with moving her body against his mouth and lips and tongue, with licking her until she began to moan, and until her body clenched in her first orgasm.
He wasn’t done with her. Gently, Tom rolled her over while he slid open the nightstand drawer and pulled out a small foil packet. Sheathing himself quickly, because he could barely stand to wait, he slid inside her. Then he waited for a minute to catch his breath. Resting on his forearms, he leaned down to kiss her lips and cheeks while she smiled and wiggled beneath him.
"Stay still," he whispered.
"I can’t," she whispered back with a giggle. She moved again, arching her back and tilting her pelvis to take more of him in.
"You have to," he replied. "Or else I’m going to be finished before we start."
She laughed again, a low, husky sound that made his balls tighten. "That’s something I like about you. Most guys would not admit to a lack of control in the bed."
"I’m not admitting anything," he told her with a gentle thrust that made her moan aloud.
She grabbed his hips and pulled him closer to her. "Tom…less talking. More action."
"Your wish is my command," he whispered and kissed her again.
He’d said the words as a joke, light-hearted humor, but as soon as they left his mouth, he knew he meant them. He wanted to please Lila, not just in bed, but everywhere. He wanted to make her smile, hear her laugh. He wanted to take care of her.
Love her.
The thought filled his mind before he could stop it, but then the passion overtook him and he moved with her until he couldn’t think any more.
Lila was late to work and didn’t care. She had a pile of mail to go through and a crisis with the printer, and she didn’t care about that either. Life is good, Lila reflected as she settled down at her desk. She felt like singing.
"You are late!" Darren announced from the doorway.
"I know." She grinned uncontrollably.
Darren looked at her carefully, then shut the door behind him and slid into the chair across from her. "‘Fess up, honey. You’ve got happy written all over your face."
"Let’s just say I had an interesting evening."
Darren used his wonderful power of expression to let her know he wasn’t fooled. "And morning, too, it looks like."
She shrugged, unable to stop smiling. "Maybe."
"Maybe, nothing!" Darren hooted, slapping the desk. "You got yourself a boyfriend!"
Lila shushed him and winced. "Why not take a memo and copy the whole company, Darren!"
Her assistant laughed and propped his feet up on the desk. "We won’t need a memo. You can’t hide your face, honey. You’re in love."
She blushed and began sorting through her mail. Darren did have a disconcerting way of digging right to the heart of any matter. Not that she was in love with Tom. It was too soon. Wasn’t it?
"I wouldn’t say that." She struggled for coolness, but the smile kept creeping up on her mouth. Finally, she tossed the mail aside and let out a restrained whoop while twirling around in her chair. "Maybe."
Darren crossed his arms in front of him like a drill sergeant. "Spill your guts. I want to know everything."
Lila didn’t have to think about what to say. The words tumbled out of her in a rush. "His name is Tom Caine. He owns The Foxfire. We met at my sister’s showing a few weeks ago. That’s it."
Darren snorted. "If that’s it, I’m the Queen of Sheba. I know you better than that."
"He’s…handsome."
Darren’s brows lifted, and his feet came down off the desk with a thump. "Oh, no."
Lila groaned and buried her face in her arms on top of the desk. "He’s gorgeous."
"But he’s short, right?"
"No. He’s at least six-two."
"Dumb?"
Again, she groaned. "Absolutely not."
Darren forced her to sit up and look at him. "The man is tall, gorgeous, and smart?"
She nodded. Her assistant let out another whoop, got up from the chair, and began doing his patented bump and grind around the desk. Lila, as always, couldn’t help but dissolve into a fit of laughter.
"Girlfriend’s back!" Darren slid back into the seat. "Lila, honey, I am so glad you have finally seen the light."
Lila put her hands on her hips and huffed. "Oh, come on. My social life hasn’t been that bad."
Darren looked at her in such a way she had no doubts that he thought otherwise. "Since Bill the Bozo, Lila, all you’ve dated is computer geeks and mama’s boys. I am serious."
He was