to discover what paradise on Earth felt like. And she was it.
If Natalie asked for the moon and a few stars, he’d find a way to fetch them for her. He was that far gone. He was at the complete mercy of his throbbing desire to claim her as his own for this one magical night before she followed her dreams and schemes and walked out of his life forever.
Van vowed to make their passionate tryst an adventure unto itself. No matter how much it cost him in self-restraint, he would find a way to pleasure and satisfy her.
To that dedicated end, Van skimmed his lips over the tips of her breasts while she floated in his arms. Her soft moan of pleasure encouraged him to draw more satisfied sounds from her lips. He devoted several languid moments to flicking his tongue against her pebbled nipples, then cupped one full breast in his hand. When he suckled her gently, she arched toward him. Another breathless sigh tumbled from her lips—with his name attached to it.
He adored the raspy sound of her voice. He delighted in knowing he aroused her. He smiled against her nipple when she squirmed restlessly against him. Her hand drifted across his chest but he grabbed her fingertips and redirected them to her breast. Then he nibbled at them before he suckled her again.
“Don’t distract me. I’ve been harboring this fantasy of discovering the taste and feel of every inch of your gorgeous body since the night I put you in my bed after you passed out. That evening didn’t turn out the way I wanted.”
Her thick lashes fluttered up and she stared straight at him. “You find me desirable?”
He chuckled at the absurd question. “One look in the mirror should answer the question about how lovely you are.”
“But there have been times when I’ve wondered if I appeal to men or if…”
Her voice trailed off and he wondered if she was about to mention instances with other men. The image of her with anyone but him tormented him, though he kept telling himself he had no right to be possessive or jealous of her past affairs. After all, he had been intimate with other women. Of course, no one had intrigued him as she had, but still…
“You have no idea how much it has cost me in self-control to sleep beside you every night and restrain myself,” he admitted. “Which is why I couldn’t turn you down tonight. I have no willpower left when it comes to you.”
“None whatsoever?” She grinned so provocatively that another corner of his heart caved in. “Are you just saying that because I’m paying you?”
“Sure, sunshine. I want you to get your money’s worth,” he whispered as his hand drifted down her ribs to encircle her navel.
Her playful amusement turned to a quiet moan when his hand drifted lower to trace the curve of her inner thigh. Fire blazed through Van’s bloodstream when he skimmed his hand over the tender flesh between her legs and felt the heat of her desire burning for him.
He bent his head to glide his tongue between her lips at the same moment that he dipped his finger into her heated core. A tidal wave of need crashed over him as he stroked her gently—and simultaneously aroused himself to aching extremes. He vowed to leave Natalie as hot and hungry for him as he was for her…but at what cost to his ravenous body!
Van had never dedicated so much time to pleasuring a woman. He’d never wanted to because the women who came and went from his bed in the past only satisfied a physical craving. But this mystical moment with Natalie, while the blazing sunset turned the world to flames, was nothing like his previous encounters. He couldn’t take his pleasure with her unless she wanted him beyond bearing.
The thought challenged him to be more creative, to be gentler and more patient in his seduction than he’d ever been. He was rewarded with the sound of her breathless moans drifting across the rippling water.
“Come here,” she panted while he stroked her with thumb and fingertip.
“I told you not to rush me,” he murmured against the swell of her breast. “I’m living a fantasy.”
“You’re driving me crazy is what you’re doing,” she whimpered as her body involuntarily arched toward his gliding fingertips and lips.
“Really? Then let’s see how you react to this….” He lifted her hips to him, flicked at her with his tongue, then kissed