Committed to the Baby. Maureen Child

fast as he continued to stroke her body inside and out. His thumb worked that so sensitive bud of flesh at the heart of her, and Maggie felt her brain sizzle as tension coiled inside her, tighter, tighter.

      “Come for me, Maggie,” he whispered. “Let me watch you shatter.”

      She couldn’t have denied him even if she’d wanted to. It had been too long. She’d missed him too much. Maggie held on to his shoulders, fingers curling into the soft fabric of the long-sleeved shirt he wore, digging into his hard muscles.

      Her mind spun, splintering with thoughts, images, while her body burned and spiraled even closer to its reward. She’d never felt anything like this with any man before him. And after Justice…she’d had no interest in other men. He was the one. She’d known it the moment she’d met him three years before. One look across a crowded dance floor at a charity event and she’d known. Instantly. It was as if everything in the world had held utterly still for one breathless moment.

      Just like now.

      There was nothing in the world but him and his hands. His touch. His scent. “Justice—I need…”

      “I know, baby. I know just what you need. Take it. Take me.” He touched her deeper, pushing his fingers inside her, stroking her until her breath strangled in her throat.

      Until she could only groan and hold on to him. Until her body trembled and the incredible tension within shattered under an onslaught of pleasure so deep, so overwhelming, all she could do was shout his name as wave after wave of completion rolled over her, through her, leaving her dazed and breathless.

      And when the tremors finally died away, Maggie stared up into Justice’s lake-blue eyes and watched him smile. She was standing in the living room, with her pants down, trembling with the force of her reaction to him. She should have been…embarrassed. After all, anyone could have walked into the ranch house.

      Instead, all Maggie felt was passion stirring inside again. His hands were talented, heaven knew. But she wanted more. She wanted the slide of Justice’s body into hers.

      Licking her lips, she blew out a breath and said, “That was…”

      “…just the beginning,” he finished for her.

      Chapter Two

      Sounded good to Maggie.

      Yet… She glanced around the empty room before looking back at him. “Mrs. Carey’s not here, but—”

      “Nobody’s here,” he said quickly. “No one’s coming. No one is going to interrupt us.”

      Maggie sighed in relief. She didn’t want any interruptions. Justice was right about one thing—their past was gone. The future was gray and hazy. All she had was today. This minute. This one small slice of time, and she was going to relish every second of it.

      Her fingers speared through his thick, soft hair, her nails dragging along his scalp. He always kept it too long, she thought idly, loving the way the dark brown mass lay across his collar. He had a day’s worth of dark stubble on his jaws, and he looked so damned sexy he made her quiver.

      Her breasts ached for his touch and as if he’d heard that stray thought, he pulled back from her slightly, just far enough so that his fingers could work the buttons on her pale pink silk blouse. Quickly, they fell free and then he was sliding the fabric off her shoulders to drop to the floor. She stepped out of her slacks, kicked off her half boots and slipped her lacy panties off.

      Then he undid her bra, tossing it aside, and her breasts were free, his hands cupping her. His thumbs moved over her peaked nipples until she whimpered with the pleasure and the desire pumping fresh and new through her system. As if that climax hadn’t even happened, her body was hot and trembling again.

      Need crashed down on her, and at her core she ached and burned for him.

      “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, drawing his mouth from hers, glancing down at her breasts, cupped in his palms. “So damn beautiful.”

      “I want you, Justice. Now. Please, now.”

      One corner of his mouth tipped into a wicked smile. His eyes flashed and in an instant he’d swept her up into his arms, stalked across the room and dropped her onto one of the wide sofas. She stared up at him as he tugged his shirt up and over his head. And her mouth watered. His skin, so tanned, so strong, so sculpted. God, she remembered all the nights she’d lain in his arms, held against that broad, warm chest. And she trembled at the rise of passion inside her.

      She scooted back on the sofa until her head was resting on a pillow. Maggie held her arms out toward him. “What’re you waiting for, cowboy?”

      His eyes gleamed, his jaw went tight and hard. He finished undressing in a split second but still Maggie thought he was taking too long. She didn’t want to wait. She was hot and wet and so ready for him that she thought she’d explode and die if he didn’t take her soon.

      He came to her and Maggie’s gaze dipped to his erection, long and thick and hard. Her breath caught on a gasp of anticipation as Justice leaned down, tore the back cushions off the sofa and tossed them to the floor to make more room for them on the overstuffed couch. The dark green chenille fabric was soft and cool against her skin, but Maggie hardly noticed that slight chill. There was far too much heat simmering inside her, and when Justice covered her body with his, she could have sworn she felt actual flames sweeping over them.

      “I’ve missed you, babe,” he told her, bracing himself on his hands, lowering his mouth to hers, tasting, nibbling.

      “Oh, Justice, I’ve missed you, too.” She lifted her hips for him, parting her thighs, welcoming him home. He pushed his body into hers with one hard stroke. She groaned, loving the long, deep slide of his flesh claiming hers. He filled her and she lifted her legs higher, hooking them around his waist, opening herself so that she could take him even deeper.

      And still it wasn’t enough. Wasn’t nearly enough. She groaned, twisting and writhing beneath him as he moved in and out of her depths in plunging strokes that fanned the flames engulfing her.

      It had been too long, she thought wildly. She didn’t want soft and romantic. She wanted hard and fast and frantic. She wanted to know that he felt the same crushing need she did. She wanted to feel the strength of his passion.

      “Harder, Justice,” she whispered. “Take me harder.”

      He looked down at her and his eyes flashed. “I’m holding back, Maggie. It’s been too long. I don’t want to hurt you.”

      She cupped his face in her palms, fought to steady her breath and finally shook her head and smiled. “The only thing that hurts is when you hold back. Justice, I need you. All of you.”

      His jaw clenched tight, he swept one arm around her back, holding her to him even as he pushed off the couch. With their bodies locked together, her legs wrapped around his waist, he eased her onto the oriental carpet covering the hardwood floors. With her flat on her back, he levered himself over her, hands at either side of her head. Grinning down at her, he muttered, “Told you when you bought ’em those damn couches were too soft.”

      She grinned right back at him. “For sitting, they’re perfect. For this…yeah. Too soft.”

      She lifted her hips then, taking him deeper inside. When he withdrew a moment later, she nearly groaned, but then he was back, driving himself into her, pistoning his hips against hers and she felt all of him. Took all of him. His need joined hers.

      He lifted her legs, hooking them over his shoulders, tipping her hips higher so that he could delve even deeper, and Maggie groaned in appreciation. She slapped her hands onto the carpet and hung on as he moved faster and faster, driving them both to a shuddering climax that hovered just out of reach.

      “Yes, Justice,” she said, her voice nothing more than a strained hush of sound. “Just like that.”

      Again