Awaken to Pleasure - By Nalini Singh Page 0,30

wanted hard, rough sex - what his strong, muscular body represented to them. He'd thought he hadn't minded but now found that he'd minded very much. He liked the wayTaylorwas exploring him, as if she was delighted with him, as if she'd been saving up all her fantasies just for him.

Wiggling down his body, she grazed her teeth over the taut skin of his lower back. Everything was taut, Jacksonthought, as she skipped over his buttocks and rested near his knees. Her fingernails grazed the backs of his thighs.

"Dio!"He jerked up so hard that he almost threw her to the floor.

"Jackson?" Those fingers had frozen on his thighs. "Did I do something wrong?"

He took a deep breath. "Only when you stopped."

A second later, she was running those damnably gentle hands up the backs of his legs. "I love the way you feel against my skin - so rough, so different from me. Your body heats me up from the inside out.

Sometimes ... I just ... I just want to rub myself up against you. Naked."

That halting confession shattered what was left of his mind. For the first time in his life, JacksonSantorini became a totally sensate being, focused only on the feel of the woman who held him in her sweet hands, who found his body delicious and seemed to want to spend hours at her pleasure.
Chapter 7
Taylorwoke up feeling so fine. She grinned when she remembered why. PoorJackson. Wonderful, lovely, beautifulJackson. He'd let her touch him as much as she wanted, let her squeeze and caress and bite and taste. And he hadn't moved throughout it. He'd been on the floor when she'd left. Her delectable husband might still be there.

A masculine knock on her door put an end to that silly illusion. Remnants of fear infiltrated her heart.

Would he expect what any man would, after his wife had pretty much treated him as her property the night before?

"Come in." She sat up, sheets pulled up to her chin.

He was dressed in blue jeans and a white T-shirt, his hair damp, as if he'd just showered. His T-shirt was loose, but did nothing to hide the definition of the upper arms she'd lavished such attention on, only hours before. She finally found the courage to meet his gaze, fearing she'd see the red haze of desire. All that met her was a coolness she'd rarely seen when he spoke to her.

"We need to discuss some things."

"Okay." It was a shock to find that she hated her husband's expression. She'd rather see dangerous passion than this nothingness. "Are you angry with me?"

He shook his head in a sharp negative. "Come down when you're ready."

"Tell me what's wrong. And don't pretend it's nothing." She glared at him.

"Taylor."

"I told you, don'tTaylorme. Tell me why you're brooding!" Frustrated, she punched the pillow by her side.

He blew out a breath between clenched teeth and then stalked to the bed, dark eyes glittering. Leaning over her, he put his hands flat on either side of her hips. "I am not angry," he repeated. "I am also not a saint. You're dressed like an invitation and you spent last night with your pretty little hands all over me. I didn't mind. Feel free to do it again any time you please. But," he paused for breath, "I can't be in this bedroom and talk with you as if we're just friends, so let me deal with it. Don't push."

Mouth dry at the quietly powerful confession, she said, "I won't apologize for last night."

"I didn't ask you to." A tiny spark of humor appeared in his eyes. "I'm not an idiot."

Memories of tactile pleasure had her heart racing. "Can I really do it again?"

He groaned and went to push off the bed. She wrapped her arms around hisneck, caught in the tantalizing grip of a sensual world she'd never imagined could exist for her. Without warning, his entire face went taut.

"Let go,Taylor. My control is so close to the edge that you don't want to continue."

She released him, convinced by the dark passion she saw prowling behind the civilized mirage of his eyes.

When she came downstairs,Jacksonwas sitting at the table on the verandah, waiting for her. Breakfast had been delivered while she was upstairs.

Taking a seat, she asked, "What are those?" when he lifted a document from the pile at his elbow.

"Legal papers." He raised his head and those dark eyes wouldn't let her glance away. "I want to adopt Nick."

She put down