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By the time two o’clock rolled by, Lindsay was still wide awake. The fire Blake had lit inside of her earlier with his second kiss was still smoldering, had been for the last few hours. And nothing she’d tried so far could calm her busy brain, temper her wayward thoughts, or extinguish the flames threatening to engulf her.
Maybe a cup of tea would help, but lying here, fantasizing about Blake’s naked torso, was definitely not sleep-inducing.
She got up without switching on the lights and grabbed her laptop, a pad, and pencil. There were things to do—she could write down all the ideas she had for her new studio and maybe try and make a sketch of what she’d like, more or less.
In her pajamas and only socks on her feet, she slipped out of her bedroom, tiptoed past Blake’s door, and jogged down the stairs. She switched on the light and put her laptop and pad on the counter before she put water in the kettle. As she turned around to go back to her computer, a movement at the door made her look up.
Blake was standing there. Without a shirt. He’d obviously quickly put on a pair of jeans, but it wasn’t buttoned up.
And he’d shaved. No beard.
Those smoldering embers deep within her caught fire; her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes took on a life of their own and scanned down his body. Lean lines, rippling muscles and...
“What are you doing?” His voice was gravel.
What was she doing? She had absolutely no idea.
“Lindsay...”
She looked up. With his eyes on her, his teeth clenched, he was moving closer to her.
“I...I couldn’t sleep,” she got out.
“Neither could I.”
“You’ve shaved. Why?” she whispered as her eyes dropped to the magnificent six-pack right in front of her eyes. Totally unprompted, her hands lifted and spread out over his upper body. His flesh was hot, his heart hammering away under her fingers. “I’m making tea,” she whispered as her hands boldly glided over hard muscles and supple lines.
Groaning, he caught her hands and pulled her close. “This is a very bad idea. I can’t give you what you need.”
“And what is that?” she asked, but she wasn’t really paying any attention to what he was saying. Her eyes were glued on his magnificent chest.
“I can’t promise you forever.”
She raised her eyes. “I haven’t asked you for that now, have I?” she muttered, but her attention was wandering again. Her hands were still in his, but the rippling muscles were right in front of her mouth. So what was a girl to do but have a taste?
As her lips encountered warm skin, he cussed softly and lifted her chin. His eyes were stormy, desire lurking in their depths. “Damn it, Lindsay, I’m supposed to protect you...”
But she didn’t want to listen to any more reasons why she couldn’t be with him. She nodded. “So if I’m with you, I’ll be safe. Win-win.” And she bent her head again and continued her exploration of warm skin and rock-hard muscles.
Barking out a laugh, he picked her up. “Win-win? You’ll be the death of me yet, beautiful.”
Her hands explored his broad back while her mouth moved up his neck. Tomorrow, there would be time to scold herself and be appalled at the way she’d more or less jumped his bones, but that would be tomorrow. At this moment, there was no other place she wanted to be than right here in Blake’s arms.
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He walked straight to her room and gently put her down on the bed. “You know how many times I’ve imagined being here on this damn bed with you, like this?” he got out as he stared down at her.
She lifted herself on her elbows and looked up at him. The top few buttons of her pajama top had become undone again, leaving one of her breasts bare. Desire literally knocked his breath out and when his knees buckled, he fell down beside her on the bed.
“You’re so, so beautiful,” he got out, his fingers quickly opening the rest of the buttons so that he could see more of her. “Look at you,” he whispered, tracing the lines of her generous curves with unsteady fingers.
“I have to warn you, I’m not very good at this,” she said, softly trailing her fingers over his chest.
If he ever got hold of Mark Taylor, he’d find it very difficult not to ram a fist down the man’s throat. The damn bastard had her believing she was useless as a woman.
He pressed a soft kiss against her forehead. He didn’t have the words to tell her exactly how amazing she was, but he could show her.
“You make me ache for you,” he whispered before his lips brushed over her silky skin to capture her lips. Her mouth was warm, moist, and he nearly came undone right there and then. To rein himself in, he moved away from her mouth, pressing kisses all over her face down to the soft spot behind her ear, down her long neck. But instead of calming him down, the sounds coming from her throat, the touch of her hands on his shoulders, and the movement of her body beneath his touch, sent the blood pounding through his body, making his heart gallop at an alarming rate.
“You’ve asked me why I’ve shaved. This was what I was thinking about when I got rid of the beard,” he muttered before his mouth finally clamped down on one rock-hard nipple. She arched her back, and sobbing out his name, her fingers slid through his hair, egging him on.
Taking his time, he teased and fondled and caressed her breasts, putting everything he was feeling into giving her as much pleasure as he could. When a long, deep moan escaped from her throat, he pushed her pajama bottoms down so that he could continue to savor the silkiness of her skin.
Her flesh heated, quivered under his onslaught; her movements became restless while she dug her nails into his back as his hand found and skimmed down her bared hip. Soft skin. Like petals. Exquisite. But it wasn’t enough. Not nearly. He wanted more.
“I want to see all of you.” He ground out the words, tugging the pajama bottoms farther down.
She helped him, shrugged off her top, and kicked the bottoms to the side while her hands stroked his chest, driving him wild. One small hand fluttered down, tugged at his jeans. “You’re still overdressed,” she teased.
He loved her smile and if it were up to him, he’d make sure she’d always be smiling. “Happy to oblige.” He grinned and quickly got rid of his jeans.
But by the time he lay down next to her again, she was chewing on her lip, looking uncertain once again. The damn bastard had really done a number on her.
Lifting himself on his elbow, he looked down at her. “You’re so, so beautiful,” he repeated, cupping her breast. “These...” His lips found hers. “Are the holy grail...” He captured her mouth with his. “I cannot tell you how many nights thoughts of these have kept me awake, how many times I’ve dreamed of touching you like this.”
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Far away, a dog barked, a car started up, but Lindsay barely registered the sounds. Her whole being was focused on pleasing this man as much as he was pleasing her. And that was a first.
While his mouth devoured hers, his big, strong hands roamed over her body, touching here, caressing there, until her whole being ached from a need so intense, she was afraid she’d go up in flames any minute.
His mouth moved over her face, down her neck, until it once again fastened around a rock-hard nipple that begged to be suckled while those clever hands slid down her body to where she needed him most. And when he finally cupped her, there was no way she could prevent the whimper in her throat from escaping.
Before she could take her next breath, merciless fingers had found her core, tormenting, teasing, and caressing her until a current simply picked her up and relentlessly dragged her to a place where she cascaded over the top.
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Blake watched in awe as her body arched up and she called out his name over and over again. In vain he tried to rein himself in, but seeped in her scent, the blood racing through his veins; he simply had to have her.
She was still shuddering when he hoisted himself above her.
Gasping, she opened her eyes, a small smile playing around her lips.
“Look at me?”
“Blake...” Lindsay’s breath caught in her throat as her limbs snaked around him.
Her skin was damp from the heat they’d created. The air around them had thickened, making it difficult to breathe. With one thrust he became a part of her, and when her velvet body clamped around him like a glove, his heart tripped.
This was home. This was where he was supposed to be. Like this, with her.
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Lindsay’s eyes flew open. Something was different. It took her a few seconds to realize she was lying on top of a very hard body. Blake’s very sexy six-pack, to be precise. The one that had caused her numerous sleepless nights over the past few months. And that had been before she’d even seen it.
The day was just breaking, which meant it was a little after seven. She had to get up and go to her shop to assess the mess, but for a little while longer she was going to pretend nothing bad could happen today.
Her one hand was lying as if perfectly content on Blake’s chest, while the other one was resting on his shoulder. His broad, muscled shoulder.
She turned her face into his chest. Oh, my. What a night. Blake was a very thorough and ingenious lover. The man didn’t use many words, but oh, my goodness, his hands could talk.
At the mere thought, her fingers twitched and began to trail a path along the contours of his muscles. Lazily, she watched as her hand glided over his chest and up his arms to where she explored every inch of his broad shoulders.
Something stirred against her lower body and she turned her head. Blake’s eyes were mere slits, but glowing. And in seconds, he had her under him and was sliding into her.
“You were missing from me,” he whispered as he laced his fingers with hers and began to move inside her.
Her heart lifted, hovered for a few minutes before it settled back, shuddering. And in that moment, she knew.
She loved this man. With her body, her mind, her soul, her whole being.
And as her back arched up to him, her heart splintered into a million pieces. She could never tell him, though. He’d made it clear he wasn’t interested in forever. This was temporary. They both knew it.