"Last time we kissed like this, you sent me away, remember?"
"I remember." He smiled down at her. "I was afraid of hurting you."
"And now?'' She stood on tiptoe and pressed butterfly kisses to his cheek.
"I'm still afraid of hurting you," he admitted in a voice like rough velvet, "but I don't ever want to let you go."
"And I don't want you to."
For a timeless moment, they gazed into each other's eyes. And then, drawn by a power he was helpless to resist, he covered her mouth with his while the sheet fell, unnoticed, to the floor.
It seemed to be a kiss without beginning, without end. Slowly, their arms locked around each other, they sank to the floor.
Lainey caressed his bare back, loving the touch of his heated flesh beneath her fingertips. She was breathless when he drew away and she tilted her head back, giving him access to her throat. For a moment, he only stared at her, and then he lowered his head and flicked his tongue over her wildly beating pulse.
"Lainey, I want..."
"What?" she murmured, her tone low and seductive. "What do you want?"
"I'm not sure." He buried his face in the curve of her neck, breathing in the musky scent of her skin, the flowery scent of her hair. "I've never..."
"Never?"
He shook his head, afraid of appearing a fool. "I don't know what you expect, how to please you."
"Well, you're doing a first-rate job so far," Lainey murmured. She pulled away a little so she could see his face. "Just do whatever you want."
"I want to touch you and kiss you, memorize every lovely curve. I want to draw you into myself and never let you go." Hesitantly, his hand cupped her breast, then splayed over her heart. "I want your heart to beat with mine."
"Oh, Micah..."
His hungry gaze trapped hers as he started to undress her, waiting for her permission even though she'd already told him to do whatever he wished.
She nodded slightly, her eyes watching him as he undressed her, loving the way his breath caught in his throat as his gaze moved over her, warming her from the inside out. He caressed her as if she were made of spun glass, as if she might shatter if he held her too hard.
It was like being worshiped, she thought, like being adored. His hands and lips were ever so gentle as they explored her, learning what made her sigh with pleasure, what made her gasp with longing. She held him and coaxed him until he was quivering with need, and when they came together it was like two stars colliding.
They lay spent in each other's arms for a long while, her head pillowed in the hollow of his shoulder, his arm curved possessively around her waist. It felt so right, Lainey thought. Making love to Drew had never been like this. And yet she couldn't help feeling a little guilty. She had refused to let Drew touch her until they were legally and lawfully married, and yet she had melted in Micah's arms after knowing him for only a matter of days.
Micah, keenly attuned to her moods, sensed her doubts. "You're sorry we joined," he said, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice. "Why?"
"I'm not sorry."' Nervously, she licked her lower lip. "It's just that this is all happening so fast. I don't want you to think that... what I'm trying to say is that I don't sleep around, Micah. I never have."
"Sleep around?" Turning on his side, he propped his head on one hand and stared down at her, his brow furrowed
"I don't have casual sex."
"You call this casual?"
"No. I guess I'm not making myself clear. What I mean is that I don't just sleep with every guy I meet. I haven't been with a man since my divorce and..."
"Divorce?"
Lainey nodded. "I divorced my first husband a little over two years ago."
"I don't understand divorce."
"I was married, and now I'm not."
"Married." The word stabbed him to the heart. It was an earth term that meant to join, to unite. To mate.
She had been with another man. Jealousy was an emotion he had not heretofore experienced, but he recognized it immediately. "Do you have offspring?"
"No." There was a world of sadness in that one single word. "I'm only telling you this because I don't want you to think badly of me."