Yes, there was. But he didn’t think she was suggesting what he wished she was suggesting. Still, he retrieved the rug and spread it out over the fine sand. Tess lay down on it, and Ed’s blood pulsed in his veins. He lay next to her, and hoping to cool the heat in his skin, he pointed out the emu in the sky, its shape outlined by the dark areas between the stars.
Tess shifted closer, so her arm brushed his.
He twisted to lie side on and slipped his hand over her stomach. She sighed, and the sound shot straight to his groin.
Unable to resist, he slid his hand under her top and she arched towards him, her lips meeting his.
Ed hadn’t felt this much throbbing desire since he was a teenager. He couldn’t stop his hand from sliding higher under her top to her breast.
“Ed.” She pressed into him.
He pulled her against him and unclasped her bra. She flinched, a tiny movement, but enough to make Ed stop. Inwardly he cursed, but he kept his voice calm as he asked, “Too much?”
She hesitated. “No.” She didn’t sound convinced.
He pulled away. “How about you do it back up?” Unhooking was easy.
Again, she hesitated. “Will you keep going?”
“Only if you want me to,” he said.
“You’ll stop if I say so?”
“Of course.” He brushed a kiss on her cheek. “I want you to enjoy yourself.”
“Please touch me.”
He felt a hundred feet tall at her trust, and he kept his movements slow as he inched his fingers across her stomach and up her ribcage. Such soft skin, warm. His thumb brushed the underside of her breast and stopped at her sharp intake of breath.
She squirmed below him, pressing into his hand.
Ed fought to keep his movements slow while his body ached with desire. He circled her breast, slow movements with his fingertips, and brushed her nipple.
Her moan was loud in the silence.
Unable to stop himself, he captured her mouth with his and kissed her, trying to keep it light, but she ignited under him, kissing him with an urgency, as his thumb circled her breast.
She broke away from his lips. “More.”
He didn’t need any further urging. He shifted, pushing her T-shirt up, and his mouth covered her breast. She bucked under him. “Yes, Ed.”
She tasted so sweet. He licked and kissed, and her body grew tighter. Gently, he sucked her nipple, and she cried out as her body shuddered in release.
Well, damn.
Heady satisfaction filled him as her body relaxed. He moved to kiss her lips, slowly, with passion, and her sigh squeezed his heart. Though his whole body throbbed with need, he shifted her T-shirt back down so it covered her and pulled her into his arms. “OK?”
Her chuckle was shaky. “Better than OK.” She paused. “Ed…” Her hand drifted down his side as if unsure.
While he desperately wanted his own release, he wanted it only when she was ready, and in the dark he couldn’t make out her expression. He kissed her. “I should pack away the telescope.”
With more strength than he knew he had, he got up and left her.
Chapter 15
Tess woke, hearing people moving in the corridor outside. For a second she couldn’t figure out where she was, and her heart raced as she tried to make sense of the dark shapes around her. Then Lara called good morning to Faith, and her body relaxed.
A dim glow came from the window frame, and she checked the time on her new mobile. Only six-thirty. Ed had mentioned the night before that Darcy would be out on the farm at first light, and Faith was taking Lara to school before she went to work in town. They’d be gone by seven-thirty.
