He turned back to her and she had no idea what to do. Was she supposed to take her own clothes off? He was a man used to being adored by women. All women. So how, exactly, did he expect things to go?

“Shoes off,” he said as he approached.

“Okay.”

She toed off her thick nurses’ shoes and kind of kicked them away. Instructions made things easier.

He moved behind her.

“Relax,” he said, his voice low and close to her ear.

“Not likely.”

“Want to bet?”

“Sure. I keep alternating between excitement and terror, which I probably shouldn’t tell you. I’m just not sure how things are going to—”

He kissed her neck.

He stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders. There had been a little breath of air as a warning, but even so the kiss had caught her off guard.

She had no real thoughts about her neck. It was fine, it supported her head, sometimes she remembered to put sunscreen on it. But she’d never considered anything about it erotic.

She did now. He pressed an openmouthed kiss against her suddenly sensitive skin and made her break out in goose bumps. He squeezed her shoulders, holding her in place as he slowly, so slowly, kissed his way down to the top of her crew-style sweater. Then he shifted to the other side and did it again.

That was it—a simple kiss. Lips on skin with a slight flick of his tongue. But it was one of the most sensual moments of her life.

Her br**sts felt heavy and swollen. She wanted his hands on them, his mouth on her nipples. Between her legs, flesh heated.

She started to turn toward him, but he wouldn’t let her. “Not so fast. We’ve got a lot of work to do first.”

Work? What work?

He dropped his hands to the hem of her sweater and tugged. She helped him pull off the garment and happily toss it onto a chair by the armoire. Once again she tried to turn toward him and once again he stopped her. Then his mouth returned to her neck.

He kissed her slowly, thoroughly. He moved down her shoulder and took a gentle bite. Shivers rippled through her. He rested his hands on her hips, just holding her in place. She couldn’t help thinking that his hands could be doing other, more interesting things. Then she got lost in the way he nibbled across her back and licked down her spine.

Nothing was rushed. Over and over he kissed her, teased her, until she felt that time had actually stopped. They were alone on a different plane. Need pulsed in time with her heartbeat, but she understood the appeal of making it last.

He returned to her neck and licked the sensitive skin behind her ear. The action both aroused and tickled. She giggled softly, then caught her breath as her bra fell off. She hadn’t even felt him unfasten it.

He moved his hands to her waist, then slid them up her ribs. At the same time he bit down on her left shoulder, then licked away any hint of pain.

She didn’t know what to think about first—the feel of his mouth or the movement of his hands. But when he reached her breasts, she allowed herself to get lost in those feelings.

Still standing behind her, he cupped her curves. With his thumbs and forefingers, he captured her nipples. Pleasure shot through her and her breath caught. Her legs began to tremble.

He teased her tight flesh over and over, brushing the tips and sending ribbons of need all through her.

“Open your eyes,” he murmured in her ear.

The words startled her so much, she did as he asked. She looked down and saw his tanned hands caressing her pale skin.

A blush heated her cheeks, but she couldn’t seem to look away. Not when he again rubbed her ni**les and she could both see and feel what he was doing. Then he moved close, pressing his erection against her rear, making her wish they were na**d so he could be inside of her.

She knew she was wet. She could feel the dampness of her panties. She wanted him touching her there. She needed to feel him touching her everywhere.

Without thinking, she reached for the button on her jeans. She unfastened it, then had the zipper halfway down before she realized what she was doing.

“Don’t stop,” he whispered, as he continued to stroke her breasts. “Don’t stop.”

So she lowered the zipper all the way, but she couldn’t seem to find the courage to push down her jeans. Fortunately, that wasn’t required. He dropped his right hand to her belly then went down, down, down, slipping under her bikini panties. His warm fingers found their way through her curls and between her legs. He went right to the core of her and found it on the first try.

She was swollen and ready. The first touch made her gasp. The second made her want to scream.

He used his first two fingers to pleasure her, finding a circling rhythm that sent her spiraling into madness in a matter of seconds. It was as if he could read her mind, or maybe just her body. Not too fast, not too slow and most important, the perfect amount of pressure.

She sagged against him, letting him support most of her weight. Her legs threatened to give way at any moment, but she didn’t want to move. What if he stopped and never started again? She would die from the need.

Round and round, moving faster and faster, pushing her closer to the edge of her release. Need filled her, making it difficult to breathe or think. She wanted to beg or scream. She wanted more.

Even as he touched her between her legs, he also caressed her breasts, moving back and forth, squeezing her sensitive ni**les and pushing her closer and closer to coming. Her muscles tensed in anticipation, yet she didn’t want to come. Not yet. Everything felt too good.

Without thinking, she shoved down her jeans and kicked them free. Then she widened her stance, giving him more access. In response, he slipped both fingers inside of her, filling her. She felt her hot, wet, swollen flesh part for him and it wasn’t enough.

“I want you inside me,” she said, stunning herself by speaking the thought aloud. She could feel his hard-on pressing against her from behind and she wanted more.

“Soon,” he told her. “Just relax.”

Relax? Relax? He moved out of her and was once again circling that sensitive part of her. She was seconds from coming, not sure how she was going to keep standing long enough, but she didn’t dare suggest a shift in positions because then she might miss the whole thing and that would kill—

He stopped and stepped back.

Lori felt the breath leave her body as she struggled to understand what was happening. She was na**d, except for socks and how embarrassing was that, seconds away from possibly the greatest cl**ax of her life, begging Reid to be inside of her and he was stopping?

He moved in front of her, pulled her close and kissed the hell out of her. There were lips and tongues and reaching and then his hands were between her legs and rubbing and she was so damn close.

Her cl**ax exploded without warning, making her cling to him in an effort to stay standing. Muscles convulsed and throbbed as pleasure poured through her. She might have screamed, she wasn’t sure—but as they were kissing, it didn’t much matter.

The man knew what he was doing, she thought hazily as he continued to touch her, drawing out every ounce of amazing without pressing too hard on her suddenly sensitive flesh. Then, when the shuddering had stopped and she could breathe again, he eased her back onto the bed, lay down next to her and stroked her face.

Without her glasses, the room was blurry, but Reid was close enough to be exactly in focus.

“Still fine?” he asked, the corners of his mouth twitching with an almost-smile.

She sighed. “Better than fine. Much, much better.”

“Good.”

He sat up and pulled off his University of Washington sweatshirt. Despite her weakened condition and general sense of well-being, she couldn’t help notice the perfectly toned abs and his smooth, muscled back. The man was a walking, breathing advertisement for great genes, a challenging workout and the sense to take advantage of both.

Maybe it was tacky, but she couldn’t help wanting to see the rest of the package.

She reached for the button of his jeans.

“Impatient?” he asked.

“A little.”

“I like that in a woman.”

While she took care of business on her end, he stretched out an arm behind her and tugged on the coated rubber band holding her braid in place.

She abandoned his jeans. “What are you doing?”

“Unfastening your hair. I’ve been wanting to see it loose for weeks now.”

“My hair?”

“Uh-huh.”

After what had just happened, she was more than willing to give him anything he wanted. So she sat up and reached for her braid.

“Get na**d,” she told him.

“Yes, ma’am.”

He pushed off jeans and briefs a lot faster than she was able to deal with the braid. Apparently not sure what else to do with his time, he leaned in and licked her right nipple.

Despite her recent orgasm, fire shot through her, all the way down to her crotch. She fell back on the bed and resisted the need to grab his head and hold him captive over her breasts.

“You’re distracting me.”

“Ignore me.”

He knelt over her and drew her nipple into his mouth. First he flicked his tongue against the sensitive peak, then he sucked. Hard.

Forget the hair, she thought as she closed her eyes and gave herself up to the experience of being seduced by Reid Buchanan.

He moved back and forth between her breasts. He used his mouth, his tongue and his fingers to explore every inch of them several times over.

She writhed beneath him, feeling her body ready itself for a second round. Her insides hungered to be taken by this man. He was hard again or still or always and she subtly tried to shift so that he could slide inside of her. But he resisted.

“Soon,” he said against her breast.

“You told me that before.”

“I’m not lying.”

Before she could complain, he began moving down her body. First he kissed her breastbone, then her belly. He teased her belly button with his tongue and continued his journey south, finally reaching his destination between her legs.

Lori closed her eyes and decided to accept her fate at the hands of a man determined to make her boneless. She thought about mentioning the fact that she’d already come once and that it was unlikely it would happen again. Except there wasn’t anything ordinary about making love with Reid, so who knew what would happen.

He parted her with his fingers. She felt anticipation, the coolness of his breath followed by the warm, erotic touch of his tongue.

Oh, yeah, she thought as she relaxed into the slow, steady movements. Just like that.

He circled her with the tip of his tongue, then used the flat part to stroke her senseless. He was a man on a mission and she found that she liked that. He was patient, he read her body and she found her muscles tensing in anticipation about forty-five seconds after his first touch.

She’d always needed a slow build, but not today. She went from intrigued to panting in far too short a time. Even as the pressure inside her increased, she tried to figure out what it was he was doing that was so great. Then she decided she didn’t care and lost herself in the ride.

He caressed her, moving back and forth against her center. Need made her part her legs more, as if trying to offer all she was to him. She was torn between going for it and making it last longer. Everything felt too good, she thought as she felt herself getting closer and closer.

Her legs began to tremble. She clutched the bottom sheet and dug her heels into the mattress. He moved a little faster, then gently inserted a single finger inside of her.

She hung suspended for a heartbeat, then two. Tension built until she knew she was going to be ripped apart. It was her last conscious thought as her release crashed through her, causing every muscle to contract and her whole body to get lost in perfection.

She cried out, caught her breath and cried out again. She pushed against him, needing more, wanting everything and then getting that and more. She rode his finger, gasping with thanks as he pushed in two. She felt herself contract around him. It was too much.

She couldn’t wait to do it again.

A few minutes later her heartbeat had slowed from hummingbird speed. She lay on the bed, exhausted and exhilarated. She wondered if she would ever be the same again.

“Mission accomplished,” she told him. “I’m officially boneless.”

Reid lay next to her, his head propped on his hand. He smiled slowly. “I’m glad.”

“No, seriously. This was amazing. You could get your own cult.”

Her words made him smile. He liked that he’d pleased her. No, more than liked it. He felt as if he could take on the world.

Everything about her screamed satisfaction. Her skin was flushed, her eyes dilated. She looked like a very happy woman.

“I don’t need a cult.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I could be president.”

Her eyes were hazel. He’d never noticed that before. They were large and sexy and he found himself wanting to get lost in them.

He’d wanted to please her for a couple of reasons. First because he always liked his partner to enjoy the experience, but also because he had something to prove. That damn article still haunted him.

But somewhere along the way, that hadn’t mattered anymore. He’d wanted to make the experience great because of who Lori was. Because he wanted to please her. Specifically her.

She sat up and unfastened the rest of her braid, then flopped back down on the bed. He reached out and fingered a wavy curl.

She turned toward him. “At the risk of being greedy, I’m ready for more.”

So was he. He’d been hard and ready since she’d showed up. It had been a hell of a long time.

He opened a drawer in the nightstand and grabbed a condom and quickly put it on. Then he pulled Lori close and began to kiss her.