buttons, unfastening slowly. Under it she wore sheer blue silk. “I’m not going to have to wear one of those paper things, am I?”
He had to catch his breath as she peeled off the blouse. “I think we can dispense with that. You look to be in excellent health. In fact, I can say without reservation that you look absolutely perfect.”
“But I have this ache.” She took his hand and pressed it to her breast. “Right now my heart’s racing. Feel it?”
“Yeah.” Gently he absorbed the feeling of silk and flesh. Her flesh. “I think it’s catching.”
“My skin’s hot,” she murmured. “And my legs are weak.”
“Definitely catching.” With a fingertip he slid a thin silk strap from her shoulder. “You may just have to be quarantined.”
“With you, I hope.”
He unhooked her slacks. “That’s the idea.”
When she toed off her sandals, the other strap slithered down her shoulders. Her voice was husky now, and growing breathless. “Do you have a diagnosis?”
He eased the slacks down her hips. “Sounds like the rocking pneumonia and the boogie-woogie flu.”
She’d arched up to help him remove her slacks, and now she just stared. “What?”
“Too much Mozart.”
“Oh.” She twined her arms around his shoulders. It seemed like years since she’d been able to hold him against her. When his lips found the little hollow near her collarbone, she smiled. “Can you help me, Doctor?”
“I’m about to do my damnedest.”
His mouth slid over hers. It was like coming home. Her little sigh merged with his as she leaned into him. Dreamily she changed the angle of the kiss and let his taste pour into her. Whatever illness she had, he was exactly the right medicine.
“I feel better already.” She nibbled on his lip. “More.”
“Van?”
Her heavy eyes opened. While her fingers combed through his hair, she smiled. The light glowed in her eyes. Again he could see himself there, trapped in the misty green. Not lost this time. Found.
Everything he’d ever wanted, ever needed, ever dreamed of, was right here. He felt the teasing pleasure turn to grinding ache in the flash of an instant. With an oath, he dragged her mouth back to his and feasted.
No patience this time. Though the change surprised her, it didn’t frighten her. He was her friend, her lover. Her only. There was a desperation and a fervency that thrilled, that demanded, that possessed. As the twin of his emotions rose in her, she pulled him closer.
More, she thought again, but frantically now. She could never get enough of being wanted this wildly. She dragged at his lab coat, even as her teeth scraped over his lip. Desire pumped through her like a drug and had her yanking at his T-shirt before the coat hit the floor. She wanted the feel of his flesh, the heat of it, under her hands. She wanted the taste of that flesh, the succulence of it, under her lips.
The loving he had shown her until now had been calm and sweet and lovely. This time she craved the fire, the dark, the madness.
Control broken, he pushed her back on the narrow padded table, tearing at the wisp of silk. He could tolerate nothing between them now—only flesh against flesh and heart against heart. She was a wonder of slender limbs and subtle curves, of pale skin and delicate bones. He wanted to taste, to touch, to savor every inch.
But her demands were as great as his. She pulled him to her, sliding agilely over him so that her lips could race from his to his throat, his chest, beyond. Rough and greedy, his hands streaked over her, exploiting everywhere, as her questing mouth drove him mad.
His taste. Hot and dark and male, it made her giddy. His form. Firm and hard and muscled, it made her weak. Already damp, his skin slid under her seeking fingers. And she played him deftly, as she would her most passionate concerto.
She feared her heart would burst from its pounding rhythm. Her head spun with it. Her body trembled. Yet there was a power here.
Even through the dizziness she felt it swelling in her. How could she have known she could give so much—and take so much?
His pulse thundered under her fingertips. Between his frenzied murmurs, his breath was ragged. She saw the echo of her own passion in his eyes, tasted it when she crushed her mouth to his. For her, she thought as she let herself drown in the kiss. Only for her.
He grasped her hips, fingers digging