Even in the moonlight Nik could see the fire reenter her eyes.
"I"m-?"
"All right," he conceded, lifting his hands in surrender. There was laughter in his eyes. "Fifty percent of the time you"re wrong. The other fifty percent of the time I"m right. Fair enough? "
She began to laugh. He was incorrigible.
When she laughed, when she smiled like that, she took his breath away.
"Better," he whispered, lowering his mouth just a little until his breath was on her face, stirring her emotions, making suddenly tense nerves knit together like fingers laced in prayer. " " Much better.
She licked lips that were suddenly parched. This wasn"t a good idea.
Subconsciously she"d known that even as she agreed to come here with him. Yet she had agreed. Was it because she"d been longing to be alone with him, with no one to see them except the moon?
Why was she walking out on a tightrope when she knew there was no net under her, nothing to catch her if she fell? When she fell.
Desperate, Sara sought salvation in humor as she took a step back. She felt her heels sinking into the sand. "Does this come under the heading of fringe benefits?"
Gently he brushed his thumb along her cheek and watched desire bloom in her eyes, even as she fought to hold her ground. "Depends on whose you"re talking about."
"Mine?" she guessed. It would be the typical male response
He moved his head slowly from side to side. "
" Mine. "
And then there was no more s.p.a.ce between them and no more words to create artificial barriers. His mouth covered hers. The cornucopia burst open instantly, showering him with an even greater spectrum of emotions and sensation than the first time.
He welcomed them all.
Nik pulled Sara to him, locking her in an embrace that was at once fierce and tender at the same time. His blood rushed and pounded through him like the surf during the height of a storm.
Sara didn"t even attempt to fight what was happening. She had no strength to do anything but let herself be swept away by the heat of his mouth, by the power of his kiss. Later, when she was back in battle form, when she had her wits about her, she"d do what she could to repair the damage being done right at this instant.
Every Day l27 q But for now, she reveled in the excitement that seized her q his mouth took hers over and over again, draining her of qer very will. She didn"t know who or what she was, only that she wanted this sensation to continue. Forever. I,onger, if possible.
She could feel the length of his body as it imprinted itself on hers.
People weren"t supposed to come unraveled just by kissing, she knew that. But she felt like a ball of yarn being batted around by a kitten, unraveling at a prodigious rate.
This wasn"t safe, Nik thought. He was on the brink of something, tottering on the very edge. And he was going to fall in.
He had always known that he wasn"t the type to do things in half measures. And he wanted her. But more than for just a night. More than for just a week. Commitment was a very real word to him, one he believed in wholeheartedly. Sara had made it abundantly clear that she was only pa.s.sing through. It would be stupid to allow anything to develop between them.
And yet it seemed, even after such a short while, that he had no say in the matter. Something was happening with or without his consent. And he could only hang on for the ride and hope to be in one piece when it came to its end.
Sara braced her hands on his shoulders, wanting to push Nik away. But somehow she wound up grasping his shirt qstead, twisting her fingers into the material as Nik pulled her even closer to him. His long fingers played along her spine until every inch of her vibrated with needs.
Her heart was pounding so hard that it hurt. Her very breath was gone.
As his mouth trailed along the column of her throat she felt herself falling in deeper. She was drowning in a bottomless pool of sensations swimming into one another.
Though she didn"t want to, Sara struggled to draw back. Stalling for time, attempting to steady her breathing, she leaned her head against his chest. She heard his heart pounding. At least she wasn"t alone in this. But it was a small comfort.
This had been even more powerful than the last time. She"d barely recovered before. How was she going to manage to do it again?
She closed her eyes and looked for strength. She didn"t find any. Sara couldn"t even muster the strength to lift her head.
"So," she managed in a husky whisper, "are you relaxed ? "
"No."
Desire and antic.i.p.ation hummed all through her, begging her to continue. She knew it was impossible.
"Neither am I. I guess that blows your theory about the beach all to h.e.l.l."
He stroked her hair. In the moonlight it looked almost pitch-black.
"For now." His pulse had stopped doing triple time. Nik ran his fingertips along her arms and felt the slight tremble in response.
Oh, G.o.d, If you only knew what yocc do to me, woman.
For a moment he enjoyed the feel of just standing there with her in his arms. "Sara?"
He felt her breath against his chest as she answered.
He took a chance. If they didn"t go forward, they"d go backward. She wasn"t the type to stand still. "Come home with me."
He felt her stiffen against him. He was losing her.
"More fringe benefits?"
He moved back so he could look at her face. "Sara, I"m serious."
Her eyes clouded over. " " Don"t be. Not about me. " Sara pulled away from him. " I"m telling you from the start, it won"t work. "
The wariness had returoed. Why, d.a.m.n it, why? He didn"t want to push her, but he couldn"t just back away, either. "How do you know unless we try?"
She turned away from him and ran her hands up and down her arms. The night was sultry, but she was suddenly cold, "Because I don"t want to try, all right?" Failure only qy at the end of the road. q "
In his heart he knew it wasn"t true. I thought you were q type who was so unorthodox. Who liked to take risks. "
When he reached for her, she moved aside. If he touched her aqain, she"d give in. And she couldn"t. Wouldn"t.
"I ll go bungee jumping with you, Nik. Anytime you want. But I won"t go to bed with you."
He let out an exasperated breath. He wanted to reason with her, but her resistance made no sense to him. " " There"s something happening between us, Sara. "
"That"s why I won"t go to bed with you. Because there is something between us." Weakening, she spun around and touched his face. He covered her hand with his own and pressed a kiss to her palm.
Sara felt tears forming as she moved away from him. "Leave it alone, Nik: "