She rested her head against his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist as she gave a sleepy nod. “I’d love that,” she murmured, just before closing her eyes and promptly falling asleep.

Ian gave a low chuckle as he covered them both with the duvet, then pulled her close. “Guess we aren’t going to try for that record dozen times after all,” he whispered to her. “Never mind, love. There’s always tomorrow.”

***

Tessa woke reluctantly, semi-conscious as she was of being warmer and more comfortable than she’d ever felt in her life. As her eyes opened sleepily, she blinked in disorientation, her sleep-fogged brain taking some time to fully realize where she was. She was definitely not in her own bed, for the mattress cushioning her body was much firmer and plusher than her own, and the pillowcase beneath her cheek smelled crisper and cleaner than her own sheets.

And then she had to stifle a little gasp as she realized exactly where she was – curled up trustingly against Ian Gregson’s warm, muscular body, her arm draped over his torso, and her head tucked next to his. Ian - who less than two days ago had been her rather intimidating, completely out of her league boss - and who was now, by some quirk of fate, her lover.

Tessa’s cheeks flushed when she recalled just how intimate they had been - the things he had said to her, the way he’d touched and kissed her, how thoroughly he’d possessed her. As if on cue, she felt an unfamiliar soreness between her legs, the muscles there definitely not used to the sort of physical, demanding sex she’d engaged in. The tentative, mostly fumbling attempts she and Peter had made at having sex had been nothing like what she had experienced a few hours ago in Ian’s arms. She’d been right in her assessment of him all those months ago - he was definitely a master in the art of seduction, knew everything there was to know about pleasing a woman and making her fall to pieces in his embrace. He had rocked her world clear off its axis, and she knew that nothing would ever be the same for her now. He had awakened her, brought her the sort of bliss she could never have imagined, and she was already spellbound by him, knew she would willingly surrender herself to him whenever he asked.

Her eyes slowly grew accustomed to the darkness of the room, lit only by the glow of numbers from the digital bedside clock, and from the streetlights that cast a gentle beam through the slat of the window shutters. She gazed longingly at the handsome face in repose next to hers, his strong, masculine features sexy even as he slept. The lines of his firm mouth were softer now, and she noticed the dark stubble across his cheeks and chin. She was so used to always seeing him clean shaven that it was a surprise to realize how dark his hair really was. Tessa resisted the urge to press a kiss to his cheek, or run a finger over his lips, not wanting to wake him.

And then she belatedly became aware of another urge, and carefully slid out of bed to use the bathroom. Shivering without the heat of the duvet or Ian’s body, she looked around for something to wear and decided on his white dress shirt that had been tossed carelessly by the foot of the bed. The rest of their things were scattered haphazardly around the bedroom, and the sight brought a smile to her lips. She knew from the extreme tidiness of his office and from what she had seen of his house that he must be something of a neat freak, and that this disarray of clothing was certainly not the norm for him.

She buttoned up his shirt as she padded into the bathroom, one room she hadn’t seen as yet. Tessa was in awe of its size and extravagance – all white granite counters, marble floors and walls, and modern fixtures. The walk-in shower was enormous, more than big enough for two people, as was the sunken tub. She wondered if he would ever make love to her in either of those places - or both - and then blushed anew as she realized where her train of thought had led her.

‘God, one night with him and you’ve turned into some sort of nymphomaniac!’ she scolded herself.

She took care of her needs swiftly, and then took an extra minute or so to wash off her makeup and rinse out her mouth, using the toiletries she found in one of the cabinets.

Tessa left the bathroom and walked over to the bank of windows, peering out through the wooden shutters at the dark, stormy night. The grand house was so well insulated that the sounds of wind and rain were barely discernible, but from what she could see the storm was quite fierce.

“Is everything all right, love?”

She whirled at the sound of Ian’s sleepy, sexy voice. He had risen onto one elbow, the duvet slipping down to bare his arms and chest, and she couldn’t help running her gaze longingly over his heavily muscled torso. He was so beautiful, so incredibly strong, and - well, just so male - that it made her throat close up to look at him.

“Yes, it’s fine. I just needed the bathroom. I’m sorry if I woke you,” she told him, walking back towards the bed.

“You didn’t wake me,” he assured her. He smiled as his gaze flicked over her body. “Nice shirt. It looks much better on you than it does on me.”

Tessa laughed. “I disagree. I hope you don’t mind my borrowing it.”

His eyes twinkled at her mischievously. “Not at all. Though now I’m jealous of the shirt, even more so than your coat, because this is actually touching your bare skin.”

She placed her hand in his as he extended an arm towards her. “I may not give this back. It smells like you, after all.” She turned her face and inhaled deeply of the soft fabric.

Ian smiled. “You like the way I smell?”

Tessa nodded. “Yes, very much. I used to wish I could just bury my face against your chest and inhale your scent.”

His thumb brushed over her knuckles before he drew her hand to his lips. “So you were attracted to me at least a little?” he asked thoughtfully.

“More than a little. I confess to having quite a crush on you for a very long time.”

Even in the dimly lit room she could see how his eyes darkened at her confession. “Is that a fact? Well, it seems as though both of us spent far too much time pining for the other. We’d better start making up for lost time then, hadn’t we?”

Tessa’s breath hitched at the barely restrained passion in his voice, and the way his eyes dropped to her breasts. Her nipples were hard and poking against the fabric of the shirt, and all she could offer in response to his very pointed question was a brief nod.

“Take the shirt off. Slowly.”

Her fingers were trembling as she did his bidding, unfastening one button at a time until they were all undone. She slid the shirt off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor.