Something out of reach.

One of his jeans-clad knees moved between her legs and pressed against her softness.

That pressure was stirring an answering heat, and Raine was no longer content to be the pa.s.sive recipient of Mac's touch.

She wanted to explore him.

She couldn't get over the thrill of being wanted by this man.

She wasn't completely inexperienced, but she'd never known these shivers of pleasure that skated across her skin in the wake of his fingers.

Her hands wandered across his wide shoulders, fingers flexing, testing

the tensile muscles there.

She lowered her hand to his chest, feeling the crispness of the dark hair covering it.

She kneaded her fingers against him, like a cat, and he lifted his head

from her breast to gaze at her.

He pushed into her exploring fingers, and she obeyed the unspoken demand.

Both hands stroked him, learning the exact boundary of the triangle of chest hair, tinges threading through it to ma.s.sage its muscled planes.

When one of her fingers glanced over the male b.u.t.ton of his nipple, a

harsh sound came from deep in his throat.

Summoning up all her courage, Raine moved to flick her tongue at the nipple, then closed her teeth around it with delicate precision.

He withstood the exquisite torture for long moments before pressing her

back to the mattress.

One hand reached for the hem of her short gown and brought it up, over her head, tossing it aside.

Now his hands could explore freely, and explore they did.

Her skin was soft, as silky as the nightgown had been, and he couldn't get enough of her.

Her legs were smooth and firm, and the thought ~)f her wrapping them

around his waist made his gu thinking anymore about how wrong this

would be, how wrong it was for her.

In the back of his mind he a.s.sured himself that wouldn't allow this to get out of hand, but his hands slidin her naked skin called him a

liar.

She needed him tonight in a way he couldn't yet recognized.

He couldn't ever remember being needed before, and it was a seductive

snare.

His hands were gliding everywhere, leaving a' path, but suddenly that wasn't enough for Raine.

She clutched back, rubbing her hands along his~ vertebrae with long,

strokes.

She met the Waistband of his jeans, then, and the tips her fingers delved beneath the loosened band.

Mac rolled away, every last instinct he had screaming a ing.

This had progressed too far, too fast.

He'd feel like a for calling an end to it now, but not as much as if he

was to go through with this.

Raine's hands moved to his front and she pressed against him as her fingers played with the open b.u.t.ton on his jeans.

One hand tugged at his zipper and he groaned, catching the errant hand,

but not before it finished its task.

Bringing her palm to his lips, he pressed a kiss into its palm.

"No, honey, we can't."

Whatever else he'd been about to say was lost as her mouth opened over

his, sealing the words with liquid fire.

He pressed her against the pillows, the pressure of his mouth a tale of frustration.

~he accepted his kiss, reveled in it as his lips moved on hers without

gentleness.

Her other hand crept to the open fly of his jeans and touched the hard length of him.

He groaned into her mouth, breaking the kiss and leaning his forehead

against hers.

She freed him from his briefs, her other hand joining the first to stroke him wonderingly.

He gritted his teeth against the urge to thrust i~nto that sweet touch,

but when he heard her soft sound of discovery, he knew he was lost.

Her gentle fingers' skated over his turgid length, as if laying claim to uncharted territory.

One small hand slid down his shaft and cupped the heaviness at its

base.

Mac gave up the inner fight.

He'd never be able to give her more than his protection, but he could give her this.

He could give her tonight.

Maybe it would be enough.

With swift, economical movements he shucked out of his jeans and

briefs.

But he wasn't too far gone to forget to pull his wallet out of his back pocket and remove a foil-wrapped package from it.

He managed to roll the condom on and then took both her hands in his.