She shook her head at him. “I want to be here.”

“Are you sure? We don’t have to do this.” He held her gaze, his blue eyes earnest. He’d given her the ability to stop it. Tension radiated from his body. He wanted her. Badly.

She laughed, choking on the salty moisture in her swollen throat. Stop? Now? At this very moment there was nothing more she wanted more than to feel his warm skin pressed against every inch of hers. She craved it. She needed it. She needed to make the morning disappear and lose herself in Seth.

She moved into him and pressed her mouth softly against his. He hesitated a fraction of a second and then wrapped his hand around the base of her skull and moved hungrily into the kiss. His mouth was hot, and she tasted her tears as her tongue moved against his. Fresh tears spilled from her closed eyes.

He brushed at her tears, keeping his mouth against hers. His hand stroked down her face, his fingertips wet. “I’ve dreamed for years about this,” he muttered against her mouth. “Ever since I kissed you in Denver, I knew my life would never be complete without you in it.”

She pressed her forehead against his. His words echoed in her heart, chipping away at the walls she’d created when he left her. Protective walls. But now they no longer had a purpose and they were crumbling.

“I’d accepted that I’d always have a space in my heart in which only you would fit. I was prepared to go through life simply learning to live with it.” His voice dropped. “I’d believed I’d destroyed everything beyond repair. You were married. I knew I needed to move on.”

He pushed her coat off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. She was instantly cold and shivered, moving her body against the length of his. She wanted his body against her from her toes to her lips. She tucked her arms under his coat, wrapping her arms around to his back.

“Take your clothes off,” he whispered in her ear. His lips trailed the arch of her ear, his teeth biting gently at her earlobe. Lightning shot through her.

He didn’t need to ask twice.

She pulled back and held his gaze as she ripped her sweater over her head. His eyes widened, his gaze locked on her unsexy T-shirt bra. She took a deep breath as power filled her chest. That’s right. Take a good look at what you’ve been missing. She gave a slow smile, reveling in the need on his face. Yes, he wanted her.

She kicked off her boots and slid off her jeans, all while holding his gaze. Seth stood motionless, and she wondered if he held his breath. His stare moved down her body, stopping on the simple white thong. She tilted her head, giving him a minute to look his fill. She didn’t have doubts about her body. She rowed. She ate well. “Long” and “lean” were common adjectives used to describe her. Seth appeared to approve.

“Strip,” she ordered, biting back a laugh at the elated shock that crossed his face. It was instantly replaced with a smug grin.

“Yes, ma’am.”

He stripped.

She hungrily watched him work off his layers of clothing. She glanced out the wall of windows, wondering if they were providing lunchtime entertainment for the office building across the street. Looking at Seth dropping his last layer, she didn’t care. Let them watch. Why not give them something to tell their neighbors about?

With a rapid move, Seth tackled her onto her back on the huge bed. She wrestled the down comforter out of the way, loving the cool sheets on her skin. Her skin temperature had shot up in the last minute, her body craving the man.

“My God, you’re gorgeous.” Seth lay beside her, propped up on one elbow as his gaze traveled her body. He was pressed against her from toes to shoulder, just as she’d wanted.

He was beautiful, too. Was that an appropriate word to describe a man? Subtle hints of muscle showed everywhere. She liked that he wasn’t jacked like some men. He was just Seth. A memory prickled, and she reached up to trail her nails through his hair, tracing his scalp, and his eyes closed, bliss on his face. Yep, he still likes that.

He abruptly pulled her face to him and kissed her. His mouth moved from hers, up her face, to her hairline, and then down to her neck. She squirmed as her skin tingled under his lips. His hands were everywhere, stroking and pressing, finding all the places he’d once loved to touch her. She sighed. She simply wanted to spend the rest of the day here in bed with this man. The office was gone. Bones were gone. Stress was gone.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do this again,” he muttered as he worked his mouth down her stomach. “I can’t be in the same room with you without being bombarded by need for you. Do you know what the last few days have been like? Seeing you at work? Christ. I thought I was going insane.”

She sank her hands into his hair, gliding her nails along his scalp and making him moan. He kissed his way across her belly and released the front clasp to her bra. Her breasts spilled out and he exhaled as he gently stroked one and then the other. He slid off her thong and flung it behind him.

“Hang on.” He sat up, and she missed his body heat. He stretched over to the nightstand and removed a condom from the drawer.

He has condoms? Victoria stared at him.

He gave her a sheepish look. “I was looking ahead.”

“When did you buy those?” Her mind froze. Should she be happy? Scared? Insulted?

“The day after I saw you.”

“What?”

“Let’s say I was cautiously optimistic.” He gave a sexy grin and further scrambled her brain.