a potent reminder that the best was yet to come. Slipping her knees either side of his hips, she gripped him and arranged herself. In this position she could control the extension of her hip and there was nothing but pleasure as she slid onto him.
His hands gripped her as she started to move, his eyes dropping to half-mast. She concentrated on the feel of him inside her, on the needful pressure of his hardness against her softness, her gaze running over his chest and belly and face.
He was so damned hot, his body so beautiful, and the way he felt inside her...
She held her breath as her climax hit her, her head dropping back as she rode it out.
“Yes. Come for me, Mackenzie.” Oliver’s voice was low and deep, his hands a welcome anchor as he thrust into her.
She opened her eyes in time to see him come, the tendons standing out in his neck, his lips drawn back in an almost snarl. She stared, transfixed, then gasped as he slipped a hand between their bodies and found her with his thumb. Two, three, four strokes and she climaxed again, his name a sob on her lips.
She fell across his chest afterward, her face pressed into his neck. She could smell his deodorant and something she suspected was simply him and she nuzzled closer as her body slowly came down to earth.
His hands smoothed over her arms, her back, her hips, a steady, calming, hypnotic caress. She felt warm and sated and safe and she let her eyelids drop closed. After a few minutes he pressed a kiss to her temple and she slipped off him, allowing him to do something with the condom before pulling the covers over them both. He encouraged her onto her side facing away from him, then curled his body around hers, one arm sliding around her rib cage. The last thing she registered before drifting into sleep was the brush of his lips at the nape of her neck.
* * *
IT WAS DARK when Oliver woke with the sweet scent of vanilla surrounding him. A warm, soft body was curled into his side, a slim leg tangled with his.
Mackenzie.
God, Mackenzie.
She’d been incredible. So hot and tight and ready for him. The way she’d launched herself at him when he’d opened the door, pushing him against the wall and sliding her hand inside his jeans...
And when she’d taken him into her mouth...
It had been all he could do not to disgrace himself on the spot. Ever since he’d met her a part of him had wondered what she’d be like—what they’d be like together. And now he knew.
Unforgettable. Undeniable.
Tightness stole into his chest as he blinked at the ceiling. Mackenzie stirred beside him, her lips pressing briefly against his shoulder, a small, unconscious gesture of affection that made his armpits prickle with sudden, clammy sweat.
She was incredible. Sexy beyond his wildest fantasies, earthy and lusty and so damned responsive... One part of him wanted to lose himself inside her all over again—and the other part was freaking out for exactly the same reason.
He’d had one-night stands before, a long time ago in his band days. This was not how a one-night stand felt.
Because what had happened with Mackenzie had been about more than sex. It had been about connection and affection and true intimacy. It had meant something. It had been real.
His heart thumped against his breastbone as flight-or-fight adrenaline pumped through him. Suddenly the quilt felt too heavy, Mackenzie’s weight against his side a burden. Moving carefully, he eased away from her before standing and exiting the room. He found his jeans in the hall and pulled them on before making his way to the kitchen.
The power button for the kettle glowed softly in the darkness and he used it to orient himself while his eyes adjusted. When he could make out the dim outline of the cupboards and the fridge, he hit the button to bring the water to boil and found the tea bags and a cup in the cupboard. Then he sat at the kitchen table, hands wrapped around the hot mug, trying to get a grip.
He shouldn’t be feeling this way about anyone so soon after the breakdown of his marriage. Edie was still so much in his head. There was still so much to deal with. He didn’t have the mental real estate available to take on something big and important and significant right now.
Something he maybe should