Page 15 of Bryson

She was on fire.

"Please," she begged. Reaching for his shirt, she desperately tried to get him undressed. The buttons frustrated her, so she did the only thing she could think of: she tore at them and sent them flying.

His chuckle became a groan when she spread her fingers over the warmth of his skin. His muscles flexed and rippled as she combed her fingers through the dark hairs covering his chest. Her fingers found his nipples and started their exploration. When she tugged at the rigid flesh, he felt his heart racing.

Lifting his head, he seared her with a look before standing up and getting rid of his clothing. Toeing off his boots, he sat on the edge of the bed and took off his socks. With the last barrier of clothing removed, he stood before her, watching as her eyesroved over his body. He stood stock-still, heart pounding, heat pouring through him like a storm.

Julianne had always admired the whipcord strength that was plainly displayed. He had a scar just above his navel which he had received in a drunken brawl in his twenties. He had several more that had horrified her when he told her that his father had given him as punishment for something he had not done to the man's specifications.

She had forgotten about those, forgotten that she had kissed them gently, anger making her want to dig up the heartless bastard and kill him all over again. Reaching out a hand, she tugged him in next to her when he took it. Nothing was resolved between them, but for now, she wanted to feel his body against hers.

Turning onto her side, she touched the hard jaw with the growth of hairs darkening the skin, before trailing her fingers over the strong chin with the slight dent in the middle. Lifting herself to her elbows, she trailed kisses from his forehead and down to his eyes, pressing her lips softly until he was chuckling as it tickled. He wasn't laughing when her lips finally touched his, her sweet tongue entering his mouth.

They had explored each other during that very first time, and during the year they had been together, he had taught her to pleasure him. He had been surprised at first that a woman of her beauty and confidence was so inexperienced. The surprise hadthen turned to pleasure when she confessed that at the age of thirty-two, she had only had two relationships.

He had not bothered to mention his own countless dalliances with women whose names he could no longer recall. Until he met her, nothing had ever mattered. He had used sex as a means to an end, a way to get rid of his stress and his crappy life. But with her, it had become something of monumental importance.

"No," she whispered, lifting her head from his chest when he started to reach for her. "Let me do this."

Gritting his teeth, he lay back and closed his eyes as she used his body as an experimental tool. When her lips drifted to his taut stomach, he knew he was going to have to put a stop to the exploration. He was already rock hard and throbbing. His hands clenched into fists when her lips found the curls covering his sex.

"Julianne." A hoarse laugh became strangled in his throat. "Enough. I cannot bear it any longer."

His hands gripped her arms, pushing her back against the pillows. Instead of covering her body with his, he started his own exploration. His mouth lingered on her flat stomach before going further down. Her fingers clutched at his shoulders, forcing him to end the torture. He rose and covered her bodywith his, leaning on his elbows, the tip of his engorged shaft just probing her entrance.

There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but he knew now was not the time. Easing his way into her tightness, he gritted his teeth as her moisture wrapped around him like a familiar cloak. His breath shuddered out, his body surging into hers. Bending his head to hers, he kissed her, the hot searing kiss sending them into mindless passion. Nothing had ever felt like this. He had tried to recapture even a fragment of the passion after she had left, but that had never happened.

This mating of the body, this plunging into an ecstasy strong enough to tear them into pieces, could never be recaptured with anyone else, and he knew that now.

"Let go," he whispered against her lips. "Let go, darling."

She did, the climax charging through her body and leaving her hopelessly tangled. This was what she had been running from. This was the reason why she had avoided touching him. They were forged together by heat, by a force that had always left them breathless from the power of it. Her body arched like a bow, fingers digging into the bunched muscles of his shoulders and back.

He came with her, body thrusting into hers, breath whistling through his lips as he poured his life inside her.

It took a few minutes for him to recover enough to ease onto his side, but even then, he was reluctant to draw away entirely. Wrapping his arms around her, he kept her joined to him, his heart still pounding from the aftereffect. His fingers wandered up and down her back in a soothing motion that had her closing her eyes and curling up against him.

She had always been comfortable here. In his arms, she had always felt a kind of solace and rightness that had frightened her. When she left, it had taken her a long time to be able to fall asleep and even when she did, she had been chased by dreams and haunted by memories.

"I'm not going to beg you to stay," his deep voice rumbled against her cheek, sending vibrations throughout her body.

"Then don't," she mumbled. "I'm not changing my mind."

He shifted so that he could see her face, and there was a frustrated look on his. "Why are you doing this? We belong together."

"Is that so?" The drugging feeling of the intense lovemaking was dissipating slowly, replaced by practical reasoning. "Was that why you called a cab to take me to the airport and why you fell into bed with the first available woman?"

"I was-"

"And why you didn't come after me?" she continued to hammer at him.

His eyes flashed fire. "Firstly, you told me to stay the hell away from you."

"When since have you ever listened to me?"

"Secondly, you said you hated the ranch and everything about it."

"You knew that's not true."