She was too wrung out to do more than nod, and he deftly unfastened each of the soft satin bonds. As the last strip was untied, she rose up on her knees and slid her arms around his neck, pulling his face down to hers for a kiss.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “My turn to return the favor tomorrow night.”

He chuckled, holding her close against his half-bared chest. “But the pleasure was mutual, love. And if you plan to tie me down, you’ll need something much stronger than these scraps of fabric. I wouldn’t be able to control myself if you touched me that way. As it is, I have no idea how I’ve managed to stay in control this long.”

She slid her hand down between their bodies, her palm opening over the massive swell of his erection. The groan he made was the sexiest, most erotic sound she’d ever heard. “Then come to me, Ian. Don’t hold back any longer. “

He tore his shirt off, the rest of the buttons flying haphazardly around the room, before unbuckling his belt. Tessa ran her hands greedily over his naked chest, pressing fevered kisses to his heavily muscled chest and rock hard abs as he yanked the rest of his clothing off. In two swift movements that left her gasping, he tumbled her onto her back and thrust deep inside of her, burying himself in her soft, yielding body as far as he could possibly reach.

Tessa wrapped her arms around his neck and locked her legs around his hips, holding him as close to her as she could, and glorying in the feel of his hard, thick cock thrusting in and out of her with increasing ferocity.

“Ah, God, it’s so good,” she cried, the tears tracking down her cheeks as he continued to move in her body with long, powerful thrusts. She buried her damp face against the side of his throat, her lips caressing his skin as she tried to pull him even closer against her.

She gave a little cry of protest as he lifted his chest from hers, sweat pouring from his body as it mingled with hers. He captured both of her hands in one of his and drew them over her head, holding them in place as he continued to fuck her with ever increasing speed. The look in his eyes was smoldering and dangerous as he stared down at her, his lips parted as his breathing grew ragged.

“I want to watch you when you come,” he told her in a guttural voice. “Look at me, Tessa, don’t close your eyes. I want to see it when the pleasure takes you over, see how much I can make you feel. You have no idea what it does to me, knowing I can give you that, my love.”

She struggled to keep her eyes open as he’d bid her, half-afraid of the intensity she saw burning in his gaze. Maintaining eye contact became increasingly more difficult as he kept stroking his big cock in and out of her body, until she felt yet another orgasm approaching, and knew this one would be by far the strongest of them all.

She was beyond rational thought, was all feeling right now, and as the orgasm hit full force she could only sob out her pleasure, the words tumbling from her lips as naturally as breath. “Ian, ah, oh, God, I’m going to c-come again! Oh, God, I love you!”

Her eyes did shut then, her body too consumed with sensation to even be aware of her actions. Dimly, as if from a great distance, she heard him groan loudly just before pistoning his hips into her body at a breakneck pace, his thrusts almost savage. When he came, he gripped her by the hips as he reared back onto his haunches, and emptied himself fully inside of her.

She peeked up at him through half-lidded eyes, enthralled at his spectacular, primitive male beauty - a fine layer of sweat covering his entire body; his dark hair damp and disarrayed; his eyes tightly shut as he continued to fill her with his hot, sticky semen.

And then he was grasping her under the arms, pulling her up to straddle his lap while remaining embedded inside of her. She almost cried out at the ferocity of his gaze, and at the way he fisted a hand in her hair, holding her head still.

“Say it again.”

She knew exactly what he meant. “I love you,” she whispered, cupping his face between her palms.

Ian’s own eyes filled with tears, and she brushed one away with her thumb, staring at him in disbelief.

“God, do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to hear you say those words?” he uttered brokenly. “I never, ever, dreamed you would actually do it, though. I’ve loved you since the day you walked into my office, Tessa. I am completely, insanely in love with you, my darling, and you have just made me the happiest man on earth.” He kissed her softly. “And I have never, ever, told a woman that before. So you see, you are my first in many ways as well - my love.”

“Ian.” She was overcome with a whole flurry of different emotions right now - amazement that this proud, regal man had actually been brought to tears by her whispered confession of love; disbelief that he’d loved her that long; and then there was simply all the love she felt for him, the tenderness, and the passion. Everything combined was almost too much to take, and she felt like pinching herself to make sure this wasn’t another dream she had conjured up.

But then she was reminded in a very, very pleasurable way that he was all too real, and that what had happened was definitely not a dream. He made love to her again, this time with a gentleness and devotion that brought tears to her eyes. A long time later, they were physically and emotionally exhausted, and finally drifted off to sleep, both whispering “I love you” to the other as they did.

Chapter Thirteen

It was snowing outside when he woke, and Ian gazed out the huge floor to ceiling windows of the suite’s master bedroom for long seconds, admiring the view. He’d only visited the Lake Tahoe resort twice before this weekend, and both of those previous visits had been for business purposes. This long weekend was the first time he’d come here strictly for pleasure, and definitely the first time he had brought a guest with him.

A slow smile broke across his features as he rolled to one side and watched his beloved as she slept. She looked touchingly young and incredibly vulnerable this way - her flawless skin glowing with health, her full mouth parted slightly as she slumbered. Her blonde curls were tumbled in wild disarray on her pillow, and he couldn’t resist bringing one long, silky strand to his nose and inhaling deeply of the vanilla scented shampoo she used.

Ian pressed a soft kiss to one of her sleekly muscled shoulders, then smiled when she twitched slightly before burrowing her head more deeply into the pillow. It had been evident from the first night she’d spent in his bed that Tessa was a very sound sleeper. He grimaced as he pictured her drafty, shabbily furnished little apartment, particularly the rather uncomfortable looking double bed he’d glimpsed in her tiny bedroom. It was small wonder, therefore, how much she enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in his huge, ultra-luxe bed, or upon the equally plush one here in the hotel suite.