climax grabbed him without warning and tumbled him in a never-ending wave. Winnie came, too. He heard and felt her release. But after that, all he could do was slump into the sofa and try to remember how to breathe.
* * *
Winnie’s bottom was cold. And the muscles in her legs trembled. She lay sprawled on top of Larkin in a position that could only be described as immodest. But she couldn’t find the strength to care. Larkin’s heart thudded beneath her cheek, the beat steady, strong.
The euphoria of physical release faded as she acknowledged the painful truth. She had fallen in love with a lone Wolff. Holding him now, with no one to see, no one to care, was the most exquisite pleasure she’d ever experienced. Everything about him was admirable. In the faces of his family she saw love and respect for him. Even back in Nashville she had noted the caliber of his employees and the deference with which they spoke to him.
How would she ever be able to walk away? But she had no choice. It wasn’t as if she could stay and fight. He had told her from the beginning that he liked his life as it was. And if she truly cared for him, she would do the right thing and leave. No regrets. Surely a man who had suffered as much as Larkin had growing up deserved a time of peace.
His hand toyed with her hair, curling it around his fingers. When his fingers brushed her neck, she shivered. “Shouldn’t we get dressed before someone discovers us?” she said.
He tickled her lower back. “I don’t think I can move.” The deep, drugged satisfaction in the words told her that he had felt the same incredible connection that still bound them both physically and otherwise.
Clumsily, she levered herself up and off him. With his tousled hair, his bare chest and his…um…manly parts on display, he looked like what he was, a charming, sinfully attractive multimillionaire. It was odd, though, that she seldom thought of Larkin as being wealthy. His down-to-earth approach to life matched hers. And she liked that about him.
Though she tried to dress quickly, Larkin’s appreciative scrutiny made her hands fumble. Her underwear ended up inside out, but she left it that way, anxious to be fully clothed. At last, he stood up, dealt with the condom and readjusted his boxers and pants. He yawned and stretched. His chest was beautiful…smooth and tanned and rippled with sleek muscles. A thin line of hair bisected his chest and ran down to his belt buckle. She knew how silky that hair was, and where it led.
Sitting on the settee to put on her shoes, she looked up at him. “We promised we’d help decorate. I don’t want your sister sending out a search party.”
“You’re right.” He shrugged into his shirt and ran his hands through his short hair. “We might as well get it over with.” He reached for her one more time and kissed her forehead. “But tonight you’re mine—right?”
Winnie laughed ruefully. “After what happened just now, do you really think I’ll say no to you later?”
Larkin’s grin was wicked. He squeezed her butt. “Who knows? Women are capricious creatures.”
Winnie wasn’t about to get into a battle she was destined to lose. Already today she had let him talk her into sex when she’d been convinced it was a bad idea. She really didn’t have a leg to stand on.
Larkin insisted on descending the ladder first. Which meant his big arms surrounded her as she backed down. Thus giving him a far-too-close vantage point of her legs and other parts. When she stood on the landing, his eyes were hot. “What if I can’t wait until tonight?” He backed her into the ladder, his hips anchoring hers. “It won’t take long.”
She realized he was serious. And his need and hunger did something to her insides. A combination of smug happiness and desperate yearning filled her like a helium balloon. For a man like Larkin Wolff to want her so badly healed a few of the rough edges of her youthful pain.
Before she could answer one way or the other, a man’s voice sounded from below. “I know you’re up there. Come on, you two. Annalise is breathing fire because we’re all late.”
Winnie looked down, way down, at the top of Kieran’s head. “We’re coming,” she called, tugging at Larkin’s hand and heading for the next ladder.
“I would have been coming,” he groused, his