She still had her hands in his pants, and she stroked him, squeezing lightly. “Slow down,” he warned. “Or I’ll lose it before we start.”

She didn’t slow down.

To make them even, he slipped his hands into the back of her panties, playing his fingers between her thighs in the creamy heat he found there. Not enough. He dropped to his knees and put his mouth low on her softly rounded stomach, right next to the belly button ring that was going to highlight his fantasies for many nights to come. God, she was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. And the tastiest. He nibbled his way lower.

After that he never remembered who dragged whom to the carpet, or who found the condom, or even who tore off whose clothing, but when he finally sank into her glorious body so wet and ready for him, he felt…engrossed. And not just physically. She captured him heart and soul, and as he leaned over her, touching her face, kissing her mouth, looking into her fathomless eyes so full of emotion for him, he hoped to God she felt the same way.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

As the sun came up, Joe drove from Summer’s cottage back to the fire site. His eyes were gritty from lack of sleep and the already warm air didn’t help.

After he and Summer had given each other rug burns to be remembered, he’d carried her to bed and had then proceeded to watch her sleep for the next few hours. It hadn’t been her light snoring that kept him awake, but the woman herself.

He’d lain there with no covers—seemed she was also a bit of a blanket hog—staring up at the shadows on the ceiling, reliving the night. The fire. The fear. The adrenaline. Then Summer slowly stripping out of her clothes as the bath filled up, standing there in a stark white sports bra and panties, looking long and willowy and curvy.

And irresistible.

He’d pictured it thousands of times, her naked in his arms, her fiery hair draping his body as she sank down on him, taking him deep inside her. The reality of her doing just that had blown the fantasy out of the water.

She was leaving today.

He wasn’t a complete fool. He knew enough about her to understand that what had happened between them wouldn’t get in her way.

Fine. So be it. When she was gone, he could get back to some semblance of normalcy, without wondering each day if she’d send one of her soulful smiles his way. Yep. Her leaving would free up a lot of mental time and energy.