his kiss. His fingers glided through her hair. He trailed his fingertips over her shoulders, stroked down her back, and then cupped her bottom. When she opened her eyes again, she was laying on the rug with his welcome weight covering her.
"Mmm. Your lips taste so sweet." He nuzzled her neck. "There's something I've been wondering." He moved lower, licking and teasing her sensitized nipples. His lips meandered a delicious, leisurely path to her ribs.
"What?" she managed to moan.
He nuzzled her navel with his nose, kissing her belly. "If the rest of you tastes as good," he whispered. Then he moved lower and his mouth closed over her in the most shocking kiss of all.
"Oh!" She gasped at the intimacy, the searing connection that arced between them. A ribbon of heat streamed through her, coiling into a sweet ache. Her hips rocked upward. Seeking an anchor, she thrust her fingers into his hair. He slid his hands under her bottom and lifted, intensifying the glorious sensation. She clenched her teeth to keep from screaming at the bold strokes of his tongue. Tension thrummed inside her, twisting into a tight spiral. Then unbelievably, wound tighter, and tighter yet. Her head thrashed from side to side as her body quivered, straining toward completion. A whimper escaped.
He raised his head, leaving her aching and unfulfilled, and lowered her to the rug. He kissed a return path up her body to her lips. She moaned into his mouth in taut desperation. "Please don't stop."
"I won't," he soothed as his hand glided down her stomach. He gently caressed an exquisitely sensitive spot. "I want to see your pleasure."
Pleasure, oh, yes. Pleasure surged, arched her against his palm. Panting, she closed her eyes as aching tension spiraled again.
One long finger slid inside of her. "You're killing my self-control here." He groaned.
She gathered the scattered fringes of her concentration enough to gasp out, "Sorry."
His soft chuckle feathered his warm breath across her lips. "Nothing to apologize for, sweetheart." Another finger joined the first, filling her with exquisite pressure, while at the same time his thumb steadily stroked her toward a mounting crescendo.
Fire blazed inside her, burning outward, scorching every nerve ending. Her heart galloped wildly, and her body went rigid. Throbbing need clenched deep inside, her inner muscles involuntarily contracting.
"Go with it, Tessie. Let it happen."
Shaking uncontrollably, she teetered on the brink of the chasm, clinging to the edge. She was afraid of the unknown. She was afraid of her intense feelings, both physical and emotional. She was afraid she'd fall and shatter into a thousand pieces. "No! It's too much!"
"Look at me," Gabe commanded.
She opened her eyes. Her panicked gaze clung to his, the smoky green depths inches from her own.
"It's okay. Jump, baby," he soothed. "I'll catch you."
Her fear vanished in a warm wave of trust and love. Holding his gaze—her lifeline—she let go. Instead of falling, she soared. Tremor after tremor of ecstasy exploded inside her, and her body rocked with sweet release. She flew higher and higher, to the starry edges of the universe and into the fiery sun.
Then she floated to earth, gasping and trembling.
A long, shuddering sigh slipped out of her as he gently withdrew his hand. His mouth curled into a slow smile of male satisfaction. Caressing her face, he cuddled her close until her trembling stopped. "Okay?" he asked, his voice roughened by passion, his tone tender.
Awed, she stared into his glowing eyes. This was as close to Heaven as she'd ever been. Her heart overflowed. The words welled up inside and spilled out. "I love you," she murmured.
Stunned shock, then fear slashed across his face. He recoiled as if she'd slapped him. Flat darkness killed the light in his eyes. His jaw clenched in a hard line as he wrenched away and snatched up his jeans. Jumping to his feet, he yanked them on. "For how long?"
Caught in an emotional hurricane, she shoved her own pain aside and narrowed her focus to the wounded man who needed her. "What do you mean? I'm not going anywhere."
He bowed his head. "I can't be what you want. Eventually, you'll leave."
"I want you, Gabe. Nothing more." She sat up. "I won't leave you, I promise."
"Your love is wasted on me." His raw, ragged voice was so low she could hardly hear.
Seeing Gabe stripped of his confidence, painfully vulnerable, caused a stinging ache in her throat. But in order to help him, she had to make him face the truth. She scrambled