with his own Japanese lessons. Maybe Gwen would be willing to teach him a few phrases. The thought of private lessons with Gwen led him right back to his original wish that Evie would go to bed.
As if she’d read his mind, Evie stretched, looked at the game board pointedly and said, “If you guys will concede defeat, I’ll go work on some French before I go to bed. I’m pooped.”
Gwen’s eyebrows went up as she glanced at the clock. It was still early, but he certainly wasn’t going to argue with Evie’s plan. It sounded great to him.
Once Evie left, Gwen began tidying up the game pieces. Her teeth worried her lower lip, and he wondered what she was thinking.
“Where does this go?” She indicated the box.
“Beats me. I didn’t even know we owned the game.” He took another long drink of his beer as Gwen rose up on her knees to place the game on the glass-topped coffee table and reached for her own glass.
She settled back in her original seat on the floor, her back against the chair and her legs stretched out in front of her. Silence stretched between them and without Evie in the room, the air became charged with electricity.
Only a few feet separated them, and he closed the distance easily, watching Gwen’s eyes widen, then darken with unmistakable interest.
Will ran his hand down the silky skin of her arm and laced his fingers with hers. She didn’t resist as he tugged her gently toward him, and when her pink tongue darted out to moisten her lips, what little blood was still circulating freely rushed to heat his skin.
Gwen cleared her throat. “Today was a great day.”
He dipped his head to taste the soft skin on her neck and felt her shiver in response. “It’s not over yet, you know.”
She’d known this was going to happen. Her day of brooding may not have provided many answers, and she still wasn’t sure this was the wisest course of action, but the tension inside her had her stretched to the breaking point. Will hadn’t touched her since that moment in the pool, but the long, lazy looks that traveled over her as strongly as a physical caress had kept her on edge all afternoon.
She had two choices: turn tail and run or seize the moment. While retreat was the safer, far more rational choice, she’d lost the battle with her rational brain hours ago. She could be careful, try to safeguard her heart and her business, but she wasn’t going to pass on what could be the most amazing man who’d ever crossed her path. Years of doing the prudent thing, of always weighing the benefits and minimizing the risks, hadn’t netted her much beyond a job that didn’t satisfy her and an existence that suddenly seemed rather blah and bland.
The sensation of Will’s lips on her neck was far from bland, and she tilted her head back to provide him greater access. Heat rippled over her as his mouth traveled over her jaw and captured her lips.
Oh, yes. This was definitely worth the risk.
Gwen eagerly fitted her body against his, loving the feel of him, while his kiss wreaked havoc on her senses. She twined her arms around his neck, allowing her fingers to slide across the taut cords of muscles, and held on while the sensations tried to sweep her away.
She wanted to be closer, to feel more of him, to taste more of him. She pulled her mouth from his, gasping for air, and moved her lips to the same spot on his neck he’d found on her moments earlier.
She was rewarded with a hiss of pleasure as her tongue snaked out to taste his skin, and the hand that had been massaging her back in rhythm to his kiss moved down to her hip in a heat-filled caress.
Turning more fully toward him, Gwen slid her thigh over his, trying to get closer to the heat she craved. Will responded by capturing her mouth in another searing kiss, latching his hands around her hips, and lifting her until she straddled his legs.
Oh, yesss, she thought, as his hands locked over her buttocks and snugged her knees up next to his hips. Her new position gave her easy access to run her hands over the defined contours of his chest, over those wide shoulders, until she could bury her hands in his hair and hold his mouth against hers.
A growl of desire rumbled in Will’s throat as his tongue mated wildly with hers. She gasped as his hand cupped her breast, his thumb dragging soft cotton over her distended nipple, and she arched back, allowing him greater access.
Will nuzzled her, and she cursed the T-shirt keeping his mouth from her skin. Every nerve ending screamed for his touch, and her body shook as pure want fired her blood. She wanted to feel his skin against hers, to revel in the magic his fingers worked on her, to let him soothe the ache growing deep inside her.
But not here. Sane thought clawed its way through her befuddled mind.
As if reading her mind, Will cupped his hands under her thighs and surged to his knees. “Not here. Evie might—”
She nodded, but he didn’t release his hold on her.
“Hang on.”
It took a second for Gwen to realize he meant that literally. Will got to his feet, and she clung to him like a vine on a tree as he padded quickly down the long hallway, past Evie’s closed door and into the master suite at the far end.
Will barely paused as he entered, simply nudging the door closed with his shoulder before crossing what seemed like a huge expanse to deposit her on her feet next to the most luxurious bed she’d ever seen.
This is your last chance to back out, her conscience reminded her. She quickly stomped it back down. She wasn’t going to worry about what might happen tomorrow—or the day after that. She could simply enjoy Will for the time she had him, and she’d have to trust she’d be able to make everything else work out.
That was her last fully lucid thought, as Will grabbed the hem of her shirt to pull it over her head. He thumbed the clasp of her bra open, tossing it to the floor with her shirt. Her shorts and panties quickly followed, and she stood naked in the half-light of the room.
Her breath came in short pants as his hungry eyes devoured her, and his fingers reached out to stroke across the slope of her breasts.
“Beautiful.”
Emboldened, Gwen reached for the hem of his shirt and, with his help, it joined her clothes on the floor. She echoed his action, her fingers threading through the crisp hairs on his chest.
“I agree.”
Will groaned as she touched him, the pads of her fingers finding his flat nipples and stroking over them. When she leaned forward to touch her tongue against one, he shuddered and grasped her shoulders.
Then she was on the bed, soft, cool sheets under her and the hard heat of Will covering her. This was heaven on earth, and she was beyond glad she hadn’t talked herself out of experiencing it.
Those long, lean muscles bunched under her fingers as she traced them, memorizing their pull and play under the hot skin against hers. Shadows hid Will’s face as he moved slowly down her body, making each touch of his tongue to her over-sensitized flesh an erotic surprise. In a daze, she closed her eyes and let the sensations ripple over her body unfettered as Will’s hands slid over the muscles in her legs and his lips followed.
Strong teeth grazed the sensitive
