“To death,” she said. “I never intended to do this.”

“You don’t have to be scared. I’d love it if you came with me, but you certainly don’t have to,” he said.

“This could be the biggest, stupidest mistake of my life.” Then she laughed. “Or at least the second biggest,” she added softly.

“You’ll see, it’s all right. I don’t want a woman who doesn’t want me. We already know we have plenty to talk about….” He lifted her chin and gently touched her lips with his in a very soft, brief kiss. He kissed her once more, lightly, playing against her lips. “You can change your mind and leave anytime. You won’t get any trouble from me.”

“What if it’s the biggest mistake of your life?” she asked him.

“I’m not worried. You’re beautiful and sweet and I like you. I don’t care.” He kissed her again, a little more deeply. Then the doors opened and he led her to the room. Once inside, he tossed aside the shaving kit and put his hands on her face, threading his fingers into her hair, pulling her gently to his mouth. He moved over her lips sensuously, tugging at them with his, running his tongue around them. When her tongue joined his in play, he groaned his pleasure and pushed his tongue in to taste the inside of her mouth; she tasted like champagne and strawberries. Then he felt her tongue enter his mouth, slipping around. Heaven. He couldn’t breathe.

“Scotch,” she said.

“I can change that taste to Crest, if you’d like me to,” he offered.

“I like scotch,” she said, leaning in to his kiss again. “You taste good.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “God,” he whispered against her lips. “I feel better already. How do you feel?”

“Crazy. Completely crazy,” she said.

“Yeah,” he agreed, laughing. “This is pretty crazy. But I like it so far.”

She molded herself against him, her arms going around his neck to hold him. She felt his hand glide down her back, over her butt to rest there and pull her closer still. His arms were strong, firm, but not confining. She could have wriggled out of his grasp without the slightest struggle. Instead of feeling frightened, she began to feel secure. Loved. Of course she knew it wasn’t love—it was nothing more than human contact. But while her life was spiraling out of control, this handsome stranger felt like an anchor.

The one thought that came to mind should have brought her to her senses, catapulting her out of these arms, this room. But the opposite happened. She remembered she had a husband. And a prenuptial agreement in which she promised fidelity. In the event of divorce, she would not receive alimony if she had been unfaithful during the marriage. Of course, he had made no such promises and had been living with another woman for six months. He’d asked for the divorce nine months ago, but she hadn’t signed the papers or told any of her friends.

She didn’t care about alimony; her heart was in shreds. No amount of money would put it back together again.

She pushed against Cam. “This is wrong,” she said.

“It’s a lot of things, honey, but it’s not wrong,” he said. “We’re single, consenting adults and we’re—”

“I’m not,” she said.

He was frozen for a second. “Okay, this sure feels consensual, so I’m guessing you mean you’re not single.”

She nodded and her eyes glistened.

“Oh, boy,” he said, backing up a little bit, though he couldn’t seem to let go of her completely. “I hope he’s not standing outside that door with a big gun…”

“He’s been living with another woman for six months. He served me nine months ago. I’ve been putting off the inevitable. Not because I want him back, but because…” She looked down. “I should have known better than to marry him in the first place. And I never saw myself as divorced after just months of marriage. Abandoned, after a few weeks of marriage…”

He looked down at her, sympathetic. “Aw, Jesus… No wonder you’re feeling all broken up inside. I’m sorry, honey. That’s a little worse than some lousy fix-ups, that shouldn’t happen to anyone. I noticed you’re not wearing a wedding ring.”

“I had it on at the wedding, in front of my friends. By the time I got to the bar, I had decided—enough is enough. I can’t stand this anymore, this pretending. It’s in my purse. I’m sorry I misled you. It’s not your problem. I should be going now—”

“Relax. Ordinarily I’d run like hell from a married woman, but I’m not exactly cuckolding the son of a bitch. Stay. Put the whole thing out of your mind for a while.” And then he pulled her to him and kissed her again, deeply.

She swayed in his embrace, letting her hands run over his back while losing herself in his mouth, in his deep kiss. His hands on her were large, tender and confident, his chest hard against her breasts. She felt a tingling pull between her legs and knew she was going to cross the line, let it happen. She needed to feel something; she’d been in pain or numb for too long. And before morning, she’d be gone. She’d go home and sign the papers and get to work on putting her life back together. It was time to move on.

She met his kiss with hunger that was so real, so hot and bold, she almost forgot everything that had landed her in that bar, feeling sorry for herself. They consumed each other for a minute, then two, then four, completely lost in kisses so strong and penetrating her knees grew weak. She was beginning to feel again, feel something good.

Then she kicked off her shoes. She was staying.

Taking her hand, he led her to the bed where he sat on the edge, looking up at her. He gave her hand a gentle tug, bringing her down on his lap. His arms around her waist, hers around his neck, they were lost in deep, wet kisses that lasted forever. She felt his hand brush against her breast and it sent shivers rippling through her. He held her there, his hands on her waist while her hands moved behind her neck to the zipper of her dress, slowly inching it down. He lifted his hands to meet hers, pulling the zipper the rest of the way. She pulled the soft, gold silk forward, off her shoulders and down until it fell to her waist, leaving her only in her small, lacy bra. “God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered, burying his face in satin and lace, kissing her through the undergarment.

She held his face against her, resting her cheek against his soft hair. “I’ve lost my mind,” she said against his ear. She slipped her hands down and began to work the buttons on his shirt, opening it, sliding her hands across his hard, hairless chest. “I’ve completely lost my mind.”

“I can stop,” he said. “If this isn’t what you want, all you have to do is say so. As a courtesy, you might want to say so pretty soon.”

“Don’t stop,” she said. Beneath her, through the sheer fabric of a silk dress and small, thin panties, she could feel him growing hard against her, and pleasure shot through her as she moved against him.

With his hands on her bottom, he pulled her against him, his erection still tucked into his pants. She pressed herself harder into his lap, causing him to growl deep in his throat. He claimed her mouth once more as he made the bra disappear, crushing her breasts against his bare chest. Her breasts felt heavy and needy and she was already starting to ache in the place that had gone empty and unsatisfied for so long. All she could think about was feeling good, feeling loved, feeling full.

Cameron reclined on the bed, lowering her carefully beside him. He kissed her as he filled his hands with her breasts. He lowered his lips to her nipples to kiss then run a tongue over each one, then gently suck, drawing a low, wonderful moan of pleasure from her. Back on her lips, feeling her tongue come into his mouth, it was his turn to moan. She was so delicious. Her mouth was slick velvet and he made a long, slow sweep of the inside.

He ran a hand over her hip and down, slipping it under her dress. Then he pulled the dress down and she lifted her hips to help. It went down over her knees and she kicked it off into a pile of golden silk on the floor. There was just the tiniest pair of panties underneath and he placed a gentle hand over her soft mound. “I want to get past these panties. Tell me it’s okay,” he said, his voice raspy.

“Yes,” she whispered.

He slipped his hand inside the fabric. “You’ve been hurting for a while, haven’t you, baby?” he asked.

“Don’t spoil this.”

“Let’s talk about what I can do to help,” he said, tugging off her panties and parting her legs with his hand. His long, gentle fingers reached until he found the place that was dark and wet and it made him groan softly, deeply. He slipped lower. He found the hard, sensitive knot with his fingers and she gasped; he covered her opened mouth with his and went to work on that vulnerable little spot. Instant response—he loved it. He pulled her tongue into his mouth as he slid a finger inside her, letting his thumb make slow circles around her clitoris. “God,” she said, pushing against his hand.

“You’re perfect,” he whispered against her lips. “Go ahead, sweetheart. Take it—it’s free. Feel better.”

Her hips began to rock against his hand and he sank his finger deeper while his thumb pressed harder against her. He moved over that tender little knot and in no time at all her hips rose, her breath caught and her entire bottom clenched, bathing his hand in the most wonderful spasms. Instant orgasm. And a powerful one that held her in its possession for a long, shuddering moment until she fell back into his embrace. He stilled his hand, but didn’t remove it. He just kissed her little gasping lips, soft and sweet and slow, sensuously sucking on them while she caught her breath. And finally, as her breathing normalized, he slowly pulled his hand away.

“I think you needed that,” he said.

“Ohhhh,” she answered.

He chuckled. “Better?”

“You have no idea.”

“Oh, I have a pretty good idea,” he said with a soft laugh.

“Why’d you do that?” she asked him.

“That was what you needed. Anything more has to be what you want. I’m not going to take advantage of you.”

“You haven’t,” she said.

“You about ready to let me out of my pants?”

She ran her hands down his chest to his belly. Her hands went to his belt, unbuckled it, undid the button on his pants and slid down the zipper.

“God bless you,” he said in a grateful breath. She took him in her hand and he trembled involuntarily, it felt so good. “Brandy, I have to get protection for us. Give me a second.” He went quickly for the shaving kit, kicking off his shoes as he returned. He grabbed a condom out of the box, let his shirt fall from his shoulders and dropped his pants, getting rid of them. Sheathed and ready, he knelt on the bed. He leaned over to press his lips against hers and said, “Anything you want. Any way you say. It’s still your turn.”

She answered by opening up to him. He knelt between her legs and gently filled her with his aching erection, pushing inside slowly. She moved with him, arching against him, and he groaned with the effort it took to hold back. It had been a very long time for him, which had the disadvantage of making him a less than astonishing lover. He struggled, and welcomed the struggle. Making this a night of no regrets for her was all that mattered. He was in some kind of trance, amazed by how pure and right she felt, how familiar, like he’d been in this place before. The way she met him, thrust for thrust, was natural and felt as though they’d practiced this coupling for years.

He couldn’t remember feeling like this before and he wondered if he’d just lost his mind. Then he thought, is it possible there really is one true mate for every man? For every woman? Do you search for years and then stumble onto the right one? The one who smells, tastes and feels perfect?