“So do you.” His fingers undid her blouse buttons with little effort. The odd thing was that she had no desire to stop him—that is, until he exposed her bra.
She immediately stepped back and pulled one side over the other. “No, I don’t.” At least Brent had said she didn’t.
His smile lightened his eyes. He was truly a beautiful man. “Let me be the judge. I think you are perfect.”
Now she knew this was a dream. “Then thank you.”
Elise kicked off her shoes and the relief was palatable. After slipping the shirt from her shoulders, she let her top float to the floor, and his eyes widened. When he licked his lips, Elise glanced down at her bra. Damn. It was white—a plain old boring one.
“You have beautiful breasts.”
Her subconscious sure was doing a good job of bolstering her ego. “Thank you.”
Max was naked, so it only made sense that she should be too. It went without saying that he would love her body because this was her show. All she had to do was let her subconscious rule and she’d be flying higher than any rocket ever could.
The music changed to a slower, more sensual beat, and the lights dimmed. Good job, Elise. She must have conjured up this seduction so many times that her mind knew what she liked to hear.
Her skirt was stretchy and slipped easily over her hips.
Max whistled. “Sweet. Do you need help with your panties?”
Last night, her friends had given her a few pairs of sexy underwear as a birthday present. Thankfully, Elise had picked one with an animal print to wear tonight. How appropriate was that? “Sure.”
Max dropped to his knees in front of her and inhaled. “I can’t get your scent out of my head.”
She laughed. He looked up at her and tilted his head, looking a lot like that tiger that had come out of the bathroom. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” Max reached up and caressed the waistband of her panties. When he dragged his fingers across her ample belly, his eyes lit up even more. What she wouldn’t give if all men appreciated her shape.
“Did I see a tiger in here, or was that my imagination?”
“It’s your dream. He was here if you wanted him to be.”
She guessed that answered her question. She’d wanted something warm and furry to hug and a tiger had appeared. Perhaps she could conjure him up later—much later, after she made love with Max.
His fingers fiddled with the elastic, but tentative men weren’t her style—at least when he came from her imagination. “Take me.”
One brow cocked. “How about if I want to love you slowly and with passion—like you deserve?”
Just hearing those words made her body flush with heat. Yes. Her man was perfect. “I’m good with that too.”
In a flash, her new animal print undies were down at her ankles, forcing her to step out of them or chance tripping. For the first time in her life, she wasn’t embarrassed about her appearance because Max wasn’t real.
Clasping a firm hand on her thighs, he opened her legs. “What you do to me. I’ll have to use all of my willpower not to hurry. I want you so much.”
God help her. “Far be it from me to stop you.”
Quickly, he stood and scooped her up in his arms again. “I can’t help myself. My inner beast is clawing to get out.”
He sure did know how to go with a theme—or rather she was the one who was good at keeping with the whole animal motif. Elise wrapped her arms around his neck and marveled at her ideal man.
Max placed her on the bed and crawled on top of her, his gaze never leaving her face. “I’m the luckiest man alive to have found you. You have opened my heart for the first time in my life.”
She was about to say he knew nothing about her, but then realized he did since he was an extension of her, merely residing in a different part of her brain. Elise feared that at any moment Nikolai would take her out of her fantasy and she’d be back on stage with the audience clapping at her amazing duet with the flamboyant magician. Wouldn’t it be a shame if they didn’t have time to consummate their relationship?
“Kiss me,” she whispered.
“My pleasure,” he said. When Max’s lips slightly parted, she noticed that his teeth were rather sharp. Given how much she loved big furry animals, it made sense she had conjured him up that way. He was the combination of both of her desires.
Supporting himself on his elbows, he cupped her face and stroked her cheeks while nibbling on her lips. But Elise wanted more. She opened her mouth and teased open his luscious lips. Her heart pounded hard because this seemed so real, and she prayed he wouldn’t reject her like Brent had.