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Daniel nodded slowly. “All right,” he said. “We’ll play it your way.” Because he couldn’t help it, he added, “For now.”

The look she shot at him was deadly.

They were quiet for a few minutes, the air between them tense. Then she touched his arm. “Thank you. For not pushing the issue.”

He shrugged and looked around. It was almost dark. “Come on,” he said. “I’ll walk you home.”

Together they set off for her flat, which was a couple of blocks from the beach. They walked in silence, neither saying anything until they reached her unit.

“Danny—” she closed the front door behind them and looked into his eyes, “—I know I’m being unfair. But life without you would be too horrible to even consider and I don’t ever want to have to.”

“Believe it or not, I understand where you’re coming from.” One of the reasons he needed to move slowly was for fear of losing her. If she ran from him now he’d curse his hastiness until the day he died. He pursed his lips. “But you need to know what you’re rejecting, what you won’t have if you insist on keeping things platonic between us.”

He watched her mind working, could almost see her brace herself for whatever he might say, determined to contradict his argument with a brilliant defense strategy of her own.

So he never said a word. Instead, in a whirl of motion, he wound his arm around her neck, pulled her close and kissed her.

He expected her to resist, to fight him off, but she didn’t. Maybe she was too stunned. Maybe she didn’t really want to. Whatever the case, her lips accepted his immediately and parted to give his tongue access to her mouth. Its velvety warmth seared him and played havoc with his libido. He’d been hard since he saw her at the beach. Now even her slightest movement played havoc with his self-restraint.

Her nipples beaded against his chest and he pressed against them. A moan escaped her and she deepened the kiss. Damn, the woman could kiss. His toes curled and his balls tightened.

Slowly but deliberately, he withdrew his tongue from the silky confines of her mouth and continued to hold her, to rub his chest against the soft breasts and tight buds. Looking into her glazed green eyes, he said, “Give me five minutes of your time. That’s all I need. Five minutes and I promise I’ll get out of your hair.” He nibbled her chin and jaw line.

A soft sigh of indecision escaped. “This is a very, very bad idea.”

He kissed her lips. “Five minutes, Morgan. That’s all. What can happen in five minutes?”

Still she looked uncertain. He nipped at her earlobe and she shivered in response. He made a mental note to give her earlobe a lot more attention in the future. “Five minutes.”

Again she hesitated so he nibbled her lobe again. As a result she nodded vaguely. “Okay, five minutes. But that’s all.”

He kissed her again. Only it wasn’t her lips his mouth ravaged now. It was her breasts. Pausing only to push her shirt up, he dipped his head and covered her white, lace-clad nipple with his lips. Taking the bud in his mouth, he sucked.

The lace scraped her nipple under his assault, so he soothed it with his wet tongue, hoping the combination of sensations would drive her as insane as they were driving him.

They did. Amy shuddered and moaned his name.

Before moving to her other breast, Daniel popped the front clasp of her bra. The fabric gave way and her breasts sprang free. He pushed the lace aside and stopped dead for a couple of seconds, merely staring at her exposed chest. A strangled sound escaped from his mouth.

Her tits were incredible.

He whispered his appreciation, and she broke out in gooseflesh. “Amy, your breasts…they’re beautiful. Round and firm. And inviting. And your nipples. Christ, they’re so hard. So aroused.” He laved first one and then the other with his tongue. “Like me.”

Her breathing became labored as she shook in his arms.

“I could spend hours kissing them, licking them. Like this.” He sucked one breast. Kissed it, caressed it, nibbled the erect, pink bud while she shivered and groaned. His gaze flew to the clock. “But I only have four minutes left.”

He got down on his knees and trailed kisses from her breasts to her bellybutton. The gentle curve of her stomach was soft and firm, the skin around it satin to the touch. Some other time he’d explore it more thoroughly. The clock was ticking.

Her pants sat low on her hips. He found the cord and untied them, pushing them down over her curves. Her arms fluttered at her side, a pitiful attempt to stop him. Ignoring them, he planted a kiss on each hip and rested his nose on her panties, just above her clit.

Her legs shook, a nonsensical word escaping from her throat.

Oh, man, she was so hot. He felt her heat pulsating through her panties. Like her bra, they were white and lacy and barely covered the hair on her mound.

He had to taste her.

Now.

He stood and swept her up in his arms, marching to her dining table. As he kicked a chair out of the way, he settled her on the edge of the table and tugged off her shoes while pulling her pants off.

“Lie back, babe.”

She stared at him, her eyes hooded. “We shouldn’t be doing this. Friends don’t—”

Three minutes and counting. He didn’t have time for her objections. His finger traced a line over her panties from her clit to her slit, effectively rendering her speechless.

“Lie back,” he whispered again.

With a soft groan, she complied.

Her panties off and legs spread wide, for a full twenty seconds he did nothing but stare.

She was a goddess. Her butt was perched on the edge of the table, her knees bent, her secrets exposed. A sex goddess. His balls tightened and he fought down the furious need to bury himself in her wet depths. God help him, he loved her, wanted to make love to her so bad. Her nipples were taut and erect and pointing skywards. Lord, how he ached to take them in his mouth again.

But first he had to taste her.

He buried his nose in her mound and licked her with the tip of his tongue.

Her reaction was so violent she nearly shot off the table, so he placed an arm under each knee and held her in place. He gently blew and watched her tremble as his air touched her lips.

“Daniel…”

He looked up and caught sight of her swollen breasts.

“I’d love to suck your nipples, babe, but I can’t. I’m going to kiss you here instead.” He blew again.

Her legs bucked under his arms. “Daniel,” she breathed.

“Touch your tits, babe. Do it, for me.”

He heard her breathing sharpen and watched as she whipped her head from side to side.

“Let me see you rub your nipples, pleasure yourself.” He licked her, filling his mouth with her sweet nectar, and she groaned in response. “Massage your tits, babe. Feel how hot they are.” He licked her again, caught the moisture as it oozed out of her. “Touch them,” he coaxed.

When she did, he nearly came in his pants.

Delicate feminine hands cupped her breasts and massaged. Long fingernails, painted a sexy red, squeezed her nipples. She began to pant.

Blood emptied into his groin and he forced himself to take a steadying breath. He fastened his mouth to her and ran his tongue between her folds, dipping it in to taste. The tempo he set was at first slow and then fast, alternating between licking her clit and her lips.

Breathless moaning egged him on. Shit, she was so hot and aroused she could barely keep her ass on the table.

She tilted her hips, pushing herself up to meet his tongue and then relaxed back down.

Emotion boiled in his stomach, a mixture of love and need. Could his feelings for her be any more powerful? Could his need for her be any more urgent?

His speed increased as he heard her moans, watched her pinch her own nipples. She thrust up again and again, her silent incitement compelling him to add pressure to his kiss.

Damn, she tasted good. Like honey and cream and sex—just like in his dream. If his cock came anywhere near her now, he’d last all of about one second. But he had no intention of fucking her today. He was saving that for another time. A time when
she
asked for it. Right now he had maybe one minute left, one minute to remind her what she’d be missing out on.

He fastened his mouth on her clit and licked in slow, light motions, gaining speed and momentum with every gasp from her mouth.

“Yes,” she panted above him. “Yes, yes, yes!”

He slid a finger inside her.

“Daniel. Oh God, Daniel.”

Amy screamed as he slipped a second finger in and sucked a tiny bit harder. Her muscles tightened around his hand and she came, her juices flowing onto his tongue. Greedily he lapped them up as if it were manna from heaven, not stopping until the final spasm rocked her body. Until she lay motionless on the table, her legs hanging limply over the edge.

A quick check of the clock showed that four minutes and forty-eight seconds had lapsed. Before his time was completely over, he walked around the table, leaned over and kissed her soundly.

Five minutes.

For a heartbeat longer his lips lingered against hers. Then, reluctantly, he moved away. She lay there on the table panting and breathless.

“That, my love, is what you are rejecting.” His voice was raw and uneven.

He straightened up, shrugged his shoulders and added, “But hey, if you just want to be friends, that’s cool too.”

Amy gawked at him.

“Gotta go,” he said casually and turned to leave.

It took every ounce of willpower not to go back to her. Not to rip off his pants and sheath himself in her quivering, wet depths. Hell, it took every ounce of self-control just to walk to the door without limping.

“Maybe we can catch a movie sometime next week. I’ll call you.” He waved goodbye, opened the door and just before closing it behind him, whistled the first few notes of a tune from
The Lion King
. He almost laughed out loud when he caught a last glimpse of Amy’s face, gaping at him in disbelief. For her benefit, he whistled the rest of the tune a little louder as he hobbled painfully down the corridor.

He knew without a doubt she wouldn’t come after him. After that orgasm she would hardly have the energy to breathe. Calling him back would probably kill her.

Chapter Seven

Amy was happy. Nope, more than that, she was absolutely, positively, one hundred percent thrilled. It had been a month since Daniel had been to her flat, a month since he blew her away with his wicked, wicked mouth. In all that time he hadn’t touched her. Hadn’t hugged her, hadn’t even tried to shake her hand. He hadn’t kissed her. Not once in over four weeks. Not even a little kiss. Not even a peck on the cheek.

Daniel
always
kissed her on the cheek.

Not anymore. Now he was respecting her wishes. Keeping their friendship platonic. She was truly delighted. Except maybe for the kiss on the cheek thing.

Okay, so she wasn’t crazy about the fact that when they walked together he no longer draped a casual arm around her shoulders. Truth be told, she felt a bit uncomfortable looping her arm through his, which over the years had kind of become habit for her.

Then there was the little incident last Saturday, when he was eating his lemon meringue pie. What was that about anyway? Their routine was standard. He would cut off a piece with his fork, eat half of it then feed her the rest and so on, until the plate was clean.

Only last week he ate the whole thing. The whole slice. He didn’t even push the plate over so she could help herself. She loved lemon meringue pie.

Otherwise, she was over the moon about the way their friendship was getting back to normal. Really, just delighted.

True, it had been a little awkward at first. Okay, it had been downright excruciating. Initially she didn’t know how to act around him. Couldn’t even talk without stuttering. She just knew her cheeks had rivaled the color of the deep purple tulips that were starting to blossom outside. But things gradually started to settle. Now both of them were just fine. Happy as pie in their friendship. Everything was hunky dory. Except maybe for the kiss on the cheek thing.

Amy started as the phone rang, jarring through her thoughts.

“Hello?”

“Amy, is that you?” The voice was feminine and anxious.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Oh, thank God. It’s Lexi.”

“Lex? Is everything okay?”

“Yes. Um…well no, not quite.”

Amy went cold. “What’s the matter? What’s happened?”

“It’s Daniel. He’s had an accident.”

The energy drained from her body. Spots dotted her vision and she struggled to breath. “Oh God. Please, no.”

“No, no. Don’t panic,” Lexi assured her immediately. “It’s not serious. At least I don’t think it’s serious. Daniel does, but then you know Daniel. He thinks stubbing his toe is serious. It wasn’t really an accident. Well, I guess that would depend on how you define accident—”

“Lexi! What happened to Daniel? Is he okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine. I think. He was kind of attacked.”