Page 75 of Craig

They had the meal right there on the deck with the wind whistling through the trees.

Regina had to admit that it was the best week of her life, and she was dreading going back to the real world.

As if sensing her misgivings, he made love to her that night with a tenderness that drove her to tears, laboring over her body with ruthless intensity. Afterwards, he held her against him, his arms possessive, heart beating unsteadily against her cheek.

She couldn't say the words; she had no idea when that would be, but she could feel everything. And she had an idea that he knew exactly what was happening to her

Chapter 12

He started back earlier than he had projected, because of the impending storm. The forecast had called for a massive thunderstorm, and he wanted to get ahead of it.

He also noticed how quiet she had gotten this morning at breakfast. He had made love to her, slow, gentle, drawing out the pleasure for both of them until she was begging him to take her.

He had been deliberately ruthless, as if to prove a point. He had been disappointed that she had not returned his words.

Patience, he told himself. He was going to be patient with her.

Didn't he already know what she was feeling?

She proved it every time he was with her, inside her. She could not shy away from her emotions; they were laid bare for him to see.

She just could not say the words he was longing to hear, even when he said them to her. So he would wait, and he would be patient.

And he was not even going to be upset that she had chosen to pretend to be asleep while they zipped along the way home.

He would give her the time. He would allow her the silence because he needed some thinking time as well.

His love for her overwhelmed him, made him feel as if he was on a rollercoaster ride heading at top speed straight over a cliff, and he was on the ride without a harness.

He felt the quick clutch and pull inside his body each time he was with her.

Stopping at the lights, he glanced over at her and felt the clutch and pull again. She was wearing low-riding denims and a thin cashmere sweater that hugged her superb breasts with a plunging neckline that revealed her flawless skin.

It stopped just above her navel, the ring there winking against her skin. She was wearing a few of the earrings and bangles he had bought her and smelled divine.

"Christ!" he thought, shaking his head. The woman was potent.

Shaking his head, he pushed the vehicle into traffic.

She eventually fell asleep and woke up when she heard the vehicle stop. She had pretended to be taking a nap as soon as they got into the vehicle, so she didn't have to talk.

What the hell was she supposed to say? Especially after last night and this morning?

After the whole damn week? It had been entirely too emotional, and several times during the intense lovemaking, she had almost blurted out what she held inside her heart.

So, she had taken the coward's way out for the first time in her life.

She stirred and sat up, blinking and noticing the blanket thrown over her.

Her heart melted even more. The man was proving to be lethal.

"We're here."

"So we are." Switching off the engine, he turned to give her an amused look, noticing how rumpled and sexy she looked.

"You were no company at all," he said.

She cast him a glance as she folded the blanket and tossed it around the back. "At least I was present."