Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Make love to me.
She shook her head. The thought was crazy. She couldn’t just jump into bed with him—and what? Forgive him? Start fresh? Begin to love again?
Or forget everything just for one night and love?
She pushed her plate aside and leaned her arms on the table. “Tell me why you fell in love with me.”
He stared at her a moment, rubbed the back of his neck then shook his head. “I’ve asked myself the same question over and over, and over and over I get different answers.”
“Do you now? Why is that?”
“Because I find more reasons to fall in love with you each day.”
Her heart fluttered, her breath caught, and she sighed softly. “You are good at wooing a woman.”
“I am good at wooing the woman I love,” he corrected.
“Woo me some more,” she said, aware that the more he professed his love the more she desired him.
“You are easy to love.”
That surprised her. “I sometimes think myself selfish, always involved in my work.”
“Your work is important to you. A husband who truly loves his wife would understand and allow her to be who she is. I love who you are, and your work makes you even more appealing. I love the way you become excited over the simplest things, like discovering the fern earlier. I will never grow tired of exploring the woods with you.”
Her heart melted with every word.
“I also admired tremendously your attempt to escape my men when first they captured you. You dared to take a chance in the dark of night, in unfamiliar terrain, your wrists bound and your mouth gagged.”
“I was terrified.”
“I would not have known it. When I tossed you over my shoulder I sensed only your resolve to escape and I knew if I let you go, you would attempt to flee again. So I held on to you, as I continue to do.”
“You make me think that perhaps that gap between us should be bridged, at least a little.”
“I will settle for a little, for now.”
“You don’t intend to give up, do you?” she asked.
“Never,” he said, pounding the table once. “I will make certain you know that I love you every day of my life, now and always.”
Her defenses vanished completely.
“You make it easy for a woman to love you,” she said, and hurried from the table to stand in front of the cold hearth.
He came up behind her as she hoped he would and slipped his arm around her waist to ease her back against him.
“I know that you love me; believe that I love you, if only for tonight,” he whispered near her ear and kissed her temple.
She turned in his arms and brushed her fingers faintly over his lips. “Tonight, I believe,” she confessed in a murmur.
She touched his lips again, lingering along the bottom one before she nibbled it gently then pleaded in a whisper, “Love me.”
“Always,” he said, and captured her lips.
She liked that he took his time tasting and savoring. It seemed forever since they had lingered in a kiss. He teased her bottom lip with nibbles and bites then devoured her lips once again.
“Damn, but I love you,” he whispered against her mouth, scooped her up in his arms and carried her to bed.
He deposited her on the bed, and she smiled as she watched him disrobe. He had a splendid body, all taut, sleek muscles, and his movements were like those of a stalking wolf, slow and determined.
But this time she wasn’t his prey; she was his mate.
She smiled and stretched her arms out to him.
He returned to the bed, kneeling beside her to undo her leather belt and toss it to the floor. She relished the feel of his warm fingers pulling her blouse free of her skirt and working their way beneath to gently fondle her flesh. He pushed the blouse up to expose her breasts to his eager mouth.
She moaned when he rolled his tongue repeatedly over one nipple then the other, turning them so hard they ached. Then he went back and suckled each one until she panted breathless beneath him.
His hands drifted to her waistband and he inched her skirt down over her hips, his lips nibbling along her tingling flesh. It felt good, so very good, and she didn’t want him to stop. She knew his intentions, and when he discarded her skirt, she spread her legs in welcome.
She gasped when his hands captured her bottom and brought her up to meet his mouth. No sooner had he run his tongue intimately over her than she felt her passion soar beyond reason and her senses explode.
She was lost in the labyrinth of their lovemaking, neither able to find her way out nor wanting to.
She could taste the sweat of her passion thick and salty on her lips. She reached down and stroked the silky length of him and then grabbed hold and squeezed, feeling his desire pulsate in her hand. He was her husband and she wanted him more than she ever thought possible.