Carly Phillips - Simply Sexy

His mouth met hers, the kiss ravenous, a release of all the pent-up sexual tension they'd been creating all week. She tasted of wine and Rina and he couldn't get enough. His tongue thrust into her waiting mouth as he mimicked the movement with his hips, jerking forward, getting as close as possible without entering her willing body. That would come.

At the moment, their bodies were in sync, as well as their minds. He opened his eyes in time to see her watching him, eyes glazed with desire and a depth of emotion that would have shaken him if he wasn't feeling it himself. For days now they'd danced around each other, feeding the mutual need and teasing one another with erotic touches and silent promises. With foreplay.

His body shook with the need to keep those promises now.

Taking him off guard, she wrapped her legs around his back, lifting her feminine mound off the couch and grinding her body in an enticing circular motion against his. The wave beckoned slowly, building to a heated crescendo that could have but one resolution.

No way in hell was he coming without being inside her. Neither, he swore to himself, would she.

"Condoms are in the bedroom," he managed to say, hoping like hell he wasn't killing the mood.

"They're also in my purse on the floor next to you." Despite the intimacy of their position, a flush rose to her cheeks.

She was obviously embarrassed that she'd been so anxious, and the fact that she wasn't proficient at this made her all the more endearing. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, wanting her to know she was special.

"Colin?"

"Mmm?"

"I'm on the Pill and haven't been with a man since my husband." She paused, then shook her head. "What I'm trying to say is…I'm safe."

He inhaled deep. He'd never made love to a woman without protection, never wanted the responsibility a mistake could cause. He'd contemplated the notion with his wife. Marriage had him thinking of family in the traditional sense, but Julie hadn't been eager to lose her figure. Another thing they should have discussed before tying the knot. After her departure, he'd applauded her selfishness since it left him with no permanent ties to a woman he considered nothing more than a mistake.

Rina was different. In every way. "I'm safe, too," he admitted.

"You don't feel safe," she said, squeezing her thighs tighter, intensifying the spiraling sensations. She lay her head back and moaned, and the thought of being inside her with no barriers between them, nothing except melding flesh, made him burn hotter. To hell with the consequences, with the problems lying ahead of them.

To hell with everything but this. He pulled the thin string holding her panties until the material tore in two, and when the panties joined the growing pile on the floor, Colin saw perfection. Glistening, dewy perfection surrounded by creamy white thighs with a triangle of dark hair on top.

"Sweet heaven," he muttered. He moved aside long enough to pull off his boxers and drop them to the floor, then noticed she'd changed positions. Against the black sofa, she lay, legs spread wide, waiting. For him.

He came over her, his hands grasping her thighs at the same time his thumbs caressed and parted her silken, damp flesh. Her breath caught in her throat, her pleasure unmistakable.

"This works for you?" He ran a finger over her slick heat, slipping inside.

"Oh, yes." Her hips jerked upward in silent acknowledgment, taking him in deeper.

At the simulation of sex, a shudder wracked his body, making him feel as out of control as he'd been when he was a teenager. But no, he thought. This was far worse, because no other woman had ever affected him this way.

And Rina hadn't been with anyone since her husband. The thought both sobered and humbled him. He wanted to give her perfection. He wanted to give her everything he had.

Nudging his erection at her engorged opening, he thrust fast and deep, giving her what he needed, what he sensed, hoped she needed, as well. From her satisfied cry that shook the silent house, he'd been right.

He wanted to savor the moment that had been so long in coming, but they were both too far gone. Her hips gyrated, seeking release, and his body thrust of its own volition, only too happy to comply. Harder, hotter, the slick, synchronized movement between them created not just intense sensation but a swell of emotion he hadn't been prepared to face.

Though he'd known he and Rina wouldn't just have sex, the perfection of the moment completely overwhelmed him. But as she repeated her earlier motion, wrapping her legs around his back and nearly lifting herself off the couch, she brought him so deep into her he didn't know where he left off and she began. And he didn't want to know.

He only wanted to feel, and when she dug her nails into his flesh and let go completely, Colin felt set free.

COLIN STRETCHED OUT beside Rina, every inch of his lean, hard male body coming into delicious contact with her skin. His fingers tangled in her hair and he pulled her close. After their encounter on the couch they'd moved to his bed, where she'd slept more deeply than she'd ever remembered. Making love to him had been a mind-altering experience, one she was all too ready to repeat this morning.

But not yet. "Tell me about Julie." Logan had planted the seeds of her curiosity surrounding Colin's past and Rina wanted to explore them. To know more about this enigmatic man who made her come apart so easily.

He groaned. "Hell of a way to start the day," he muttered.

Okay, so it wasn't the best question first thing the morning after, but she'd spent the night in his arms. He'd spent it inside her body. She figured that allowed her some leeway.

"She's my ex-wife." He rolled over and propped up on one arm.

The sheet pulled low on his chest and the urge to press her breasts against him and drop this whole conversation was strong. Unfortunately, her curiosity was stronger. "And?"

He met her gaze. "She's in the past."

"A painful past?" She probed deeper.

He shrugged. "It only hurts if you care. I'm over it."

"I should hope so, considering where we are."

He exhaled hard, and she knew he was going through that frustrating process of male withdrawal. "So why do I have the feeling that knowing Julie's in the past isn't enough?"

"Because I'm a woman and I like to push."

"Even if I'd rather make love than talk?" A wry, sexy smile tipped his lips.

Good, she thought. He wasn't angry, just attempting to maintain his masculine dignity with stoic silence. She rewarded his patience with her questions with a long, lingering kiss. One that quickly threatened to explode in another lovemaking session, considering they were both still nude. And she wasn't ready to give up on emotional intimacy for more sex, as much as her body craved him.

She broke the kiss, licking at her damp lips. A disheveled Colin was as devastating to her senses as a well-put-together one. And if the man was going to have this kind of effect on her, she needed to understand all about him.

"Did you love her?" Rina asked.

Colin rolled back and lay a hand over his eyes, resigning himself to talking before any other desires were satisfied. Truth be told, he wanted to confide in Rina, which surprised him, since he wasn't a sharing kind of guy.

"Not the way I should have. Then again, the feeling was mutual." Sensing Rina's gaze on him, he stared up at the ceiling, wanting a clear head when he answered her. "I was a news anchor on a local station in Boston when Julie and I met. We had some things in common and I thought she was a refreshing change from the women who wanted the macho personality they saw on TV."

"You, macho?" Rina laughed.

"After last night, are you seriously doubting my masculinity?" He pushed her onto her back, straddling her hips.

She sucked in a shallow breath. "Definitely not."

"So do you want to hear about my disastrous marriage or would you rather repeat some of those erotic positions we tried last night?" He asked, his erection poised at her moist, ready flesh.

She sighed, obviously torn, her wide brown eyes filled with curiosity and desire. He didn't blame her for either. He wanted equal insight into her past and planned to get it after he satisfied his need for her this morning. He doubted he'd ever have his fill of her completely, something he'd have to deal with soon.

"I want you to talk. I want to know all about you. Then I want to make love."

"Okay," he said, resigned. "Julie and I got married. I was working at the network, restless with the job and life, but that wasn't anything new or different for me." He'd always been restless, ready to move on. So why wasn't he compelled to bolt now, when things in his personal life were at their most complicated? He knew the reason lay in his arms, waiting for more answers. "I think Julie sensed my restlessness. Not that it's an excuse for cheating, but I think she wasn't any happier than I was."

"She cheated on you?" Rina asked.

Realizing he hadn't been clear, Colin laughed. Amazing that she hadn't jumped to the conclusion that he'd been the one to stray, which said volumes about her faith in him. Unwarranted faith under the present circumstances, but it pleased him anyway. "Yeah, she did. Obviously she wasn't getting what she needed out of the relationship."

"Or she didn't know the meaning of truth, honesty and fidelity," Rina said in disgust.

Ouch, he thought, taking the direct hit. "I think Julie just wanted me to be satisfied at home and, sensing I wasn't, she went looking elsewhere."

"I never realized we had anything so fundamental in common. My husband wanted me to be more satisfied at home than I was."

"He didn't cheat on you, did he?" Colin wouldn't want Rina to suffer the humiliation.

She shook her head. "I think what he wanted was almost worse. He wanted to change me."

"Foolish man."

Her eyes shimmered with moisture and happiness. "That's what I like about you, Colin. You accept me for who I am and respect what I want to do in life." She shook her head. "For as long as we last, I'll know you're not a man who has some wrong vision of who I am or some alternative idea of what I should be doing. You want me."

Yes, he did. For as long as she'd have him and, he feared, beyond. Colin nudged her legs aside with his and while she watched, he entered slowly. "I want you." He thrust deep and she took all of him, arching her hips while her body contracted around him, milking him with her tight, wet heat.

She shuddered and sucked in a breath. "I want a man to know me and accept me."

He withdrew, feeling her swollen and wet surrounding him. "I want to know all of you. Every last thing about you."

She bent her knees, forcing him to thrust deeper in order to maintain body contact. "I want to know you the same way."

"Then what are we waiting for?" he asked, and proceeded to know her. Accept her. And she did the same, taking him, accepting every last bit he had to offer.

* * *

RINA TURNED ON the shower in Colin's bathroom. She inhaled the scent of shaving cream and aftershave. Colin's aftershave. Just the delicious smell was enough to arouse her sensitive body all over again.

As much as she'd like to head back into the bedroom to repeat the experience, she knew she had to shower and let Colin drive her home. She'd called Frankie and left word for her to walk Norton, but she couldn't be certain her friend had gotten the message. And Norton, the pampered pooch, wasn't used to being alone overnight any more than Rina was used to spending her nights in a man's bed.

Any more than she was used to bonding with a man emotionally, and for that reason, her escape home came at the perfect time. She needed space and time to think.

And an hour later, Colin drove her home. He pulled up to the Cape house and she noticed an unfamiliar black car parked in the driveway. "Maybe Frankie's got company."

"Frankie, your company?" he asked wryly, reminding her of last Saturday night's phone call.

Rina grinned. "Frankie, my female friend who lives downstairs." She'd told him about Frankie over a quick breakfast of cold cereal in his kitchen, where she'd admitted to baiting him last weekend.

"Wouldn't be unusual for people to have family over during the holidays. By the way, that reminds me of something I've been meaning to bring up. And would have if you weren't so sexy and distracting. Christmas Eve is tomorrow night." He turned off the ignition at the same time he turned on the charm, treating her to the endearing grin she'd come to know so well. "Did you have any plans?"