulnerable. “I’ve never had sex like that before. Intense…out of control…”
He trailed off, and the slight bewilderment in his husky voice banished the last of the worry from her body. Was there really any point in second-guessing herself now? She’d already given in to temptation and fallen into bed with the man. And sure, a relationship probably wasn’t in the cards, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t continue to explore this attraction for a bit longer.
Exhaling, she slowly uncrossed her arms and let them drop to her sides. Cole’s black eyes instantly dropped to her chest, leaving splotches of heat on her skin. Her nipples tightened painfully, and moisture gathered between her legs. Cole didn’t make a move toward her. He seemed content with simply looking, and after several long seconds, she groaned in frustration.
“Kiss me,” she ordered.
His mouth quirked. “Are you sure?”
Jamie sighed. “We might as well finish what we started.”
“I thought we already finished,” he said with the teasing tilt of his head.
“Then let’s start again.”
Before she could blink, he’d scooped her up in his powerful arms and was laying her down on the bed, his big body covering hers. Their mouths found each other, latching together in a kiss that left her hot and breathless.
She ran her fingers over his sinewy back, breathing in his familiar scent of spice, musk and soap. When his hand moved between her legs, she moaned, parting her thighs so he could tease her into oblivion. Pleasure gathered in her belly, dancing along her bare skin.