In The Tycoon's Bed. Maureen Child

and his jaw clenched, she loved the rush she felt.

      “Sadie, you are making me crazy.”

      “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” she said huskily, leaning in to kiss him.

      He chuckled and the sound was dark and rich, rolling through her system like warm wine.

      “This is crazy,” she murmured, knowing it was true, but not really caring. “Heck, you’re crazy,” she added and even she thought it sounded more like a compliment than an accusation.

      “It’s part of what you like about me,” he said and led her to the double-wide chaise. It was warm from the summer sun and overstuffed to make lounging on the patio as comfortable as possible. And Sadie could hardly believe that she was stripping out of her clothes and lying down on it, naked in the moonlight.

      The heavy cotton felt scratchy against her skin, but any discomfort was lost as she watched Rick quickly get rid of his clothes. She sucked in a gulp of air when she took her first look at his body, hard and ready for her. Then she couldn’t think at all because he was there, lying on top of her, flesh to flesh, heat to heat.

      She sighed when he rolled to his back and pulled her on top of him. She straddled him then, looking down into dark eyes that flashed with wicked heat. He lifted both hands to cup her bare breasts and at the first touch of his hands, she arched into him, pushing herself into his grasp. Sighing, she let all thought slide away as his fingers and thumbs tweaked at her already sensitive nipples.

      She needed to touch as well as be touched. Reaching down, she wrapped her hands around his heavy shaft and smiled when he hissed in a breath through gritted teeth. She stroked him, rubbing her fingers up and down his length and across the very tip of him until he was lifting his hips into her touch.

      “You’re killing me,” he groaned.

      “Oh, not my intention at all,” Sadie promised. Then, feeling sexy and wild and completely out of control, she went up on her knees and slowly, slowly took him into her body. Inch by glorious inch, she accepted him, giving her own body time to stretch to accommodate his. It was an invasion of the most intimate kind and she wanted all of him within her.

      She took her time, prolonging the suspenseful glide of bodies locking together to torture both of them. Her eyes closed and she moaned her pleasure.

      “Enough,” he grumbled a moment later and rolled them over again, until Sadie was on her back and he was wedged between her thighs.

      She smiled up at him. “Impatient.”

      “Damn right. We’ve waited three years to do this. So let’s get to it.”

      “You are a romantic, aren’t you, Rick Pruitt?”

      “Darlin’, you, naked, in the moonlight—that’s as romantic as it gets.”

      “Smooth talker.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her hips to him.

      He pushed deeper inside her and Sadie gasped, tipping her head back to look up at the stars. He was inside her. Filling her. And for the first time in three years, she felt … complete.

      He moved then, rocking his hips, setting a rhythm that she raced to match. Her gaze fixed on his, as if his dark brown eyes held every secret she had ever wanted to know. Breath laboring, bodies straining together, they held on to each other and hurtled toward the explosive release waiting for them.

      Rick bent his head to take her mouth with his as the first of the tremors wracked her body. She tasted him as a shattering climax claimed her. Sadie held him tightly, shuddering as ripple after ripple of pleasure roared through her.

      And before the last of those tremors died away, he groaned and, still kissing her desperately, emptied all that he was into her depths.

      Two hours and lots of sex later, they were lying in Rick’s bed, just down the hall from their sleeping daughters. The monitor was on the dresser, their clothes were in a heap on the floor and their heartbeats were just beginning to slow down to normal.

      Curled up beside him, Sadie rested her head on Rick’s chest and took a long, shaky breath. She hadn’t felt this good in years. But she knew there would be a price to pay for it. Sleeping with him was going to reopen the talk of marriage and she had the feeling he wasn’t going to like hearing her say no again.

      “It’s good,” he said softly, going up on one elbow to look down at her. “Having you here in my bed. Having our daughters sleeping just down the hall.”

      Sadie sighed. “Rick, what we did tonight doesn’t change anything for me.”

      He smoothed her hair back from her face and she closed her eyes briefly to enjoy the gentle caress. “It changes everything, darlin’.”

      “No.” Opening her eyes, she swallowed back her own needs and fought to remain logical. “It’s not me you really want, Rick—”

      “Oh, I think the last couple of hours should have convinced you you’re wrong about that.”

      She had to chuckle at that, since her body was still buzzing from his careful attention to detail. “I mean, what you want is family. You just found out about the girls and you want them in your life, I understand that. But this isn’t about me.”

      He took a breath and blew it out before saying quietly, “The first time I saw you, you were about seven years old, I think.”

      “What?”

      “My parents took me to dinner at Claire’s restaurant and I saw you at another table with Brad and your folks….”

      She scooted out from under his touch and braced her back against the headboard. “I don’t see what any of this has to do with—”

      “I remember,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “because I was ten years old and didn’t much like girls. But then I saw you. Your long blond hair was pulled back by a pink headband and you were wearing a white dress with ruffles. You looked like a pretty doll sitting there with your hands folded in your lap.”

      A pretty doll. Funny, Sadie told herself, that was how she’d felt most of her life. Not that her parents hadn’t loved her, but she had never really been allowed to be a child. She was always in a dress. Always told to sit up straight. Always expected to be perfect.

      Which was why she’d made sure her daughters owned more pairs of play pants than they did dresses. At least until Rick came long.

      “And I remember the waitress hurrying past your table and she spilled a Coke. It dropped onto your lap and I can still see your reaction in my mind.”

      “Oh, God,” she whispered, “I remember that.”

      She hadn’t thought about it in years. Now that she had though, the day came back in a rush of memories that had her cringing inside.

      Rick sat up beside her, tucked a pillow behind her back and then took her hand in his. “You didn’t shout or scream in surprise. You just sat there, your white, lacy lap filled with dark brown cola and you cried.” His thumb moved back and forth across her hand. “Big, silent tears, while your mom rushed to clean you up and the waitress babbled apologies. Your dad didn’t even look at you, he just took Brad and led him outside.”

      “He never did like scenes,” Sadie whispered.

      They were having Sunday dinner at Claire’s because her father considered it good business to frequent local establishments. He always said, they were the Price family and it was up to them to set an example for others. He said that it was important that people think well of them so they were always to be on their best behavior.

      When they got home that night, her father had made a point of telling her that she had comported herself well by not throwing a hissy fit in the diner. He said it was all the waitress’s fault, but that everyone in town would be talking about what a perfect lady Sadie was.

      A lady.