Bachelor's Bought Bride / CEO's Expectant Secretary. Jennifer Lewis

thumb slipped inside her blouse and strummed her nipple through her bra. She arched and moaned through their kiss in response.

      Leaning into him, she let her fingernails rake over the hard muscle on either side of his spine. She’d never felt such a powerful male body. Heat simmered in her core as she felt the sheer strength of him, so different from the skinny boys she’d known in the past.

      With a deft hand, he unbuttoned her blouse and pushed it aside until her breast was bared—or at least her bra. Her lips reluctantly gave up his mouth as Gavin pulled back.

      Bree’s eyes opened to see his gaze resting on her cleavage. The fine lace of the pretty bra gave the vista an erotic flavor. Thank goodness she wasn’t wearing one of her old, white “over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders.” She owed Elle big time for her fashion and beauty tips.

      Gavin’s chest rose as he inhaled and sighed. “This is the best view I’ve seen in a long time.”

      “And I bet you can see pretty far from this high floor.”

      “Rooftops and seagulls have nothing on the hills and valleys I see right now.” His gaze scorched her skin.

      Then his fingers tugged at her blouse and pulled it off completely. Bree wriggled out of the sleeves, until she was naked from the waist up.

      Well, a bra counted as naked, didn’t it?

      She certainly felt naked under his hungry gaze.

      Gavin lowered his mouth to her breast and licked her nipple through the satiny fabric. Bree’s belly quivered at the sensation. His hand roamed over her back, sliding under the bra strap, then releasing the clasp with practiced ease.

      She sucked in a breath as he pulled the black satin and lace from her, leaving her totally exposed.

      “You are unbelievably hot.” His eyes rested on her chest as he said it, which made her laugh. Her breasts weren’t used to such frank and enthusiastic worship, and she couldn’t help enjoying it.

      “I don’t think it’s fair that only one of us gets to enjoy the view.” She reached for his shirt buttons and pushed the shirt back to reveal ripped, tanned muscle. “Ah, much better.”

      A fine line of silky dark hair ran between his thick pecs, heading down below his leather belt. Bree’s breath caught in her throat as she saw the thick bulge beneath the buckle.

      On instinct, her hand slid down to touch him through the denim of his jeans. Hard and powerful, his raw arousal made her blink.

      “I think we’d be more comfortable in the bedroom.” Gavin’s low voice sent a shiver of awareness through her.

      “Okay.” Her voice may have quavered a bit but he didn’t seem to notice.

      After a smoky head-to-toe glance that threatened to light her skin on fire, he took her hand and led her into his bedroom.

      He switched on a soft light, which threw out just enough illumination to reveal dark blue sheets on a wide wooden bed with sleek modern lines. Blinds covered the floor-to-ceiling windows. Gavin shrugged off his shirt—which was barely on to begin with—and held out his hands. Bree walked into his inviting embrace.

      Her skin hummed under his exploring fingers. Breathless and a little nervous, she reached for his belt buckle. She wasn’t experienced but she knew she shouldn’t sit back and wait for him to do everything. He was probably used to temptresses like that woman at the party, who could drive a man to heights of distraction with one flick of a manicured fingernail.

      She was surprised when the thick leather belt came easily through the thin buckle. Her knuckles grazed his thick erection, which throbbed under her touch.

      He really wants me. She still could hardly believe it. How could everything have turned around so quickly?

      One minute she was plain old Bree Kincannon, going about her usual dull but pleasant existence. Now she was standing in a strange man’s apartment in her underwear, apparently on the brink of making love.

      Love?

      No. No one had said anything about love. Still, she couldn’t deny that she felt a special connection with Gavin. And he obviously felt it, too. Isn’t this what falling in love must be like?

      “Oh!” She let out a little exclamation of surprise as he unzipped her jeans. He slid them down her thighs, caressing her skin with his mouth as he went, leaving her in only her lace-edged panties.

      “You’re breathtaking,” he murmured.

      Bree tried to hold up her end by undoing his jeans. Her eager fingers fumbled with the button and Gavin helped her slide them over his tight backside and down his thick, powerful thighs.

      Oh, my. She’d never seen thighs like that. At least not outside an underwear commercial. Heart in her throat, she tugged at his dark gray boxers and couldn’t help gasping as his arousal sprang free.

      Gavin guided her gently onto the cool sheets and tugged her panties down over her thighs.

      Now she really was naked. Excitement and fear prickled in her veins.

      He climbed over her, his big muscled body making hers seem almost insubstantial, and lowered himself carefully onto the bed beside her.

      A gentle kiss on the lips soothed her rattled nerves. Gavin’s broad fingers roamed over her belly, leaving tingles of sensation in their wake. She tensed up slightly as he strayed between her thighs, but she parted her legs and let them in.

      His fingertip probed into her warmth and she sucked in a breath as it found a sensitive spot. Her hips twitched slightly as he moved his fingers, stimulating secret places no one else had cared to explore.

      Eyes closed, an expression of pleasure lighting his chiseled features, Gavin looked more heartbreakingly handsome than ever. Bree’s heart squeezed. Could he be the one?

      She’d more or less given up hoping that Prince Charming would come sweep her off her feet. Every little girl has that dream, but a grown woman of twenty-nine has learned that most frogs don’t improve all that much upon kissing.

      Ooh. She wriggled as Gavin’s fingers sent a shockwave zinging through her. A tiny moan escaped her lips. Gavin’s eyes opened a crack, and a wicked smile played at the edges of his sensual mouth.

      Hot and slick under his touch, she felt more aroused than ever in her life. Gavin eased closer, until their bodies pressed together all the way from his broad shoulders to his sturdy thighs. Then he raised himself up onto a powerful arm, rolled on a condom with expert ease, and climbed over her.

      She couldn’t help an involuntary shudder as he entered her. All her nerve endings were alive and buzzing. Eyes closed, she gave herself over to the sensation. Her fingers dug into the hard muscle of his back as he slid inside her, slow and gentle, opening her like a secret chamber left unexplored for far too long.

      Once inside her, Gavin released a throaty moan—a sound of relief mingled with pleasure. He started to move, and Bree’s hips automatically joined in the dance, just as her body had flowed with his so readily on the dance floor at the charity gala. Maybe they were meant to be together….

      She let the delicious thought flow through her as she followed him into a new realm of pleasure. Gavin’s hands roamed over her body, squeezing and enjoying every inch of her, as they moved together. She explored the muscled ridges of his back and the firm curve of his backside.

      Desire fluttered in her chest—and in all kinds of places she didn’t know existed—as Gavin deftly shifted them into different positions. Heat pulsed through her and her thoughts jumbled and scattered as primal sensation shoved thought aside. Her body cleaved to his, writhing and twisting, steamy and slick.

      She arched under him, taking him deeper, her breath coming in unsteady gasps, until suddenly everything exploded.

      Or imploded.

      Her body convulsed and twitched as tidal waves