he entered her, slowly and easily filling the warm channel of her body as he lay down over her, stretching out, winding his fingers into hers. They’d used condoms for the first few times last night, but then mutual disclosure had revealed the barrier unnecessary.
He moved languorously, and she responded by rotating her hips in a delicious, seductive swirl. She was with him, he knew, even though her eyes remained closed.
Her breathing deepened, her cheeks turning pink as their movements became faster, more insistent, and he knew she was close. After just one night together, he’d studied and memorized the signals of her body. He knew what she liked. He wanted to know more.
He pushed himself back to his knees, grabbing her hips and pumping hard to find his own release, pouring himself into her as she cried out, her pretty red nails clawing into the sheets.
“Oh, Dan, that was so good,” she said, her eyes still closed.
“It’s always good with you, Jodie,” he said, the warmth that stole over him having nothing to do with sex. He’d had plenty of sexual encounters—more than Jodie probably thought—but he had never experienced anything like this. Dreaming of being with Jodie was nothing like the real thing. He was glad she felt the same way.
He chuckled when she snored lightly two seconds later. He dropped back down beside her, watching her sleep. She was his, but he knew the very idea of that wouldn’t wash with her. Jodie wouldn’t give in that easily, not even with him.
Even though she would tell him he was crazy, that she was a strong woman in charge of her own life and that her past was behind her—and that would be true—he also knew better than anyone that childhood wounds had left her believing she wasn’t worth loving. He knew she would bolt from any emotional entanglement past friendship. He knew he had to convince her differently.
So while she dozed, he planned.
JODIE SAT on the edge of the bed, listening to Dan in the shower. She’d dozed after their sleepy sex, which she’d thought at first was just a hot dream, though it certainly felt better than any sex dream she’d ever had before. Now she was awake. She’d waited Dan out, or so she thought, until he finally got out of bed and went in to use the shower.
She should have known better than to think she could fool him. Chuckling, he’d leaned over and whispered in her ear that he knew she was really awake, betrayed by subtle changes in her breathing and eye movements, but that she could join him in the shower if she wanted.
And the hard part was, that she wanted him again, and again, even though they’d nearly spent each other completely the night before. Her body was craving more Dan, but her mind was reeling.
What had she done? This was a mess.
She stood and started to pace, still naked, thinking back to the night before. It hadn’t just been the cookies, though her massive consumption of icing had probably helped things along. Dan had to have been wearing his cologne, even though she hadn’t detected the scent. But it was clear he had planned this, planned to get her into bed, planned to seduce her as part of his experiment.
She’d known that, and she thought she could resist. Maybe she could have, but whatever he put in the formula he was wearing was potent stuff. Like the man himself. She still couldn’t get over his stamina, and his creativity.
A little voice in the back of her head tsk-tsked—could she really blame all of this on him?
Yes. It was easier to be angry and unfair than to think about any one of the emotions rolling around inside of her at the moment. She loved Dan—as a friend.
She didn’t want love otherwise, which was why she kept her sex life active but separate from her emotional ties. She and Dan had gone and messed that up now, and it would probably cost them their friendship, she accepted, her heart breaking.
Well, he’d gotten what he wanted—and plenty of it—so now they both had some hard choices to make. Grabbing her robe as the shower stopped, she tied it around her middle, holding on to her anger like a shield as he walked out with only a towel around his trim waist.
Oh hell, she thought, her nipples hardening.
“Morning, hon,” he said, walking over to grab his briefs and pants, pulling them on and