The Illegitimate Heirs: Caleb, Nick & Hunter: Engagement between Enemies

She looked apprehensive. “Okay.”

He took a deep breath and went on before he had a chance to change his mind. “If I continue, I’m not going to stop. I’m going to take this bathing suit off and kiss every inch of your beautiful body. I’m going to touch you in places that will make you moan with pleasure. I’m going to do things to you that will drive you crazy and have you calling my name when you find your release. And then, when you think I’m finished, I’m going to start all over again.”

To his immense relief, instead of the small spark of desire in her luminous blue eyes dimming, it grew to a hunger that matched his own. But he needed to hear her say the words, needed for her to tell him that she wanted him to make love to her.

“Is that what you want, Alyssa?”

“Yes.” There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation in her simple answer, nor a hint of reservations in her steady gaze.

Groaning, Caleb covered her mouth with his, then traced her perfect lips with his tongue. If she’d told him no, he’d have had a hell of a time finding the strength to walk away. But she hadn’t. And just knowing she wanted him enough to let down her guard made him hot in ways he’d never imagined.

Her contented sigh encouraged him and he took advantage of her acceptance to slip inside and once again explore her sweetness. As he tasted and coaxed her with strokes that mimicked a more intimate union, he decided that kissing Alyssa was quickly becoming as addictive to him as any drug.

The way she held on to him, the way she responded to his kiss was all any man could dream of and proved what he’d thought from the moment they’d met. She wasn’t the emotionless woman she tried to lead her coworkers to believe. She was warm, affectionate and, if her enthusiastic response to his kiss was any indication, passionate as hell when she let herself go. He just thanked the good Lord above that he was going to be the man holding her when that happened.

As he worshipped her with his mouth, he moved his hands over her shoulders and down her arms to slide the top of her swimsuit out of the way. He wanted to feel her soft body melting into the hard contours of his. But when he pulled her more fully against him, nothing could have prepared him for the reality of having her firm breasts pressing into his chest, their pebbled nipples scoring his skin.

“You feel so damned good,” he rasped as he kissed his way from her mouth to the tender skin just below her ear.

Shuddering against him, she whispered close to his ear, “Please… don’t stop.”

Turning her to face him, he lifted her until her breasts cleared the surface of the warm water. “Sweetheart, there’s not a chance in hell of that happening.”

Slowly moving his lips over her creamy skin, he made his way from her shoulder down the slope of her breast to the hardened tip. Taking the tight bud into his mouth, Caleb sipped the water droplets from her puckered flesh, savored the sweetness that was uniquely Alyssa.

As he sucked and teased her nipples, a moan of pleasure escaped her parted lips and, raising his head, he asked, “Does that feel good?”

“Mmm.” Threading her fingers through his hair, she held him close. “It’s wonderful.”

Suddenly needing to feel all of her against him, Caleb quickly shoved her swimsuit down her hips and legs, then tossed the wet black spandex over the side of the hot tub. His gym shorts quickly followed.

Reaching for her, he pulled her to him and the feel of smooth female skin against his hair-roughened flesh sent a flash fire to every nerve in his being. He wanted to take things slowly, to do all the things he’d promised, but his body was urging him to stake his claim and make her his.

“Alyssa, I want you so damned bad I can taste it,” he said through gritted teeth. “I think we’d better get out of here and—”

“Please, Caleb,” she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Her eyes were glazed with hungry need when she added, “I need you inside. Now.”

At her throaty plea, a shaft of longing rushed through him at the speed of light and white-hot desire enveloped him. With his mind clouded to anything but the need to possess her, he sank to his knees and lifted her to him.

Determined to enter her slowly, he clenched his back teeth together so hard it would probably require surgery to separate them. But as he guided himself to her, she proved his other theory about her when she wrapped her long, slender legs around his waist and her body consumed his in one smooth motion. He definitely felt like he was in heaven.

But her quiet gasp, the tightness surrounding him, penetrated the haze of passion. If he’d caused her any discomfort at all, he’d never forgive himself.

“Did I hurt you? You’re really tight, sweetheart.”

“It’s been a… while.” She nibbled at his neck and damned near caused him to have a coronary when she whispered, “You feel absolutely wonderful right where you are.”

Crushing her coral lips beneath his, he kissed her until they both gasped for breath. “I’m so hot right now… ” He closed his eyes in an attempt to slow down. “I think I might just spontaneously combust.”

She touched his cheek with one wet finger as she moved her lower body. “Make love to me, Caleb.”

Her request and the motion of her body unleashed the hungry need he’d been trying to hold in check and, groaning, he began to thrust into her. He’d never had a woman hold his body quite so perfectly or respond to him in ways that, until tonight, he’d only imagined in his wildest fantasies.

But as ideal as the moment was, the warm water bub-bling around them enhanced the spirals of fiery passion binding them together and he could feel her body straining for the same mind-shattering release that he’d been trying to forestall from the moment they’d become one. All too soon her feminine inner muscles held him captive, then quivered as he felt the tight coil inside her let go. The sound of her whispering his name and the amazing sensation of her pleasure triggered his own release from the tension gripping him. Groaning, he thrust into her one final time and held her to him as he emptied himself deep inside of her.

With their energy completely spent, they clung together for several long moments before reality began to clear his passion-fogged brain. Saying a word that he usually reserved for smashed thumbs and drivers who cut him off in traffic, he eased away from her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, clearly alarmed by his harsh curse.

He ran an unsteady hand across the tension gathering at the back of his neck. “Tell me you’re on the pill or patch or some kind of birth control.”

“N-no. It hasn’t been an issue for several years.” As she stared at him, her eyes suddenly grew wide. “We didn’t—”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. There’s no excuse for me not taking precautions.”

She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment. “I probably don’t have anything to worry about.”

“We,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. “I want you to know that we’re in this together, Alyssa. If you do become pregnant, I’ll be right there with you every step of the way.”

“I’m tired,” she said suddenly. “I think I’ll take a shower and turn in.”

Caleb didn’t try to stop her when she climbed out of the water, wrapped herself in one of the towels and, grabbing her glasses, hurriedly disappeared through the doors into her room. They both needed time to come to terms with what they’d shared and the possible consequences of his carelessness.

He couldn’t believe he’d been so thoughtless. Where the hell had his mind been, anyway?

In the past, he’d never failed to use protection. Even before knowing who his irresponsible father was, Caleb had been determined not to be anything like the man who had impregnated Caleb’s mother, then left her to face things on her own. He’d always made it a point never to get so carried away that he lost sight of what an unexpected pregnancy could mean for him or his partner.

But he’d been so turned on, so mind-numbingly hot for Alyssa, the thought of protection hadn’t even crossed his mind. All he’d been able to think about was how perfectly she fit within his arms, how soft her body was and how her sweet kisses warmed him to the depths of his soul. His body hardened at the very thought of how amazing their lovemaking had been and had him wanting nothing more than to go inside and make love to her for the rest of the night.

Cursing a blue streak, he splashed out of the hot tub and made a beeline for the pool. When he dove into the much cooler water and started swimming laps, his muscles protested, but he didn’t care. He had to get himself under control.

When he reached the end of the pool on his tenth lap, he stopped to catch his breath and, glancing toward the French doors, shook his head. His body still throbbed with a need that left him dizzy and he had a feeling he could swim from now until his dying day and not even come close to easing the burning ache to make Alyssa his once again.

Climbing out of the pool, he wrapped a towel around his waist and, picking up his gym shorts and her swimsuit, headed for his room. He had a feeling one of two things was going to happen this weekend. Either they were going to make love again or, first thing Monday morning, he was going to be seeking medical attention for a perpetual erection.

Alyssa stared at the ceiling as she thought about what had happened in the hot tub. She still couldn’t believe what had taken place when Caleb had touched her, nor did she understand it. It was as if she’d been taken over by a shamelessly uninhibited wanton who not only lived for the moment, but threw caution to the wind and didn’t even consider the possibility of the consequences.

She’d never in all of her twenty-six years acted that way before. Not even when she and Wesley had been seeing each other and she’d thought she was in love had she experienced a total loss of control. And that scared her as little else could.

But all it took was one kiss, one touch of Caleb’s hands and she lost all sense of herself. It was as if she became part of something larger than either of them, emotionally as well as physically. If his reaction was any indication, he’d experienced it, too.

The best thing she could do for her own well-being and peace of mind would be to have him take her back to Albuquerque tonight. Then, first thing Monday morning, insist that he accept her resignation, effective immediately.