‘You were asleep on the sofa and I carried you into the bedroom.’
‘Thank you,’ Liza murmured, her lazy gaze wandering over him, and she realised he was naked except for a towel around his hips. She lifted her eyes and the austere lines of his face mesmerised her; she wanted to reach up and touch him. Some distant voice in her head told her no, but she lifted her hand and stroked it down the bold curve of his cheek. ‘Where will you sleep?’ she asked as her hand slipped to his broad shoulder, his dark, intent gaze colliding with hers. Her fingers flexed into the muscles of his shoulder and she heard his harsh intake of breath.
Nick groaned. ‘The sofa.’ He began to straighten.
‘You don’t have to,’ she murmured, her other hand, palm flat, spreading over his heart, and she felt his chest expand.
‘Do you know what you are saying?’ Nick demanded hoarsely, his night-black eyes burning into hers.
‘Yes, I…’ and before she could finish his dark head dipped to claim her mouth in a deeply passionate kiss. His long body stretched out beside her, with one strong hand cupping the creamy fullness of her breast as he drew his thumb against her nipple causing her to shudder as it peaked instantly at his touch.
‘You’re sure?’ Nick demanded when he finally allowed their lips to separate.
‘Oh, yes,’ she gasped, and a low moan escaped her as he trailed tiny kisses down her throat and travelled lower to tease her aching breast with his tongue before taking the rigid tip into his mouth. Liza felt as if every cell in her body was super-charged with electric tension and she looped her arms around his shoulders, straining against him.
Finally Nick lifted his head, his breathing harsh. ‘The moment I saw you, Liza, I wanted you against all reason. Believe that if you believe nothing else,’ he rasped with feeling.
She looked at him with desire-dazed eyes. ‘I do.’ Her gaze dropped to fix hungrily on his hard, sensual mouth as his head lowered and he claimed her lips with his own again.
‘Dios! You are all woman, perfection.’ Nick swept a lean, strong hand over a distended, rosy nipple, and lower to trace the line of waist and thigh. His dark head lowered, and his tongue circled her navel, sending a spasm of sensation through her, powerful enough to make her back arch from the bed.
He reared up and gave her a triumphant sensual smile full of hungry promise. ‘We have all the time in the world, Liza.’
She wished it was true, and she sighed her pleasure as his powerfully muscle-toned body moved half over her and he was kissing her once more with a new urgency, a flaring hunger that fed the hunger she felt herself. His tongue delved deep into the moist interior of her mouth with a savage, mimicking need for the ultimate possession.
Welcoming the onslaught, she curved her hands instinctively into his shoulders, stroking the smooth bronzed skin, exploring every part of him with a rising excitement she made no attempt to hide. She heard him groan and felt the tiny tremors running through his powerful frame, and exalted in her power, but not for long.
Nick’s black head moved lower against her body, his hands and mouth warm on her naked skin. Long fingers traced over her tense stomach and slid her quivering thighs apart.
A tidal wave of sensations hit her. She was all heat and tension that bordered on torture as he found the most intimate spot, and with hands and mouth tormented her. Shaking with an incredible excitement, she reached for him and begged, ‘Please.’ She could wait no longer. He was hard as steel and smooth as velvet, and she wanted him now…
Nick groaned, caught her hand and, muttering words she was too far gone to understand, he reared up and joined them with a thrusting passion, a driving determination to imprint his own indelible brand on her that swept Liza away on wave after wave of surging ecstasy. Out of control, he drove them wildly to a peak of passion that was almost pain before exploding in a mutual climax that left Liza breathless and quivering beneath him.
Nick rolled off her, and then hauled her close again in the curve of his strong arm, and for a long time the only sound was the heavy sound of their breathing. Their lovemaking had been so perfect, for once he was at a loss for the right words.
‘You OK after all the skiing today, not sore?’
His question, coming out of nowhere at such a moment, was so ludicrous. Liza couldn’t help it—she giggled… ‘Yes. But why ask that now?’ Her eyes sparkled with humour. ‘What did you have in mind, naked down a mountain as an encore?’
Nick’s firm lips parted in a broad grin that held a trace of relief. Liza never ceased to amaze him. ‘For once you’re ahead of me; the thought had never entered my head.’ Lifting a finger, he circled her swollen lips, down her chin to the hollow in her throat. ‘But, now it has, I will never be able to look at you on a ski run without envisaging you naked.’ He dropped a gentle kiss on her nose. ‘That could be very embarrassing for me.’
‘Poor you,’ Liza murmured. His strong body was relaxed against her, and she snuggled closer, throwing her arm across his broad chest. ‘But it is your own fault.’ She yawned widely. ‘I was on my way back to Lanzarote. Skiing was your idea,’ she teased because deep down, even after the most wonderful sex, she still didn’t quite trust him.
Nick went very still. ‘Are you disappointed?’ he asked softly. ‘Snow instead of sun?’ Long fingers swept up to cup her cheek, and very gently his lips brushed against her own.
‘No, no.’ Liza sighed deliciously. ‘I think I can stand a lot more of this, and the skiing, naked or otherwise,’ she teased.
‘Good, and I think you should pay for my future discomfort on the slopes,’ Nick drawled huskily and kissed her. And she did…
Dressed in smart wool tr
ousers and a soft pink cashmere sweater, Liza washed the smudge of lipstick off her finger, dried her hands and placed the towel back on the rail. She was ready except for her shoes. She cast one last glance at her reflection in the mirror. She had heard women described as glowing, but had never seen it herself until today. That’s what a good man can do for you, gal! she thought, and grinned.
The past five days had been magical. They had skied, made love and simply had fun. Nick had tried to teach her snow-boarding without much success. And for the first time she had seen him with close friends—two of the slalom racers and their wives. Nick was too controlled to reveal much emotion but last night they had all dined together and he had been totally relaxed, laughing and sharing what were obviously in-jokes, and reminiscences forged over a number of years. It was a side of him she had never seen before. She had never felt so close to another human being in her life. He enthralled and enraged her but she wouldn’t have him any other way.
Barefoot, she padded out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Nick was standing by the window, his back to her, talking on his mobile. She allowed herself a moment to admire his behind in the tight black ski-pants.
‘Really, there is no need for you to come to Spain. I mean it, Carl, no.’ Nick switched off the phone.