He did kiss her, and she tasted herself on his lips. A little thrill of wicked pleasure opened her eyes wider. She slid her hands down to his shoulders. He was still fully dressed.
"Uh-uh." His voice was raspy and tender. He took her hands and stretched them over her head. "Breathe, Claudia. That"s all you have to do tonight. It"s my turn to fix things."
Fix things? She wasn"t sure what he meant, but he definitely was in a mood to arrange things. First her arms went over her head. He stepped back, looking at her. He was breathing quick and light. Then he arranged her legs to suit him-one bent at the knee, the other with the foot trailing onto the floor. He smiled.
She smiled back, feeling strangely suspended by a warm swell of feeling, a rising tide as gentle as it was irresistible.
He tore off two b.u.t.tons getting rid of his clothes.
Then he was sinking into her, thick and pulsing. How odd it was, she thought hazily, to lie back and let the pleasure happen, neither courting nor refusing it, responsible for nothing but her breath. How odd to be the one given to, not the one giving. So different ... and liberating.
Ethan wouldn"t be hurried. Not that she felt the least hasty herself. As he thrust into her in an easy rhythm, her thoughts splintered and floated away. Her hips rose languorously to meet his. She touched his hair, his face, and fell into wonderment almost as strong as the huge, rolling wave of pleasure that finally lifted her and broke, peaceful and perfect, just as he groaned and ground into her one last time.
The upholstery on his couch was rougher than her velvet love seat"s. But the couch was much bigger, big enough for him to collapse beside her and gather her close in his arms. She lay quietly, smiling and smiling. Wishing she had the words to tell him what a perfect gift he"d given her.
Amazing that she"d been able to surrender control to him that way. She"d never been able-never even been tempted-to do that before. If she didn"t know better, she"d think...
Alarm p.r.i.c.kled over her skin. She stirred. No, that was absurd. She"d only known him ten days. Ten days was not enough time for-for anything momentous to happen. Relationships took time and care and-
"Are you back?" His voice was deep and quiet, his mouth so close to her ear that she felt the rumble of it as much as she heard it.
"Mmm." She stretched one leg, then the other. "Mostly. That was..." She rubbed her foot along his calf. "Incredible."
"Yes, you are." He kissed her ear and snuggled her up even closer.
A little tingle sped through her, but it wasn"t desire. More like fear. This felt too right. Too perfect. As if she could spend the next two or three years just like this, wrapped in Ethan"s arms.
Oh, G.o.d. She"d done it to herself again.
"Something wrong?"
She made herself relax, or tried to. "Of course not. I do need to get home soon, though."
"No, you don"t. In a few minutes I"ll have the energy to carry you to my bed. That"s where you belong." He propped himself up on one elbow to smile down at her. "Honey, if you"re worrying about all that temporary stuff I talked about, forget it. I"ve changed my mind."
"You have."
He nodded, still smiling tenderly. "I think we should get married."
The sizzle that jolted her upright was unmistakable-pure, undiluted panic. Straight up, no chaser. "I"m going home now."
Twelve.
E than watched as the warm, loving woman in his arms bolted out of them in a total tizzy.
"I have an appointment in the morning," Claudia said, casting about for her clothes. "I can"t stay over tonight, I"m afraid. Oh, there they are." She grabbed her panties from the floor.
"What the h.e.l.l do you think you"re doing?" he growled, sitting up. "I just proposed to you, dammit!"
"No, you didn"t!" She had her panties on and was hopping on one foot, trying to get the other into the leg of her pants. "You told me what we should do!"
"So I wasn"t romantic. So sue me." He hurt so much, his chest ached with it. He muttered something his aunt would have washed his mouth out with soap for and pushed to his feet. "Stop scrambling into your clothes and talk. Dammit, we have to talk about this."
"I don"t have to do anything. Stop throwing orders at me." She had her lower half covered and reached for her bra. "Anyway, you don"t want to marry me."
"The h.e.l.l I don"t!" He grabbed for her-and snagged her bra instead when she twisted away. "Blast it all, Claudia, hold still!"
"I am not the kind of woman who marries a man she"s only known for ten days. It"s ridiculous. It"s ... you"ll be glad, later, that I didn"t let you actually propose. You"ll be glad. You"ll see." Her eyes were frantic. Her hair was a tangled mess down her back. "Give me my bra."
He decided to try soothing her. "You"re getting all worked up, honey. Calm down."
"Don"t tell me to be calm! I"ll be hysterical if I want to!"
Ethan made a big mistake then. He knew it was a mistake, but he couldn"t help it. She looked so cute and so silly, standing there half dressed and spitting mad, her hands fisted at her sides and her pretty b.r.e.a.s.t.s heaving.
He laughed.
She threw the phone book at him.
He fended it off easily enough, but her choice of weapons did nothing to quell his amus.e.m.e.nt. "Come on, honey. You can"t go anywhere. You don"t have a car." Or her bra, which he still held.
She pulled her sweater on over her bare chest. "I"ll get a cab."
"Don"t be ridiculous. If you insist on leaving, I"ll take you back to your place." He reached for his jeans. "d.a.m.ned crazy woman-hey, come back here!"
She"d grabbed her purse and was fumbling with the locks on the door. "Don"t you tell me what to do!"
He hopped on one leg, trying to get his other foot inserted into the inside-out leg of his jeans. "We"re going to talk about this reasonably if I have to tie you down!"
She flung the door open. Cold air from his tiny vestibule swept in. "I don"t know why you"d think for a second you wanted to marry me. You must know I"ll never put up with your caveman tactics."
"Because I love you!" he roared.
"I love you, too, you overgrown ape!" she screamed. And slammed the door shut behind her.
She loved him? Ethan stood there with his jeans half on, grinning like a fool. How about that. Claudia loved him.
She loved him, and he was standing here while she walked out on him?
He started forward, stumbled over his jeans, cursed and peeled them off and ran after her.
He got there just in time. She had the front door open. When he slammed open his door she froze there in the doorway, her eyes round. "Ethan," she whispered. "You"re naked."
"No kidding." The vestibule was d.a.m.ned cold, a chilly wind shriveling the part of him that wasn"t usually exposed to such things. He could only hope his upstairs tenants didn"t feel a sudden need to come downstairs. "We"re going to talk about this," he insisted stubbornly.