eyes, and there was helplessness in her gaze. It was what he used to want from a woman, but not this time. Not from her. He slowed his touch and simply cupped her in his hand, letting his warmth give her comfort, and the fear went away.
They lay that way for a while, his head resting on the slope of her breasts, and when he was sure she’d stilled and calmed, he kissed his way down her body again, lower this time, slipping the soft stretchy pants down her hips and away, running his hand up and down the silky smoothness of her legs.
Then the dance began as the two of them worked their way into a rhythm that harmonized and blended like a gospel choir. When her body pulled taut and she threw her head back, he felt the shimmer of her orgasm spread from her body to his, shooting through him like a flame on a fuse and bringing every nerve in his body to light.
He held her, waiting for her shudders to subside, but she struggled upright and tugged his T-shirt over his head. Suddenly they were sitting side by side, her naked, him nearly so since his jeans had somehow followed her yoga pants to the floor. She looked down at his boxers and smiled.
“Oh, look. Little bucking horses,” she said. “Do you have cowboy jammies too?”
He felt himself blushing like a girl. “They were a gift,” he growled. “That’s my college mascot. And no. I don’t wear jammies.”
“Good.” She considered the boxers, that little crease appearing between her eyebrows. “You went to the University of Wyoming?”
“Don’t sound so surprised.”
“I’m not, I just…”
“I mostly went to do college rodeo.”
“What was your major?”
“Agriculture.”
“Like…”
He realized her school probably hadn’t even had the option. “A lot of chemistry, biology, environmental studies. Law, even.” He glanced toward the papers scattered on the floor. “Water rights, stuff like that.”
He wasn’t about to mention mineral rights. That might bring back the real world. Just in case she thought of it, he flipped her hair back over her shoulder and kissed her again, and the thought of college and mineral rights and everything else faded to black.
He didn’t know how the embrace broke, or even how they ended up engaged in the slow dance of seduction again. Somehow she shed her clothes and his were gone too, flung to the floor in a move so unconscious it felt utterly natural. It was a little more awkward to grab the jeans back and fish for the condom he kept in his wallet, but he found it and slipped it on in no time.
She set her hands on his shoulders and flexed her thighs to rise, then lowered herself onto him, letting the tip of his cock just touch her, just barely.
He steadied her with both hands, letting her guide the pace, and she tightened her grip on his shoulders and let him slide inside. He could feel her taut body softening and spreading, taking him in bit by bit until they were rocking together, her thighs tightening and releasing like a rider posting a trot.
She was amazing, with her pale skin washed in candlelight, her head tossed back, her hair hanging in a swaying curtain behind her. Up until now, he’d been conscious of every move, thinking of her pleasure as well as his own, but now instinct took over and he closed his eyes as the tension built, mounting up and up, out of control. When she arched herself backward and let out a cry, his own ecstasy started at his center and spiraled outward, running through his veins and filling his mind with a shimmering sweet smoke that only cleared when the sensation slowed and finally stopped.
They both opened their eyes and stared at each other in wonder. He’d expected fireworks, but fireworks were man-made. He and Sarah together were a force of nature.
She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. He slowed his breathing to match hers. This moment was better than mastery. She might be his right now, but he was hers too. They belonged to each other, and somehow that made him feel like he belonged in the world.
Chapter 25
Sarah sat up and clutched her knees to her chest. The faint flush of pink lighting the cabin’s windows told her the sun would be up soon. She’d been dreaming of Lane, and…
Wait a minute. That wasn’t a dream. She’d gone and done it again.