Sobs ripped out of her throat, the release of the suffocating pressure taking her to her knees on the shower floor. She mustered just enough energy to shift positions, pulling her legs out from under her and curling around her knees. The shower rained down on her. She cried for what might have happened. She cried for all she wanted with Marco but would never have. She cried for the little girl inside who hadn't been able to fight back the way the woman did tonight.

A constant knocking broke through her grief. Alyssa lifted her head.

"Alyssa? Please answer me. Are you okay?" More knocking.

She opened her mouth, but her throat was so tight around the tears.

"Damn it, Aly. I'm coming in."

She hated for him to see her cry. She'd done it enough in front of him lately. Her forehead dropped back to her knees. A movement of cooler air told her the shower curtain had parted.

"Oh, sweetheart." The warmth of his body surrounded her and blocked the water from stinging her skin. "I know. I've got you." He reached back and turned off the nozzle, then stripped off his drenched shirt, dropping it to the shower floor with a wet slap.

Taking a deep breath, Alyssa propped her chin on her knees and looked at him.

The lean muscles all along his side popped as he reached to the bar and retrieved a thick towel. He wrapped it around her shoulders and used the end to gently dry her face. The whole time, he watched her with an expression full of compassion and tenderness. God, he was so beautiful.

"Come on," he whispered. He picked her up, one arm under her knees and the other behind her back. Oh, his warmth and his strength seeped into her, setting off a craving for more. More of his touch, more of his skin, more of him. Ignoring that both of them were dripping wet, Marco carried her into his bedroom and set her on the edge of the bed. He reached away long enough to click on the bedside lamp, then returned to her, holding and stroking her, making her incredibly aware of her nudity under the towel.

She looked up at him, her heart swelling with every heightened emotion she felt-and most of all for him. His eyes blazed and his lips parted.

Alyssa's emotions lurched in a new direction, one full of heat and need and desire. She slid off the bed to stand, forcing him back a half step. The towel dropped to the bed behind her.

She settled her palms on his chest and he sucked in a breath, his muscles going rigid beneath her touch. His reaction fueled her to take another step. Leaning forward, she pressed a long openmouthed kiss over his heart. He didn't push her away. He didn't tell her no. She kissed him again and again. Until her lips came down soft and wet around his nipple.

"Damn," he rasped, gripping her back and stroking her hair.

Her hands explored his ribs, the hard planes of his abdomen, and found the line of black curls that ran downward. Alyssa's heart lodged in her throat. She tilted her head back to tell him what she wanted-no, needed-but she never got the chance.

Marco buried his hands in her wet hair and claimed her lips. For a few long seconds, the kiss tasted of compassion, tenderness, and forgiveness. And then something snapped in both of them, as if they were of one mind, and the kisses, the touches, the sounds they made became more needful, more demanding, more urgent.

Marco crushed his arms around her, drawing her up close so that their bodies touched from thighs to chests. His kisses traveled in a worshipful, purposeful line from her lips to her jaw to her ear. "So much to say," he breathed.

"I know," she said in a low voice as she tilted her neck to allow his exploration. "We will. Just not right now."

He pulled back to look in her eyes. "But I want you to know-"

She pressed her fingers to his lips, needing to revel in his touch. All the reasons this wouldn't work could wait until morning. "Words later. I just want to feel you. On me, in me. Please, Marco? I need you so much."

Chapter Fourteen

Marco stared at her for a long moment, a war of emotions playing out across his beautiful face. And then he was kissing her, holding her, stroking her bare skin. Alyssa's head spun at the incredible goodness of his touch and she slammed down hard on any warning thoughts that tried to intrude on the moment.

"Are you sure?" he asked around the edge of a kiss. "After everything that happened?"

She reached up and dragged her fingers through his damp hair once, twice. "Yes," she said simply.

The intensity of his gaze made her skin tingle in anticipation of his decision. He didn't make her wait long. Hands on her ribs, just brushing the curve of her breasts, Marco lifted her onto the bed. She scooted back as he climbed up, her heart beating so fast and so hard he must've heard it.

Alyssa could've watched the movement of Marco's body all night, and she made an effort to memorize the way he looked crawling toward her, over her. She lay back and Marco held his weight just above her, his mouth claiming hers again and again.

More.

She wrapped her arms around his big shoulders and urged him down. When he gave in to her demand, she parted her legs and made room for his lean hips in the cradle of her thighs. His body came down on hers, pulling a moan from deep in her chest. His weight, his heat, his hard, cut musculature-he felt like everything she'd ever needed or wanted. In that instant, she knew she'd never tire of holding him in her arms, feeling his body cover hers.

His mouth traveled to her neck as his big hand caressed over her shoulder and found her breast. She arched into his touch and he alternated soft massages with dragging fingers that had her nearly begging for...she didn't know what. More. Everything.

He moved down her body until his mouth found her nipple. He kissed and licked, worshipping one breast then the other. When he sucked her nipple into the wet heat of his mouth, Alyssa's whole body came up off the bed.

His eyes flashed to hers and he pushed up, his lips crushing to hers again. "My Aly," he said around the edge of the kiss. "So sweet and so beautiful."

The words combined with her desire to create a potent elixir that left her head spinning until the only thing she knew was him. She slid her fingers into his soft hair and grasped short handfuls of it to bring him closer. He obliged for a long moment, letting her feel the thick ridge of his denim-covered erection between her legs, before working down her body again, this time moving past her breasts until his tongue was drawing wet patterns on her stomach, her hip bones.

She traced his shoulders and his neck, her hands dying to explore him. "Marco," she breathed.

When he looked at her, she could've sworn she saw the same urgent need she felt reflected there. He reached behind him, tugged open the nightstand drawer, and tossed a packet on the bed.

Alyssa sat up and grasped the waist of his jeans with two fingers. She pulled him to her and opened the button and zipper, her eyes on his the whole time. Marco leaned in and kissed her softly. She wrapped her hand around his hard length and he groaned deep in his throat. Alyssa's heart thundered and her breath caught, both at the sound of his pleasure and the incredible realization that this was really happening.

Her love for him swelled in her chest until it was hard to breathe. Of course it would hurt like hell if this were all she ever had of him, but already she knew she could never regret it. One night of her dreams coming true was better than none at all.

Marco's fingers caressed her stomach and slid into the curls between her legs. Alyssa gasped, her head falling back as he stroked at the wetness there.

"Damn, Aly," he rasped, his lips tracing down the column of her throat. He slipped the tip of a finger inside her.

Alyssa moaned and lifted her hips, encouraging him to give her more, to give her everything he could.

Marco pulled away. Fabric rustled and fell to the floor. With no apologies, she drank in the sight of his body: his broad shoulders, his scars, the hard-cut veins on his biceps, the taut plane of his abdomen-the long, thick evidence of his desire for her.

Alyssa's pulse quickened as he climbed on the bed.

"Here." He yanked the covers down and guided her to lay with her head on a pillow. He sprawled his delicious weight on top of her again and devoured her with a kiss that had her body undulating beneath his. His hands grasped her face and the look he gave her was raw, hot need. "I want this, Alyssa. So damn much." He shook his head, seemingly struggling for words.