But then, just as she was about to go over the edge, he pulled away, making her cry out in intense disappointment. “Don’t stop!”
“Shh. This time we make love together,” he murmured, reaching for a foil packet on the bedside table.
He sheathed himself and poised at her thighs. She softened beneath him, ready to take him into her.
Needing him in her.
“Open yourself to me,” he said, nudging her legs farther apart, and she did willingly.
He entered her slowly, his eyes never leaving her face as her tightness confirmed what she had told him earlier. No man had ever filled her in this way before. Acknowledging this, his eyes bathed her with a tenderness that took her breath away. Then he filled her completely, gently, only stopping when he could fill her no more. His sensitivity made her heart roll over.
For one long moment they stayed still, each studying the other, connected in both body and spirit. It was the most profound moment Kia had ever experienced. She sensed it was the same for him.
As if in silent agreement, he took a deep breath and slowly began to withdraw. Then he moved forward and filled her again. He took another breath and withdrew as far as he could without separating their bodies. He kept repeating the motion, and she lifted her hips to take more of him into her, feeling something building, something so electric she had to close her eyes.
“Look at me,” he said hoarsely, and she moaned but she did what he told her, finding it incredibly erotic when he mesmerized her with his eyes and began to move once more. He picked up the pace, and that rush of heat turned into a whipcord of male muscle, stamping her with each thrust of his body, taking everything she had within her. She offered it up to the one man in the world worthy of everything she had to give.
“Brant!” she cried as he rasped out her name in a strangled tone that said he couldn’t hold on much longer either. He kissed her then. A deep, deep kiss that was followed by a final plummet of his body as she arched against him.
They reached their climax together, holding themselves as one, in total sync at this precious moment in time.
Kia spiraled down to a hazy aftermath with a series of lingering kisses before he rolled over and held her in his arms for a few moments.
Then she watched his long, lean length disappear, as he rose and headed toward the bathroom. She lay back and closed her eyes. She had to, otherwise when he came back he would see something that had just hit her.
She had fallen in love with him.
Shock ran through her. She went hot, then cold. She loved Brant Matthews. She would love him until the day she died, even knowing she would never be enough for him. Dear God, this couldn’t be…yet she knew it was, felt it in her heart.
The bed sank on one side and she scarcely dared to breathe. Brant was sitting beside her, waiting for her to look at him.
“Kia?” he murmured, tenderly pushing some strands of hair from her face.
She had no alternative but to look at him and pray that he didn’t see what was so obvious to her now.
How had she not seen this coming?
Her eyelids lifted, and her breath hitched in her throat at the look in his eyes. It was all-knowing. All male. Full of sexual satisfaction.
And he had no idea she loved him.
Thank God. She could breathe easier now and enjoy their time together. That’s all she’d let herself ask for. That’s all she’d let herself want. It would be over soon enough. And if he ran true to form—as her father did with his women friends—having gotten what he’d wanted from her, she wouldn’t be seeing much more of him after this anyway. She shivered. Already that thought cut through her heart.
“Did I hurt you?” he murmured.
“No.” But he would. When he dumped her.
His shoulders relaxed, his mouth curving with sheer sensuality. “Woman, that was the best sex I’ve ever had.”
Yes, that’s all it came down to with Brant. She tried not to show her hurt. “Me, too.”
“For all intents and purposes, you were a virgin.” He leaned forward and gave her a long, slow kiss, then looked into her eyes. “I’m honored I was the first man to sleep with you.” He kissed her again briefly, then leaned back, an odd look in his eyes. “Why?”
Her breath stopped and she realized he saw more than she’d thought. She licked her lips. “Because I…I mean, you…” She shrugged. “Well, what woman wouldn’t want to make love with you?”
His mouth twisted. “Flattery will get you everywhere,” he mocked, but she had the feeling he wasn’t happy with her answer.
But if he expected a declaration of love, he was going to be disappointed. Maybe that’s what his other women always provided, but she wasn’t about to copy them. She swallowed hard at the thought of all those other women who would come after her. She couldn’t bear to think about it. And she wasn’t going to wait around for him to throw her away like some piece of garbage that was past its use-by date either.
Panicking, she sat up, almost knocking him out of the way. He put his hands on her shoulders, stilling her.
“What’s the matter?” he said with a scowl.
“I’m going home.” She tried to push him away, but he kept his body firmly in front of her.
Surprise came and went in his eyes before they flared with anger. “I won’t let you run out on me, Kia.”
“You won’t let me?” she choked out. Did he think because he’d made her his own she would leave her brains at the door?
“I’ve already had one woman who mattered run out on me. I’m not going to let you do the same. Not yet, anyway.”
She gave a soft gasp. A woman who mattered had run out on him? And she was in the same category?
But what did he mean by mattered?
“Are you saying that I’m…that we…?” She tried to find the words to say it. “Is there something more between us than I think, Brant?”
He stood up, and she saw he had wrapped a white towel around his lower half. “You bet there’s something between us. And we’re going to see it through to the end.”
The end. She shouldn’t be surprised by his choice of words, yet she was. How could she love this devil of a man? Fate had certainly played a sick joke on her.
“Don’t tell me what to do, Brant.”
“If I told you everything I wanted you to do, you’d run for your life.”