She didn"t understand yet. He shook his head as he crooked a finger beneath her chin and lifted it so that her eyes met his.
"No, that"s how I think of us and what there is between us. Something special. Something really out of the ordinary"
There were explosions going on inside him, coupled with an urgency he"d never known before. But as much as he wanted to take her this instant, he knew that he had to go slowly, or not at all.
Tonight was something he wanted her to remember. Always Tonight would be the cornerstone of the foundation he intended to lay for them. The memory would be something for Sara to cling to when she began fearing that nothing lasted.
This would last.
But he had to convince her, and that took time.
Nik lifted her hands to his lips and softly kissed each one in turn. He watched her eyes change and darken until they were almost black, like deep, rich Swiss chocolate.
Releasing her, he slid his hands along her sides and then slowly inched his palms along the swell of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s until he reached her shoulder blades. And the zipper that ran the length of her dress.
Sara sucked in her breath as she felt the zipper begin to part along her bare back. Deftly, Nik guided it down slowly. He pressed only the tip of his finger against the tab, moving it lightly down the delicate slope of her spine. Heat flashed along her skin, marking the path. She shivered as the zipper separated completely.
Needs slammed through him as Nik brought his mouth down on hers again.
He molded her body to him, attempting to absorb the sensations that were skimming over her.
The thin shoulder straps drooped in submission, slipping down her warmed skin. Nik"s hands wove a spell over her as he caressed her back. His own heart hammering, he skimmed his lips over the hollow of her throat. Then his mouth, hot and moist, moved from one shoulder to another
Sara arched against him, desperate to draw in every last shred of sensation that Nik was creating for her. Her body felt like a blazing inferno, the very core of a steam engine. She was going to explode at any moment unless he took her.
"Now," she cried hoa.r.s.ely against his mouth. He swallowed the word and tasted the desire in it. Sara"s fingers dug into his shoulders, frantic for the feel of him. "Now "
Nik cupped the back of her head in his hand, tilting it away. Her mouth was mussed from the imprint of his. His stomach knotted. " "
Shh. "
He stepped back and her dress floated away from her torso. She was nude from the waist up. Reverently, as if he was worshiping at the altar of a G.o.ddess, Nik molded his hands around her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. His thumbs teased the pink edges until they hardened, rigid with desire.
Unable to bear the separation, Sara moved against him. Pa.s.sion flared in his eyes, spurring her on. Only half lucid, she undid the b.u.t.tons of his shirt and then peeled it from his body. She wanted to feel him against her. Like a creature needy for warmth, she wanted to feel the heat radiating from his body to hers.
Again he stopped her. She was moving too fast and he could only restrain himself for so long. Exercising the patience he had inbred into his life to the limit, Nik laid Sara on the bed and buried his head at her breast. His tongue moved quickly from one peak to the other as she gasped and twisted, her hands grasping for him.
Her skin shone, damp with moisture as she pulled him to her. He loomed above, a fraction out of reach, trying to memorize her face the way it was now, at this instant. Her eyes were almost wild, dazed. There was no wariness, no barriers
For now, she was his.
Later they would work on forever, he thought. This moment , he had now. Wanting to rip the last barriers away, Nik forced himself to go slowly. He pulled her dress down the long, tantalizing length of her legs, dragging her panties along with it. It all fell in a colorful heap at the foot of the bed.
Her skin was golden, her limbs supple and graceful as she tangled them around him, eager, wanton. Sensations pleaded for release.
"You"re still dressed," Sara protested in frustration.
"Not for long."
Nik undid the belt and pulled off his trousers quickly, never daring to take his eyes from hers. She might disappear if he did.
Completely nude, they tumbled onto the bed together, lost in one another.
Her mouth was hot on his, searching for things that had no name, feelings that had no form. She only knew she wanted to continue to lose herself in him. To take and be taken until there were no coherent thoughts left in her mind, no protest left in her soul.
Antic.i.p.ation had Sara spiraling upward to the first climax He needed only a little to drive her over. The slightest touch to her core did it.
Nik watched in fascinated awe as she bucked and twisted, digging strong fingers into his back.
She tried not to scratch him as she literally scrambled back over the edge. Her breathing was short, labored as pleasure dashed over her like the pounding surf during a typhoon.
Sara sighed long and hard as she sank, limp, farther into the bed. It felt as if she had fallen for miles, when she hadn"t even moved.
Opening her eyes, Sara saw Nik smiling just above her face. She looked at him, a half question forming in her eyes.
He was energized by her very reaction. " " Lady, " he promised, " you ain"t seen nothing yet. "
The journey began again with a jolt. His hands were clever as they lightly slid along her moistened core, teasing, promising, then moving back until she whimpered. And then he plunged his fingers inside to work her up into a frenzy again.
Stars exploded in her head as she was thrown into the center of the hurricane. Agony and ecstasy entwined eternal hands and held her captive together.
She wanted it to stop.
She wanted to die this way and never have it end.
She was magnificent, he thought, watching her. And he was only human.
His first goal had been to pleasure her, to show her what could be. To make her understand how important she was to him. But he could only hold himself back for so long. He wanted desperately to be inside her, to join with her and be one.
Ever so gently Nik rolled over onto her, then propped himself up on his elbows. He felt her part her legs for him and then arch against him in mute supplication.
He didn"t need any more.
Nik drove himself into her. A moan echoed in his throat as she sheathed him eagerly, desperately, her hips cradling against his.
Framing her face as he kissed her, Nik moved his hips, coaxing a mirror rhythm from hers.
Together they began a ride that neither of them was destined ever to forget.
Weakened, humbled, stunned and very, very content, Nik crumpled onto Sara, too exhausted to do anything else. He felt her heart beating wildly, like the wings of a hummingbird , against his chest.
From somewhere he found the strength to brush a kiss along her hair. It drained him. It was another moment before he could ask, "Am I too heavy for you?"
" " No. " She murmured the word and it rippled against his shoulder, stirring excitement within him even as he lay in a state of total collapse. Too much would never begin to be enough.
"Good," he muttered. "Because I can"t move."
"Neither can I." She liked the feel of his weight on her. Sara allowed her hands to play softly along his back. It felt every bit as strong and muscular as she had fantasized it would be. "If there"s an earthquake now," she mused aloud, "they"ll find us like this."
He tried to lift his head, and decided against it. Not yet. He wanted to stay this way just a little longer. "I"ve got no problems with that."
She smiled, and he could feel her lips curving. It tickled his skin. A warm feeling began to spread through him again.