Her body sighed, taking him in as if she'd been waiting for this her whole life.
Perhaps she had.
God, she could feel him. Her body tingled around the rock-hard column that pulsed with life inside her. She was a puddle of sensation, ready to be swept away in a maelstrom of passion and desire.
Then suddenly he stopped.
He knew.
It had always been her intention to tell him, but there hadn't been time. A flash of panic penetrated the haze. What if he didn't want her? Their eyes met, and she saw the flicker of surprise. The silent question. But not blame. Not anger.
Relief crashed over her in a warm, shimmering wave of acceptance. The last barrier between them was gone, and Lizzie gave herself over to the power of their lovemaking.
She circled her hips and he started to pump. Slowly at first. Long, languid strokes, sliding in and out with deliberate purpose. Her body clutching around him the entire way—trying to hold on.
He kissed her again. Her mouth. Her breasts. He took one nipple in his mouth, dragging it between his teeth. She moaned at the sensation of his silky lips closing over her. Laving her with the heat of his mouth and tongue as his arousal stirred her to a wicked frenzy. To a peak such as she'd never known.
She clutched him as if she would never let go, running her hands over his heated skin, over the slabs of tightly defined muscles in his arms and chest, feeling them taut and straining under her fingertips, loving the feel of his hard, powerful body on top of her … inside her.
Propped up over her, he was magnificent, his shoulders impossibly wide and powerful. Tight bands of muscle lined his stomach with every thrust. Just looking at him made her feel weak all over. His dark, silky hair slid forward across his handsome face, tight with the effort to control.
But she didn't want control. She wanted to see the depths of his need for her, the depths of his very soul. She wanted all of him.
“Harder,” she urged him on. “Don't hold back.”
His eyes were dark with passion. “I can't. I'll hurt you.”
“You won't.” Her hands gripped his hard flanks and pulled him forcefully against her, lifting her hips to take him even deeper. “Please …”
It was all the encouragement he needed. He let go, and she welcomed him with all the love and acceptance in her heart.
He sank into her again, holding her gaze as he touched the deepest part of her. Again and again. Harder and faster.
He was amazing. All his power, his fierceness, unleashed inside her.
She clenched him tighter with her body, dragging each stroke from him. Until the violent crescendo reached its highest peak. Until all the love she felt for this amazing man converged into one perfect moment of sensual bliss.
It was magic.
This was love. What had happened with John Montgomery paled in comparison with the breathless splendor she felt in Patrick's arms. Not just the pleasure that overwhelmed her body, but the closeness. The emotional connection that made everything so intense. Every touch. Every kiss. Every stroke reverberated through her like wildfire. She felt cherished. Protected. Loved.
And at that perfect moment—when her heart stopped and her body clutched in one last gasp—they touched heaven together.
Their shared cries of release tangled in the warm, sultry air of their pleasure.
The warm rush of his release was caught in the rippling tide of her own.
Their eyes met and wouldn't let go—not even when the last shudder of their bodies had ebbed. And what she saw there touched her soul.
Tears of happiness blurred her vision. Lizzie had found her heart's desire. She loved him, and he loved her. He might not be ready to admit it, but the truth was there in the emerald depths of his heated gaze.
Patrick rolled to the side so as not to crush her, feeling as if he'd just run into a stone wall. Every bone in his body crushed. Every muscle ripped to shreds. Once he'd spent almost a week on the run in the Lomond Hills, evading a score of Campbells, without sleep or food and very little water. He felt like that now. When it had all been over, he'd slept for two days.
What the hell had come over him? He'd never lost himself like that. He'd been wild. Out of control. Possessed by passion unlike anything he'd ever experienced. Passion that had consumed him, wringing out every last ounce of his strength.
His heart tightened, gazing at the woman collapsed beside him like a rag doll. He swept his hand over her flushed cheek. “Did I hurt you?”
Her eyes were bright with happiness, giving him an unwelcome twinge. “Do I look hurt?”
