Then he kissed her again, with his lips, with his tongue, twirling and tasting until he’d drawn out every ounce of vulnerability she’d ever hidden from the world. She felt the roughness of his beard and the pleasure in his smile as he groaned and hummed against her. The vibration filtered through her blood, igniting a glittering roadmap of longing that swept along her veins. And then …
One second she was vaguely aware of her surroundings, of her individual heartbeat and the rhythmic wash of the waves outside. The next the spiral of sensation had smashed through the ceiling. The tingling burn heightened, deepened, widened, until nothing existed but the heat-lightning rushing over her breasts, scorching her nipples and shooting blazing stars through her mind to her core.
From the moment Nina surrendered, Gabriel knew tonight wouldn’t be their last. Holding her now, as she cried out his name, he was struck by another revelation. Whatever lay behind their fiery connection, it was real—and she knew it too. She wanted this to continue as much as he did—if not more.
As her contractions eased, and she breathed out a full-bodied sigh, he pulled himself up over her amazing curves. Her eyes were closed and an almost innocent smile graced her swollen lips. He drank in the sight, drawing out the anticipation, and with every passing second his want for her grew.
Dreamy, she blinked open her eyes. She focused, then her smile fanned and her arms went out to him.
Pressing tender kisses to her brow, he entered her, with finite, together-again care. When he was certain she was ready, when he felt her urgency had built again to breaking point, he gripped the top of the bedhead with one hand and cupped her nape with the other. He looked into her eyes and, in one, long slow act, drove in all the way.
Her head went back and she gasped, at the same time as he summoned every ounce of will-power to stop the intense push from getting the best of him. He couldn’t remember having experienced this kind of smouldering force before. It was like trying to catch and hold a fleet of flaming arrows in one hand.
He’d reined himself in and was moving again when the worst possible thing happened. Nuzzling up against his ear, she whispered his name.
A wave swept over his body at the same time as she trailed her fingertips up and down his sides. Goosebumps flashed over his skin and that fleet of arrows shot at his groin. He trembled, shuddered, tucked in his chin. But then she cupped his jaw and craned up to steal a tender yet urgent kiss. With her tongue edging lovingly over his, his erection throbbed and hardened to become near unmanageable.
Struggling to smile, he murmured against her mouth, “Did someone mention torture?”
Her laugh was more of a purr. “I can put you out of your misery.”
Her velvet walls contracted around him, squeezing and holding while her teeth tugged his bottom lip. His hand dropped from the bedhead to iron up over her ribcage and knead her breast. As their movements blended and synchronised, he understood he’d never enjoyed an experience quite like this. The fire was so formidable that his blood had turned to lava.
It had nothing to do with their bond over her brother. Nothing to do with saving her life. It was physical, sure, but it was beyond that too. Every ion seemed to fuse in all the right places. She fitted him, he fitted her—everywhere.
Every way.
He took her mouth and kissed her hard as his skin steamed and pressure grew. A moment later she quietened beneath him, shrinking into herself and quivering while her breathing ceased altogether. With every tendon and muscle clenched, he withdrew fully, then filled her once more, hitting a place and a moment so high neither one would reach the ground again without jumping off.
Her fingers dug into his biceps as her frame arched high. The sky opened up—fierce, bright—and Gabriel dived into the light.
CHAPTER TEN
REMEMBERING the bliss of the previous passion-filled night, Nina eased into a satisfied smile a moment before blinking open her eyes to greet what she knew would be a fabulous new day.
With post-dawn shadows dancing over the quiet bedroom walls, and waves thundering on the shore, Nina rolled over. Awake only seconds, already her body ached for Gabriel’s touch—and much more.
Her lover lay on his stomach, one muscled arm curled around his head, his bristled jaw resting upon the pillow. His thick sooty lashes were still and his highly kissable lips were parted. She listened to his deep breathing, which was almost a snore, as his broad bronzed back expanded and fell.
Her gaze filtered down.
The white sheet lay over his tight buns. The outline of his legs reached past the end of the bed. She remembered how that long, athletic body had pressed upon hers last night and a bright thrill sailed through her. No one made love the way he did. Physically he was supreme. As far as skill went, he was king. Even now his invisible line reeled her in. It had been there from the first, this unseen primal force that spoke to her soul. Chemistry? Yes.
And something more.
Nina watched him for long moments, enjoying that surreal feeling again. For the first time in so long she didn’t feel the pressure to get up and “do.” She could lie here all day with him if she wanted.
She no longer had a job to run off to.
Last night Gabriel had clobbered her with the news that he was, in fact, her childhood arch enemy number one: Gabe Turner. He’d followed that up by terminating her employ. Offering to set her up with a publishing job in Sydney didn’t fix anything; she wouldn’t go down that undeserving track again. But after he’d seduced her—after she’d surrendered and they’d made love half the night—neither had broached the subject of her termination again.
So where did she go from here?
A cool breeze blew up the gauzy curtains and Nina shivered. Rubbing her arms, she eased out from beneath the sheet. She tiptoed to the spare bedroom and entered its en suite bathroom After a long shower, trying to figure out what the heck to do with her life from this point, she grabbed a plush robe off its hook and, fluff-drying her hair with a towel, emerged into the main room.
She stopped dead and caught her runaway breath.
Gabriel spun around to greet her while his dignified guest nodded cordially.
“I invited Dr Newman to check your ankle,” Gabriel said.
“Mr Steele filled me in on your ordeal.” The doctor indicated she should sit at the dinner table. “You’re very lucky he came along when he did.”
Nina tried to release the tension gripping her body, but what must the doctor think of her—an employee breaking that most sacred rule and spending the night with a guest? And, regardless of Gabriel saving her life, what right did he have calling the doctor without consulting her first? She felt like a child.
Clutching the robe closer to her neck, Nina cleared her throat. “Lucky … yes. But my ankle feels fine now, thank you.”
The doctor pushed his bifocals to the bridge of his nose, then released the clip on his bag. “Nevertheless …”
Nina evaluated the situation. Clearly she was in no position to win a stand-off. Two against one, and her ankle was telling her to cop it on the chin and sit down.
Trying to look poised in her towelling robe, she crossed to a chair, and five minutes later the doctor’s examination of her injuries was complete. He fished out some tablets, checked the label, and handed the pack over.
“Anti-inflammatories will help with that slight swelling and any pain.” He snapped shut his bag and straightened his tie. “Keep the wounds clean, take it easy on your feet, and call me if you have any concerns.”
Gabriel thanked the doctor for his time, and the moment the older man had let himself out Nina stood and gave Gabriel a look.
He arched his brows. “What?”
“I’m