As soon as she uttered the word, he ended the kiss and took her hand, practically dragging her through the meandering path towards the parking lot. The desire thrumming through his body demanded haste.
Tossing the ticket to the attendant who hurried towards them, he kept an arm around her waist as if afraid she would bolt. But she was too weak, her mind was still cloudy, her head still floating.
She wasn't going anywhere.
*****
"Darling." Eloise Tyrell elegant in her rose-pink gown and decked out in diamonds, touched her oldest child's arm to get his attention, a slight frown on her smooth brow. "Have you seen your brother?"
Kevin cast his mother an indulgent smile as he took her hand in his. "The last time I saw him, he was making his way towards a young lady wearing black. They were dancing a few minutes ago, but I have no idea where they are now."
Her frown deepened. "Jane is also looking for him."
"I suspect she will be doing so for a while yet." Kevin grinned wryly and had to admire how smooth his brother was.
Both Kincaid and Katherine had inherited their mother's raving good looks and the advantages that came with it. He was more like his father, down to the sable brown hair and hazel eyes.
Both brothers had inherited their father's lofty height of 6'3". He was older than Cade by five years and unlike his flighty brother was already settled as a junior vice president in the company.
And he was completely in love with Sarah-Jane.
"Want me to try and find him?"
His mother sighed. "What would be the point. Go and rescue that poor man from your sister's clutches, will you? And if you happen to see that brother of yours, tell him..." She waved an elegant hand with delicately colored coral pink nails. "Oh, just tell him I need to speak with him."
*****
The apartment was one of theirs. An unassuming little building tucked into a dense and private and secluded area. He used it whenever he wanted to be alone or just wanted to be alone with someone.
He lived at the manor as did the rest of his siblings and was surrounded by what seemed like an army of servants. That did not afford a hell of a lot of privacy.
And it was perfect for what he had in mind. He barely managed to make his way through the traffic and turned off the narrow road.
He was impatient and eager to have her. They did not speak. Conversation wasn't necessary. The air was thick with passion and yearning.
Stopping the vehicle under a mulberry bush, he came around to open her door. Taking her hand, he brought her in for a kiss that melted her bones clear off her skin.
The light from the moon bathed the couple in silver. Birds chirped, squirrels scurried up trees, the faint sounds of water from the harbor joined the sounds of nature at work, but all of it was lost on them.
The passion was fierce and powerful. He could take her right here. Out in the open where the scent of jasmine and peonies dominated. Where the breeze trickled warmly over the skin.
His hands raced up and down her arms, then her back as he molded her against him. He swallowed her gasp of awareness and felt her slender body trembling as it came in contact with that part of him that was raging out of control.
It had to be now. The desire was strong enough to have his heart thudding like a sledgehammer. Sweat coated his armpits and slithered down his chest.
He had to have her now. The fever was there. Anticipation, the taste of her was on his tongue, inside his bloodstream. He wanted every part of her.
*****
"It only hurts the first time." He was struggling to control his breathing. His body was coated with a thin layer of sweat. "I'm sorry for it."
He had been right. A virgin, in this day and age.
"It's fine." She was still shaking and wanted to curl into him and hold fast. The pain had been fleeting, the pleasure, something she would never forget.
In the months to come, she would remember the slightest thing. The scent of him inside her nostrils, the feel of his lean body on hers.
It would all come back to haunt her.
