He worked her, pushed his fingers in deep, added another and then fluted them. She felt her pussy respond, the quivers of aftershock growing until the cycle started again, tingles of anticipation replacing fulfillment. Again. Now.
When he released her and lifted so he could come up the bed and join her, she welcomed him with arms wide. She held him tight so her breasts crushed against the powerful muscles of his chest. V arched her body to receive him and he slid home, didn’t stop until he was in deep.
Then he opened his eyes and they gazed at each other again. Tiny lines of happiness marked the corners of his eyes and his mouth, until he kissed her and shared her taste. On him, it turned her on so powerfully she nearly lost her mind.
They worked together toward a mutual release. She fought her orgasm, controlled it, because the next time she came, she wanted it to be with him.
He set up a steady pace and worked her, pushing and withdrawing in the best rhythm she’d ever experienced. She worked with him, her body adding harmony and new notes to his, so that together they created something different and fresh.
He murmured to her, words that sounded like lyrics. He’d said he didn’t make a great songwriter, but they sounded like the greatest song ever written. Even more so because they were just with her. She wouldn’t share them with anyone else. Ever. But she told him she loved him, and that seemed to satisfy him. Not as lyrical as something she could have created on her sax, but sweeter, because those were words she’d only use with him.
They had found each other, and working together, they found new heights. Until, with her legs curled around his waist, her body wholly open to him, they came in a scattering of sparks, a completeness that felt right and new.
V woke a few hours later. The light had gone, the dimness of a city night illuminating where they lay in shadows and highlights. Unable to resist, she traced a finger over his chest, his six-pack visible even while he was relaxed in sleep. She kissed his nipples, flicked out her tongue to taste him, deciding to wake him in the most delicious way she could think of.
But he forestalled her. He stroked her shoulders, then slipped his hands around her rib cage and drew her up to face him. “In a little while, love,” he said, his voice still husky with sleep. “There’s something else I want to do first.” He took a deep breath and she saw tension in his face, the tiny muscles at the sides of his mouth tightening a tad.
He leaned away from her and pressed the button to put on the bedside lights, twisting the dimmer to lower them to a sexy glow, then came back to her. “V, Violet, I love you. I can’t imagine ever loving anyone else. And while I want to see your success, there’s just one thing I want more.”
Was he about to ask her for what he’d given her? The freedom to find herself? Because if he asked, she’d give it up. He must know it, and that was his ultimate power over her, that she’d give him anything he asked. She wouldn’t have done it for anyone else, not her parents or her uncle or anyone, but she would for him.
He opened his hand and showed her what he’d picked up when he reached for the lights. “Will you wear this for me? I know it’s a bit primitive, but I want to mark you, let people know you’re taken. I’m kind of ashamed of the way I feel, like I have to brand you as mine, but I can’t help it. I want to know that you’re wearing this for me.”
Dazed, she stared at him. “For real?” Then she thought, What a stupid thing to say, but she’d said it now and she couldn’t take it back.
“For real. I’m not pressuring you, but I’d like to think that one day we’d get married.”
“You mean you don’t want to get married right away?”
He grimaced. “I’d do it tomorrow if you said yes. I don’t want to tie you down. You’re not ready yet, you need to spread your wings a little, find out a bit more about what you can do. But I’d like you to wear this.”
She wanted to mark him too, but there weren’t engagement rings for men, and if there were, she didn’t think he’d wear one because he didn’t wear much jewelry. “I say let’s do it now. Tomorrow. As soon as we can.”
His eyes blazed with emotion and hers dampened, but she blinked the tears away. She wouldn’t cry. Not now. “Maybe not tomorrow. I don’t want to cheat your mother out of seeing one of her family happy. But I want the commitment.”
“Yes. Please, Matt.”
He slid the glittering emerald ring onto the third finger of her left hand. She knew that was where he’d always meant it to sit because it fit perfectly. “I’m yours, Matt.” She held her hand up, palm outermost, and he lifted his own, larger hand to place against it like a prayer, or the taking of an oath.
“I’m yours too, love. Always.”
About the Author
Lynne Connolly writes for a number of publishers. She writes paranormal romance, contemporary romance and historical romance, and is the winner of two Eppies (now retitled the EPIC e-Book Awards) and a goodly number of Recommended Reads, etc., from review sites.
While these are very gratifying, that isn’t why she writes. She wants to bring the stories in her head to life and share them with others, in the hope she might then get some peace.
She lives in the UK with her family, cat, and doll houses. Creating worlds on paper in miniature seems to be her specialty!
Lynne welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Tell Us What You Think
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Also by Lynne Connolly
Cougar Challenge: Beauty of Sunset
Cougar Challenge: Sunset on Chrome
Ecstasy in Red 1: Red Alert
Ecstasy in Red 2: Red Heat
Ecstasy in Red 3: Red Shadow
Ecstasy in Red 4: Red Inferno
Emotion in Motion
Pure Wildfire 1: Sunfire
Pure Wildfire 2: Icefire
Pure Wildfire 3: Moonfire
Pure Wildfire 4: Thunderfire
Seychelles Sunset
Shifting Heat
Strangers No More
Print books by Lynne Connolly
Pure Wildfire 1: Sunfire
Pure Wildfire 2: Icefire
Pure Wildfire 3: Moonfire
Ecstasy in Red 1: Red Alert
Ecstasy in Red 2: Red Heat
Ecstasy in Red 3: Red Shadow
Tempt the Cougar anthology
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
In the Mood
ISBN 9781419939761
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
In the Mood Copyright © 2012 Lynne Connolly
Edited by Jillian Bell
Cover design by Irene Adler
Photos: VGStudio, Ozaiachin and Kundra/Shutterstock.com
Electronic book publication July 2012
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