‘Juliet.’
Her eyes closed as his mouth settled on hers. His kiss was gentle, his lips warm and firm. She trembled as his hands cupped her face, tilting it to him. With quick, teasing kisses, he coaxed her mouth open, and his teeth closed lightly on her bottom lip and drew it into the sweet warmth of his mouth.
Paige moaned softly. ‘No,’ she said, pressing her hands against his chest. ‘Please…’
‘Yes,’ he whispered. ‘Put your arms around me. Kiss me the way you did that night.’ He kissed her again and again, each kiss deeper and more exciting. ‘Tell me you want me,’ he said against her mouth, and his arms tightened around her. ‘Tell me you want to be my wife.’
‘I want… I want…’ I want to be your wife for ever.
The realisation raced through her, heating her blood like a current of electricity. Slowly, she lifted her arms to him and whispered his name. Quinn drew in his breath and caught her to him.
‘Yes,’ he said fiercely, ‘yes.’
He lifted her in his arms, then lowered her gently to the bed. Moonlight fell across them, cool and white, as she looked up at him.
‘Quinn,’ she whispered, ‘Quinn…’
‘Beautiful Paige,’ he said thickly, ‘my Juliet.’
He whispered to her as he stripped away her clothing, he touched her as he told her things she’d waited a lifetime to hear. She felt her breasts bloom against his hand, felt her nipples bud darkly at the silken brush of his fingers. His lips moved over her throat, her shoulders, and when finally he drew her nipple into his mouth she cried out and clasped him to her.
She whispered his name, and he caught her hand in his and pressed his lips to her palm. ‘I’ve waited so long,’ he whispered, folding her fingers over his kiss as if to seal it in her hand for ever. ‘All these days and nights, watching you, wanting you…’
‘Don’t leave me,’ she said as he rolled away from her.
He touched his hand to her cheek. ‘No,’ he said softly, ‘not tonight.’ She watched as he stood beside the bed and stripped off his trousers. His body was lean and powerful, his shoulders broad. She reached out to him as he lay beside her again and took her in his arms, curving her body to the hard length of his.
His mouth covered hers as his hands moved over her, learning all the curves and shadows of her body. She was alive beneath his touch, eager for his kisses, burning with a flame like that which glowed in the heart of the ruby.
The wonder of it made her breathless. She wanted to tell him that what was happening to her was, indeed, magic, that his love had brought her from a cold, dark place into the light—but there was no time for words. And it didn’t matter: you didn’t need words when you could say so much with a kiss, with a caress, with a sigh.
When he found the centre of her womanhood, Paige pressed her face into his chest and moaned softly. His fingers cupped her, tangling in her moist warmth.
‘So lovely,’ he murmured. ‘So sweet.’
She stiffened when he bent to her. ‘No,’ she whispered.
But his mouth had already found her, and at his kiss her heart filled with a joy so intense that tears filled her eyes. No one had ever kissed her this way, and no one would, ever again. There would be only Quinn in her arms for the rest of her life. Only Quinn. Only…
She cried out as the room spun away from her. He drew her into his arms and held her to him, stroking her flushed cheeks, smoothing the damp hair back from her face, murmuring soft words to her. After a moment, she touched him shyly, her palms flat against his chest.
‘I… I want to… to touch you,’ she whispered.
‘Yes,’ he said huskily, and she heard the catch of his breath as she moved her hand over him. He was all hard muscle and warm skin. The feel of his body was strange and exciting. He groaned as she explored the long muscles in his arms, the length of his spine, and her touch grew bolder.
‘Yes,’ he murmured again as her fingers traced the curve of his buttocks. He whispered her name as she touched his chest again and ran her hand down its length, to the ridged muscles in his abdomen. She touched his navel, and her pulse tripped erratically.
‘Quinn…’
It was a sigh, a question, a desire, and he understood. His hand closed around her wrist and slowly, gently, he brought her to him.
His head fell back when her hand closed around him. His flesh was hard, yet velvet-soft. His warmth was the warmth of the sun. And he was hers. It was she who had made this happen.
A swift, fierce joy suffused her. Her arms wound around his neck as he rolled over her and kissed her deeply.
‘Do you want me, Juliet?’ he whispered. ‘Tell me.’
‘Yes,’ she said without hesitation. ‘Oh, yes. I want you. Yes…’