of heat deep in her belly.
“That, too,” she breathed. “What’s going on?”
A grin spread across AJ’s sensual mouth. “It’s called arousal.” His brow furrowed. “This is new to you?”
“Completely.” She’d never known anything like the pulsing heat that pounded in unexpected parts of her. He must be surprised that a married woman would be so… ignorant. “It wasn’t like that before. It was very… official.” She swallowed. What an odd way to describe her own sex life. Still, better than the truth—that it was virtually nonexistent and that “perfunctory” might be a better description. Vanu had never spent a single second touching her body just for pleasure.
Her train of thought went off the rails as AJ’s hot mouth tracked down her neck. She writhed against him, enjoying the strange feelings that trickled right to her toes. He’d unbuttoned the back of her dress and now slid his hands inside it. When his fingertips touched her belly, her muscles contracted, making her buck against him.
“You’re very sensitive.” His deep chuckle rumbled against her skin. “Very responsive.” Still behind her, he pushed her dress over her shoulders and it fell to her hips. He plucked at the thick embroidered sash that wrapped around her waist as part of the ceremonial dress for the press shoot—and served to hide her pregnancy. The silken folds pulled away and her dress fell about her thighs.
“How thoughtful of you to bring a blanket,” murmured AJ. He spread the pretty blue and yellow cloth on the soft moss in front of them. “Our national dress does have its benefits. And here I was thinking it outdated and silly.”
Lani laughed. “I guess the ancestors knew more than we realize.” She lay on the silky fabric, stretching herself out in the dappled shade of the tree. Oddly, she didn’t feel at all self-conscious, or even particularly naked. There was something accepting and easy about AJ that made her feel comfortable with him.
If she could be considered “comfortable” with so many different sensations and emotions pulsing and leaping through her body.
AJ’s fingertips trailed along the inside of her thigh, stirring little rivulets of excitement beneath her skin. She let out a ragged sigh, which AJ met with a mischievous grin.
Suddenly she wanted to feel his body with her fingers. She unbuttoned his shirt and slid her hand inside. His skin was hot, the muscle hard and unyielding. She dragged her fingernails gently over his chest, down toward his waist. AJ flinched, his eyes half-closed, as she drew near the button on his pants. A smile crept across her mouth as she saw the evidence of his arousal pressing against his zipper. She let her fingers wander lower until her knuckles brushed his erection.
Judging from his languorous smile, AJ enjoyed her attentions. Encouraged by his sultry stare, she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. They stripped off his clothes and underwear together, until they both lay naked on the embroidered blanket of Lani’s colorful sash.
Shimmering droplets of sunlight snuck through the canopy to paint warm patterns on their skin. The peculiar fragrance of the jungle—thick, rich and almost honeyed—mingled with AJ’s raw, masculine scent to create an intoxicating cocktail of arousal.
His thickly muscled body was a feast for the eyes. Lani eased herself closer to him until their chests bumped gently, then she let her fingers caress the rough skin of his thighs and the flat expanse of his belly. A mix of excitement, exhilaration and embarrassment stung her fingertips every time she drew near his erection. When at last she plucked up the courage to touch him, and to enjoy the feel of all that rigid passion in her hand, she almost cried out with relief.
Her fingertips vibrated with excitement as she let them explore the long, hard shape, and she drew in a long breath. She’d never actually touched that body part before. Vanu would never have given her the chance to play with him.
AJ leaned in and whispered, “I’m not even inside you yet and you’re already breathless.”
“Look who’s talking,” she teased. He jumped and jerked under her touch, muscles flexing as she caressed his skin. Desire rolled between them like a jungle mist, licking their skin and heating their blood.
On the one hand, Lani craved the feeling of him inside her. On the other, she loved the anticipation, the tension of the wait. She stroked his inner thigh with her forefinger and enjoyed the ragged groan that slipped from his chest. “You’re killing me.”
“But softly,” she whispered, breathing her words into the hot skin of his neck before nibbling his ear the way he’d done with hers. His tortured response only heightened her pleasure. His skin tasted salty and delicious, and she let her tongue explore the chiseled line of his jaw, then probe between his lips.
Their kiss grew deep as they pressed their bodies together. AJ’s hardness jutted into Lani’s side and for a second she felt a twinge of apprehension. He was so…
big. So unlike Vanu. What if she couldn’t handle him? What if it hurt?
“What is going through your mind?”
She cracked open her eyes to find AJ’s fixed on her. An expression of amusement brightened his face.
“Uh, nothing.”
“That’s what I’d hoped for, but expressions keep fluttering across your face like a flock of birds.”
“I guess I’m just nervous.” She bit her lip. “I’m not… experienced. I don’t want to let you down.”
“Let me down?” AJ laughed. “About the only way you could do that is by standing up and getting dressed. Now stop worrying.” He feigned a stern frown. “In fact, I’m going to do my best to wipe all thoughts from your mind.”
In an instant his mouth was between her legs. Lani gasped with shock as he sucked—quite hard—and caused her body to jerk as a sweet, sharp thrill ricocheted through her. He flicked his tongue back and forth over her sensitive spot, which made her muscles convulse and twitch in a way that was downright alarming. She writhed on the soft fabric of her sash, grasping first at the silky fabric and the ground beneath, then at AJ’s head and shoulders as he drove her further and further into a mysterious world of intense sensation and shocking pleasure.
She cried out as a fierce ripple of sensation jolted her. Waves of heat rolled through her, emerging from her mouth as moans. She realized her fingers were fisted in his thick hair, and she pulled them loose, then groped for him as another alarming tidal wave surged through her.
AJ’s hands roamed over her, stroking her waist and breasts as he rose up to meet her. Her eyes opened to see his dark gaze blazing just over hers. “Much better.” His wicked grin only stirred the fevered passion pounding through her.
“Enter me, please.” She craved him inside her, ached for him.
He chuckled. “You make yourself sound like Aladdin’s cave.” His words rasped hotly at her neck as he lowered himself over her. “I can’t wait to come in, but I don’t know the magic word.”
Quivering with excitement, Lani lifted herself to meet him. “Please.”
“That’s an easy one to remember.” He layered hot kisses on her face and neck. “Please may I come in?”
“Yes, yes,” Lani gasped, almost shouting at the way he tortured
