Either way, she'd given him a green light. He pushed his chair back and stood. Towering over her, he slid her chair back, too, then braced his hands on the armrests and leaned close, his lips inches from hers.

She swallowed hard and he sensed her nervousness, reminding him that despite the show of bravado, she wasn't the experienced, easy kind of woman he was used to. Somehow it made him desire her more.

He clenched his fingers around the hard wood. "I want you, too."

Her eyes grew wide, the blue pools deepening with pleasure. "So what's holding you back?"

"Not a damn thing." Without hesitating, he sealed his lips over hers and gave into the temptation he'd been fighting.

She sighed, the sound soft and full of complete relief as her lips parted and she took him inside. She tasted of pure woman. He slanted his mouth for better access and thrust his tongue deep and hard.

A part of him realized he was testing her, seeing if his unleashed need would scare her off, because he knew if he took this woman to bed there would be no holding back. He even wondered if a part of him hoped she'd retreat before it was too late.

But she wasn't running away. Instead she pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck so he could continue his assault. And as he circled the warm, moist recesses of her mouth, their tongues tangling, their teeth grazing, he realized they shared an equally overwhelming desire. One that had to be sated immediately.

He reached back, untangled her hands and brought them down to her sides, while breaking the kiss slowly. Gently. In a way that let him savor every movement. The brush of his lips over hers, the soft licks of his tongue across the moisture they'd created, and the light nip of his teeth on her flesh.

She moaned and tried to entice him back into a soul-searching kiss, but he couldn't take another minute of kissing and teasing like they were horny teenagers who couldn't complete the act. Because they most certainly could.

"Let's go upstairs," he said, his voice hoarse with desire.

She nodded. "I think the dining room would be awkward."

"Not to mention, hard on my back."

Micki grinned. "Not as young as you used to be, are you, Fuller?"

He laughed despite how true that statement was. With Micki, he didn't feel the need to hide the painful truth. "Just keep that little secret to yourself."

She met his gaze, the moment suddenly too serious.

"I'm not too old for this." He bent down, lifted her into his arms, favoring his good hand, and carried her straight to his bed.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR, Micki thought as Damian swept her off to his bedroom in true fairy-tale form. But if he was her prince, he wasn't the permanent, happily-ever-after kind. Just the fantasy she'd dreamed about for most of her life, and one she had every intention of enjoying.

His bedroom was large with oversize shuttered windows, dark wood furniture, and a navy-and-cream color scheme, all dominated by a California king-size bed. When he laid her back against the pillows, butterflies filled her stomach, but no second thoughts raced through her mind. Apparently he had none either. He straddled her lower body with his thighs and his gaze never left hers as he pulled his shirt up and over his head.

Micki swallowed hard. For a woman who'd spent a lifetime in male locker rooms, she would have thought she was immune to a muscled body. No such luck. The man was sculpted and gorgeous, from his stubbled beard, sexy chest, down to the sprinkle of hair disappearing into the waistband of his jeans.

She'd examine what lay beneath that denim in a little while. For now she wanted to focus on his exposed upper body. "You have a golfer's tan," she mused. With one finger, she traced the tan lines that cut his forearms where his uniform sleeves ended.

He visibly shivered, reacting to her touch. "I'd prefer to call it a ballplayer's tan “

"Semantics." Emboldened, she drew an imaginary line beginning on his arms and traveling straight across his chest where his tanned neck abruptly changed to the paler hue.

She shut her eyes and continued to run her palm over his flesh, letting her senses take over. The texture of his hair-roughened skin, so different from her own, caused tremors of awareness to shoot through her body. As for Damian, when her fingertips touched his nipples, he sucked in a sharp breath. The sound echoed in her ears and gave her yet another taste of feminine power.

In the past, Micki had had her share of lovers. The relationships hadn't worked, not for her and not for the guy with whom she was involved. Most of the men had been sports guys she'd met through her job. Some had wanted an in with her powerful uncle; others had been interested in a short fling. The sex had been fine but had never been fulfilling. There hadn't been much give and take, and the relationships had left her empty in ways she hadn't understood.

As a result of those brief and ultimately unsatisfactory affairs, Micki could never have imagined affecting any man deeply on a physical level. Especially a man as sexual as Damian.

Once again, she smoothed her fingertips over Damian's hardened nipples, lingering this time, teasing him with her touch and lightly scraping her nails across his skin. He let out a groan of satisfaction that sent ripples of arousal straight to her core. She affected him. And the arousal in his voice caused dampness to pool between her thighs.

He touched her chin.

She opened her eyes and found herself looking into his chocolate-colored gaze. Warm and sexy, his stare was focused solely on her. "That's better," he said in a husky voice.

"Why?"

"I want to see your expression when I reciprocate." With a wicked grin, he eased her shirt upward. She leaned forward to help and quickly her shirt ended up on the floor, leaving her in a bra that was quite different than what she was used to. Where she chose lacy fabric that left a lot to the imagination, the garment she'd found in the drawer showed everything to anyone who cared to look.

Damian did, his eyes growing wide. When Micki glanced down to see what had him so fascinated, she received a glimpse of her own breasts, plump and full inside the sheer material, her clearly visible nipples fully puckered and erect. Self-consciousness had her lifting her hands to cover herself, but he stopped her. He trapped her arms at her sides, holding them in place with his strong thighs.

"Do you want to know exactly what you do to me?" he asked. "Why I'm breaking a self-imposed promise to keep my hands to myself? Why I'm here when I should be with the team, injury be damned?"

Mouth dry, she merely nodded.

She expected him to cup her breasts in his hands and braced herself for the onslaught of sensation. He leaned forward and captured her nipple in his mouth instead.

Micki sucked in a startled breath. She glanced down to see his dark hair against her chest, tickling her skin. She felt a rush of warm breath and accompanying moisture, and a moan escaped her throat

"I get it," she choked out. This was worth breaking the rules for.

He lifted his head and cool air brushed her damp skin. "No, you don't. Not yet." He placed his thumb over one distended,nipple and pressed hard and deep until her hips bucked beneath him and she cried out with need. "But you will," he promised.

He obviously wasn't finished and she didn't know whether to beg for mercy or let him continue until she couldn't take any more. He grazed with his teeth, laved with his tongue, and finally suckled her nipple for a long, leisurely time until she writhed beneath him.The sensations tackled her body with unprecedented force, and with shaking hands, she reached for the button of his jeans.

Stripping off their clothes was a blur-who pulled off whose pants, who unhooked Micki's bra, she had no idea. All she was aware of was haste born of desire and building need. A need they both shared to get closer, to let skin touch skin with nothing in between.

She hadn't realized the implications of being so close to Damian. His heated flesh branded her and as he came over her, the silken strength of his erection pressed hard and hot against her thigh. This wasn't sex, this was intimacy and she'd have to live with that knowledge for the rest of her life, when Damian was long gone.

But while he was here, he was hers and she intended to savor the moments. Hooking her leg around his, she adjusted their positions, shifting him so that not only was he on top of her, but his member was poised at the place she needed him most.

"I was right," he said, his gruff voice rumbling in her ear.

"About what?"

He paused for a deep, wet kiss, his mouth melding with hers. God, she thought, the man was good.

"No matter how hard you tried to hide it, you are one hot woman."

Pleasure raced through her, chiseling away at the insecurities she'd harbored for as long as she could remember. His words also freed her to act on her desires and she slid her arms around his back, placing her palms against his buttocks.

"How long are you going to make me wait?" she whispered in his ear, letting her tongue glide along the outer shell.

He shivered and reciprocated with a nibble on her neck along with a teasing thrust of his hips. Their lower bodies met at exactly the right place. His erection ground into her feminine mound, setting off orgasmic-like tremors that were a mere prelude to the real thing.

In case he needed incentive, Micki reached down and wrapped her hand around his member. He was smooth with subtle ridges, and oh so hard and long.

"That's it" Damian had had enough. Enough teasing, enough foreplay, enough restraint. There was just so much a naked man could take.