flower over her shoulder. Then he placed it on the tiny pillow under her head.
A pearly calla lily chosen next, he traced her collarbone before lightly dipping between her breasts.
“Shannon,” he declared hoarsely, “I chose this lily because you are a majestic beauty.”
Detouring, he sketched the underside of her breast and looped round again and again, each circle smaller until he teased the dusky tip. Her body pulled tight and tingly. Her back arched into the sweet sensation and he transferred his attention to her other breast, repeating the delicious pattern.
Reaching for him, she clutched his shoulders, aching to urge him closer. “Tony…”
Gently, he clasped her wrists and tucked them at her sides. “No touching or I’ll stop.”
“Really?”
“Probably not, because I can’t resist you.” He left the lily in her open palm. “But how about you play along anyway? I guarantee you’ll like the results.”
Dark eyes glinting with an inner light, Tony eased free…“A coral rose for passion.”
His words raspy, his face intense, he skimmed the bud across her stomach, lower. Lower still. Her head fell back, her eyes closed as she wondered just how far he would dare go.
The silky teasing continued from her hip inward, daring more and even more. A husky moan escaped between her clenched lips.
Still, he continued until the rose caressed…oh my. Her knee draped to the side giving him, giving the flower, fuller access as he teased her. Gooseflesh sprinkled her skin. Her body focused on the feelings and perfumes stoking desire higher.
A warm breath steamed over her stomach with only a second’s warning before his mouth replaced the flower. Her fingers twitched into a fist, crushing the lily and releasing a fresh burst of perfume. A flick of his tongue, alternated with gentle suckles, caressed and coaxed her toward completion.
Her head thrashed as she chased her release. He took her to the brink, then retreated, drawing out the pleasure until the pressure inside her swelled and throbbed…
And bloomed.
A cry of pleasure burst free and she didn’t bother holding it back. She rode the sensation, gasping in floral-tinged breaths.
His bold hands stroked upward as he slid over her, blanketing her with his hard, honed body. She hooked a languid leg over his hip. Her arm draped his shoulders as she drew him toward her, encouraging him to press inside.
The smell of crushed flowers clung to his skin as she kissed her way along his chest, back up his neck. He filled her, stretched her, moved inside her. She was surprised to feel desire rising again to a fevered pitch. Writhing, she lost herself in the barrage of sensations. The bristle of his chest hair against her breasts. The silky softness of flower petals against her back.
And the scents—she gasped in the perfect blend of musk and sex and earthy greenhouse. She raked his back, broad and strong and yet so surprisingly gentle, too.
He was working his way not only into her body but into her heart. When had she ever stood a chance at resisting him? As much as she tried to tell herself it was only physical, only an affair, she knew this man had come to mean so much more to her. He reached her in ways no one ever had before.
She grappled at the hard planes of his back, completion so close all over again.
“Let go and I’ll catch you,” he vowed against her ear and she believed him.
For the first time in so long, she totally trusted.
The magnitude exploded inside her, blasting through barriers. Pleasure filled every niche. Muscles knotted in Tony’s back as he tensed over her and growled his own hoarse completion against her ear.
Staring up at the rain-splattered skylight, tears burning her eyes again, she held Tony close. She felt utterly bare and unable to hide any longer. She’d trusted him with her body.
Now the time had come to trust him with her secrets.
Tony watched Shannon on his iPhone as she talked to Kolby. She’d assured him that she wanted to stay longer in their greenhouse getaway, once she checked on her son.
Raindrops pattered slowly on the skylight, the afternoon shower coming to an end. Sunshine refracted off the moisture, casting prisms throughout the indoor garden.
He had Shannon back in his bed and in his life and he intended to do anything it took to keep her there. The chemistry between them, the connection—it was one of a kind. The way she’d calmly handled his bizarre family set-up, keeping her down-to-earth ways in the face of so much wealth… Finally, he’d found a woman he could trust, a woman he could spend his life with. Coming back to the island had been a good thing after all, since it had made him realize how unaffected she was by the trappings. In a compass, she would be the magnet, a grounding center.
And he owed her so much better than he’d delivered thus far. He’d wrecked Shannon’s life. It was up to him to fix it. Here, alone with her in the bright light of day, he couldn’t avoid the truth.
They would get married.
The decision settled inside him with a clean fit, so much so he wondered why he hadn’t decided so resolutely before now. His feelings for her ran deep. He knew she cared for him, too. And marrying each other would solve her problems.
They were making progress. He could tell she’d been swayed by the flowers, the ambience.
A plan formed in his mind. Later tonight he would take her to the chapel, lit with candles, and he would propose, while the lovemaking they’d shared here was still fresh in her memory.
Now he just had to figure out the best way to persuade her to say yes.
Thumbing the off button, she disconnected her call. “The nanny says Kolby has only just woken up and she’s feeding him a snack.” She passed his phone to him and curled against his side on the chaise. “Thanks for not teasing me about being overprotective. I can’t help but worry when I’m not with him.”
“I would too, if he was mine,” he said. Then her surprised expression prompted him to continue, “Why do you look shocked?”
“No offense meant.” She smoothed a hand along his chest. “It’s just obvious you and he haven’t connected.”
Something he would need to rectify in order to be a part of Shannon’s life. “I will never let you or him down the way his father did.”
She winced and he could feel her drawing back into herself. He wanted all barriers gone between them as fully as they’d tossed aside their clothes.
“Hey, Shannon, stay with me here.” He cupped her bare hip. “I asked you before if your husband hit you and you said no. Did you lie about that?”
Sitting up abruptly, she gathered her swimsuit off the
