The backs of her knees hit something. That’s when she realized they were at the foot of his bed. Funny, she didn’t remember how they got from the door to the bed. Before she had time to contemplate something so inconsequential, he gently laid her back onto the bed.

“Beautiful,” he murmured right before he started teasing her breasts with his lips. He kept his mouth on one breast and gently outlined the other one with a torturous finger. A hot, delicious ache grew between her legs, and she wondered if he’d ever ease it.

Without warning, he lifted his head and stared at her. His breathing as shallow as hers, she could feel his erratic heartbeat against her own.

She squirmed underneath his intense gaze. She never knew what he was thinking. Normally she didn’t care. Now she wished more than anything he wasn’t so damn impenetrable. “What?”

He shook his head and she could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down.

“You’re so fucking perfect,” he groaned before he once again slanted his mouth over hers.

Chills ran down her spine. Until this moment she’d never really understood what desire was. Her experience with the opposite sex limited, it seemed she was always the one giving. Not with Dane. An electric shock of white hot lust sparked every place he touched her.

Slowly, his hands skimmed down the length of her hips, and he slipped off her pajama bottoms and panties in one swoop. He stared at her almost worshipfully as one of his fingers traced a sensuous line across her belly. He didn’t kiss her, he just watched her face as his magical hand worked its way down and came to rest between her legs.

Instinctively she arched against him, urging him to relieve her. He grinned knowingly and slipped a finger, then two, inside of her. His strokes were rhythmic and calculated, pushing her until she couldn’t take another second of his beautiful torture. If he could do this with just his fingers, she had no doubt about the rest of him. She arched her back as a sign of what she wanted, unable to take it anymore.

Her voice was raw and ragged. “Now.”

He leaned over towards the nightstand, and she heard rustling. It took a moment to realize what he was doing. At least one of them was thinking clearly.

She placed a light hand on his chest before he could pull out the condom.

“Dane?”

“Hmm?” He stared down at her in a sex induced haze.

“We won’t be needing that. I’m on the pill and unless you have…”

She never got to finish that thought. Dane’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he crushed his mouth over hers. Restraint and any semblance of gentleness gone, she wrapped her legs around his lean waist.

Calista didn’t trust herself to say anything more. She needed him. Strange emotions whirled and skidded around inside her brain. Needing someone like this was a foreign experience.

Dane never took his eyes off her face as he expertly pulled off his boxers. He couldn’t bear to take his eyes from her. Every emotion she was feeling played across her features. It was hard to believe how little experience she actually had when she was such a fireball of sensuality. Her very being screamed sex appeal. This next step changed everything. She changed everything. He had fantasized about this from the moment she’d stepped through that hospital door, yet nothing compared to the reality. He loved her. He wasn’t sure how it was possible but he did. On a primal level, he knew they belonged together.

Dane guided himself to her opening and easily fit inside of her tight, wet, welcoming body. In that moment he lost every last sane thought he held on to. Nothing mattered but being with her. Not their past. Not the circumstances surrounding them. Nothing but her. Calista writhed beneath him and wrapped her slender legs tighter around his body. Her erratic heartbeat thumped in tune with his.

The raw heat of her body coursed down the entire length of his own. He thrust deeper and harder until she completely surrendered to her desires. Her body started to tremble and vibrate in tune with his. She clenched her legs around him in one last embrace before collapsing beneath him. Only then did he allow himself release.

Afterwards, neither spoke as Dane traced the curve of her spine with his hands. Her smooth skin felt like such a contrast to his rough hands, but he couldn’t stop touching her. He wanted to say something. Anything. But, he couldn’t come up with anything intelligent or even remotely fitting. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to mind the silence either. Calista sighed once, curled her body to fit his, and fell into a deep sleep almost instantly.

He spoke softly against her hair. “What have you done to me?”

She answered him with the rhythmic breathing of her sleep.

****

Calista opened one eye and cringed. Sure enough, last night was not a dream. Dane lay stretched out next to her. She could stare at his muscular body all day and never tire. There couldn’t be an inch of fat anywhere on his lithe, lean form. She tried to roll over, but the weight of his arm across her stomach effectively pinned her against the bed. She needed to put some distance between them and clear her head. Not to mention she needed some actual sleep. He’d woken her up three times in the past few hours and she was afraid if she stirred too much he’d wake up again. Not that she could complain, she was a very willing participant.

Quietly she moved his arm and sat up. She rubbed her bleary eyes and scanned the room in search of her clothes. Her top lay by the door, her panties were on the floor, but she couldn’t locate her pajama bottoms. Oh well, she could get those later. Careful not to disturb him, she eased off the bed and tiptoed to the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Dane lazily drawled, eyes still closed.

Her heart jumped in her throat and stayed lodged there. She rocked back and forth on her heels, knowing she looked ridiculous, like a thief trying to escape into the night. “I thought you’d want to get some rest.”

“What I want is more of you.” Dane opened his eyes, threw back the covers to expose his naked body, and grinned wickedly.

In spite of herself, she felt her cheeks heat up. She shouldn’t be embarrassed considering they’d just spent the past five or six hours tangled beneath his sheets.

He saved her from having to come up with an intelligent response by continuing. “I don’t know if you realize what you’ve done to me, honey, but I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Still clutching her clothes in front of her she returned to the bed and curled up next to him. Muddled thoughts swirled inside her, and if she looked into his gorgeous blue eyes, he would only confuse her more. So she tucked her head on his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart. “You don’t have to say things like that, Dane. Last night was amazing but I’m not expecting anything more.”

“You might not be, but I am.” He gently stroked his hand down the hollow of her spine, sending chills throughout her entire body.

Still trying to digest what they’d done only a few hours before, she remained silent. She wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that comment. He was such a mystery. If she was honest with herself, she wasn’t sure what she wanted from him anyway. Better not to prod for answers right now.

Dane’s smooth, low voice murmured close to her ear, interrupting her contemplations. “I’ve seen you perform before, you know.”

Calista stifled a laugh and propped her head on his chest so she could see his expression. “Liar. Somehow I don’t see you at one of my concerts.”

“It was about six years ago, before I even knew your brother existed. You put on a show in Djibouti, Africa for some of the troops.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You are full of surprises. How could you know that? It wasn’t even publicized.”

“I know because I saw you. You were like this streak of energy and fire running and dancing from one side of the stage to the other. I remember thinking how small and delicate you looked up there in your bare feet. The moment you opened that perfect little mouth of yours however, my perception changed. You set the place on fire.”

A compliment like that, especially from Dane, rocked her to her core. In the span of a few weeks they had gone from enemies to what exactly? She wasn’t sure. Temporary lovers? Friends maybe? No, in her heart she knew she could never be just friends with him. She’d always want more. Something in her gut told her that he would too. With them, it would have to be all or nothing. There wouldn’t be any middle ground after last night.

“I don’t know what to say, except thank you.”

“Calista.” His voice was thick with need as he slid one rough hand around her face and gripped the back of her head.

Before she could respond his other hand was between her legs. He gently slid one of his fingers over the tip of her clitoris. A warm, slow heat besieged her entire body.

“This could get complicated,” she whispered as she fought to keep control.

“It already is. Ever since I kissed you in Maryland we were bound to be complicated. I don’t…this kind of connection is rare.”

Something about his face told her those words weren’t bull shit. She knew they hadn’t been easy for him.

“Don’t say any more, Dane. Please. Let’s just enjoy this time together.” She wanted to say more, to tell him how she truly felt, but the words stuck in her throat. Soon however, she had no thoughts at all except what he was doing to her body. He slipped two fingers inside her and deftly stroked until she almost reached climax. It startled her to realize how well he’d already memorized her body. For the next few hours the two of them were so entwined in each other it was easy to pretend the outside world didn’t exist.

Eventually, Dane and Calista fell back in satisfied exhaustion. Dane leisurely traced her hip with his finger, concentrating on one particular area. “What’s the story behind this tattoo?”

Calista flipped on her side and propped herself up on one elbow. Her lips curved upwards. “I’ll tell you the story about this when you tell me the story behind that.”

She laid her hand over the scar on his chest and smiled, knowing what his answer would be.