Susan Stephens Selection. Susan Stephens

and would not be hurried. He chose instead to watch her responses with a lazy interest, capturing her wrists and holding them high above her head whilst tracing an unhurried path down her neck, her shoulder and then her arm with his other hand. Time was suspended in a realm where sensation ruled and Kate barely registered the fact that he had eased the zip down the back of her dress until she felt him teasing her nipple with his tongue through the taut lace of her bra.

      With long, shuddering sighs, she meshed her fingers through his thick black hair, increasing the pressure, but he broke away, taking his shirt over his head in one fluid move. As he reached for the buckle on his black leather belt she watched him release it, thrilling with pleasure to see him as eager as she was to be rid of his clothes. Then, as he lowered the zip on his linen trousers and swung off the bed to step out of them, she feasted her eyes again on his iron-flat stomach banded with muscle. Relishing her female power, Kate allowed her gaze to rove slowly and appreciatively over his magnificently proportioned torso and then on to where his black silk underpants accentuated, rather than concealed, his raging desire. Sprawling back with one arm tucked comfortably behind her head, she bent one knee a little, deliberately and very provocatively, as she continued to stare at him.

      Realising he was the floor show with an audience of one, Guy caught her gaze and returned it loaded with the promise of delicious retribution. Then, matching his length to hers, he rested his head on the heel of his hand and scorched a trail with his eyes over every deeply aroused inch of her. Only after what seemed like the longest time did he turn his attention back to her face. ‘Your lips are red and swollen from my kisses,’ he observed, tracing them with one firm thumb pad. ‘Your eyes are emerald-bright and feverish with desire… And your hair is gloriously disordered and streaming over your breasts…’

      Each of his words was like a caress and each one of them stimulated her a little more. She gasped out loud when his hand claimed her breast. But when she reached for him he only laughed softly and held her hand away.

      ‘Not yet,’ he said, scoring tantalising circles around her achingly sensitive nipples with the tips of his nails. ‘Take your bra off for me first.’ And now it was his turn to settle back to watch her with his head resting comfortably on his arms.

      ‘Not yet,’ Kate said, deliberately provoking him. Straddling him so that she had the comfort of feeling his arousal against her, she thrust out her breasts. She knew how Guy loved to toy with her responses, play her effortlessly so that as each moment passed she thought the next would bring satisfaction, only to have him deny her again… Well, now it was her turn. As he moved forward to take matters into his own hands she leaned back. ‘Not yet,’ she repeated in a voice full of irony.

      But she had underestimated him and his reflexes were lightning-fast. The gasp as he swung her underneath him turned to a moan as his hands closed over each distended nipple and his thumbs began to chafe them firmly, mercilessly through the taut fabric until the livid buds became unbearably sensitive. ‘You always did like playing games,’ he said. ‘Is this what you had in mind?’

      ‘Yes… Oh, yes—’ she managed before his plundering mouth cut her off again. And then her bra was gone and her lush breasts were fully exposed for his perusal. She had the satisfaction of hearing his sharp breath of approval before strong hands robbed her mind of the power of thought as they moved to measure and stroke and clasp and mould. Then, dipping his head to suckle, he teased her with his lips and with his teeth until she knew she would go mad with frustration.

      As she sucked in a deep and shuddering breath he looked up, but the confident humour in his eyes warned her that he hadn’t finished with her yet. Teasing her breasts with his hands, he lit a trail of fire down to her waist with his kisses until, finally easing her thighs apart, he sank down between her legs.

      He nuzzled the damp scrap of lace, tracing the swollen lips it confined with his tongue. But as Kate lifted her knees and cupped her hands behind them, opening herself more for his enjoyment, with a low growl of triumph he seized the thong and ripped it off. Kate responded immediately, impatient fingers slipping beneath the waistband of his black silk underwear. Guy allowed her to wrestle him for a while until, pushing her on to her back, he brought the playfulness to a close with stroking fingers and a mouth that knew too much about pleasure. But when almost immediately Kate found herself teetering on the edge of release she tried to push him away.

      Lifting his head, he murmured wryly, ‘This is no time to be self-conscious.’

      ‘I know,’ Kate admitted huskily, turning her head away to mumble, ‘but I’m scared.’

      Reaching a hand up, he cupped her chin to turn her back to face him. ‘Scared of what, baby…losing control?’ And when she didn’t answer he coaxed her legs apart again. ‘Don’t worry… I’ve got you. Let go.’

      And when she did as he said it was with such a burst of sensation she cried out in astonishment and bucked against him for the longest time until he wrapped her tightly in his arms and kissed her more intimately and more tenderly than ever before. ‘And now it’s my turn,’ he murmured, guiding her hand down to where there was no hope at all of containing him within one of her fine-boned fists. But when the fears came back he knew just how to soothe them and how to tempt her on until, lodging one powerful thigh between her legs, he finally held her powerless beneath him.

      ‘I’m really frightened now,’ Kate admitted in a gasp, and more by his size than any doubt as to his consideration for her.

      ‘No, you’re not,’ Guy insisted huskily, warming her ear with his breath. ‘You’re inexperienced and apprehensive, but never frightened, Kate—not with me. I would never, never hurt you.’

      With her gaze firmly locked in his she accepted the steady thrust, trusting him completely as he stretched her beyond anything she would have thought possible, filling her with an intensity of sensation she could never have anticipated. The sense of completeness made her cry out his name and she stabbed her fingers into his taut buttocks as he withdrew slowly, making him plunge deeply again. And as he felt her rise towards him in an unmistakable plea for more Guy built the rhythm, adding a little more force each time until they were moving urgently together.

      He was supremely responsive, moving with firm, deep strokes to inflame the quiver within her until it became an all-consuming need, and when the pulsating energy consumed them both the violence of his spasms prolonged her own stunning release. For a while it seemed to Kate as if the aftershocks would never end. But Guy knew just how to soothe her back down again, tucking strands of damp hair behind her ears and bathing her face with kisses, then stroking her body until finally she quietened against him and snuggled contentedly into the nook between his neck and shoulder.

      ‘No sleep,’ he warned softly. ‘Not yet.’

      ‘Why not?’ she said faintly in a sleep-slurred voice.

      ‘Because,’ he murmured, moving on to his side, ‘I’m not finished with you yet.’

      ‘Oh, really?’ Kate breathed as she stretched out languorously with her arms flung up to rest on the soft mound of pillows.

      ‘Yes, really,’ Guy insisted in a voice laced with dry humour as he moved one of her legs over his thighs, spreading her wide again.

      As he settled in closer Kate felt him brush against her as he turned her on to her side. And this time when he thrust inside her there was no fear, only moans of sheer delight as he proved she still needed his attention. ‘Are you never satisfied?’ she gasped as he took up the familiar rhythm and intensified the sensation with the steady movement of his fingers.

      ‘I just want to make sure you don’t forget me while I’m away,’ he said as he used the heel of one hand to nudge her into the best position.

      ‘Away?’

      But this was not the time for discussion, and Guy made sure that pleasure took her over until the thought that he might be leaving soon was submerged beneath tidal waves of sensation.

      Kate woke to find Guy dressed ready to go out. The dark formal suit, together with the tailored shirt and silk tie instantly rang warning bells