Mind Over Matter

that her body arched up, taut with thefirst uncontrollable climax. She reached up, too stunned to realize how badly she needed to hold on to him. Wrapped tight, their strengths fed each other as surely as their hungers did.
    They lay together, weak, sated, both of them vanquished.
    Gradually sanity returned. A.J. saw the moonlight again. His face was buried in her hair, but his breathing had steadied, as hers had. Her arms were still around him, her body locked tight to his. She told herself to let go, to reestablish distance, but lacked the will to obey.
    It had only been passion, she reminded herself. It had only been need. Both had been satisfied. Now was the time to draw away, to move apart. But she wanted to nuzzle her cheek against his, to murmur something foolish and stay just as she was until the sun came up. With her eyes closed tight she fought the urge to soften, to give that which, once given, was lost.
    No, he’d never known a woman could make him shudder. He’d never known a woman could make him weak. Yes, once he’d thought he’d discovered a simmering, latent passion in her, but he hadn’t expected this. He shouldn’t still feel so dazed. So involved.
    He hadn’t been prepared for the intensity of feeling. He hadn’t planned on having the need grow and multiply even after it was satisfied. That was the reason he’d lost some part of himself to her. That was, had to be, the only reason.
    But when she trembled, he drew her closer.
    “Cold?”
    “The air’s cooled.” It sounded reasonable. It sounded true. How could she explain that her body was still pumping with heat, and would be as long as he was there?
    “I can shut the windows.”
    “No.” She could hear the stream again, just smell the hyacinths. She didn’t want to lose the sensations.
    “Here, then.” He drew away to untangle the sheets and pull them over her. It was then, in the dim light, that he noticed the pale line of smudges along her arm. Taking her elbow, he looked closer.
    “Apparently I wasn’t careful enough with you.” A.J. glanced down. There was regret in his voice, and a trace of a kindness she would have little defense against. If she hadn’t been afraid, she would have longed to hear him speak just like that again, she would have rested her head on his shoulder. Instead, with a shrug she shifted and drew her arm away. “No permanent damage.” She hoped. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you found a few bruises on yourself.”
    He looked at her again and grinned in a way that was completely unexpected and totally charming. “It seems we both play rough.”
    It was too late to hold back a response to the grin. On impulse, A.J. leaned over and took a quick, none-too-gentle nip at his shoulder. “Complaining?”
    She’d surprised him again. Maybe it was time for a few surprises in his life. And in hers. “I won’t if you won’t.” Then, in a move too abrupt to evade, he rolled over her again, pinning her arms above her head with one hand.
    “Look, Brady—”
    “I like the idea of going one-on-one with you, A.J.” He lowered his head just enough to nibble on her earlobe, until she squirmed under him.
    “As long as you have the advantage.” Her voice was breathy, her cheeks flushed. With his hands on her wrists he could feel the gradual acceleration of her pulse. With his body stretched full length, he could feel the dips, the curves, the fluid lines of hers. Desire began to rise again as though it had never been quenched.
    “Lady, I think I might enjoy taking advantage of you on a regular basis. I know I’m going to enjoy it for the rest of the night.”
    She twisted one way, twisted the other, then let out a hissing breath, as he only stared down at her. Being outdone physically was nearly as bad as being outdone intellectually. “I can’t stay here tonight.”
    “You are here,” he pointed out, then took his free hand in one long stroke from her hip to her breast.
    “I can’t stay.”
    “Why?”
    Because relieving pent-up passion with him and spending the night with him were two entirely different things. “Because I have to work tomorrow,” she began lamely. “And—”
    “I’ll drop you by your apartment in the morning so you can change.” The tip of her breast was already hard against his palm. He ran his thumb over it and watched passion darken her eyes.
    “I have to be in the office by eight-thirty.”
    “We’ll get up early.” He lowered his head to brush kisses at either