People came together for lots of reasons, not all of them emotional. A lot of the time it was just basic biology, the laws of attraction. Whatever this was had begun to simmer the first time he had seen her, the first time he had heard her speak, the first time her eyes met his.
She reached up, her fingers molding his jaw, her eyes filled with curiosity and fascination. The stroke of her fingers against his flesh felt like flickers of fire, and her eyes went smoke-gray with pure sensuality, and he leaned forward, into her, hesitated, his mouth just a breath away. He watched her lips curve into a half smile as she waited. At last he kissed her and found her lips everything he’d imagined they would be. Holding her in his arms was like holding the essence of life and heat, and every drop of blood in him began to steam, slowly and mercilessly. Sensation rioted through him as their mouths met, the touch igniting an eruption of hunger and desire. He pulled her more firmly into his arms as their mouths parted, then met again, as her lips surrendered fully to his and their tongues began to parry in exquisite exploration. He felt the flesh of her neck and shoulders beneath his fingers, the teasing touch of her hair against his flesh. Her arms curled around his neck, and she seemed almost a part of him, as if she could never be close enough.
She pulled away and stood, looked at him for a long moment, then walked away to turn off the light.
The faint glow from the television bathed the room in a soft, velvet glow as she walked over to the bed and let her dress fall to the floor.
He stood, too, stripping his shirt over his head as he strode over to her, then took her back into his arms. The naked flesh of her breasts, firm against his chest, sent an infusion of fire streaking through him like lightning, straight to his loins. The scent of her perfume, the way it seemed to steam from her skin, was almost unbearable. He buried his face against her neck, kissed the delicate flesh, and fought for control. Their mouths met once again in a passionate kiss that went deep, that intimated all kinds of other things, and aroused and stoked the fire that was burning so high and fast between them. He trailed his fingers down her spine, cupped and cradled her buttocks, drew her closer still. Her fingers scratched a path down his back, pressing, teasing, arousing. Still fused together at the lips, they fell onto the bed, and, breathlessly, he rose above her.
There were a million things he could have said, but nothing rose to his lips.
Her words were all in her eyes. Silver smoke caught in shadow. Open, wide, inviting.
He wasn’t prone to flights of fantasy, especially where romance was concerned, but…suddenly it seemed as if he had known her forever, loved her forever. Not just wanted her. Wanting was basic biology. Wanting could be eased by a stranger who would never be seen or even thought of again. This was something different—he almost pulled back to give himself time to understand this feeling of intense connection, of suddenly, unbelievably, realizing that he loved someone he barely knew, that he needed to be with her and protect her against all dangers….
Even against herself.
But he didn’t get a chance to dwell on the matter because she pulled him down to her, and then they were kissing in a frenzy, hot kisses, liquid and steaming and damp, and erotic beyond measure. He began to move against her, laving her breasts, adoring her flesh, breathing her in. Then he moved lower, fingers stroking down her thighs as he kissed her abdomen, her hips, the tip of his tongue a burning ember that sent her writhing against him, her fingers kneading his shoulders, and the softest, sweetest, most erotic sounds escaping her lips.
With no logic left, no thought, he made love to her intimately with his touch and his tongue. She was transformed into a being of liquid, ever-changing sensuality beneath him, moving wildly, sending him into a spiral of desire. She rocked against him, arched and whispered, and drew him up until their mouths met again. He sank against her then, parting her thighs, sliding smoothly into her with a shudder of soaring sexual pleasure at being enclosed within her tight hot flesh. Her arms locked around him, followed by her thighs, and their mouths fused frenetically once more, as they began to move….
He felt the climactic explosion of her body and allowed himself his own release, leaving him to shudder slowly as he sank back down to a place where he was aware of flesh and bone and the beating of their hearts once again. He rolled to his side, carrying her with him, gasping for one good breath and then holding her tightly as their heartbeats slowed.
He smoothed her hair, kissed the top of her head. The sensation that he had felt before, that he cared for her far too deeply, that he knew her laughter, knew her soul, swept over him. But it would be insane to say anything about how he felt. He would sound like an idiot if he suddenly whispered, “I love you.”