Taming the Last Acosta. Susan Stephens

away, and was relieved to find it was only to remove his jacket.

      For such a big man Kruz went about his business with purpose and speed. His natural athleticism, she supposed, feeling her body heat, pulse and melt at the thought of being thoroughly pleasured by him. Growing up with a pillow over her head to shut out the violence at home had left her a stranger to romance and tenderness. Given a choice, she preferred to observe life through her camera lens, but when an opportunity for pleasure presented itself she seized it, enjoyed it, and moved on. She wasn’t about to turn down this opportunity.

       Pleasure with no curb or reason? Pleasure without thought of consequence?

      Correct, she informed her inner critic firmly. Even the leisurely way Kruz was folding his jacket and putting it aside was like foreplay. He was so sexy. His powerful body was sexy—his hands were sexy—the wide spread of his shoulders was sexy—his shadowy face was sexy.

      Kruz’s confidence in her unquestioning acceptance of everything that was about to happen was so damn sexy she could lose control right now.

      A life spent living vicariously through a camera lens was ultimately unsatisfactory, while this unexpected encounter was proving to be anything but. A rush of lust and longing gripped her as he held her stare. The look they exchanged spoke about need and fulfilment. It was explicit and potent. She broke the moment of stillness. Ripping off his shirt, she sent buttons flying everywhere. Yanking the fabric from the waistband of his pants, she tossed it away, exclaiming with happy shock as bespoke tailoring yielded to hard, tanned flesh. This was everything she had ever dreamed of and more. Liberally embellished with tattoos and scars, Kruz’s torso was outstanding. She could hardly breathe for excitement when he found the button on her jeans and quickly dealt with it. He quickly got them down. In comparison, her own fingers felt fat and useless as she struggled with the buckle on his belt.

      ‘Let me help you.’

      Kruz held her gaze with a mocking look as he made this suggestion. It was all the aphrodisiac she needed. She cried out with excitement when his thumbs slipped beneath the elastic on her flimsy briefs to ease them down her hips. His big hands blazed a trail of fire everywhere they touched. She couldn’t bear the wait when he paused to protect them both, but it was a badly needed wake-up call. The fact that this man had thought of it before she had went some way to reminding her how far she’d travelled from the safe shores she called home.

      Her body overruled the last-minute qualms. Her body was one hundred per cent in favour of what was coming. Even her tiny breasts felt swollen and heavy, while her nipples were cheekily pert and obscenely hard, and the carnal pulse throbbing insistently between her legs demanded satisfaction.

      Kruz had awakened such an appetite inside her she wouldn’t be human if she didn’t want to discover what sex could be like with someone who really knew what he was doing. She was about to find out. When Kruz stretched his length against her she could feel his huge erection, heavy and hard against her leg. And that look in his eyes—that slumberous, confident look. It told her exactly what he intended to do with her and just how much she was going to enjoy it. And, in case she was in any doubt, he now spelled out his intentions in a few succinct words.

      She gasped with excitement. With hardly any experience of dating, and even less of foreplay, she was happy to hear that nothing was about to change.

      CHAPTER TWO

      SHE EXCLAIMED WITH shock when Kruz eased inside her. She was ready. That wasn’t the problem. Kruz was the problem. He was huge.

       Built to scale.

      She should have known.

      Her breath came in short, shocked whimpers, pain and pleasure combined. It was a relief when he took his time and didn’t rush her. She began to relax.

       This was good… Yes, better than good…

      Releasing the shaking breath from her lungs, she silently thanked him for giving her the chance to explore such incredible sensation at her leisure. Leisure? The brief plateau lasted no more than a few seconds, then she was clambering all over him as a force swept them into a world where moving deeper, harder, rougher, fast and furious, was more than an imperative: it was essential to life.

      ‘You okay?’ Kruz asked, coming down briefly to register concern as she screamed wildly and let go.

      It seemed for ever before she could answer him, and then she wasn’t sure she said anything that made sense.

      ‘A little better, at least?’ he suggested with amusement when she quietened.

      ‘Not that much better,’ she argued, blatantly asking for more.

      Taking his weight on his arms, Kruz stared down at her.

      It didn’t get much better than this, Romy registered groggily, lost in pleasure the instant he began to move. She loved his hard, confident mouth. She loved the feeling of being full and ready to be sated. She even loved her grassy bed, complete with night sounds: cicadas chirruping and an owl somewhere in the distance hooting softly. Kruz’s clean, musky scent was in her nostrils, and when she turned her head, groaning in extremes of pleasure, her bed of grass added a piquant tang to an already intoxicating mix. She was floating on sensation, hardly daring to move in case she fell too soon. She didn’t want it to end, but Kruz was too experienced and made it really hard to hold on. Moving persuasively from side to side, he pushed her little by little, closer to the edge.

      ‘Good?’ he said, staring down, mocking her with his confident smile.

      ‘Very good,’ she managed on a shaking breath.

      And then he did something that lifted her onto an even higher plane of sensation. Slowly withdrawing, he left her trembling and uncertain, before slowly thrusting into her again. Whatever she had imagined before was eclipsed by this intensity of feeling. It was like the first time all over again, except now she was so much more receptive and aroused. She couldn’t hold back, and shrieked as she fell, shouting his name as powerful spasms gripped her.

      When she finally relaxed what she realised was her pincer grip on Kruz’s arms, she realised she had probably bruised him. He was holding her just as firmly, but with more care. She loved his firm grip on her buttocks, his slightly callused hands rough on her soft skin.

      ‘I can’t,’ she protested as he began to move again. ‘I truly can’t.’

      ‘There’s no such word as can’t,’ he whispered.

      Incredibly, he was right. It didn’t seem possible that she had anything left, but when Kruz stared deep into her eyes it was as if he was instructing her that she must give herself up to sensation. There was no reason to disobey and she tumbled promptly, laughing and crying with surprise as she fell again.

      It turned out to be just the start of her lessons in advanced lovemaking. Pressing her knees back, Kruz stared down. Now she discovered that she loved to watch him watching her. Lifting herself up, she folded her arms behind her head so she had a better view. Nothing existed outside this extreme pleasure. Kruz had placed himself at her disposal, and to reward him she pressed her legs as wide as they would go. He demanded all her concentration as he worked steadily and effectively on the task in hand.

      ‘You really should try holding on once in a while,’ he said, smiling against her mouth.

      ‘Why?’ she whispered back.

      ‘Try it and you’ll find out,’ he said.

      ‘Will you teach me?’ Her heart drummed at the thought.

      ‘Perhaps,’ Kruz murmured.

      He wasn’t joking, Romy discovered as Kruz led her through a lengthy session of tease and withdraw until her body was screaming for release.

      ‘Greedy girl,’ he murmured with approval. ‘Again?’ he suggested, when finally he allowed her to let go.

      Bracing her hands against his chest, she smiled into his eyes. For a hectic