“Good girl.” Michael’s hands encircled her waist, and he pulled her up next to him.
She could only see darkness, but the water was warmer here.
“The hot spring?” Her feet found a ledge of stone to grip, but it was Michael who kept her from slipping away.
He moved the hair out of her eyes and massaged her shoulders under the water. “Right below us.” His voice sounded gravelly in the warm, humid air. Her naked body was pressed against his by the force of the water.
Nothing in life had prepared her for the sensation of her skin rubbing against all the male hardness that was Michael. Her feet stood firmly on the rock surface of the ledge, but in truth, she felt like she was floating.
Michael slid one hand down her spine and cupped her bottom. Her face tilted up toward his, and intuitively, his lips found hers. “Lilly,” he whispered into her mouth, kneading her flesh gently.
Her hands wound around his neck, and her feet floated up to cinch around his waist.
She felthim.
There.
And it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
Her mother had been right about her. Shewasa wanton! Good heavens! She liked this. No, shelovedthis!
And she was not sorry. She would soon be his wife. She knew in her heart their love was pure. She would surrender to him and not be ashamed.
When Lilly wrapped her legs around Michael’s waist, a shudder ran through him. As he held her, touched her, and kissed her, he trembled. Together, they were the only two people who existed in the world…in the universe even.
Like a blind man, he moved his hands to her face, touching her with his fingertips and then his lips. As he trailed a path tothe sensitive skin of her earlobe, Lilly’s bones turned to liquid. Her head fell backward, and she barely realized she was floating on the water, clutching Michael’s arms to support herself. He continued trailing kisses down her shoulders, her chest, and eventually to one of her breasts.
Carnal sensations unfurled within her.
The pulling of his mouth invoked a throbbing between her legs. It was an ache that promised intense pleasure. All that separated her from his desire was the wet fabric of his breeches. “Tell me to stop, Lilly,” he gasped.
His ragged voice could barely be heard above the roar of the waterfall. She was aware of her hair, like strands of silk, flowing in the water over her body and his hands.
Lilly released his arms and pulled his face down. “No, Michael.” She panted between her words. “Don’t stop. It’s too right…too perfect.” She implored him with her kisses. She savored him with unfettered abandon.
“I want to love you forever.” He spoke into her seeking mouth.
She nibbled at him, exploring the skin inside his lips and along his teeth. “Then love me now,” she demanded.
A low growl escaped his throat, and his hands became bolder still. He reached down between them, tentatively brushing the soft skin of her thighs until he found the folds between her legs. He fondled her softly, lightly, and then applied a more subtle pressure.
The ache inside of Lilly intensified. “Michael?” This pleasure nearly brought her to tears. She was so very close tosomething;what it was she did not know. She reached for it, pressing herself into his hand. The world no longer existed. There was only the two of them, only this place.
She clung to him as though he were her lifeline.
Supporting her back with his other arm, Michael reassured her. “I’ve got you, love. Let go.”
And then she felt one of his fingers slip inside of her, nudging her in a sensual rhythm. Lilly shifted along with him, chasing something, so close. She found herself chanting his name with each breath. He did something else with his hand, widening her further, and then…
The world shattered.
Instead of the black nothingness of the cave, flashes of white burst behind her eyelids. She jerked her head and shuddered, again, again, again. Gradually, her muscles relaxed, and she slumped against him.
Michael spoke as though in awe. “I wish I could see your face right now.” He held her head tenderly against his chest. He’d not removed his hand.
Lilly’s answer was to search for his mouth in the dark. She knew he’d not found his own pleasure. “I want you. I want all of you.” Her words echoed in the cave.
Sensing his hesitation, Lilly dropped her legs and reached forward to unfasten Michael’s breeches.
