Chapter 23

The night air was cool so Cruz had left the sliding doors open to catch the breeze. Overhead a ceiling fan turned lazily, drawing in not only the air but also the heady scents of the flowering shrubs and trees. Once again Shea was stretched out on the soft sheets of his bed, naked, his mouth and tongue and fingers making a slow journey over her body.

In the dim light of the bedside lamp she could see the taut planes of his face and the dark pools of his eyes, eyes that returned again and again to lock with hers. Her breasts ached from his gentle kneading while his mouth pulled at her nipples and his teeth grazed their pebbled surface. The flesh of his back beneath her palms, was warm and under the tight covering of skin she could feel the play of solid muscles.

His touch everywhere lit up her nerves and accelerated every pulse in her body. The swirl of his tongue at her navel. The nip of his teeth at the soft flesh below it. Those damnable kisses teasing at the backs of her knees and