Page 19 of Winner Takes All

His name transformed into a whimper of unbearable need on her lips.

Oh, she was wrong! This wasn’t at all like before. This time was so much more intense, so much more confident—this time, they both knew that being together wouldn’t stop when this wonderful moment of exotic kissing ended. It was only the prologue to so much more, yet she couldn’t tamp down the rising ache pulsing hotly against his lips. She couldn’t stop the delicious tingles of electricity sparking at her toes. And when the kissing turned even more intense, when the tender kisses transformed into seeking licks, greedy nibbles, a hard suck at her throbbing little nub—

“Jack!” Her hips bucked against him, but his hands on her thighs held her in place beneath his mouth. He sucked again, long and deep, branding her forever as his with his lips.

An electric flash jolted through her, and she cried out as her body stiffened and then released into quivering bliss. Pleasure pulsed through her and stole away what little was left of her breath.

She collapsed bonelessly over the saddle. She could barely keep her breath, and the trembling in her arms and legs was uncontrollable. The pleasure that had gripped her so intensely now moved through her in undulating waves that made her feel deliciously wanton and left her wanting more.

He gave one last worshipping kiss to her inner thigh, then rose to his feet, placed both hands on either side of the saddle, and leaned in to rest his forehead against hers. His breath came labored, and he shook just as much as she did as he fought for control.

He warned in a hoarse rasp, “If we don’t stop now—”

“We are not stopping.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, doing her best to convey how much she loved him. “I want this. I’vealwayswanted this. With you.” She choked out around the knot of emotion in her throat, “Onlywith you.”

He scooped her into his arms and carried her into the dark farmhouse, up the stairs, and into his bedroom.

When he placed her gently on the bed, her heartbeat pounded hard enough that he must have been able to hear it. Countless times over the years she’d fantasized about this moment, but now that it was happening, her fantasy paled against the reality. His eyes were so much brighter than she’d imagined, gleaming at her rakishly as he shifted away to stand at the edge of the bed where he unbuttoned his waistcoat and let it fall to the floor. His shoulders were so much broader as he yanked his shirt over his head and revealed his bare torso…the sprinkling of dark blond hair over his hard chest as it trailed down the ridges of his abdomen and disappeared beneath his waistband. He smiled at the way he had to sit on the edge of the bed to yank off his boots, then removed the rest of his clothing piece by piece until all he wore were his breeches.

He was magnificent…strong and hard, as untamed as the horses he trained to do his bidding. When he straightened once more to unfasten the fall of his breeches and push them over his hips, down his legs, and off—

Dear heavens.

“Wait,” she ordered gently as she sat up and locked her eyes with his.

He froze instantly, his face inscrutable in the shadows. “Have you changed your mind?”

“No,” she confessed breathlessly. “I just…I’ve never seen you like this before. I want to look at you a while longer…if that’s all right.”

A pleased grin crooked at his lips, but he did as she asked and remained standing in front of her so she could rake her eyes over him, down his chest…and lower. She caught her breath at the sight of his arousal, then moved her gaze down his legs which were sculpted from hours spent in the saddle, all the way to his bare feet. Then slowly back. This time, she couldn’t help but let her gaze linger at his waist and witness at the effect she had on him. She trembled.

He sat on the bed beside her. “My turn now to look at you.”

He took her shift and lifted it up her body, over her head, and off, leaving her in nothing but her stockings. His heated gaze swept over her, and everywhere he looked, goosebumps spread across her flesh. Then he trailed his hand along her neck and over her breasts, across her belly to graze at the curls guarding her feminine core, and then down her thighs to the lace hem of her stockings.

“Beautiful,” he murmured as his fingers teased at her stockings. He untied each and rolled it down her calf, over her foot, and off, tossed away to join the rest of their clothes on the floor.

Nothing remained between them now as he leaned in to kiss her and slowly lowered her onto her back. She tasted his unspoken feelings for her in the tender kiss that grew in intensity until she was meeting his demanding kisses lick for lick and bite for bite, until her arms wrapped around his neck as he slid himself over her, until she parted her legs beneath him to let him settle into the cradle of her thighs.

His hand slipped between her legs to caress her once more, and she instinctively arched beneath him, ready to give herself to him. Now and always.

His name fell from her lips in a breathless, pleading whisper.

As he held himself poised over her on one elbow, he took his length in his hand and guided himself inside her.

Frankie stiffened with a gasp as he stretched her wide and filled her completely. But he drank up the sound with a kiss and eased the discomfort by moving slowly as her body adjusted to his. His hips gently swayed forward and back, side to side, and her discomfort melted into a singular sensation that was pure heaven.

As he lowered himself to claim her tight warmth and then retreat, then again and again in a steady but tender rhythm, the night around them vanished until there was only Shaw and the wonderful pleasure he was giving her. The rest of the world plunged away, and she soared toward the heavens, wrapping herself around him and never wanting to let go.

A new wave of pleasure began to lick at her toes and move up through her, spreading liquid heat in its wake. Her body tensed, and all the tiny muscles inside her clenched down tightly around him as if to bring him even deeper inside her, as if to find a way to make them part of each other forever.

“Francesca,” he murmured, the pained restraint clear in his voice. “I love you.” He swirled his hips into hers, taking himself even deeper and brushing against the sensitive point buried in her folds that throbbed in time with her heartbeat. “I always have.”

She broke with a cry. Pleasure poured through her, engulfed her body, and saturated her heart.

Burying her face in his neck, she clung to him as he slipped from her warmth and squeezed his still-hard length between their two bellies, every muscle in his tall body taut and strained. With a soft groan and a small jerk of his hips, he spilled himself against her, then collapsed on top of her, fully sated and spent.

After a long moment’s stillness, he rolled onto his side and brought her against his front. His trembling hand caressed her in soothing strokes. Protective. Affectionate. Worshipping.