Carly Phillips - Simply Sexy

"Care to take me with you?"

"Hell, yes." He was harder than he'd ever been and he gritted his teeth, unbuttoning his denim shirt. But before he could finish, she grabbed on to the material and ripped the shirt down and off his shoulders.

"Slow has its time and place, Colin. But now's not it."

He agreed and reached to unhook her bra. If he thought she was incredible in all that lace, she was even more superb without it. Her breasts were plump and enticing, her nipples peaked and ready as she stepped toward him. She let her fingers travel to the waistband of his pants, and next thing he knew, he was kicking the trousers aside.

"Boxers or briefs? I'd wondered." She bit her lip in intense concentration, gazing downward at his straining erection begging for relief, near to bursting against his boxer shorts.

When she deliberately let her hand graze over the bulge in his pants, Colin's restraint vanished. Moving quickly, he backed her to the couch, tossed the clothes onto the floor and came down on top of her on the black leather sofa. Her body was soft, supple and pliant beneath his; warm and wet where her damp, dewy essence cradled him in heat.

His mouth met hers, the kiss ravenous, a release of all the pent-up sexual tension they'd been creating all week. She tasted of wine and Rina and he couldn't get enough. His tongue thrust into her waiting mouth as he mimicked the movement with his hips, jerking forward, getting as close as possible without entering her willing body. That would come.

At the moment, their bodies were in sync, as well as their minds. He opened his eyes in time to see her watching him, eyes glazed with desire and a depth of emotion that would have shaken him if he wasn't feeling it himself. For days now they'd danced around each other, feeding the mutual need and teasing one another with erotic touches and silent promises. With foreplay.

His body shook with the need to keep those promises now.

Taking him off guard, she wrapped her legs around his back, lifting her feminine mound off the couch and grinding her body in an enticing circular motion against his. The wave beckoned slowly, building to a heated crescendo that could have but one resolution.

No way in hell was he coming without being inside her. Neither, he swore to himself, would she.

"Condoms are in the bedroom," he managed to say, hoping like hell he wasn't killing the mood.

"They're also in my purse on the floor next to you." Despite the intimacy of their position, a flush rose to her cheeks.

She was obviously embarrassed that she'd been so anxious, and the fact that she wasn't proficient at this made her all the more endearing. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, wanting her to know she was special.

"Colin?"

"Mmm?"

"I'm on the Pill and haven't been with a man since my husband." She paused, then shook her head. "What I'm trying to say is…I'm safe."

He inhaled deep. He'd never made love to a woman without protection, never wanted the responsibility a mistake could cause. He'd contemplated the notion with his wife. Marriage had him thinking of family in the traditional sense, but Julie hadn't been eager to lose her figure. Another thing they should have discussed before tying the knot. After her departure, he'd applauded her selfishness since it left him with no permanent ties to a woman he considered nothing more than a mistake.

Rina was different. In every way. "I'm safe, too," he admitted.

"You don't feel safe," she said, squeezing her thighs tighter, intensifying the spiraling sensations. She lay her head back and moaned, and the thought of being inside her with no barriers between them, nothing except melding flesh, made him burn hotter. To hell with the consequences, with the problems lying ahead of them.

To hell with everything but this. He pulled the thin string holding her panties until the material tore in two, and when the panties joined the growing pile on the floor, Colin saw perfection. Glistening, dewy perfection surrounded by creamy white thighs with a triangle of dark hair on top.

"Sweet heaven," he muttered. He moved aside long enough to pull off his boxers and drop them to the floor, then noticed she'd changed positions. Against the black sofa, she lay, legs spread wide, waiting. For him.

He came over her, his hands grasping her thighs at the same time his thumbs caressed and parted her silken, damp flesh. Her breath caught in her throat, her pleasure unmistakable.

"This works for you?" He ran a finger over her slick heat, slipping inside.

"Oh, yes." Her hips jerked upward in silent acknowledgment, taking him in deeper.

At the simulation of sex, a shudder wracked his body, making him feel as out of control as he'd been when he was a teenager. But no, he thought. This was far worse, because no other woman had ever affected him this way.

And Rina hadn't been with anyone since her husband. The thought both sobered and humbled him. He wanted to give her perfection. He wanted to give her everything he had.

Nudging his erection at her engorged opening, he thrust fast and deep, giving her what he needed, what he sensed, hoped she needed, as well. From her satisfied cry that shook the silent house, he'd been right.

He wanted to savor the moment that had been so long in coming, but they were both too far gone. Her hips gyrated, seeking release, and his body thrust of its own volition, only too happy to comply. Harder, hotter, the slick, synchronized movement between them created not just intense sensation but a swell of emotion he hadn't been prepared to face.

Though he'd known he and Rina wouldn't just have sex, the perfection of the moment completely overwhelmed him. But as she repeated her earlier motion, wrapping her legs around his back and nearly lifting herself off the couch, she brought him so deep into her he didn't know where he left off and she began. And he didn't want to know.

He only wanted to feel, and when she dug her nails into his flesh and let go completely, Colin felt set free.

COLIN STRETCHED OUT beside Rina, every inch of his lean, hard male body coming into delicious contact with her skin. His fingers tangled in her hair and he pulled her close. After their encounter on the couch they'd moved to his bed, where she'd slept more deeply than she'd ever remembered. Making love to him had been a mind-altering experience, one she was all too ready to repeat this morning.

But not yet. "Tell me about Julie." Logan had planted the seeds of her curiosity surrounding Colin's past and Rina wanted to explore them. To know more about this enigmatic man who made her come apart so easily.

He groaned. "Hell of a way to start the day," he muttered.

Okay, so it wasn't the best question first thing the morning after, but she'd spent the night in his arms. He'd spent it inside her body. She figured that allowed her some leeway.

"She's my ex-wife." He rolled over and propped up on one arm.

The sheet pulled low on his chest and the urge to press her breasts against him and drop this whole conversation was strong. Unfortunately, her curiosity was stronger. "And?"

He met her gaze. "She's in the past."

"A painful past?" She probed deeper.

He shrugged. "It only hurts if you care. I'm over it."

"I should hope so, considering where we are."

He exhaled hard, and she knew he was going through that frustrating process of male withdrawal. "So why do I have the feeling that knowing Julie's in the past isn't enough?"

"Because I'm a woman and I like to push."

"Even if I'd rather make love than talk?" A wry, sexy smile tipped his lips.

Good, she thought. He wasn't angry, just attempting to maintain his masculine dignity with stoic silence. She rewarded his patience with her questions with a long, lingering kiss. One that quickly threatened to explode in another lovemaking session, considering they were both still nude. And she wasn't ready to give up on emotional intimacy for more sex, as much as her body craved him.

She broke the kiss, licking at her damp lips. A disheveled Colin was as devastating to her senses as a well-put-together one. And if the man was going to have this kind of effect on her, she needed to understand all about him.

"Did you love her?" Rina asked.

Colin rolled back and lay a hand over his eyes, resigning himself to talking before any other desires were satisfied. Truth be told, he wanted to confide in Rina, which surprised him, since he wasn't a sharing kind of guy.

"Not the way I should have. Then again, the feeling was mutual." Sensing Rina's gaze on him, he stared up at the ceiling, wanting a clear head when he answered her. "I was a news anchor on a local station in Boston when Julie and I met. We had some things in common and I thought she was a refreshing change from the women who wanted the macho personality they saw on TV."

"You, macho?" Rina laughed.

"After last night, are you seriously doubting my masculinity?" He pushed her onto her back, straddling her hips.

She sucked in a shallow breath. "Definitely not."

"So do you want to hear about my disastrous marriage or would you rather repeat some of those erotic positions we tried last night?" He asked, his erection poised at her moist, ready flesh.

She sighed, obviously torn, her wide brown eyes filled with curiosity and desire. He didn't blame her for either. He wanted equal insight into her past and planned to get it after he satisfied his need for her this morning. He doubted he'd ever have his fill of her completely, something he'd have to deal with soon.

"I want you to talk. I want to know all about you. Then I want to make love."