There had never been anyone else like her, no one who captured his imagination as thoroughly as Alexis Slade did. Whether she was lying in a meadow, hair in two plaits, or standing on a stage, raising money for a worthwhile cause, or lying on his bed, she entranced him.
He wished he could say otherwise but that was what Alex did. Entranced and ensnared. How was he ever going to let her go?
But that was the problem for Royal. Here, he wasn’t a Clayton with commitment issues and she wasn’t a scared Slade. They were Dan and Lex, lovers.
“God, you are so beautiful, Alexis.”
Alex smiled at the use of her full name; she knew he only used it when he was overcome by strong emotion. Unable to wait another moment to taste her, Dan dropped his head and, not trusting himself to go caveman on her, gently touched his lips to the corner of her mouth. Such sexy lips, he thought. He wanted them on his, moving over his skin, wrapped around his—
No, if he went there now, before he’d even started, he’d lose it. No, tonight was about Alex and how best he could show her how much he lov—adored her.
Alex released a long sigh. “Daniel. The way you make me feel...”
Daniel dropped his hands to caress her neck and sighed when her tongue traced the seam of his lips, asking for entrance. His small release of air allowed her to slip inside to touch his tongue, and he was lost—control was vanquished. Daniel released a deep groan and he placed his hands on her hips and boosted her up, grateful when her legs locked around his hips, bringing her hot core against his harder, desperate dick. Wrenching his mouth off hers, he sucked in a breath, telling himself to calm down, that they had all night, that this wasn’t a onetime deal. He had time tonight, tomorrow and the day after next.
Would it be enough?
Would forever be enough?
And why was he thinking of forever if this was just flash-in-the-pan lust?
“Lean back, Lex,” Daniel growled. Frustrated with himself, he pulled her shirt up her body.
“Let me help.” Alex whipped her shirt off and unsnapped the front clasp of her bra, allowing the lacy garment to drop to the floor and his mouth to close around one watermelon-pink nipple. Laving it with his tongue, he pulled back to blow on the puckered bud, smiling as he noticed her tan line, the darker and white flesh. Alex groaned and pushed his head toward her other breast, and he was happy to lavish attention on that bud, as well. It gave him time to lecture his dick, to remind it to go slow, to take it easy.
This was about Lex; it would only ever be about Lex.
Daniel lowered Alex to the bed and bent over her to tug her jeans apart, to pull the battered fabric down her hips and over her pretty toes. Running a hand down her long thigh and shapely calf, he blew on her aqua-lace-covered mound, pleased at her aroused scent—sex and sea and sun. Two cords held the triangle in place and Daniel’s impatience had his thumbs and fingers gripping the cord and twisting, easily snapping the thin fabric. He pulled the fabric away from her and stared down at her.
“You’re pretty and perfect. And mine, Lexi. Right now, tonight, you’re mine.”
He saw her gasp of surprise, caught the flash of pleasure in her eyes.
Standing up, Daniel whipped his shirt off, pushed down his board shorts and looked down at his lover, the mother of his child, the woman who’d slid under his skin at eighteen and whom he’d never been able to dislodge.
Mine. Only mine.
Daniel looked at her face, expecting her attention to be on him, and he frowned when he noticed that she was looking past him. If she’d changed her mind, he’d punch a hole through that expensive wooden screen that separated the bedroom from the bathroom. Replacing it would cost him an arm and leg, but it would be worth it.
Daniel pressed his forehead against hers. “Lex? Do you want to stop?”
Instead of replying to his question, Lexi placed her hand on her heart and sat up. When she finally looked at him, Daniel realized that he could see the moon in her eyes.
Literally. The moon was in her eyes.
He turned slowly and his mouth dropped in astonishment. The moon was as wide as the sky and he thought that if he leaned off the deck, he could run his hand across its silvery surface.
It was blue and aqua and silver and white...and absolutely magnificent.