Profoundly moved by her confession, Slim tightened his arms around her and turned them so he was on top, gazing down at her lovely face. Something had changed in the last hour, and what had been simmering began to boil. He was falling in love with her. Hell, he was probably already done falling.

“What’re you thinking?” she asked, looking up at him.

He realized he’d been staring at her while he tried to reconcile his feelings. “I’m thinking about how hard I’m falling for you.”

“Oh. You are?”

Nodding, he said, “Is that a bad thing?”

“No, it’s good. Very good.”

“Am I the only one falling?”

Looking madly vulnerable, she shook her head.

He wanted to take away her pain and sorrow and fill her life with joy. He wanted to always feel the way he did when he was with her, but he had no idea if she felt the same way. They didn’t have to decide that now, but the more time he spent with her, the more unbearable the thought of leaving her became.

After the insanity of their earlier coupling, now he wanted to make love to her. He wanted to show her how he felt about her, how essential she was becoming to him. Beginning with soft, openmouthed kisses to her neck and throat, he had her arching into him before he’d even gotten to the really good parts. He loved the way she responded to him and how his heart beat faster every time he got to touch her this way.

Slim tugged on the sexy nightgown, raising a brow to ask if he could remove it.

She nodded, and as if he were opening the best of all Christmas gifts, he unveiled her long limbs and creamy white skin until she was bare before his hungry gaze.

Taking his time, he cupped her breasts and spent long minutes tending to one nipple and then the other, drawing the tight beads into his mouth and using his tongue and teeth to make her moan. God, he loved the sound that seemed to come from the deepest part of her. He could easily become addicted to her moan. Though he wanted to spend hours tending to her gorgeous breasts—and he would do that sometime very soon—he moved down, kissing the quivering skin of her belly, nibbling on her hip bones and squeezing her ass cheeks.

By the time he was positioned between her legs, she was so wet he could see and smell how ready she was for him. The scent of her arousal sent his yearning for her even further into the red zone. He was about to burst from the need to plunge into her, to possess her, to make her his in every way. But he held off, wanting to see to her before he took what he wanted.