A Woman's Touch

as Kyle could make it. Rebecca’s head spun with sensation. Instinctively she lifted her hips to meet his thrusts. Kyle muttered against her throat, words of rough, driving sensuality. Rebecca shuddered in his tight hold, surrendering completely to the violent demands of the passion they had generated between them.
    The culmination of their lovemaking seized them quickly, hurling them both into a whirlpool of convulsive release that seemed to go on forever. Kyle went rigid all over, and Rebecca dimly heard his half-strangled shout of triumph and satisfaction. She knew she was calling his name in a soft litany.
    And then it was over, and Rebecca acknowledged to herself that the walls of her personal world, once so carefully structured, had been permanently breached. Nothing would ever be quite the same again for her.
    An element of wildness had been introduced into her civilized world. And she knew that Kyle Stockbridge was the man she had been waiting for all her life.
    It was a long time before Kyle could bring himself to roll clear of Rebecca’s warm, soft body. Eventually, with a sigh of relaxed satisfaction he flopped onto his back and gathered her against his side.
    He should probably tell her everything now, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He told himself it didn’t really seem like an appropriate time to start a long, involved explanation. Morning would be soon enough for the kind of story he had to tell. Right now he just wanted to enjoy the aftermath.
    The future, now that he had time to think about it, appeared bright and beckoning. It was amazing how much more clearly he could think now that he had temporarily assuaged the compelling desire that had been growing in him for the past few weeks.
    „Kyle?“
    „Hmm?“ He yawned magnificently.
    „What are you thinking?“
    „I’m thinking that you’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a very long time,“ he said honestly.
    Rebecca smiled in the darkness and snuggled closer. „I’m glad. I was just thinking something similar about you.“

    He laughed indulgently, pleased by the small confession. „Good. Then you won’t give me any static when I tell you what happens next.“
    She stilled. „What does happen next?“
    He propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at her questioning face. She looked so gentle and sweetly sensual with her dark hair in a tangle around her shoulders. One shadowed nipple peeked up at him from the edge of the sheet. Kyle leaned over to kiss the inviting nubbin. He felt the faint ripple of response that went through Rebecca and luxuriated in it.
    „I want you to move in with me,“ he told her quietly, raising his head to watch her reaction. „The sooner, the better.“
    Her eyes widened but she said nothing for a long moment. Kyle frowned when he realized she wasn’t exactly leaping at the offer.
    „Well?“ he prompted forcefully.
    „I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Kyle,“ she finally said.
    He was instantly outraged. It hadn’t occurred to him that she might refuse him, not after the way she had just given herself so completely.
    „What the hell does that mean?“ he demanded, keeping a firm rein on his temper. He had promised himself he would never lose his temper with Rebecca. „On at least two occasions during the past hour you’ve told me you loved me. A few minutes ago you were calling my name as you went up in flames in my arms. I’ve known you for over two months. I know for a fact there’s no one else in your life. I want you and you want me. So why don’t you think it’s a good idea for us to live together?“
    She looked up at him uneasily, her small, white teeth closing briefly around her lower lip. „It’s going to be difficult enough to keep our…our relationship quiet. If I actually move in with you, it’s going to be impossible.“
    Outrage threatened to explode into something even more volatile. Kyle struggled to keep the emotion in check. He grasped her shoulders, pinning her gently but firmly to the bed. „Let’s get something clear here. I have no intention of trying to keep our relationship a secret. Hell, I want the world to know about it. As of tonight, you’re committed to me.“
    „Be reasonable,“ she said desperately. „Office romances are always awkward.“
    „Damn it, don’t trivialize what we have by calling this an office romance. I want you to live with me. I want you to share my home and my life. And I want everyone,