He thrust, harder this time and she felt the shudder roll through his body as he held himself deep inside her.

He kissed her. Hungry. Passionate. With more desperation than she’d ever experienced from him. Their lovemaking had always been good, but he’d never lost control so quickly.

She kissed him with just as much hunger, her hands sliding down his back and then up again to hold his head to hers.

His hips trembled against her. They lay locked together, with him barely holding himself off her. Wanting that closeness to him—especially now—she urged him over to his side, rolling with him so they stayed together.

Their limbs were tangled, their arms wrapped tightly around each other, and he was still pulsing deep inside her body.

She tucked her head underneath his chin and breathed deeply of his scent, felt the erratic thump of his heart against her cheek.

It was easy to forget all that had happened between them. It was easy to forget the months of pain and loneliness. It was easy to imagine that they’d never been apart and that they were home in bed, just waking in Ryan’s apartment—their apartment.

And just for a moment, she refused to allow the hazy euphoria to evaporate under the weight of reality.

CHAPTER 10

Ryan lay there, Kelly in his arms, trying to sort out what had just happened. On the surface it had been a very quick, very hot sexual interlude. One of the best he’d ever had.

But it went deeper. It wasn’t just sex. If it was just sex, his heart wouldn’t feel as though it was going to burst out of his chest. He wouldn’t be so overwhelmed that he had no idea how to process what he felt.

It was…It was more intense than sex had ever been between them. They had been a study in hot, flirty, fun in bed. He teased. She teased.

But this had been almost…heartbreaking, and he couldn’t shake the heaviness that pervaded his chest even now.

He rubbed his hand up and down her back and pressed a kiss to her hair in an effort to soothe some of the tightness in his throat.

He put a hand between them to touch her cheek and then he carefully pulled her away until he looked down into her eyes.

The stark emotion there. The devastation. It was like a knife to the gut. She looked so very vulnerable. Fragile. And scared. She looked scared to death.

Was she afraid of him? Of what had happened? He couldn’t bear it if she hated herself for giving in to the overwhelming tension that had been building ever since he’d taken her back to New York.

“What are you thinking?” he asked hoarsely. “Tell me you don’t regret this, Kell. Anything but regret.”