“Oh, God” was all she could whisper, because his tactile answer had set her body to aching again, and she hadn’t believed it could be possible. She didn’t know whether to be pleased or embarrassed, but that was her mind talking. Of its own accord, her body shifted beneath his with a story of its own.
As she’d already learned, Matthew Kruger was a good reader.
When the last page of this second chapter had been turned, she fell asleep. Her body was exhausted yet replete, her mind at peace. She was totally unaware that Matt lay awake beside her for long hours before curving his body protectively around hers and at last allowing himself the luxury of escape.
Lauren awoke the next morning to a strange sensation of heat running the entire length of the back of her body. Her lids flew open and she held her breath. Only her eyeballs moved, questioning, seeking, finally alighting on the large, tanned hand flattened on the sheet by her stomach.
Matt.
Shifting her head, she followed a line from that hand, up a lean but powerful arm to an even stronger shoulder.
Matt.
Quietly, almost stealthily, she turned until she faced him, and her heart melted. He was sound asleep, tawny lashes resting above his cheekbones, his mouth slightly parted, lips relaxed. Unable to help herself, she let her gaze fall along his body. Last night she’d savored him with her hands; this morning it was her eyes’ turn to feast.
He was magnificent. Soft hair swirled over his chest, tapering toward his navel, below which the sheet was casually bunched. His hips were lean, as she’d known they’d be; the sheet was nearly as erotic a covering as the air alone might have been.
A self-satisfied smile spread over her face. She felt good. Complete. All woman. Giving in to temptation, she leaned forward and kissed his chest. He smelled of man, earthy but wonderful. Eyes closed, she drank in that essence as she continued to press the lightest of kisses into the warmest of skin.
When a hand suddenly tightened around her waist, her head flew up. Matt’s eyes were still closed, but he wore the roguish shadow of a beard on his cheeks and a faint smile on his lips. “Am I dreaming?” he whispered.
In answer, Lauren shimmied higher, slid her arms around his neck and kissed his smile wider. She was further rewarded when he rolled onto his back and hauled her over him. Only then did he open his eyes.
For long minutes, they simply looked at each other. She wasn’t sure what her own eyes were saying, but Matt’s quite clearly spoke of pleasure. And affection. They made her feel special.
“Hi,” he whispered at last.
She swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. “Hi.”
“How’d you sleep?”
“Fine.”
“No ghosts?”
She shook her head.
“No strange noises?”
She shook her head. “Beth was right. She said I needed a bodyguard.”
He closed his hands around her bottom and gave her a punishing squeeze. “So that’s why you did it? Because you wanted a bodyguard?”
“You know better than that.” She sucked in a breath when his hands pressed her intimately closer. “Matt?”
He was grinning. “It’s your fault. You started it. In case you didn’t know, a man’s at his peak in the morning.”
“I thought a man was at his peak in his twenties, and you’re a mite beyond. You’re shocking me.”
“You’re the one with the bag of surprises. A virgin is supposed to be shy and demure.”
She grinned. “I’m not a virgin anymore, so my behavior is excusable.”
Rolling over, he set her on her back, then held himself up so that he could look at her. Just as hers had done moments earlier, his eyes touched her body as only his hands had done the night before. “You are beautiful, Lauren. God, I can’t believe it.” He met her gaze. “No regrets?”
Still basking in his approval, which both stunned and thrilled her, she shook her head. “How about you?”
One long forefinger drew a bisecting line from the hollow of her throat to the apex of her thighs. “No,” he answered, but gruffly. “Not about this. About not having the answer to your problem, yes, I have regrets.”
