that was something she couldn’t accept.
“I still can’t understand why you think me loving you complicates things,” Aidan said, interrupting her thoughts.
“Because you wouldn’t want to keep our affair a secret. You’ll want to tell everyone. Take me out anyplace you want. You wouldn’t like the thought of us sneaking around.”
“No, I wouldn’t.” He gently pulled her into his arms. She would have pushed him away if he hadn’t at that moment tugged the bedcovers from her hands leaving her as naked as he was. The moment their bodies touched, arousal hit her in the core. She was suddenly reminded of what they’d done last night and how they’d done it. From the way his eyes darkened, she knew he was reliving those same sizzling memories.
“Jillian.”
“Aidan.”
He drew her closer and closed his mouth over hers. She was lost. For a long while, all she could do was stand there feeling his body plastered to hers, feeling his erection pressed against her, feeling the tips of her nipples poking into his chest while he kissed her. Frissons of fire raced up her spine.
And when she felt herself being maneuvered toward the bed, she was too caught up in desire to do anything about it. The same urgency to mate that had taken hold of him had fused itself to her. As soon as her back touched the mattress she slid from beneath him and pushed him back. She had flipped them and was now on top of him. He stared up at her with surprise in his eyes.
She intended to play out one of her fantasies, one of the ways they’d made love in her dreams—with her on top. But first she needed him to know something. “I take the Pill...to regulate my periods. And I’m safe,” she whispered.
“So am I.”
She maneuvered her middle over his engorged shaft, which stood straight up. Every hormone inside her body sizzled as she eased down onto him, taking him inside inch by inch. He was big, but like last night her body stretched to accommodate his size.
“Look at me, Jillian.” Obeying his command, she held his gaze.
“I love you, whether you want me to or not and it’s too late for you to do anything about it.”
She drew in a deep breath and continued to ease him inside of her, not wanting to dwell on the problems love could cause. They would talk again later. But for now, this was what she wanted. This was what she needed. And when she had taken him to the hilt, she moved, riding him the way she’d been taught to ride years ago. From the look reflected in the depths of his eyes, she was giving him a ride he would remember for a long time.
She liked the view from up here. Staring down at him, seeing his expression change each time she shoved downward, taking him deeper. His nostrils flared. His breathing was choppy. Was that a little sweat breaking through on his brow?
Riding him felt good. Exhilarating. He definitely had the perfect body to be ridden. Hard, masculine and solid. She had her knees locked on each side of his strong thighs. Her inner muscles clenched, gripping him in a hold that had him groaning deep in his throat.
She loved the sound. Loved being in control. Loved him. The last thought sent her senses spiraling, and when he shouted her name and bucked his entire body upward, she felt his massive explosion. He drenched her insides with thick semen. And she used her muscles to squeeze out more.
Perspiration soaked her head, her face, their bodies...but she kept on riding. When another explosion hit him, she nearly jerked them both off the bed when she screamed in pleasure.
He held her tight and she held him and she wished she never had to let him go.
* * *
Aidan pushed a damp curl out of Jillian’s eyes. She was sprawled on top of him, breathing deeply. He figured she had earned the right to be exhausted. He’d never experienced anything so invigorating or stimulating in his entire life.
“Don’t ask me not to love you, Jillian,” he finally found the strength to say softly, and the words came straight from his heart. For the first time in his life, he’d told a woman he loved her and the woman wished that he didn’t.
When he felt her tears fall on his arm, he shifted their bodies so he could look at her. “Is me loving you that bad?”
She shook her head. “No. I know it should be what I want but the timing... There is so much I still have to do.”
“And you think I’d stop you from doing them?”
“No, but I’d stop myself. I’d lose focus. You would want to be with me and I would want to be with you. In the open. I know you don’t understand why I can’t do that, but I can’t.”
She was right, he didn’t understand. He believed she was all wrong about how Dillon and Pam, or the entire Westmoreland family, would handle them hooking up. He doubted it would be a big deal. But it didn’t matter what he thought. She thought otherwise and that’s what mattered.
“What if I agree to do what we’re doing now? I mean, keeping things between us a secret.”
She lifted her head. “You would agree to that, Aidan? I’m not talking about a few weeks or a few months. I’m talking about until I finish medical school. Could you really wait that long?”
That was a good question. Could he? Could he be around Jillian at family gatherings and pretend nothing was going on between them? And what about the physical distance between them? She wasn’t even sure what medical school she would attend. Her two top choices were Florida and New Orleans, both hundreds of miles away from Boston, Maine or North Carolina.
And what about his family and friends? Like Adrian, Aidan had quite a reputation around Harvard. What would his friends think when he suddenly stopped pursuing women? They would think he’d lost his ever-loving mind. But he didn’t care what anyone thought.
It didn’t matter. Wherever Jillian was, he would get to her, spend time with her and give her the support she needed to be the doctor she wanted to be.
What Jillian needed now more than anything was for him not to place any pressure on her. Her focus should be on completing the MCAT and not on anything else. Somehow he would handle the distance, he would handle his family and friends and their perceptions.
He held her gaze. “Yes, I can wait. No matter how long it takes, Jillian. Because you’re worth waiting for.”
Then he tugged her mouth down to his for another one of their ultrapassionate, mind-blowing kisses.
The present
“This is Captain Stewart Marcellus," a deep voice boomed through the intercom in Jillian’s cabin. “My crew and I would like to welcome you aboard the Princess Grandeur. For the next fourteen days we’ll cruise the Grand Mediterranean for your enjoyment. In an hour we’ll depart Barcelona for full days in Monte Carlo and Florence and two days in Rome. From there we’ll sail to Greece and Turkey. I invite you to join me tonight at the welcome party, which kicks off two weeks of fun.”
Jillian glanced around her cabin. A suite. This
