But even though Duncan knew he didn’t deserve her, how the hell could he walk away from her when she was offering him the most precious gift in the world? Not just her body, but her heart.
He’d never wanted anything so badly as he wanted to be in her heart. Because for all that his body was crying out for hers, the warmth and honest emotion in her eyes were what made him catch his breath.
Lola was, hands down, the most stunning woman he’d ever seen, but her beauty was so much more than physical. Her beauty came from the inside, from a totally pure heart. More pure than he’d known a heart could be.
A million times more pure than his…
He drew back to look into her eyes, and what he saw in them floored him. No one had ever looked at him this way, as though she needed him more than she needed anything else, even her next breath.
I think I’m falling in love with you. The words hovered on the tip of his tongue. Only the worry that she might freak out if he said them so soon held them back. He couldn’t bear the thought of scaring her off with the three little words he’d never said to anyone. Words he’d never so much as thought about another woman.
“Do you have any idea how much I want you?” His voice vibrated with desire. “Do you have any idea how desperate I am to hear you cry out with pleasure when I put my hands, my mouth on you?” He brushed the pad of his thumb over her full lower lip, and he nearly groaned as her tongue flicked out to taste him. “Do you have any idea how much I love hearing you gasp when I touch you?”
“Touch me again, Duncan.” She pulled him down to the couch with her. “Love me.”
Her words, and her obvious joy at being with him, flipped a switch inside of him. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he levered up with one arm so he could watch her reaction as he used his free hand to cup, stroke, tease her breasts. Her eyes fell closed as she writhed beneath his touch, so damned responsive that it wasn’t enough just to touch her, he had to taste her too.
Sweet Lord, the taste of her against his tongue nearly undid him…
Even if he never experienced anything more with Lola, this would be far more than Duncan had ever dreamed of.
Wanting to give her pleasure beyond her wildest imaginings, he laved her breasts with his tongue as he ran his hand over her stomach, loving the way her body tensed in anticipation as he slid his thumbs into the sides of her panties and drew the sheer fabric down her gorgeous legs.
For a long moment, he simply let himself drink her in. Her smooth skin. The faded scars on her knees where he guessed she must have fallen as a child playing with her siblings. The little freckles beneath the curves of her breasts. Every inch of her took his breath away. Until looking wasn’t nearly enough, and he had to taste her again, had to touch her again.
He greedily took her mouth as he cupped her sex. She was so wet, so hot, as desperate for his touch as he was desperate to touch her. She arched against him, her hips instinctively moving so that his fingers slipped over, then inside her slick flesh.
He’d never come closer to the edge of control as he did at the feel of Lola’s curves, her sweet scent, the taste of her lips against his, the bucking of her hips as she tried to take him deeper.
As he slid his thumb over the center of her arousal, all it took was one long moan from her throat to snap his remaining control. Moving like a man possessed, he drove her crazy with his hand against her sex while running kisses over her breasts, then down her abdomen.
In the exact moment he tasted her on his tongue, she cried out his name. Nothing had ever sounded better. He could spend his whole life making her come over and over again and never get enough of it. Never get enough of her.
Her inner muscles clenched against his fingers as he continued to pleasure her with his tongue. And as she gasped and writhed beneath him, everything in Duncan’s world came down to giving Lola as much ecstasy as he possibly could.
Duncan’s past and the future seemed to disappear completely, leaving only this perfect moment with Lola.
“That was beyond amazing,” she said once he had moved back up to hold her in his arms. Her skin was rosy and flushed from her climax, her lips full from their kisses, her eyes shining with what looked like anticipation. “I can’t wait for what comes next.”
She started to unbutton his shirt, and the pleasures awaiting him threatened to overwhelm what was left of his sense. His conscience.
It was impossible to think straight when they were this close, her skin flushed a beautiful rose, her chest still rapidly rising and falling in the aftermath of her release. He’d never wanted anything so much in his life as he wanted to make love to her. And he knew she wanted that just as much by the way she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes.
Only, even now, he couldn’t completely forget his past—or hers. Not only that he was nowhere close to being a saint, but that she deserved a man who would do whatever it took to prove to her that she was far more than just a beautiful face and a hot body.
Drawing from his deep well of control, he lifted his mouth from hers.
“Duncan?” She blinked at him, her gaze slowly refocusing. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“You’re the only one who does.”
She reached for his chest again, but he caught her hands in his. One more touch, and he’d be lost, forgetting what he needed to do.
“I’m not good enough for you,” he insisted. “But when I look in your eyes, I desperately want to be worthy of you.” It nearly killed him to say the rest. “Which is why I can’t make love to you tonight.”
“What?” She looked stunned. And, worse, hurt. “Why can’t you?”
“That came out all wrong.” Damn it, he hadn’t meant to hurt her. Hurting Lola was the very last thing he ever wanted to do. “Of course I want to make love with you. More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my whole life.” He tried to corral his thoughts into some semblance of order. “But I don’t want you to think I came to Bar Harbor because I was angling for a one-night stand. I swear to you that it’s the very last thing I want. I want us to have more than just one night together. So much more.”
“I want that too,” she said. “And you don’t have to worry. I know this isn’t a one-night stand. Our connection…” She stared into his eyes, her heart in hers. “I’ve never felt anything like this before, Duncan. Not with anyone else.”
Her clear confirmation that she felt exactly the way he did nearly shook his resolve. “I haven’t either,” he said softly. But he still needed to ask, “How many men have treated you the way you deserve to be treated?”
She shook her head, his question seeming to hit her hard. “Apart from my family—” She dropped her gaze. “None.”
“Let me woo you.” The intensity in his voice made her gaze connect with his again. “Let me romance you. Let me adore you the way you deserve to be adored.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lola’s body was still humming from the incredible orgasm Duncan had given her. She felt sated, deliciously so, and yet…
She wanted all of Duncan. Wanted to feel his body wrapped around her. Wanted to feel his strong muscles pressing her into her bed. Wanted to twist up her sheets together as they made wild, passionate love.