The moon illuminated his face as he put a hand on her cheek so that she would have to look him in the eye. “I know you promised to talk to me, but it doesn’t have to be tonight. Just getting to be close to you again is enough for me right now.”

It was so tempting to take him up on his offer to push off their talk. But there was too much between them, too many things left unsaid, too many needs and desires pushing at their boundaries, for them to simply get dressed and get to work on the wedding.

“No, we should talk now.”

His eyebrows went up. “Right now? Because I’m not sure I can get enough synapses to fire when we’re like this.”

It was so perfectly right, so wonderfully natural to be wrapped up in his arms, that it took her a few seconds to realize they were still totally connected in every way they could be under the water. Nervous laughter escaped her.

“You’re right, we can get dressed first.”

“God, I love to hear that sound. Your laughter.” He closed his eyes, as though the emotions he was feeling were too strong for him to deal with. “It’s one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.”

Her entire chest warmed even as shivers started to take over the rest of her.

“Come on, beautiful, let’s get you into a warm shower.”

Kerry had never been an exhibitionist, had never thought she’d do anything as crazy as having sex in a lake, but as he handed her his T-shirt from the dock to put on and she walked out of the water nearly naked and holding Adam’s hand, she felt strangely calm about the incredible breach in the propriety she’d been raised with.

And, of course, when they finally made it to the shower, there wasn’t any chance at all that they wouldn’t come together again. Just as fast as they had in the lake, just as desperately, with her back against the tiled wall and his hands tangled in her hair while he kissed her the entire time that he loved her back over the edge of exquisite pleasure.

He didn’t say I love you this time, but she heard it in every stroke of his body into hers, in the pounding beat of his heart against hers, in the dance of his tongue over hers.

She hadn’t slept well for the past week, and as soon as he draped a big plush towel around her body and began to gently dry her skin, her eyelids started to droop.

“You’re exhausted.”

“No,” she protested. “I’m okay. We can still—”

“Talk after you rest.”

He lifted her into his arms before she could make any more protests and brought her into a rumpled bed that smelled wonderfully like him. She should have told him she was staying at the inn and that she needed to take her nap there. Instead, she said, “You never make your bed, do you?”

“Never could figure out why I should bother when I’m just going to get back into it again.”

“Because,” she said before yawning big and long, “it looks prettier when it’s made.”

Her entire body felt lax and loose again after making love with Adam twice in a row. But it was more than just sex that had her finally feeling like she could relax.

It was knowing that he’d still be there when she woke up.

“If you ask me,” he said as he looked down at her, “the bed has never looked prettier than it does right now.”

She was so very tired, but the desire in his words had her blood heating again. “You promised to make love to me in all three places I listed. You’ve given me two, if we switch the shower for the sand.” She reached for him. “Now I want the bed.”

And, of course, he gave her everything she wanted.

Just the way he always had before.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Kerry was surprised to find sunlight streaming over her when she woke the next morning. Woke in a strange bed, no less. One that she didn’t recognize. Not until it all came rushing back to her as she came fully awake.

Adam.

Feeling like the sun had finally come out again when she’d seen him after too many days apart. Running into his arms. Making love with him in the lake. And then the shower. And then again in this bed.

She wanted to stay wrapped up in the sheets, under the beautiful quilted comforter, and just let herself stay steeped in his scent and her memories of how good it had been to be back in his arms. But she was here to put on a wedding, so when she saw by the small clock on the bedside table that it was already ten in the morning, she jumped out of bed.

She hadn’t been sleeping well all week without him and knew she must have crashed after that last time he’d made love to her, slow and sweet. That third time, he hadn’t been in a rush, had seemed determined to give her more pleasure than she’d ever guessed was possible for any one person to feel. Again and again, he’d taken her to the edge, then over, until she’d lost track of where one orgasm ended and the next began. And then, when he’d finally taken her...

She lost her breath all over again just remembering how it had felt as though Adam was giving her everything, his heart and soul, in those beautiful moments. But even as more pleasure took her over, even that pleasure took a backseat to the emotion pumping from him to her.

So much emotion that she could still hardly believe it. Could all of that really be for her? And if it really was, could it possibly last?

Looking around the small sun-filled bedroom, she saw her bag standing against the door and realized Adam must have brought it in from her car. How long had he been up? And where had he slept last night?

Knowing she couldn’t risk running into any of the other Sullivans looking like she’d just fallen out of bed, she went into the connected bathroom and took a quick shower. After putting on her clothes and making sure her makeup hid the remaining vestiges of her sleepless week without Adam, she went out in search of him. On her way down the hall, she saw that the sheets in the guest bedroom were rumpled and his clothes from yesterday were on top of it.

God, she was so confused. More confused and conflicted by what she wanted, and what she thought she shouldn’t want, than she’d ever been in her entire life.

Turning the corner into the kitchen, she saw Adam standing by the corner windows. He was looking out at the lake, but she couldn’t stop looking at him.

There was a smile on his lips when he turned around and said good morning, but she could see all the questions in his eyes, and knew that he was waiting for her to make her decision—to be with him for real this time. Or not.

“You should have woken me up,” she said, her words seeming far too loud, too hard, for this beautiful morning on the lake. But she was nervous. And Adam Sullivan had always thrown her off her game. “We never talked last night, and I promised you that we would.”

“You needed the sleep.” He put his coffee cup down and began to move across the room to her, making her heart pound even faster than it already was. “You didn’t even wake up when I made myself go and sleep in the other bedroom.”

“You didn’t have to go.”

“I didn’t want to. Leaving you in the bed alone was the last thing I wanted to do, but since we hadn’t talked yet—”

A knock sounded at the door, startling both of them. Frustration rode Adam’s features as he went to open it. Rafe and Brooke—whose wedding happened to be the reason she was here at the lake in the first place—were standing on the front porch.