His taste had a drugging effect on her senses. His hands moved over her shoulders and down her sides, cupping her breasts in his palms before he wrapped his hands gently around her ribs, rubbing her back muscles with his fingertips. He leaned over her, deepening their already voracious kiss. His grasp lowered onto her hips, where he massaged her flesh hungrily. Deidre had the strangest impression he was detailing the sensation of her just like she’d been hungrily searching his features just moments ago, wondrous at his presence.
She pressed tighter against him, seeking his male heat. He groaned in sudden dissatisfaction and lifted her so that their mouths, bellies and groins sealed tight. Deidre wrapped her legs around his hips. He rocked her against him, her softness against his hardness.
She groaned roughly at the same moment desire clenched tight at her core.
The next thing she knew, she was falling against the couch cushions. Nick came down over her, straddling her hips. She watched his rigid features cast in firelight as he rapidly unfastened her blouse and opened it. He stroked along the sides of her waist and ribs. She once
again had the impression it wasn’t a casual touch, but that he was absorbing the very sensation of her. Her eyes moistened and she blinked, wanting to see him clearly in that electrical moment. He slid his fingers beneath the front clasp of her bra and gave his wrist a flick. He peeled the cups off her skin.
A stab of thwarted desire went through her when instead of touching her breasts, he began to unfasten her jeans with quick, nimble fingers. His gaze remained fixed where she wanted him to caress, however, making her nipples tighten. He drew her jeans and panties off her, then unfastened and lowered his own pants.
His eyelids squeezed tight and his nostrils flared when he was fully sheathed inside her. Deidre felt so full of him in that moment; she was inundated...possessed. She murmured his name between pants for air and he opened his eyes. They seemed to glow silver in the firelight as he stared down at her.
“Another emergency came up,” he said.
“What?”
“I had to see you. At all costs,” he grated out between a clenched jaw. He withdrew and sunk back into her. Deidre gasped and furrowed her fingers into his hair. It was hard to form words with him pulsing high and hard inside of her.
She drew him down toward her mouth and managed in a whisper, “I’m so glad you did.”
* * *
A while later, Nick lay with his weight partially on Deidre and partially on the couch. Both of them gasped for air, their muscles limp in the aftermath of a lightning strike of passion and need.
“What’s so funny?” Nick wondered, lifting his head to see her face when he heard her soft laughter.
“You’re still wearing your coat,” Deidre said.
He gave a grunt of amusement and shucked off the coat, tossing it over the back of the couch. He let his forehead drop to the cushion again. “You just now noticed?”
She nuzzled his chin and he turned toward her, their lips a mere inch apart. “I didn’t see anything but you.”
He didn’t say anything, but she saw his eyes glint in the firelight. His mouth settled on hers, and there was more than just the residue of passion in his kiss.
“Welcome back to Harbor Town,” she murmured a moment later, brushing her lips against his as she spoke.
“With a welcome like that, I might never leave.”
“With a hello like that, I might never let you,” she assured, before she pressed her lips against his small grin.
Deidre was still smiling an hour later when she heard the shower shut off in the bathroom. She started the sauce for the beef filets she’d already prepared. By the time Nick walked into the kitchen a few minutes later, she was pouring it over the beef.
“What’s this?” Nick asked.
She glanced back and did a double take. He looked extremely good. His hair was still damp. He wore jeans and the dark blue cotton tee he’d had on beneath his button-down shirt. The short sleeves highlighted his strong-looking forearms and muscular biceps. She caught a subtle whiff of his shower-clean skin and had an urge to bury her nose in it. He was staring at the table she’d set for two.
“It’s dinner, what do you think?” she said, laughing as she set down their plates. She lit the two candles she’d placed on the table.
He was there when she turned around. He leaned down and kissed her. Deidre closed her hands around the dense muscle of his upper arms and savored the scent and texture of him.
“Thanks. It smells great. I didn’t know you could cook,” Nick said as they both sat. “What other secrets are you keeping?”
“You should taste it before you draw any conclusions,” she said, stabbing her fork into an apple-and-walnut spinach salad. “I like to cook, but didn’t get much of an opportunity while I was in the army. I haven’t tried this peppercorn filet recipe in ages, so eat it at your own risk.”
Nick took a bite of his filet. “It’s fantastic,” he muttered after a moment. “Apparently the army hasn’t dulled your cooking instincts.”
“I’m just glad eating army food hasn’t completely killed my taste buds,” Deidre said, watching him with a smile as he ate another bite of beef with flattering haste.