She raised the hem of his sweater and ran her fingers across his broad chest. He took the hint and pulled off the sweater, then tossed it away. She pressed her lips to his breastbone, tasting his warm skin.

For a second, he was passive, accepting her caress. Then he reached for her, cupping her face and kissing her.

Even as they held on to each other, he was moving her toward the bed. When the backs of her legs bumped the mattress, he stopped. He pulled back enough to pull off her knit shirt. She stepped out of her shoes. Then they were tumbling onto the bed, him landing next to her.

They reached for each other. Even as they kissed, she reached for the hooks on her bra. She wanted to feel her bare breasts against his chest. He pushed her hands away and unfastened the bra in one easy movement. The lace-covered garment went flying.

Her jeans followed, as did his. She barely had time to notice that his briefs were also gone, before he settled his hand on her stomach.

Up or down, she thought, rolling onto her back. Either would work for her. He could move up or down. Another moment of hesitation and his fingers moved down. When he reached the barrier of her panties, he gripped the elastic and peeled them down. His large, strong hands made the return trip slowly, massaging as he went, teasing the insides of her knees before trailing up her thighs. He moved closer and closer to the promised land, but didn’t touch her most sensitive spot. She held her breath, wanting, desperate, willing to do anything to have him touch her there. While he kissed her breasts, he rubbed his fingers against her inner thigh, then up onto her belly, making her squirm in anticipation.

Finally, slowly, he shifted again and slid through her swollen flesh. He touched the tiny center of her pleasure. A shiver raced through her. Gently at first, never pressing too hard or going too fast, he began to circle. Slowly, then a little more quickly, pushing her forward. She rotated her hips in time with him. Sensations raced through her. Muscles tensed. There was nothing but the movements and how he made her feel. Closer and closer still. Until the fall was inevitable.

She hung suspended for a brief moment. Intense pleasure pulsed through her and then she was falling. She came over and over, shuddering and moaning. He continued to touch her, gently, lightly, drawing out her release.

When she opened her eyes, he was watching her. His gray eyes seemed to see down to her soul. She smiled slowly, then kissed him.

“Thank you. That was…nice.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Nice?”

She laughed. “Very nice. Extremely nice.”

“You’re crushing my ego.”

She reached between them and stroked his erection. “Your ego seems to be doing just fine. We should take advantage of that.”

“If you insist.”

“I do.”

In a matter of seconds, he put on a condom and was nudging at her thighs. She shifted to welcome him.

He filled her with one long, steady thrust. She felt herself stretching as he pushed in again and again. The sensation was delicious. Pleasure hardened his features, pulling at the muscles. His eyes were closed.

She closed hers as well, enjoying the ride-focusing on him and what he was feeling. She was so aware of his movements that at first she didn’t even notice the pressure deep inside. The sort of tingling ache, the instinct to move against him, increasing the friction. The need started slowly, then grew more frantic. She found herself clinging to him, wanting him to go faster, deeper, harder.

She opened her eyes and found Duncan watching her. She couldn’t control herself. This wasn’t quiet, almost-boring sex. This was messy, frenzied desire. She held on to his upper arms, pumping her hips with each thrust. She opened her mouth to gasp in a breath and found herself panting. Her body wasn’t her own. There was a driving force she didn’t understand and couldn’t control. There were-

Her climax caught her off guard. One second she was doing her best to catch her breath and the next she was lost in a shuddering, convulsing release that caused her to arch her back and cry out in a way she never had before. Her muscles tightened over and over again, then Duncan moaned and shuddered. They came together, a tangle of need and pleasure.

When they were done, Annie knew nothing would ever be the same again. She would never be the same. She might not be able to win Duncan, but she would never settle for anything less than loving someone with all her heart. That’s what had been missing before, she thought, blissfully exhausted. True love and passion. An explosive combination.

Later, when Annie lay next to him, her head on his shoulder, his arm around her, she closed her eyes. She had to remember everything about this moment, everything that had happened. So later she could relive each moment in detail.

“Going to sleep?” he asked, his voice teasing.

“No. Enjoying the aftermath. Making love with you is pretty amazing.”

“Thank you. Amazing is much better than nice.”

She smiled, opened her eyes, then shifted so her chin was on his chest and she could stare into his eyes. “That’s not what I mean. The other guys I was with-all two of them-weren’t like you. Or maybe it was me. But I never felt…” She sighed. “It wasn’t the same thrill ride.”

He frowned. “Why not? Don’t take this wrong, Annie, but you’re easy.”

She sat up, pulling the sheet with her so she stayed covered. Easy? She’d been thinking love and romance and he thought she was easy?

He sat up as well, then raised both hands. “I take it back. I should have said responsive. I’ve been with women who are difficult to get over the edge. You’re not one of them.” He smiled. “That’s a good thing. Having you do what you do is the best kind of positive reinforcement.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“It wasn’t like that with the other guys?”

“No. Sex was kind of…uninteresting.” And she hadn’t been truly in love with them. She got that now.

“No fireworks?”

“Not even a sputter. I liked it, but I never got the fuss.” Now the fuss was perfectly clear. The fuss was her favorite part.

He shifted his pillow so it was behind his back, then leaned against the headboard. “Tell me about these guys.”

“There’s not much to say. I met Ron in college. He was studying engineering. I’m not sure he’d been with anyone before. I know I hadn’t. We sort of figured it out together.”

“Or not,” Duncan said. “If you weren’t happy.”

“I was happy.” She hadn’t known there was more. Not physically or emotionally.

“Satisfied, then.”

“I didn’t know what to ask for. He was funny and smart and we had a good time. I thought everything was fine.”

She and Ron had been together nearly three years. She thought she was in love with him and had assumed he felt the same way.

“At the beginning of our senior year, he ended things,” she admitted. “He said he’d met someone else. That he didn’t mean to hurt me, but she was the one. But that he and I should still be friends.” She wrinkled her nose. “I passed on that offer.”

“Smart move. And guy number two?”

Should there have been more men? Was two a small number? Duncan probably had dozens of women before and after Valentina.

“A.J.,” she said with a sigh. “He was the assistant principal at my school. I met him my first day. We went out right away. Everything was so easy.”

Duncan realized he’d made a huge mistake in asking about Annie’s love life. While he wanted the information, he didn’t like hearing about her with other men. The fact that the relationships had ended badly didn’t change his sense of annoyance. He wanted to find both Ron and A.J. and beat the crap out of them. How dare either of them hurt Annie. Not that he wanted her with one of them now. He wanted her for himself.

Until the holidays were over, he reminded himself. Nothing more.

“He was also funny and smart. He loved kids.” Annie shook her head. “I don’t know. It was as if we were destined to be together. Everything fell into place. No complications. We were talking about getting married by our fifth date.”

Something heavy seemed to fall into his stomach. He ignored the sensation. “What happened?”

“While I was dreaming about a June wedding, he got a job offer from a school in Baltimore. He wanted me to go with him. Jenny and Julie were seniors in high school and living with me. I couldn’t just leave them. So he went without me. We agreed to date long distance, seeing each other once a month.”

“Did you miss him?”

“Sure.” She shifted so she was sitting next to him, then leaned her head against his shoulder. “I thought everything was fine. Over Memorial Day weekend, he told me while there wasn’t anyone else, he wasn’t interested in dating me anymore. Time away had shown him he wasn’t as interested in me as he’d thought. But he would very much like us to be friends.” She drew in a breath. “I never knew what went wrong.”

He had a feeling she really meant to say what she had done wrong. But how to make her understand that none of this was about her? She’d found two stupid guys. It happened.

“Better to find out before you moved in with him rather than after.”

She looked up at him, her blue eyes wide with shock. “I wouldn’t live with him before we were married.”

He held in a smile. “But you’d sleep with him.”

“That’s different. It’s private. Living arrangements usually aren’t. I’m a teacher. What would it say to my students if I lived with a guy without being married to him? What would it say to my cousins or Kami? Children don’t learn by what we say, they learn by what we do.”

Not ten minutes ago, she’d been screaming in his bed. Annie was nothing if not interesting. He could go his whole life and still not know everything about her.

“You’re not giving up on Mr. Right, are you?” he asked.

“No. I’ll find him.” She leaned against his shoulder again. “I want to be married and have a family. I want to grow old with my husband, to be friends and lovers. I want to take care of him and have him take care of me. Which is all too traditional for you, huh?”

“I know how you enjoy your traditions.”

“You don’t believe in them.”

“I got a tree. That’s traditional.”

“At least it’s a start.”

He sensed she needed more-needed him to make some kind of a promise. But he couldn’t. He’d tried that once-trusting a woman with his heart.

Annie couldn’t be more different than his ex. If he’d met Annie first…But he hadn’t. And being what she needed, what she deserved, was impossible. He hoped she understood that. Nothing about their deal had changed. When it was over, he would walk away-and he wouldn’t offer to be just friends.

“Why are you walking like that?” Duncan asked. “Relax.”

“I can’t,” Annie whispered, trying to look casual, but barely able to breathe.

It wasn’t the fitted evening gown that was constricting her breathing, or the four-inch heels that altered her walk. Instead it was the weight of the necklace and earrings. Not their physical weight so much as their value.

She fingered the large diamond pendant hanging several inches below her throat. She didn’t know much about fancy jewelry, but this was the biggest stone she’d ever seen. There were smaller diamonds leading to the platinum chain that held the piece securely around her throat. Matching earrings dangled in her upswept hair.

The jewelry ensemble had been delivered by a burly guard who had made Duncan sign several official-looking documents before he’d handed over the velvet cases containing the treasures.

“You’re insured, right?” she asked quietly. “If someone attacks me or a clasp breaks.”

Duncan sighed. “I arranged for the jewelry because I thought you’d enjoy the pieces. I didn’t mean for you to be nervous.”

Probably true, she thought. A sweet gesture and one she really appreciated. Or she would, just as soon as she got over the burning need to vomit.

“Tell me they’re not worth a million dollars and I’ll relax.”

He winked. “They’re not worth a million dollars.”

That was too easy. “You’re lying.”

“Me? How can you say that?”

Better not to know, she told herself as they walked into the elegant hotel ballroom. Fine. She would wear the borrowed jewelry and be excited that Duncan had wanted to make her happy. His actions were thoughtful and sweet. Once she got past the need to throw up, she would feel all quivery inside.

The party was large, with at least two hundred people milling about and talking. As a rule Annie didn’t drink at any of the cocktail parties, but she might give in and have a glass of wine. With a crowd this big, no one would be having anything close to a serious conversation and she wouldn’t be expected to do much more than smile and nod. Which meant her chances of messing up were that much less.