Beck!

That's right. He'd come over in the middle of the night, wanting but not wanting her to draw a picture. He'd crawled into bed and pulled her beside him, holding her close. His arm was still draped over her middle, his lashes casting spiky shadows over his cheeks.

His soft expression made him appear boyish, carefree, and inside her, a well of tenderness bubbled over. She remembered their talk, his hands on her skin, and she instantly went up in flames, her desire for him returning-had it ever really left?

Why not pick up where they'd left off?

Yes, oh, yes.

As stealthily as she was able, she crawled from the bed and tiptoed into the bathroom, took care of business and brushed her teeth, then crawled back into bed. Beck, who hadn't stirred, now curled around her, as if he'd been waiting for her, his warm breath a caress against her neck.

"Beck," she whispered, hoping to ease him awake.

He sighed softly, inserting a leg between hers and draping a hand over her rib cage. Antic.i.p.ation caused her to tense. If he moved that hand up just a few inches...

Up...up...it slid, and she held her breath-do it, please do it-but he stopped just before he actually cupped her. Hot tremors swept through her, and she swallowed a whimper.

"Beck. Wake up." Please.

His thumb brushed upward again and again, sending heated shivers through her. More desperate by the second, she squirmed against him. When the not-quite-enough torment continued, she inched downward, forcing him to cup her at last. All the while his thumb continued to brush up-but still he made no contact with her distended nipple.

The air deflated from her lungs. "Beck," she repeated, arching up, rubbing against his thigh-yes, yes!-practically driving herself insane with the promise of more.

The movement of his thumb slowed as it drew closer, closer to where she needed it most-but not close enough.

Argh! "Beck. I mean it. Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey."

Again his thumb brushed up-and this time...this time he stroked her. A cry of delight parted her lips, lances of pleasure shooting through her. Realization, too. He couldn't be doing this in his sleep. He just couldn't. The effect was too masterful, the touch too skilled.

She flipped open her lids-and found him smiling at her with wicked intent.

"YOU SMELL LIKE cinnamon and mint, baby. Did you brush your teeth hoping I'd kiss you?" The thought wrecked him. She'd wrecked him.

"Yes. Yes."

Beck knew he should resist. He'd come here with every intention of telling her the plan. He would be setting her up with someone else. But look where he'd ended up. In her bed, wrapped around her, desperate for her.

He couldn't resist her. He'd always been a s.e.xual man, but never like this. She'd somehow caused him to devolve, stripping him of etiquette and turning him into little more than an animal.

"You want me, even though I won't commit to you?" Let there be no misunderstandings between them. "You're willing to be with me?"

She stiffened. "Even though."

Guilt p.r.i.c.ked at his gut-wrenching desire. Her reaction, despite her words... He should definitely get up, dress and leave. He nuzzled her neck instead, the need for her, only her, undeniable. "I'm going to make you feel so good, baby."

"This," she said, arching into his touch like a needy little kitty, "is a wonderful start."

This was only the beginning. "Good." He lifted his head. "Do not move from that position."

"But-"

"I mean it." He dragged himself out of bed and padded to the bathroom, where he quickly brushed his teeth, using her brush and paste. She wouldn't be the only one with minty-fresh breath. That done, he returned to the bed, any lingering resistance dying as he peered down at her. A flawless treat, ready to be devoured.

Urgency rode him hard-take her, now, now-but he stood in place. "So there are no misunderstandings, I need you to tell me how far I can go."

She licked her lips. "You can put your hands...your mouth on me. Give me pleasure. I dreamed about you...ached for you all night."

Ruthless need battered at him as he crawled toward her. "Pleasure...as in s.e.x?"

Now she hesitated. "I don't... I..."

All right. He'd take that as a no. No matter. He could do plenty with his hands and mouth. And she could do plenty with hers. "I believe we ended last night with your hand right...here." He placed her palm flat against his erection, hissed at the razor-sharp desire careening through him.

"Yes," she moaned, squeezing him. "You're so big."

He gently bit into her bottom lip, drawing the tender flesh between his teeth. "The better to please you." He pushed up her tank, baring her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Her beautiful, rosy-tipped b.r.e.a.s.t.s- "Wait." She began to struggle against him, frantic. "Don't. I'll leave the shirt on."

But it was too late. He saw the scars. A collage of them began just below her collarbone and stretched all the way to her navel, even covering her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. There were jagged pink lines and patches of puckered skin, as if someone else's skin had been sewed to her. The sight almost proved to be his undoing, not because it was ugly-nothing about her was ugly-but because of the pain she must have endured.

A wave of tenderness overtook him, and he kissed the tip of one scar...the tip of another. He had to know what had happened to her, and he had to know now. But when his gaze flipped up to her face and he realized she was staring just over his shoulder, that she'd gone stiff as she waited for his verdict, his rejection, he decided he couldn't do it. Not now.

"You only grow more beautiful with every second that pa.s.ses, baby. How is that possible?" He lowered his head again, kissed the edge of one of the scars and this time he traced his tongue over the puckered edge.

Slowly the tension melted from her. She wound her arm around him, her nails soon digging into his back. "You don't have to lie. Not with me."

"I'm not lying. In fact, I will never lie to you. Not about this or anything else. You promised me, and now I promise you." He fit his lips over her nipple and as he sucked, she cried out, her hips lifting from the bed. "Like a wild strawberry, sweet and addictive, and I can't have just one." He turned his attention to the other, sucking it hard, harder, then flicking his tongue back and forth to soothe the ache. The little bead swelled under his ministrations, a silent plea for more.

"Beck." A gasp, her hips undulating with need.

He yanked the tank over her head. Every obstacle had to go. Strands of inky hair fell over her shoulders, the pillow, and as he ran his fingers between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, down her stomach, he felt the evidence of more scars. Far more than he'd realized. He kicked off the covers, baring the rest of her. Some of the scars were bigger than others, clearly deeper.

Aching for her, he kissed another scar, then another, his fingers still traveling down, down...finally tunneling under her panties. His eyes nearly rolled back into his head. She was wet. No, not just wet. She was soaked, and she was white-hot, burning him so deliciously.

She'll taste as sweet as candy.

As he rubbed...rubbed...spreading her moisture, building her desire, stoking his own desperation, he croaked, "Part your legs for me, Harlow."

The moment she obeyed, he thrust a finger deep, and oh, h.e.l.l, she was tight. Sweat beaded on his brow, the urge to rip off her underwear and sink inside her a tangible thing.

Control! "Can you take another one?"

"Yes. Please, yes." The way she clung to him, as if he were as necessary to her as breathing, only magnified the sensations blasting through him, and in that moment, she was necessary to him.

Precious girl. As he thrust in a second finger, she gave a strangled cry and lifted her hips. An instinctive action, and an irresistibly greedy one. The heel of his palm pressed where she ached most, and as her body's shivers vibrated into his, that very necessary control slipped farther and farther away.

"Touch me," he demanded.

"But...aren't I already?" Then understanding hit her and she eagerly shoved his underwear out of the way.

What had been a delight only seconds before became a glorious torment. While her rhythm lacked any kind of finesse, her unfettered excitement and enthusiasm touched him deep inside, where no one else had ever been.

He knew women, knew their reactions, and knew Harlow wasn't gifting him with pleasure by rote, but through the most primitive compulsion. The same was true of him. With her, he was too swept up to stick to routine-a hand here, his mouth there, give this so he could take that. He thought only of branding his woman now, now, now, hanging on and never letting go. Owning her-the way she owned him.

"I know you can take another." He wedged in a third finger, and she gasped. She moaned. Her head thrashed atop the pillow, ribbons of jet-black silk tangling around her face.

"Too much? Am I hurting you?" It would kill him, but he would stop.

"Just need...a moment...to adjust."

He waited, his every muscle vibrating with the urge to move...have to move...but her enjoyment mattered more to him than anything else. "You feel so good. Never felt anything better." His thumb caressed in circles, pressing...pressing closer to the heart of her.

Her knees parted farther, and she dissolved into the mattress, close, so d.a.m.n close, to release. That's when he removed his fingers.

With a disappointed cry, she latched on to his wrist. "No! Stay! It doesn't hurt anymore."

"I'll be back, don't worry." Nothing would keep him away.

Reluctantly she released him, and he spread her essence down his length, moistening it from base to tip. He put her hand back on him-put his fingers back inside her. She sighed with contentment, gripping him hard and tight, just the way he liked.

"Look at me," he commanded.

Those baby blues were almost too hazed to focus. Her pupils were blown, nothing but twin pools of desire, drowning him...but what a way to go. "As I thrust my fingers in you, ride my length up. As I pull out, ride my length down."

"Yes, yes."

As he slanted his lips over hers, thrusting his tongue against hers, he thrust his fingers deep, deeper inside her. Her groan filled his mouth, and her hand, her sweet, sweet hand, rode up his length. He pulled his fingers back, and she stroked down. A growl rose from somewhere in his chest, a place he'd never known existed, where a spark of possession had never quite died.

Mine.

The claim would have freaked him out-did freak him out-but he was past the point of caring. His skin was pulled too tight over muscle and bone; any second he would burst apart at the seams.

"Faster," he said, and the sounds of their panting breaths filled the room. He would have sworn the very air around them electrified.

Her hips followed his every motion while his followed hers. He deepened the kiss, slid his fingers back in and at the last second, angled his wrist. Her grip tightened on him, and she cried out in wonder, her inner walls spasming.

As the pleasure washed over her, she made the most sublime sounds, gifting him with an expression of such exquisite satisfaction he knew he would be haunted by it all the days of his life. Then her nails sliced across his back, branding him as her property, and he, too, spiraled over the edge.

Completely emptied out, he collapsed beside her, and he wasn't sure how much time pa.s.sed before he had the strength to rise, find a towel and clean her up.

She draped her hands over her eyes, her cheeks flushing to a gorgeous rose. Embarra.s.sed? After what they'd just done?

The tenderness returned, redoubled, and he tossed the rag aside. He pried her fingers from her face and smiled at her. "You are a treasure, you know that?" He smoothed a lock of damp hair from her face. "Never change."

She gripped the covers, those ocean-water eyes languid with satisfaction-and dread. "Is this the part where you blow me off?"

Her lips were red and swollen from his kisses, and it took him a moment to get his attention off them and onto her words. "Blow you off? You're my friend, rabbit. You're stuck with me."

"Well. That's something, at least." Gaze downcast, she stood and dressed in the tank and shorts. "Last night you mentioned something you and Brook Lynn wanted to do for me."

His airway instantly tightened and sweat beaded on the back of his neck. He swiped up his shirt and tugged it on, and realized he was trembling as he haphazardly b.u.t.toned it. He didn't bother fastening his pants.

"Let's talk about it later, okay?" Way later...or never. Yeah. Never sounded good.

"That's what you said last night. Beck, what's going on?" Worry darkened her features. "Tell me before I have a panic attack."

"No reason to panic, baby. It's nothing bad." He'd said he would never lie to her, and he wouldn't. He hadn't. What he and Brook Lynn planned wasn't bad for her.

He was another story.

"Beck."

He pulled at his collar, saying, "Brook Lynn thinks it will be a good idea if we find you...a man. Someone better than me." The material ripped, and he dropped his hand to his side. He could only grit out the rest of the explanation. "Someone who will meet all your needs."

She stumbled back as if he'd kicked her, the color draining from her face, leaving her pale and waxen. "You and Brook Lynn think..." A wealth of hurt peered at him as she floundered for a response. "You want me to be with someone else? Already?"

Never! he almost snarled. He hated the thought of her with someone else, and there was a good chance the guy would end up in the hospital before all was said and done. "I want you happy. You deserve to be happy. This is for the best."

Hurt gave way to anger. "Whose best?"

"Well, it sure the h.e.l.l isn't mine," he shouted, then immediately hung his head in shame. He had no right to yell at her. Blame rested on his shoulders, and his alone. "I'm sorry."

"Stuff your sorry." She pointed to the door. "Get out."

No. No way in h.e.l.l was he leaving her like this. "If you don't want another man, don't be with another man. But-"

"Out!"

He shook his head, desperate to get through to her. "I'm not leaving until you give me what you promised. Your secret."

"I'm not telling you anything," she spat.

"You promised."

"That was before I knew your plan to p.a.w.n me off on someone else."

Ripped apart inside, he said, "If I could commit, it would be with you, Harlow. I've never wanted a woman the way I want you, but I'm just not hardwired that way. I can't do a relationship, I don't want a family. You still want those things-right?"

She was silent for a moment. Slowly, she nodded.

Her agreement wasn't a surprise, but was still somehow a blow he hadn't been prepared to take. "Like I said, I can't give those things to you." He hated those words. They were final. The end of this, whatever it was. He wanted to fall to his knees and beg her to forget he'd said anything.

But he didn't. Love and lose. It was the story of his life. Even if he could love her, he couldn't stand to lose her.

Harlow opened her mouth, closed it. Silent, she studied his features for a long while. Whatever she saw removed the starch from her shoulders.

"Do you think you'll cheat on me?" she asked.