His hand fell to her hip, tickling her lightly in a downward motion. He took hold of her thigh and raised her leg until her knee rested against his waist. Alexandra gasped in response to the swarms of tingling delight that hummed along her nervous system. “Oh God,” was all she could manage to say when his right hand clasped her bottom and forced her against him “Please.” Her voice was breathless. “Please touch me. I need you to touch me.” She couldn’t believe what she was saying, but neither did she care. It was just too much.
“God, Alex . . . you’ve no idea . . . no idea at all how I’ve dreamed of this moment.” He gave her earlobe a tender nibble as he reached down and ran his fingers along the crevice between her buttocks . . . down, down, down . . . to the soft, wet folds of her womanhood. His fingers paused. “Say it again.”
It was the sweetest moment of torture imaginable. “Please,” she begged as her h*ps rose against his hand, silently imploring him to continue. And he did. With a moan and a shudder that seemed to drive him equally wild with desire, Alexandra arched against him, offering up her br**sts as well.
“Do you like this?” He circled one pert nipple with the tip of his tongue. A faint yes was all the encouragement he needed.
“Then how about this?” With gentle ease, he drove two of his fingers inside her.
She almost buckled, clinging to him for dear life, a loud groan of pleasure escaping her lips. “Don’t stop,” she begged, pressing herself against the thrust of his fingers, her muscles clenching as she sought for release. And yet, he did—to her utter disgruntlement.
“Lay on the bed.” It was more of a command than anything else, though the words were spoken tenderly. “I want to taste you.”
“You what?”
Alexandra’s eyes flew open so wide that she felt they might pop right out of her head. “You . . . you can’t be serious.” There was a distinct stammer to her voice. “I mean . . . really?”
“Trust me, Alex. This will be a treat—one you will thank me for later.”
“But I . . .” She suddenly felt horribly shy at the thought of this handsome man’s face being in such close proximity to a part of her that even she had never seen up close.
He must have sensed her distress, for he pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “Go ahead,” he urged her. “Make yourself comfortable against those pillows over there, and I’ll get undressed as well.”
As self-conscious as she was, she straightened her back, lifted her chin, and climbed onto the bed. Once settled, she turned her full attention on Michael, her breath catching at the sight of his nak*d torso. Muscles rippled and flexed with every move he made. She’d known he was solidly built, but by God, this defied all of her wildest dreams and expectations. When he pulled down his breeches and her eyes swept over his sinewy calves, along his lean looking thighs and across his fully engorged manhood, her eyes widened, and she drew in a shaky breath.
Her gaze shifted uncertainly to his face when he drew near. There was a wolfish grin upon his lips.
As if another force controlled her eyes, she helplessly returned them to his fully aroused flesh, marveling at how splendid he looked. A slow and gradual ache settled in her loins, stirring to life a wantonness she’d never known she possessed. Insecurity abandoned her, and she eagerly spread her legs, opening herself wide to his perusing stare.
She couldn’t begin to imagine what he might be thinking, but if the thrill of excitement in his eyes was any indication, then his thoughts as he crawled onto the bed, his eyes riveted upon the ultimate prize, must have been very wicked indeed. It sent a small shudder down her spine as heat poured through her. “So beautiful.” His voice was but a low murmur as he lowered his head and stroked his tongue against her.
A million sensations buzzed like tiny sparks of electrically charged energy, assaulting her all at once. She clutched his shoulders with all her might as he licked her, afraid she might die if she let go. “Oh, Michael . . .” She dug her nails against him. “I feel . . . oh God I . . .”
“Soon,” he promised as he broke from her grip and climbed on top of her. “Very, very soon.”
She knew what would come . . . partly at least—she felt terribly close already. But this time would be different. This time it wouldn’t be just about her, but about them, together, and it was suddenly terribly important to her that he should find fulfillment too . . . not that she knew exactly how she might facilitate that, or if it was even possible for them to share in the experience simultaneously, but she would definitely try her damnedest to please him. Accepting his mouth in a hungry kiss, she felt his weight as he lowered himself between her legs and entered her welcoming warmth. On a sigh of pleasure, she felt herself expand around him as he eased his way forward.
He paused, as he took a deep breath, then lowered his head and began placing small, searing kisses upon her cheek. His fingers stroked the softness of her br**sts as she moved her body restlessly beneath him. Why was he torturing her like this? If she could only . . . she tried moving her h*ps toward him, but he remained quite still, his whole body frozen in place.
“Please, Michael,” she whispered as her hands splayed across his back. “You mustn’t stop now. Please . . . not now. Take me Michael, for the love of God, just—”
“This might hurt a little.” He warned her. “But the pain will be brief. I promise.”
“I don’t care.” Her voice was as desperate as the need she felt roaring through her veins. If he didn’t claim her soon . . . Her train of thought faded as he covered her mouth with his own, thrusting his tongue inside her, just as he plunged forward, burying himself to the hilt. Whatever cries she might have made were never heard—not that it hadn’t hurt like blazes, but the pain she’d felt was quickly forgotten by the sense of fulfillment that followed.
“God, you feel so good,” Michael muttered against her parted lips. “How are you, Alex? Are you all right?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” Her voice was close to a gasp. “I feel . . . full . . . complete . . . and about a thousand other things that I can’t possibly begin to describe.”
“How about now?” he asked, pulling back a little, then plunged back inside again.
Her legs wrapped themselves around him in a silent response while a soft moan of pleasure escaped her lips. This was what it meant to be alive.
With slowly increasing speed, Michael drove in and out of her, his steady beat, lifting her upward and coiling around her until he drove her over the edge, and she fell, spiraling downward in a dazzling burst of light.
Hot ecstasy poured through her, gripping every particle of her body as she shuddered beneath him. She cried out his name and felt him tighten, a wave crashing over him as he groaned between clenched teeth before finally collapsing on top of her in a heap of heavenly bliss.
It took a while before either one of them made an effort to speak. “Do you know, I believe you’ve turned me into a very naughty woman indeed.” Her voice had a mischievous edge to it.
Michael grinned openly and pressed a kiss against her cheek. “Oh, Alex, I think you were always naughty. You just needed the right man to help you express it.”
“Well, I do feel as if I could get quite used to expressing it.” She giggled while she hugged him against her, her lips meeting his in a tender kiss.
Rolling them over until she was on top of him, he gazed up at her face, and she looked back, seeing there, the same stirring of passion that she suddenly felt swamping her once again. “I thought you might like a different perspective,” he said, waggling his eyebrows in a most teasing fashion.
“Why, Lord Trenton,” her voice was thick with her newly awakened hunger. “I do believe you’re a very wicked man.”
“Perhaps . . . with the right woman.”
Alexandra lay awake later that night, still unable to sleep. All she could think about was Michael and their wondrous experience in his bedroom a short while earlier. She didn’t want to think about him right now, but she couldn’t help herself. He’d awakened something in her—a longing of some sort. She’d already acknowledged to herself that she cared about him, but since their coupling, she was no longer sure that her feelings for him weren’t developing into something more—something much more powerful.
Once again she felt that familiar fear tugging at her soul as her mind’s eye focused on the dreaded abyss. They were all moving toward it, some faster than others. But no matter how much she wished it, she could not stop them from falling into it. Sooner or later the people she loved would die and her heart would break. Wasn’t it better then, not to love at all and to save herself from misery? It was a question that she was too afraid to answer.
She woke the following morning to a loud knocking at her door. “Time to rise, sleepy head!” It was Ryan’s voice, shouting so loud he was likely to raise the dead. Alexandra groaned. She was confident she hadn’t slept more than a couple of hours—three at most. Throwing back the covers, she sat up and stretched.
Five minutes later, she entered Ryan’s and Michael’s room, her disgruntled mood only marginally better. Feeling like she’d just been whacked over the head with a sledgehammer was doing very little to supply her with a cheerful disposition.
“You certainly look affright,” Ryan remarked as he sipped what Alexandra could only presume to be tea. This was confirmed a second later when William offered her a cup of her own. “Didn’t sleep much?”
A quick retort sprang to her lips, but she forced it back and drank her tea instead. No sense in rising to his bait this time. Besides, all she had to do was cast one look at Michael who was seated in the opposite corner of the room, and all that had transpired between them in the early hours of the morning, came flooding back to her. She looked away, hoping that her tired expression would deter her brothers from jumping to conclusions.
“I certainly enjoyed a good night’s rest,” William said with an annoyingly pleased smile. “Not much space, but perfectly comfortable all the same. Wouldn’t you agree, Ryan?”
“I would indeed,” Ryan said. “Though I did find myself awoken at one point during the night—it was almost as if somebody was screaming, or shouting . . . I’m not quite sure which.”
Alexandra’s cup clattered noisily against her saucer as her eyes flew to Michael’s. He was watching her with the most appalling look of amusement on his face as if he was truly enjoying her show of anxiety. “Re— really?” she asked, clamping her mouth shut at the sound of her broken voice.
“What sort of a scream?” Michael asked, a look of mischief bobbing about his eyes as a crooked smile slid its way across his face.
“A stray cat, no doubt.” Alexandra’s voice was clipped, her jaw clenched as she glared across the room at Michael, silently willing him to put a stop to the topic immediately.
“No . . .” Ryan grinned suddenly while a steady blush of crimson rose to his cheeks. “This was not the sort of sound one might expect from a feline. In fact, I imagine it must have been one of our neighbors having a rather good time, if you know what I—” He blinked and turned to Alexandra, her mouth hanging open as she gaped at her brother in disbelief.