He could feel everything—her soft gasp, the warmth of her skin, every beat of her thudding heart.

“Are you frightened?” he whispered, letting his lips graze the soft shell of her ear.

She let out a short laugh. “A little.”

Alec’s mouth curved. “I’ll be so gentle, my love.”

Lottie raised an arm and stroked his hair, just as she had done yesterday. “I know. I trust you.”

The words tore at his heart, as painful as they were pleasurable. He had done nothing to earn her trust, but he would take it all the same. Then she pressed back against him and Alec nearly lost his mind as the shock of pleasure radiated through his starved body. He rolled his hips, reveling in the feel of her soft flesh cupping his swelling erection. It had been so long. Too long. But he had been waiting this whole time. Waiting for her without even realizing it.

He moved his hand away from her waist and skimmed his fingers along the curve of her small but shapely breast. Then he began to gently pluck her nipple with his thumb and forefinger. She drew in a long, ragged breath.

“Do you like that?” he murmured.

She laughed again, but it was shorter and more breathless this time. “I suspect I’ll like anything you do.”

His response was little more than a desperate grunt. Alec slid his hand down her side. The silky gown slipped between his fingers as he drew up the hem. Then he brushed ever so lightly against her sex. Lottie moaned her encouragement and her fingers curled tighter in his hair, tugging at his scalp. He pressed harder, working that most sensitive spot. Of course, because this was a dream she was already shuddering toward her release. But his dreams had never been so detailed before. He could feel her slickness, could practically taste the salt of her skin.

And yet, he needed more. He needed everything.

“Alec.”

The sound of his name on her lips spoken in such raw desperation pierced the veil of sleep. Alec’s mind tried furtively to cling to the fantasy as it slipped through his fingers like grains of sand, but then he woke to the sound of rustling and the feel of a warm body pressed against his own.

One that could only belong to Lottie.

Alec’s eyes shot open. His arm was flung possessively around her waist and his hips—Christ, he was practically grinding them against her backside.

He immediately pushed away from her and fell directly onto the floor, landing on his back in a room-shaking thud. Alec stared up at the ceiling in a daze as his heart still pounded from the turns of his wicked mind.

After a moment, Lottie poked her head over the side of the bed and blinked sleepily. “Are you all right?”