The Best Of The Year - Modern Romance. Annie West

every pass of his tongue he drove her closer to an unfamiliar precipice. Her fingers tightened in his hair and she was unable to look away as he performed magic with his tongue. He squeezed her breasts together, his movements urgent.

      Just when she thought it couldn’t get any more delicious he straightened and reached for her bra clasp.

      ‘I need to see you.’

      Her instincts screeched, belatedly swamping her with a sense of preservation. ‘No...’

      ‘Oui,’ he stressed, the untamed glint in his eyes drying her mouth.

      ‘I can’t. God, you don’t even like me!’

      He tensed, his face registering surprise. ‘That’s not true. You can’t help who you are—’

      Her shocked laughter cut off his words. Roughly, she pushed him away. ‘I can’t believe you insult me in one breath and want to make love to me in another.’

      He shook his head. ‘You misunderstand. Lust isn’t logical.’ One hand speared through his hair, mussing the dark gold strands. ‘Whether we like each other or not, we can’t help the way we feel, ma belle. The chemistry between us isn’t rational, but it’s there—undeniable. Maybe this is one way to get rid of it.’

      ‘You mean get it out of our systems?’ She couldn’t believe she was half-naked, having this conversation with Bastien.

      He shrugged again. ‘Why not?’

      ‘Because it would make us no better than rutting animals!’

      He cupped her jaw, his thumb caressing her skin before tilting her face to his. ‘And how long do you think we can keep avoiding it until it ravages us?’

      She licked her lips, desire drowning her even as she fought to stay sane. ‘We don’t have to give in to our impulses just because the urge is there.’

      He gave a low, husky laugh. ‘Really?’

      Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his head. His lips brushed hers once. Twice. She moaned. Another laugh, another kiss. Light, ephemeral. Fresh tingles shot down her spine, singeing every cell until she was engulfed in sensual flames.

      ‘Then walk away,’ Bastien commanded, his mouth a hairsbreadth from hers.

      ‘Wh—what?’

      ‘Prove we’re not animals. Walk away. If you can.’ His thumb performed another pass, then rested on her frantic pulse.

      ‘Bastien...’ she protested. Feebly.

      ‘I won’t stop you if you want to end this. But do you want to deny yourself this exquisite pleasure?’

      ‘I...’ She couldn’t conjure up more than that single word.

      ‘By morning we will have dealt with it. Then we simply return to the way things were, minus the desperate need to tear each other’s clothes off.’

      Ana opened her mouth to refuse. Her lips brushed his. She tried to pull away. He stayed her with a firm touch. But reality had intruded enough for her to know that accepting his offer would be madness, tantamount to retracting every vow she’d made to herself.

      The harsh consequences of her mother’s promiscuity warned her against giving in to her baser instincts, against surrendering to this heady, insatiable need to satisfy the craving that tore at her soul. No matter how painful.

      She shook her head.

      Bastien’s chest expanded on a deep, slow breath. There was a mildly stunned look in his eyes. Then he released her.

      Ana felt as if part of her had been ripped out. He was walking away. The thought tore a jagged path through her mind, bringing with it the knowledge that cracked open a belief she’d never contemplated.

      She wasn’t her mother. Which meant she could take what she wanted and not destroy anything or anyone in the process.

      She wasn’t stringing anyone along or making false promises.

      There was a finite outcome to this. Bastien had offered the perfect solution. She could take this unique journey with this man who set her world on fire, explore what promised to be untold pleasure, and still keep her dignity and her heart intact.

      Deep in her heart Ana knew she’d never experience this level of chemistry with another man. Bastien was the only man who’d ever elicited such riotous, incredible feelings within her. What if this was her only chance of pleasure at its headiest? Could she deny herself this?

      His expression shuttering, he started to turn away. She grabbed his hand and returned it to her cheek.

      Fierce eyes, demanding and powerful, locked on hers. ‘Ana?’

      Turning her head, she kissed his palm. ‘Yes.’

      His nose flared. ‘There’s no going back from here. You have to know this.’ His voice emerged thick and deep.

      She swallowed. ‘I do.’

      One arm snagged her waist and lifted her away from the door. Before she could form another word he swung her into his arms, entered the hallway and strode for the stairs.

      She buried her face in his neck, breathed in his potent smell and tried to stem the flicker of apprehension inside her.

      In his room, he lowered her to her feet and eased off her top. His hands slid up into her hair to tilt her face to his. ‘You’re beautiful,’ he stated simply.

      Ana cleared her throat, aware that she needed to warn him about her inexperience before it was too late. ‘Bastien, there’s something you should know. I’m not... I don’t do this lightly.’

      He dropped a long, sensual kiss on her mouth. ‘Oui, I know. It is why I will make this special for you,’ he rasped, his gaze devouring her as he reached behind her and slowly unzipped her skirt.

      His gaze didn’t stray from her face as the material pooled at her feet. Nevertheless Ana’s body flamed. She felt more naked than she ever had in her life.

      Desperately, she cleared her throat. ‘I don’t mean that.’ She licked her lips, frantic for the right words to explain what she meant. ‘I mean my experience is somewhat limited.’ She couldn’t bear it if he were disappointed.

      He paused, his chest expanding on a breath. ‘Ana, I’m almost at breaking point. So are you. Now is not the time to apprise me of your experiences—limited or otherwise.’

      ‘But there isn’t—’

      He hooked his T-shirt over his head, ripped down his trousers and boxers, and stood naked before her.

      Ana had never seen a more gorgeous specimen of man. And that was saying a lot, considering her profession. Bastien’s body was more than an extraordinary streamlined symmetry of flesh and bone. It was fluid, lithe, and graceful in ways she could never accurately describe. And most of all he was proudly masculine and unashamed of it.

      His erection throbbed with a life of its own. She stared, unable to look away, as he advanced and captured her in his arms.

      ‘If you insist on talking,’ he rasped, before seizing her mouth in another searing kiss, ‘tell me your favourite position, ma petite. We’ll start with that.’

      Shocked laughter tripped from her. ‘My favourite...?’ She couldn’t repeat his question—nor could she stop the fierce blush that suffused her face. ‘Ah, Dios!’

      He traced a finger over her cheek. ‘I’m not sure which turns me on harder—hearing you speak in Spanish or your blushes,’ he said huskily, lowering his head to graze hot lips over her skin.

      Continuing along her jaw, he slowly circled her until he stood behind her. Scooping her hair into one hand, he trailed kisses along her shoulders.

      Ana shivered uncontrollably, her temperature spiking