hot spot inside her, shocking a whimper out of her. He leaned into it as soon as he perceived it and lavished it with attention, stroking the pad of his finger over it and over it, until the deep, throbbing flush of pleasure rose, sharpened and then pulsed heavily through every nerve.
She relaxed over his strong arm, panting. Thighs wet, tangled hair falling in thick swirls to the marble sink. She licked sweat off her upper lip and felt him ripping open the condom with his teeth.
Was this her chance, while he was busy with that? She could probably do some surprise damage—
She didn’t. She was shaking. And famished for what she knew would come next.
She shut her eyes and almost keened with delight when she felt it. The thick, blunt head of his cock nudging and prodding. Insisting. And then the long, impossibly tight slide of total penetration.
She shoved back against him, clamping every muscle around the huge, throbbing presence inside her. She felt so hot, so taut. So full.
Just a few slow strokes to find the rhythm they needed, and they were off on a wild, violent ride. Their eyes were locked in the mirror, their bodies locked into a jarring, headlong rhythm. His arms circled her, his hands clasping with hers on the cold marble, a straining tangle of white-knuckled fingers. Her breasts jiggled with each thrust.
They gasped for air. Choked back the noises. She bit her lip until she tasted blood to keep from gasping, moaning. The impossible things he had said were true. They had gone over to the edge to someplace new. Someplace beautiful.
The danger zone.
She’d never let anyone so close. He could destroy her so easily from in there. But in his strong grip, she felt safe enough to let go and let the pleasure drive her toward that thundering oblivion that awaited them. Maybe it was a mistake. A lie, an illusion, a deadly trap.
She didn’t care. She gave in, let go, and he followed her.
They exploded together.
They stared at each other afterward for panting, speechless minutes. Finally, he withdrew from her body and disposed of the condom. He lifted her until she stood upright and smoothed the hair away from her damp face.
She stood there, arms at her sides, head flung back onto his shoulder. She stared at her naked self, at the flush over her chest, her neck, her face. Her lips were crimson. When his arms circled her, a ripple of acceptance welcomed the wonderful heat of him. Her body welcomed the warm, tender kisses he dropped on her shoulder, her back. Craved the slow, hot stroke of his big hands caressing her waist, her belly. No resistance. Such an odd sensation.
She could get used to this. Come to need it, even. Long for it. Dream of it when she didn’t have it.
Which would be soon enough.
“So? Am I condemned to death for my insolence?” he asked.
She licked her lips and considered her reply. “Your sentence is remanded for now,” she said lazily. “I’m too tired to kill you tonight. But I can’t speak for later. So stay sharp.”
His grin flashed. He kissed her throat. “Shower with me?”
She shook her head. “Not a chance, with Rachel asleep outside. I go first, and you stand by the door and let me know if she wakes up. And do not, under any circumstances, go out there naked, got it? She’s still asleep but just in case—she doesn’t need a lesson in human anatomy at the tender age of three.”
He nodded, docile enough. Tam stepped into the shower, knotting her hair on top of her head, and soaped herself up.
Her body felt unrecognizable. Her skin was still so sensitive, her private parts throbbing. Sore, from hard use. Flushed with continuing pleasure. All she had to do was contract her thigh muscles, and mini-orgasms throbbed down her thighs, through her knees and calves, tingling right down to the tips of her toes.
Janos stood at the ready with a big, fluffy towel when she got out. She allowed him to dry her, lifting her limbs and turning with the regal grace of a queen accepting the ministrations of her body servant. He’d be in for a rude surprise if he expected her to return the favor, though.
She left him in the bathroom and went out, rummaging through the shopping bags until she found the nightshirt she’d ordered on his credit card. She ripped off the tags and slipped it on. Nice. Then she slid into bed next to Rachel, and reached out, keeping a little distance, but wanting to feel the comforting rise and fall of Rachel’s little back.
Soundly sleeping. Good.
A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened. Val’s magnificent body was silhouetted in the door frame. Steam billowed out. He’d put his jeans back on and was carefully taping a fresh bandage onto the wound on his shoulder.
He switched off the bathroom light, and became just a denser, deeper shadow amongst shadows.
“I want to stay here tonight,” he said. “To guard you.”
Of course. To make sure she didn’t panic and bolt was more like it. It irritated her to have another life-or-death decision to make when she was so damned tired. But what was the point in splitting hairs? He’d already breached every barrier she had, physical or psychological.
It wasn’t in his best interests to hurt them as far as she could tell. If it was, he would have taken care of it already.
What the hell. She didn’t have the juice to throw him out.
“Sleep on the floor if you like,” she offered coolly. “There’s a pillow and more blankets in the closet, I believe. Help yourself.”
She could barely make out his silent shadow in the dark, but she had a feeling he was smiling. She rose up onto her elbow. “Don’t even think about the bed,” she said in a forceful whisper. “I may have let you into my body, but I just met you a day ago, and I watched you do in three men today. And you are, by God, not sleeping next to my baby girl.”
“Of course not.” His deep voice vibrated with suppressed amusement. “It is already an honor that you let me stay in the same room with her. I am moved.”
She snorted. “Pfft. Don’t overdo it, Janos.”
He glided to the closet, took out blankets and pillows, and lay one of them down across the doorway. He tossed the pillow on it, swathed the other blanket around himself, and stretched out without a word.
She had expected to slide directly into sleep, but her overloaded nerves had pushed her beyond sleep into another place. Thoughts and worries jostled in her head. She was too rattled to sort them out.
But one thing kept circling back. Nudging at her and making her queasy and wakeful. One random, irrelevant detail.
“Janos?” she whispered.
He yawned. “We’ve been through so much together,” he said sleepily. “And we’ve made love twice. Can you not call me Val?”
“That wasn’t love that we made, and if I knew your real name, I’d use it.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Val is as real as any other name, Tamar Zadro.”
Her
