James, Stephanie (12 page)

other man. Dev Colter was truly a fabulous beast: a silver-eyed dragon waiting for her to awaken him

fully.

Slowly, with infinite care, she slipped her hands inside his jacket and pushed it off his shoulders. The

garment fell to the floor. The feel of his smoothly muscled shoulders held her attention for a long moment

as she tasted his tongue in her mouth, and then she began the unsteady task of unbuttoning his white shirt

and unknotting the striped tie he wore.

Undressing Dev Colter proved to be a most satisfying endeavor. This was the first time she had been

totally free to explore his body, and Tabitha found herself fascinated. It wasn’t only the feel of his firm

contours that aroused and intrigued her, it was also the utterly masculine scent of him, tinged as it was

with aftershave and soap. And then there was the crisp, curling cloud of chest hair which drew her

coral-tipped nails like a magnet. Wonderingly she let her thumbs glide across his flat, male nipples.

“Tabby, you’re going to drive me out of my head tonight,” he grated feelingly. She was aware that his

fingers were trembling slightly as they found the zipper of her dress, and the knowledge warmed her.

Poor Dev. He was so uncertain and nervous, so anxious to please. Tabitha was touched even as she

allowed freer rein to her own passion.

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When the dress fell at last in a wave at her feet, Dev drew in his breath as her full, round breasts came

into view. For a moment Tabitha felt a shaft of unease, and then she saw the glowing appreciation in his

eyes as he scanned her gentle figure and she relaxed. He found her pleasing, she thought triumphantly.

Wearing only the satin triangle of her underpants, she pressed herself closely against him and snuggled

languidly when his palms cupped the curves of her derriere. She felt the strength of his fingers as he

clenched them excitingly into her flesh. Tabitha trembled.

“Dev, I’ve never felt quite like this before,” she confessed, letting her lips sample the flavor of his skin.

“When I’m with you I feel marvelous. Passionate and exciting and sensuous.”

“That’s because you are passionate and exciting and sensuous.” He slid his hands up her waist until they

hovered just under the weight of her breasts. Then he let his thumbs gently rasp the nipples.

“Oh!” Instantly the tiny buds responded, forming hard, tight buttons of desire. Tabitha moaned, her eyes

closing as she swayed more heavily against him.

“You make me feel exactly the same way,” he confided deeply, holding her close.

“You don’t mind that I’m seducing you tonight?” She smiled against his shoulder, confident now of her

welcome.

“I can’t even think straight at the moment. How could I mind what you do to me? Take me to bed,

Tabby, please!”

She nipped erotically at his shoulder as she found the buckle of his belt and unfastened it. In another

moment he was dressed as she was, in only his briefs.

“You’re wonderful,” she breathed in blatant admiration as she stepped back to drink her fill of his hard,

muscular frame. “Sleek and strong and wonderful! Oh, Dev!” Moving forward again, she arched herself

fluidly into his warmth, her fingers digging deeply into the coiled muscles of his back.

Somehow they were moving, shifting backward the few steps to the bed, and then Tabitha sank down,

drawing him after her. Dev followed urgently, willingly giving himself up to her gentle touch.

Inflamed now with the sensual success she was achieving, Tabitha pushed imperiously until he fell onto

his back. Dev watched with a lambent flame in his eyes as she knelt beside him and began to explore the

sleek hardness of his body.

“Tabby, you must be a Siren or a mermaid. Anytime you call, I’ll come. I could never resist.” He gasped

as she lightly scored the inside of his thigh with her nails and then he sighed as she sprinkled hungry kisses

down his chest to the pit of his stomach. Her growing love for him was eliciting a surprising inventiveness

from her, she realized. Never had she experienced such an overwhelming urge to explore a man’s body.

Lost in a world of passionate discovery, Tabitha barely heard his muttered words. She listened only for

the harsh sound of his heavy breathing and the gasps of desire which told her that whatever she was

doing was right. His strong thighs twisted as she caressed him, and the thrusting evidence of his desire

was hard and eager when she found it with her tender fingers.

“My yes, Tabby!” Then he seemed to lose control, pulling at her until she sprawled along the length of

him in a silken tangle. “Now, honey, take me, now!” he blazed fiercely. His fingers went at once to the bit

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of satin at her hips, jerking it down over her full buttocks. Obediently Tabitha kicked the little garment

free and then she came back to him.

Impulsively she settled astride his hips.
It would be like riding a dragon
, she thought fleetingly. And

then, as his hands guided her firmly down onto him, she tensed, aware that he was far, far different from

her ex-husband and in more than just a mental or emotional way.

“Dev?” The breath stilled in her throat as he waited, poised beneath her. She sensed the restrained

power in him and for the first time, Tabitha hesitated.

“Are you suddenly afraid of me, Tabby?” he demanded softly, not trying to force her to complete the

union. “You know I won’t hurt you. Come close and make sweet love to me, little cat.”

Then, his hands grasping the satiny contours of her thighs, he eased her down. Tabitha gasped as he

filled her slowly and completely with his hardness. The shock of the union was unexpected. Her nails dug

into his arms as she braced herself against the heavy impact he had made on her body.

As if he understood that she needed a moment to adjust to him, Dev held himself still beneath her, his

hand soothing and coaxing on her thighs. She heard the fiery string of sensual words that he uttered in a

dark, persuasive voice, and the combination of his tone and his touch made her body relax once more.

“That’s it, honey,” he growled as she slowly returned to the erotically reckless state she had been in only

a moment earlier. “That’s my tabby cat. Come and purr for me, sweetheart. Don’t be afraid of me. You

see how well we fit together? I would never hurt you. Just relax and love me. Let me lose myself in you.

Just relax, honey.”

The hypnotic words had the desired effect and as her body accepted his completely, Tabby forgot the

shock of the intrusion. Besides, inside her now all was glittering, swirling fire. The heavy strength of him,

which had momentarily intimidated her, was now a source of unbelievable excitement. She gave herself

up to it with an abandon she had never known before.

Like riding a dragon.

The ride was infinitely more exhilarating than she could possibly have imagined. In her wildest fantasies,

Tabitha had never thought herself capable of this thrilling response. Her body soared and spun, locked

with his until the distant goal beckoned so urgently she could no longer turn aside. Caught in the

slipstream which carried them both, Tabitha heard herself cry out, felt her body tauten in mindless

tension, and then came a shivering release that left her weak and breathless.

Even as the sound of Dev’s name left her lips, she was aware of him thrusting with even greater force

than before and then he, too, was calling out. His voice was a thick, impeded shout of satisfaction that

was wholly masculine and utterly timeless.

Playing the patient, sensitive gentleman definitely had its own rewards, Dev decided with languid, lazy

pleasure as he came slowly out of the long aftermath of lovemaking. Countless rewards. Intensely

gratifying rewards. He had gauged Tabitha Graham to perfection. She had climbed right into his lap just

as if she knew where she belonged. He would bear the small marks of her claws with great satisfaction,

remembering the passion which had incited her to leave the little nail marks on his shoulders.

Never had he allowed himself to be so sweetly seduced. His mouth curved with wicked delight as he lay

with one arm around Tabitha and waited for her to stir. He had loved it, every minute of it, from the

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moment this morning when he had made the tantalizing discovery that she had deliberately failed to put on

a bra, right up to the part where she had plied him with liquor and lectured him about the mating habits of

animals. Fantastic. He would remember this night as long as he lived. If only there were more time left on

the cruise! The thought of turning Tabby loose in a few days was very unpleasant.

He would have to do something about that. Nobody but a fool would let someone like Tabitha Graham

walk out of his life. He’d never met anyone like her, and he had a fairly good idea he wasn’t likely to run

into anyone similar again. There had to be some way of ensuring that she would be around to seduce him

again and again. And one of these days, when she was no longer shy of him, he would return the favor in

full measure!

He was contemplating just how he would go about that task when Dev saw her lashes flutter. Lazily he

propped himself on his elbow and stared down at her.

“You can’t hide forever, Tabby. Open your eyes and look at me, sweetheart.”

Her lashes lifted and wide sherry eyes regarded him with something between trepidation and hope. Dev

leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose.

“I wasn’t hiding,” she protested carefully. “I was just sleepy.”

He smiled. “Sure you’re not feeling shy?”

“Maybe. A little.”

“Not used to seducing men, hmm?”

“Well, no, now that you mention it,” she retorted gamely. But he was right. She did feel shy and wary

and rather unsettled. He looked happy and contented, though. Wonderingly she traced a path along the

line of his perspiration-damp ribs. The bruises were still quite visible. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“Nothing hurts?”

He grinned and Tabitha swallowed under the impact of the expression. “Nothing hurts. Nothing at all. I

feel fantastic. How about you?”

“I, well, to tell you the truth, it was a…a very interesting experience,” she told him, her eyes going to the

level of his chest.

“A very interesting experience!” he echoed, sounding slightly taken aback. “What on earth does that

mean?”

“It means I’ve never felt anything quite like what just happened,” she admitted candidly. “I…I told you

my husband found me boring. Well, I’m afraid I found him a little, er, boring, too. You see, he didn’t

have much patience with me, and I guess I wasn’t a very warm sort of wife or something.” She coughed

a bit awkwardly and pressed on. “At any rate, I’ve never…that is I hadn’t experienced the full…I

mean…” She floundered to a stop and raised her eyes pleadingly. “You know what I mean.”

“Ah, Tabby,” he groaned softly, “you amaze me. How could anyone as sweet and warm and loving as

you are have gotten this far in life without learning the full extent of your own passion?”

“I don’t think anyone has ever thought me particularly passionate before,” she said very honestly. “I’ve

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never even thought of myself as passionate. I’ve never really been able to let myself go before. But with

you I feel free somehow. Free and brave and even sexy. Oh, Dev, I think it’s because we’re so much

alike, you and I,” she continued earnestly. “Don’t you feel it, too?”

“I think I understand you perfectly,” he murmured.

“You didn’t mind being seduced tonight?” she asked hopefully, eyes brimming with her feelings. She was

in love. There could be absolutely no doubt now. Never had she felt like this.

“I loved being seduced tonight. In fact, I was going to ask you if you felt like seducing me all over

again?”

“Again?” She looked up at him in astonishment.
Again
? After what they had just been through?

“I wouldn’t dream of demanding too much of you,” he began quickly as he saw the clear hesitation in

her. His tone was humble and very anxious. “You’ve been more than generous tonight. I should go back

to my cabin now so that you can get some sleep. After all, a woman like you would probably appreciate

some privacy now. I don’t mean to invade your life and force myself on you…”

“I don’t mind,” she interrupted quite bluntly. “I don’t mind at all.” Smiling invitingly, she put her arms

around his neck and pulled him down to her. Dev needed no second urging.

Tabitha awoke the next morning with the feeling that her whole world had changed during the night. The

knowledge brought with it a disorienting mixture of anticipation and uncertainty, pleasure and shyness.

For a long, private time she contented herself with simply gazing at the sprawled form of the man

sleeping beside her, noting every detail with eyes that revealed her new-found love. How could she have

been so incredibly lucky? Who would have thought that this cruise would bring her a man like him? He

was so perfect, so absolutely perfect for her that it was almost frightening. She was old enough to know