Gabriel trailed kisses along the column of her neck, her bare shoulder, and the exposed part of her chest while his hands blazed a path up her bare thigh, hip, and around to her breast, setting every molecule in her body on fire. Her hands were just as busy, charting her course across the hard planes of his chest and muscular arms. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, a voice said she should stop this before things went too far, but it was quickly drowned out by the rising desire between them. She had never been this impulsive with a man, especially one she had known for only a short while, but her body overruled her mind, and she gave herself up to the sweet sensations taking over.

“We should probably stop,” Gabriel murmured against her ear as he continued to plant butterfly kisses there.

Her breath came in short gasps, and her heart thumped erratically in her chest. “Yeah, probably.” Only she didn’t want him to stop. He kissed her once more, then rolled onto his back with his arm thrown over his face. His breathing wasn’t any better than hers.

He reached for her hand. “You’re a special lady, Serenity.”

She didn’t respond. She couldn’t. They lay together quietly, listening to the sounds of the waves crashing softly against the shore until their passions cooled.

“Ready to head back?”

“Honestly, no. But I’m starting to roast out here, so it might be a good idea. You know, we never got around to dessert.”

“I beg to differ.”

She rolled her head in his direction and found his eyes waiting with a look so tender, it almost brought tears to her eyes. Remember, keep it light, girl. On second thought, leaving was definitely a good idea.

*  *  *

Hours later, after Serenity returned from her picnic date with Gabriel, her body still hummed with desire. The man’s kisses were something straight out of a fantasy and could rob a woman of her senses in a millisecond, something she had never experienced before. She felt as if she were swimming in uncharted waters without a life jacket. She toyed with calling her sister to talk but decided against it, not wanting to interrupt Chandra and Mark’s reunion. Instead, she called Natasha.

“Hey, Tasha. Are you busy?”

“Dana and I are just leaving the nursery. I wanted to pick up a few planters. How did your date go with Gabriel?”

“That’s what I’m calling about. If you’re going straight home, I can meet you there.”

“Is everything okay?” Natasha asked, concern evident in her voice.

“Serenity, we’ll be there when you get here,” Dana said into the phone.