Her legs fell farther apart, and he could see lacy red panties that stood out like a beacon against her milky skin. The underwear surprised him too; he would have suspected she was a true blue white cotton girl, which would have been fantastic. Red lace was just a bonus.

"I like the panties," he whispered against her thigh. She wiggled, and said breathily, "Idid have time to get those." He looked up at her. "I think you made all the right decisions about your clothing tonight." She smiled. Then his thumb found the sensitive center of her through the silky panties. Her eyes closed and her mouth parted. This time a true gasp escaped her. He increased the pressure, feeling the slide of silk over springy curls. The sensation was thrilling, but it made him hungry to touch her with no barriers. To feel those curls with his fingers, to feel them tickle his

lips and to taste the hot, moist flesh that lay beyond their springy limits. He ran both hands up to hook his thumbs under the waistband of her panties. "Lean back, baby, and lift your bottom," he murmured against the skin near her belly button.

"What?" Abby asked.

He looked up to find her peering at him, confusion creasing her brow.

"I want to take your panties off," he told her, pressing another kiss to her belly.

"Oh." Her voice was still vaguely dazed. She leaned back and started to raise off the table when she lost

her balance and slipped, kneeing him in the chin.

He grunted.

She caught herself and straightened back up, her hands clapped over her mouth, her eyes wide.

"Are-are you all right?" Chase nodded, rubbing his jaw. "Are youokay?" She glanced at the table. "I think I slipped in the condensation from my glass of iced tea." He chuckled. "And to think, only moments earlier, I was finding that condensation very sexy." Abby gave him a puzzled look, but he didn't take time to explain, instead standing to kiss her. She responded immediately, and he lost himself in the heat of those soft lips.

He braced an arm behind her and leaned her back. The other hand brushed down her body, tracing her curves until he reached her panties. He bent his index finger over the edge and tugged. She shifted and the scrap of material glided down. He gently pulled off her high heels and the panties followed.

He straightened and studied her. Her hips were rounded; her legs long and the dark curls at her thighs were... He looked up at her. She watched him with wary eyes as if he would be disappointed. Disappointed? God, she was... "Abby, you're breathtaking."

The guarded expression lessened but didn't completely disappear.

"Do you want to know what I'd like to do to you?" he asked, running a fingertip from her knee to her hip and back again.

She nodded, her cheeks burning red.

"I want to taste you." He leaned forward and nipped the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.

She gasped.

"I want to feel you come against my tongue." He ran his tongue dangerously close to those dark

corkscrew curls.

She shivered.

"And then I want to sink inside you until I fill you, and we can feel nothing but each other." He brushed a

finger against her, parting her.

She groaned and raised her hips.

He obeyed her silent command and placed his mouth over her, finding the tight bud with his tongue. Her

taste and scent surrounded him like misty salt air. It was intoxicating. It was heaven. And Chase couldn't

remember wanting anything more than he wanted to make Abby scream with pleasure. She collapsed back against the table as if his tongue had stolen her strength and pinned her to the polished wood.

He swirled the tip of his tongue around her, and she arched her back, her hands knotting in his hair. He flicked his tongue faster, and she began to squirm.

"Chase." She whimpered, the sound distressed, the sound euphoric.

He caught her writhing hips, holding her steady, and increased the pressure. Her legs fell over his shoulders, and she ground her heels into his back, straining, striving.

"Chase!"

With each of pulse of her against his lips, he hardened. With each gasp, his penis leapt. He wanted to be clasped by the hot, throbbing flesh that surrounded his tongue. But not until he tasted her fulfillment, not until she experienced something that he was certain she had never had-with a partner, anyway.

He increased his speed, and he could feel her tense. Her pebbled clitoris quivered under his lips and he could taste the sweetness of her response.

She groaned, throwing out her arms to clutch the edges of the table. One of her hands hit the forgotten iced tea glass.

He heard the tumbler skitter across the tabletop.

In the same instant, Abby cried out and bucked against him. Simultaneously, she and the glass shattered into a million pieces.

Chapter 18.

Abby tried to focus on the round ceiling light, but the hammering of pleasure and pounding of her heart were too overwhelming, so she closed her eyes and focused on them.

She had orgasmed! Holy cow, had she ever orgasmed!

She knew she should feel embarrassed or ashamed to be spread half naked across Chase's kitchen table, but she didn't. She felt wonderful. She felt amazing. And she couldn't believe she had so easily achieved something that had always seemed elusive to her.

She felt Chase stir and opened her eyes. He leaned over her, his hair ruffled from her fingers, his lips still damp from her. His pale eyes shone and the curve of his lips was extremely sexy.

"So do you still think you aren't any good at sex?"

Abby smiled, the action languorous. "I think you're good. I don't think we've actually put me to the test."

"Well, I guess we'd better do that."

He pulled her toward him, and she slid easily across the table.

"I don't think this is going to be a fair test of my ability, as I'm already done," she warned.

Chase nodded sympathetically, but his eyes twinkled. "Well, if you fail, I'll just test you later after you do

some more boning up on the subject." He grinned at his bad joke.

"That was terrible."

"Mmm-hmm," he agreed and kissed her.

Abby loved his mouth. His lips were soft and smooth, yet he kissed her with such hunger and strength. She could feel his possession to the tips of her toes.

He tugged at her bottom lip. Her toes curled. Very quickly, she realized that her theory that she was done because he'd brought her to orgasm was a silly one. Just kissing him was creating another wave of longing deep inside her. Electricity zipped through her nerve endings and sparks zoomed through her veins, all centering in at that little point between her legs.

She wanted more of Chase. She wanted her turn to touch him, to feel his hard muscles and taste the faint saltiness of his skin. To see every inch of him naked. And when he had told her earlier that he wanted to fill her, well, she wanted that more than she thought possible. She wanted to be his.

Her hands snaked up between their bodies and found the buttons of his shirt. She fumbled with the tiny plastic circles that seemed impossibly large to fit through the buttonholes. Chase lifted his head. "Do you want me to help?" The sight of that gorgeous dimple caused her fingers to trip up further. "Yes. Please."

Chase straightened and began to work the buttons free. Abby leaned on her elbows and watched as each unfastened button revealed a bit more golden skin. Finally, he shrugged off the shirt and tossed it onto the chair with the discarded tuxedo jacket. The ceiling light directly above him highlighted his broad shoulders and the lean muscles of his arms, and created intriguing shadows under the taut muscles of his chest and his stomach.

He started to move back toward her, but she shook her head.

One dark eyebrow rose. "No?"

"I want to look at you."

A slow, sexy grin spread over his face. "You're getting awful cocksure all of a sudden."

"You're developing a corny sense of humor all of a sudden."

"Yeah," he agreed guiltily. "Well, stressful situations do that to me."

Abby rose up slightly, frowning. "How is this situation stressful for you? I'm the one sprawled on the

kitchen table half-naked." "Mmm," he nodded. "I do like that." He grazed a fingertip down her belly to brush over the small triangle of curls above her closed legs. Her lips parted, and she struggled to control the uneven breath his fleeting touch caused. Closing her eyes briefly, she managed to gather her wits and her rampant desire. "Well, there should be no stress. You succeeded at your end of the job quite impressively. I'm the one that has no idea if what I'm doing is right or not." Chase studied her for a moment, his expression unreadable. "Baby, you can't do anything wrong. Do whatever feels right to you. I'm pretty damned sure I'm going to enjoy it." She breathed in deeply. "Okay, then lose the pants." He immediately unbuttoned and unzipped them. "See, I'm enjoying this already." The black material slid down, leaving him in his hot chili pepper boxers. He looked down at them and then at her, smiling lopsidedly.

"I figured they would be a nice touch, if we did make it this far."

"Very nice," she agreed with a small laugh. "Off."

He promptly pushed them down. They disappeared out of view beneath the table with his pants. He straightened.

And Abby simply stared. His erection jutted up against his belly, the tip nearly touching his shallow

navel.

"You're so... magnificent," she murmured, and then, as if the thick, hard shaft was a lodestone, she sat up and reverently ran her fingers down its length.

He made a noise in the back of his throat, and his penis jerked under her tentative touch. Abby pulled her hand away, but he caught it and brought her fingers back to him, curling them around his width.

"No, touch me."

She did, moving back and forth over him, testing the different textures. The granite hardness sheathed in velvety skin. The spongy softness of the head dampened with his arousal.

"Amazing," she breathed.