His gaze held mine. It wasn’t just the combination of torment and pleasure I saw on his face. There was an intensity. Maybe even emotion. Unable to manage it, I closed my eyes and arched as he drove in. My pussy convulsed, stealing my breath, and then came the explosion of pleasure.
“Fuck yes!” he yelled, plunging in again as his own release overtook him. He collapsed on me. "Good Christ, has sex ever been so good?"
No. No, it hadn't. I couldn't respond vocally because my entire body was like jelly.
He held himself up on one elbow as his other hand gently caressed my cheek. "Are you okay? Tell me you’re suffering the effects of my having rocked your world."
I was glad that he was going for levity. It made me wonder whether I was mistaken about the emotion I thought I saw in his eyes.
"You're full of yourself, Sam. I think I rocked your world."
His grin was happy and sexy, and my heart thumped hard in my chest. "That you did, baby. That you did."
He shifted off me and pulled me to him. It was as natural as breathing to snuggle up against him. We lay like that for a few moments as we finished catching our breath.
"Stay the night, Kate."
I tensed.
He looked down on me, his expression serious as he clearly had to have noticed my reaction. "Just the night. That's all I'm asking."
That's all he asked five years ago, and I never left. He did, nine months later.
"We can't go back and start over. We can't recreate our past."
Hurt shone in his eyes, but also determination. "I know that. That's not what I'm trying to do here. You said it yourself—we’re not the same people. So I want to get to know you now. I want you to know me now."
Dammit. It was so hard to refuse him when he talked like that, when he looked at me with longing.
"What if you discover you don't like the new me?" I asked.
He ran his finger along my jaw and then over my lips. "Since our lives have come back together, I've had plenty of opportunities to discover that I don’t like the new you, and that hasn't happened."
I smirked. "Is that your kind way of telling me I've been a bitch?"
He grinned. "No."
"I have been a bitch to you.” Even I knew that. It had been on purpose. “The question is, why are you still here?”
"Because there's something between us."
"How do you know it’s not an echo of times past? A memory of the heart that isn't real?"
He arched a brow. “Because if it was that, your attitude toward me would have killed it.” He sighed. "I'm just asking for one night."
I should get up, get dressed, and leave, but it sure seemed like a lot of work to get out of this warm, comfortable bed next to this hot, sexy man.
"One night?"
He nodded.
I tilted my head to the side. "Can we use that tub in your bathroom?"
His wolfish grin was back. "Absolutely."
We used the tub in the darkness of the bathroom so that we could see the moonshine over the ocean. That is, until I straddled his hips and took us both for a very satisfying ride.
When I woke the next morning, I was warm and comfortable at Sam’s side. His arm was draped over my middle like he wanted to make sure I didn’t run away in the middle of the night.