‘I can give you chemistry,’ Alexei murmured. He put his hand beneath her chin and lifted it till she had no choice but to look at him. Her mouth was a mutinous line but her eyes... Her eyes glowed dark gold. Desire slammed into him.
She lifted a hand to his chest, pushing as she opened her lips, no doubt to protest. So Alexei stopped her with his mouth, muffling her words, drawing in her warm breath.
For a moment there was stillness as shock tore through him. Just this simple touch and he felt poised on the brink.
Then Alexei gave himself up to instinct and delved deep, cradling her head with one hand, shuffling his legs wider as he lashed his arm around her and fitted her in against him.
He’d known this would be good. How right he’d been.
She tasted like every desire made flesh, rich and tantalising. Different from any other woman yet somehow familiar. Alexei pressed harder, simultaneously demanding and coaxing a response till finally her tongue slipped against his, tentatively at first, almost shy.
This was unlike anything he could remember. A judder of pure need ripped through him. His hands tightened as she caressed him again, slowly, learning the taste and shape of his mouth. As if he were some new treat to be savoured.
That slow, cautious exploration was more arousing than anything he’d experienced in years. It was all he could do to stand there, letting her take her time, when every lick threatened to blow the back off his head. He shuddered and his groin tightened as if she’d reached out and taken his burgeoning erection in her hand rather than simply returned his kiss.
Alexei’s breath expelled in a huff of satisfaction as her responses grew more voluptuous. Leaning in, he demanded more.
Their kiss became fervent. She trembled but there was nothing tentative about her caresses now. Her lips and tongue were bold and sensual, carnal and eager. Carissa had given up playing games. The honest hunger, the lack of pretence, fuelled Alexei’s desire towards the point of no return.
At his chest her fingers dug into his shirt as if to stop him pulling back. He pushed closer, trying to assuage his body’s demand for more. Carissa met him with demands of her own. Her slim body arched against him, her small, plump breasts thrusting up, her nipples hard and arousing as they scraped his torso.
A growl built at the back of Alexei’s throat. A sound of satisfaction and need. She’d taken him from zero to a hundred in less time than a supercar on a circuit. His blood surged in his ears and his body clamoured for more.
Dropping both hands to her rump, he lifted her higher, inserting his thigh between hers. He was as taut and hot as newly worked metal. When she moved, rotating her hips, tilting her pelvis against him, Alexei wondered if he might shatter. His hands shook as he fought the impulse to strip her naked and take her here, on the sand.
Yet why hold back?
Despite that intriguing initial hesitation, Carissa was no innocent needing protection. Her kisses were the deep, drugging caresses of a woman ready for sex, and her body told its own story, of a highly sensual woman eager to mate.
He breathed deep through his nostrils, inhaling the scent of musk mingled with exotic spice and sea salt. There was no mistaking her arousal.
Alexei shuddered at what her undulating body did to his. He was more than hard. He was in pain. A pain that could only be assuaged by more, much more.
He lifted one hand, grazing it up her ribs to her breast, pulling back from her enough to close his hand over her.
Yes! Her breast filled his hand perfectly. Excitement flooded him as she arched further, thrusting herself into his palm. His erection throbbed against her softness and he heard her hiss of pleasure.
His qualms evaporated. Why wait? Why not?
Suddenly Alexei felt pressure on his chest. Two palms pushing at him. Carissa wriggling as if to get off his leg.
Her mouth broke from his and he heard her raw gasps. Still, he didn’t relinquish his hold. He couldn’t. His brain was locked onto the elemental need to mate. It wasn’t what he’d intended when he kissed her but chemistry like this couldn’t be ignored.
‘No.’
At first the word didn’t register as anything other than a sound. Then she said it again and he focused on her lips, red and slick from their kisses. Heat flooded his gut as he watched her mouth move and imagined her lips caressing his bare body.
He’d wanted Carissa before. From the moment she’d crossed his threshold and pretended to be unimpressed with him and his home. Her disdain had the perverse effect of sharpening his interest, especially when he had no trouble identifying the passion beneath it.
Now his need tested his control to the limit.
‘Alexei, let me go!’
He frowned down into her beautiful face, seeing her mouth tighten, her jaw bunch, and her words filtered into his brain.
She couldn’t be serious.
But she was. He caught what looked like desperation in the flicker of her eyes and immediately let her go. She stumbled back and he grabbed her by the elbows, holding her steady. She shook as if her legs wouldn’t support her.