Opposites Attract

“Just leave me alone, let me sleep.”
    “Your word, Asher.”
    She gave him a long last look before she wearily closed her eyes. “My word, Eric.”
    And she had kept it. She had tolerated Eric’s pleasure when her father had turned away from her. She had ignored his discreet but frequent affairs. For months she had lived like a zombie, doing as she was bid. When the layers of grief began to peel away, his hold remained through guilt and threats. When she had begun to come to life again, Asher had bargained for her freedom. Nothing was more important to Eric than his reputation. She held his many women in one hand, he held the knowledge of Ty’s child in the other. They’d made an uneasy agreement.
    Now he was back, Asher mused. Perhaps because she was making a success of her life again. Still, she felt he would keep his silence, if only to ensure a hold over her. Once he spoke, all ties were severed. Or if she spoke . . .
    She remembered the look on Ty’s face when he had seen her with Eric. Explanations would never be accepted now. Perhaps the day would come when they fully trusted each other, when the memory of betrayal would be dimmed.
    She’d been silent for some time. By the steadiness of her breathing she might have been sleeping. Ty knew she was awake and thinking. What secrets was she holding from him? he wondered. And how long would it be before the air between them was finally cleared? He wanted to demand, but her vulnerability prevented him. More than anything else, he didn’t want to risk her slipping behind the wall she could so easily erect.
    “Better?” he murmured.
    She sighed before he felt the faint movement of her head as she nodded. There was one thing she could settle between them, one thing she could make him understand. “Ty, he means nothing to me. Do you believe that?”
    “I want to.”
    “Believe it.” Suddenly intense, she sat up and leaned against his chest. If she could give him nothing else, she could give him this. “I feel nothing for Eric, not even hate. The marriage was a mistake. From the start it was nothing more than a façade.”
    “Then why—”
    “It’s always been you,” she said before she crushed her mouth to his. “Always you.” She pressed her lips to his throat, passion erupting in her as swiftly as the tears. “I stopped living for so long and now . . .” Her mouth ran wildly over his face. “I need you now, only you.”
    Her mouth met his fervently, saying more than words. Her ardor touched off his own. There was no need for questions now, or for answers. She pulled the shirt from him, eager to touch. Pressing her lips to heated flesh, she heard him groan. Though her hands moved swiftly to undress him, her lips loitered, lingering to arouse. With her tongue she left a moist trail of fire.
    His body was a pleasure to her—hard muscle, long bones, taut flesh. Delighting in him, she sought new secrets. If she nibbled at his waist, his breathing grew shallow, his fingers gripped her hair. If she moved her palm along his thigh, his moan vibrated with need. Giddy with power, she ran a crazed trail from stomach to chest, her lips hungry and seeking.
    He struggled to pull the robe from her as she caught his earlobe between her teeth. Low, sultry laughter drove him wild. Neither heard the seam rip as he tugged the terry cloth from her. Limber and quick, she made it impossible for him to grant them both the final relief. Her lovemaking tormented and thrilled him while her agility held him off.
    “Now,” he demanded, grasping her hips. “Asher, for God’s sake.”
    “No, no, no,” she murmured, then cut off his oath with a searing kiss. She found the torture exquisite. Though her own body begged for fulfillment, she wanted to prolong it. As his hands slid over her damp skin, she arched back, reveling in his touch. She belonged, and always would, to the man who could release her fires.
    Neither was in control, each a slave to the other. She wanted nothing more than to be bound to him—here, in a dark room with the sound of her own breathing raging in her ears, in the sunlight with the secrets of the night still humming between them. For always.
    Beneath her, his body was hot and moist and moving. The rhythm seduced her. Everything warm, everything giving, flowed through her. Thoughts vanished, memories dimmed. Now—there was only now—the all-powerful, greedy present.
    This time when he gripped her hips she made no attempt to stop him.