“Are you cold?” He wrapped more of his body around her.

“No. Just…a little on edge.” She turned her head to look at him and he spotted the lines of tension across her forehead. He kissed them away, lingering on the silk of her skin.

“You’re safe here. There’s no way he can find you. No one can get up our road without a four-wheel drive and night vision goggles.” The cabin road was a winding, twisting unmarked dirt road that even he wouldn’t attempt to drive in the dark.

She exhaled and nodded. “It’s just that I worry…”

He cut her off. “No more worrying or thinking tonight.” He didn’t let her answer as he covered her lips and turned her to face him. “It’s just you and me. And I want to make love with you right now. More than anything I’ve ever wanted.” His chest tightened as he spoke; it was the truth. He felt her soften against him with a small sound.

He took the hot chocolate out of her hand and boosted her onto the countertop, stepping inside her thighs and pulling her tight against his stomach all while keeping the kiss. Her hands moved up to his neck, lightly stroking a clever spot behind his ear that pumped lightning into his spine.

He pulled back from her mouth, gently framing her jaw with his hands, and ran a thumb across her damp lips. His breath hissed in as she took his thumb between her teeth and touched her tongue to the tip. Her pupils dilated, the flames from the fireplace reflecting back at him. God, she was lovely. She brought out something wild in him. It made him want to toss her on her back, rip off her jeans and take her right here on the kitchen floor. His heart sped up and he lifted a hand to touch the soft hair by her ear. He slowed his strokes, wanted to revel in every long second, imprint the sensations in his memory.

He kissed her again, letting his hands slide through her hair. The rush of sleekness tormented the sensitive skin between each finger. The matching silk of her tongue teased his mouth and he pushed deeper into her. His hand slid to the small of her back and under her sweater, down below the low waist of her jeans. His fingers crossed a band of stretchy lace to the smooth skin of her bottom. A thong. His groin surged. He slid his hand as far down as he could into her jeans and cupped her firm cheek, pulling her closer. She caught her breath against his mouth with a small moan and he nearly exploded.

Christ. Two minutes with the woman and he was nearly shooting off like a teenager.

He broke the kiss and rested his forehead to hers; his eyes closed and he breathed slowly. His body screamed for him to rush, but his mind said wait. Since when did he listen to his brain in the middle of temptation?

Being with her was different.

“Jack?” She was hesitant, questioning.

Her voice throaty. He kept his eyes shut but nodded. His forehead still connected with hers.

“Give me a second.”

She brought her hands down and lifted his shirt. “I want to see you.” The shirt pulled higher. “I want to touch you.” There was a bit of brazenness in her low words. “This morning I only got to look. Now I want to touch.” She leaned to touch her tongue to his earlobe as her nails ran across his nipples. Icy hot bolts of sensation shot down below his stomach.

Apparently she didn’t understand what “Give me a second” meant to a man. He clenched his teeth and ripped the shirt over his head. “I wouldn’t have complained if you’d touched.” He dropped his shirt on the floor, gave her a fast deep kiss, and pulled her sweater off. “No one was stopping you,” he whispered. Her bra was simple and smooth. Her breasts were just right. Not big. Just utterly enticing. He lifted one with his hand and felt her nipple tighten. Her chin dropped a notch and she closed her eyes, arching her back, pushing into his touch.

She was his, giving him permission to do as he pleased, responding hotly to his simple touch. She’d handed him total power.

He unclasped the bra hooks, sliding the straps down her arms and stepping back the slightest bit to look at her in the flickering light. Exquisite. He leaned over and lifted a breast to his mouth and tasted the satin of her skin, catching a nipple between his teeth and scraping lightly. She gasped and leaned back on her hands.

Whom was he fooling? This woman had total power over him.

He kissed his way to the other breast and unbuttoned her jeans, his mind under attack by the memory of lace underneath. He straightened and she weakly protested as he left her breasts. He slid her hips forward off the counter, and she landed on unsteady legs, her sexy cowboy boots rapping the floor. He pushed her jeans down to midthigh and tossed her back up on the counter wearing just that thong. It was hot pink. Breathing hard, she curled her hands around the counter’s edge. He put two hands on her boots and slipped both off at once. Her jeans followed an instant later. Loving the surprise in her eyes, he stepped close to kiss her witless.

His mind was spinning. He couldn’t wait to get inside this woman and drive her wild.

Lacey gasped as her jeans hit the floor. It’d happened so fast. One minute he had the slowest, most sensual hands she’s ever felt, and then the next minute he raced along like a NASCAR driver. She couldn’t catch her breath; he kept knocking her off guard. He stepped close to kiss her with a possessive male look that triggered a hot fervor in her groin. She moved against him and grew wet, slick. Why’d he leave her panties in the way?

She unsnapped the top of his jeans, but he elbowed her arms out of reach and kissed her with a fierceness that curled her toes. His mouth was hot and commanding, taking everything she had. She wanted to beat on his back with her fists to make him let her touch him, but she settled for touching his shoulders, chest and biceps. Those cut muscles she’d admired last night were as hard as iron. He had the body of an athlete. Muscle, speed, and length. She outlined his pecs, running her fingers through the soft hair on his chest. His mouth moved up her cheek to her eyelids and back to her ear. As he traced the arc of her ear with a hot wet tongue, his hand slid between her thighs and firmly brushed a spot through her panties that made her spine melt. Then he did it again, and she clutched at his shoulders, digging her nails into his deltoids and closing her eyes. It was a double assault. Her ear and her clit.