She raised her lids. The turquoise of his irises was nearly eclipsed by expanded pupils. She saw both pleasure and possessiveness in his gaze. What did he see in hers?

“Stop thinking, Louisa. Give that busy mind a rest.” His hand returned to the small of her back, his palm warm and sure. “Just let go. Relax. Trust me.”

His eyes held her captive.

“Breathe,” he whispered. “Feel.”

She exhaled and drew fresh air into her lungs.

“That’s it.” His smile did her in. Another slow thrust of his body pierced her control. It exploded inside her, shattered through her in electric waves of heat and light, her senses plummeting in a wild free fall that left her reeling and limp.

She felt him tense and grind against her. He shuddered twice, then relaxed. Breathing hard, he scanned her face. Sweat gleamed on his skin, and his damp hair was tousled over his forehead. She reached up to smooth her own locks, but he caught her hand, brought it to his mouth, and kissed it. “Don’t. I love knowing that I made you come undone. It makes me want to do it all over again.”

Oh, he undid her all right. Her heart was as wrung out as every other muscle in her body.

He pulled her to his chest. His lips brushed her temple. “Geez, Louise. My heart just about exploded.”

The giggle that sneaked from her lips felt foreign. Had she ever giggled before? Likely not since she was a child, maybe not even then. “Even for you, that was a bad joke.”

“I have some other bad things I’d like to try.” He smiled, his eyes glinting. “When I said I didn’t care about sex, I lied.”

Her soul felt lighter than before they’d made love. She’d had sex with other men, but she’d never made love with anyone else. She’d only thought she’d made love because she hadn’t known better. There would never be just sex with Conor. He wouldn’t allow it.

CHAPTER 26

26

“Be right back.” He got up and went into the bathroom to deal with the condom. When he emerged, the room was empty.

“Louisa?”

The apartment wasn’t that big. He wandered toward the kitchen.

Draped in a pale-blue silk robe that covered her from neck to feet, she was filling a glass with sparkling water. Her hair was a tousled fall of blond that reached nearly to her waist. “Would you like some water?”

Conor accepted the glass. Louisa picked up her cell phone from the counter. She unlocked it and frowned at the screen.

“Something wrong?”

“I’ve been trying to get in touch with my father since yesterday.”

“He’s in Sweden, right?”

“Yes.” She set the phone down. “I call him every Saturday.”

“Maybe he went away for the weekend.”