He laughed softly and then groaned. “Heather … ahh … sweet Jesus, what are you doing to me?”

She was reveling in her sensual power—but suddenly it wasn’t enough for her. She wanted to take him inside her body. “Sloan … please… I want you.”

It was all the encouragement he needed. Reaching for her arms, he pulled Heather on top of him. The soft warmth of her naked breasts met the hardness of his chest with the impact of a brand. Their eyes met, his hot, hers dazed.

Trying to quell the raging lust that rippled through his body, Sloan lifted her up till she sat astride his sinewed thighs. Instinctively her back arched, her breasts filling his palms, hardening and thrusting out to seek his touch, his mouth—but he held her still.

His eyes had sharpened to a glittering awareness. In a soft guttural tone he demanded, “You sure I won’t hurt you?”

“Yes,” she gasped.

She was breathless and ready for him, hot and dripping wet. In a single swift motion, he raised her up and lowered her on his shaft.

The sensation of her sleek, heated flesh sheathing him was so exquisite he nearly came right then; his hunger was that raw, that explosive.

“Ride me,” he rasped, and she obeyed. Her soft thighs settled over him and she began to move, seeking an urgent rhythm, her hips undulating in search of the hot pleasure he had taught her.

Desire flared hot and bright inside him, a desire he couldn’t hold back. The frantic rhythm became a frenzied hunger. He bucked wildly beneath her, driving relentlessly. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she cried out, her head thrown back in ecstasy as her climax came. His release followed instantly in a fiery explosion, and he spilled his seed in pulsing spasms.

Panting, she collapsed against him, her lush body flushed and dewy with perspiration.

This was how he wanted her, Sloan thought weakly, with her elegant, aloof image shattered. And yet remorse tinged his triumph. He’d been way too rough with her. But then… he couldn’t have controlled himself, any more than he could have stopped a wildfire racing up a dry canyon in the heat of summer.

“Is it always like this?” she whispered long moments later.

When he didn’t answer, she drew back a little to look down at him.

His eyes grew hooded. He didn’t want to meet her searching gaze.

Just then, they heard the sound of a child’s gurgling laugh through the partially open door. Janna was awake.

Grateful for the interruption, Sloan eased himself from beneath her and left the bed. Giving her a glimpse of taut, bare buttocks, he bent to pull on his denims.

“Hell, it’s just sex, duchess,” he lied. “Happens all the time. Nothing to get worked up about.”

Chapter 11