“But never had he felt more enthralled than he was right now, sitting beside Evie on a weathered old dock, with a blazing afternoon sun, almost brutal in its clarity, bathing everything in pure light. Sweat trickled down his back and chest from the steamy heat, and his entire body pulsed with life. Even his fingertips throbbed. It took all of his formidable self-control to prevent himself from pushing her down on the dock and spreading her legs for his entry.”

“He unsnapped her jeans and said, “I want you just like this.” Then he kissed her.There was nothing romantic about Diaz, no murmured sweet things, no gallant gestures, just this kiss that went on and on, deep and voracious. She’d never been kissed like this before, with an intensity that stripped everything down to the simplest components: male, female. He held her with his hand burrowed into her hair, her skull gripped in his palm, her head tilted back while he fed from her mouth. That was what it felt like, a taking. And yet he gave, too. He gave pleasure. She burned with it, the flames fueled by nothing more than his mouth and tongue.”

“Milla put her hands on his ribs, holding on as he braced his weight on one arm while with his other hand he guided his penis to her and in the same rough motion pushed deep inside.He froze in place, his breath panting between his parted lips as they stared at each other. She couldn’t move; the feel of him inside her was too sharp, almost painful in its intensity. Their gazes met in the mellow lamplight, and she was mesmerized by the tension in his face, the way his steely muscles were locked as if he didn’t dare move. It built and built, that clawing need, and yet she remained poised on the razor’s edge of something she knew she couldn’t control. His chest suddenly heaved on a convulsive breath, and he moved in a long, deep stroke that took him all the way to the hilt.”

“The door creaked as it began to open.Gray moved like lightning, slapping his left palm against the door and slamming it shut before it hadopened more than a fraction of an inch. "Hey!" a woman squawked indignantly from the other side."This one’s occupied," he said hoarsely, not missing a beat with his plunging hips. "Go somewhere else."Faith couldn’t say anything. Her eyes widened with alarm, but all she could do was look helplessly up athim.Gray’s lips drew back over his teeth and his head dropped forward as he began hammering faster. Hisface was flushed, satisfaction only a few moments away.Faith shuddered wildly as the coil of tension suddenly released and the fierce, pulsing flood of sensationswept through her. Shivering and pushing hard against him, she buried her face against his chest and bithis shirt to muffle her gasping cries.He kept his hand flat against the door, gripping her bottom with his right hand to anchor himself. Heshoved hard into her, twice, three times, again, then bucked violently. His head fell back and a harsh,guttural cry rumbled up from his chest.There was an insistent banging on the door. "What are you doing in there?" the woman said in shrill,grating tones. "That’s the lady’s room! You aren’t supposed to be in there!"Slowly Gray’s head came up. The expression in his eyes was indescribable, as if he couldn’t believewhat was happening. He took a deep breath, and exploded. "Goddamn it, woman!" he roared withfurious indignation. "Can’t you tell I’m busy?”

“Just as he’d done to her, she slowly moved up and down, caressing him with her body, drawing out his response. He ground his teeth together, fighting not to come when she was just as determined he would.Frustrated, she wondered why he was holding back—until she heard herself moan, and realized the friction was working on her, too.The battle there in the shower was in close-combat conditions. With the clinging grip of her body she tried to wring a climax from him, locking her legs around him and pumping hard. He slowed her down with that one arm around her hips, grinding her against him and sending her response rocketing.”

“God, I love you," he said, and laid his head on her belly, his arms locked around her hips.Madelyn slid her fingers into his hair. "It took you long enough," she said gently."What I lack in quickness, I make up in staying power.""Meaning?""That I'll still be telling you that fifty years from now." He paused and turned his head tokiss her stomach.”

“By morning, she was raw and sore, and knew walking would be an effort. By morning, she could barely remember what it had been like to not know his body, not to have felt him inside her and held him in her arms and absorbed the power of his thrusts as he came.By morning, she was his.”