And though it just might kill him the way she took him into her one slow, torturous inch at a time, Ian liked it, too. Loved it.

Her eyes closed as she lowered herself onto him, savoring the moment as though she wanted it to last forever, and though he did, too, in the end his primal need to have her couldn’t be denied any longer.

Gripping her hips hard enough that she’d likely have marks on her skin the next day, Ian held Tatiana right where he wanted her, then thrust hard into her. She gasped as he drove deep, but he knew this time that it was pleasure rather than pain that had her pushing just as hard down over him.

“It’s so good, Ian. So, so good.”

She was practically sobbing the words as she braced her hands flat on his chest and rode him, the muscles in her thighs working hard to lift her body up, then back down, over him. Her br**sts bounced, tempting him, teasing him, until he had to cup them in his hands and stroke both ni**les together with his tongue.

She moved her hands from his chest to thread her fingers into his hair and tug his mouth even closer, and when the new position took him even deeper, her body eagerly opened for every last inch of him. “More. Please, Ian. I need more.”

Again and again, with words and her body, she begged him to take every last part of her...and that was exactly what he did, until they both climaxed together in a wild combination of kisses and gasps and hands that couldn’t get enough.

* * *

A short while later, Tatiana was wrapped up in his arms beneath the covers, her back to his front. He stroked her hair and breathed her in...and worked like hell not to give in to saying something in the aftermath of the moment that he wouldn’t be able to stand by come morning.

Soon, thankfully, her heartbeat slowed, and she was nestling her hips back into his and pulling his arm more tightly across her chest, holding his hand over her heart.

Ian hadn’t thought he’d be able to sleep, but Tatiana felt so right in his arms that he was nearly under himself when he thought he heard her say I love you.

But when he came, instantly, fully awake again, and waited for her to say more, she was fast asleep, breathing so soundly, so serenely, that he decided he must have been dreaming.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Tatiana woke to an empty bed, but Ian’s scent still lingered so she closed her eyes and smiled as she breathed him in.

Last night had been incredible, surpassing any dreams she’d had of what lovemaking might be like by miles. No character she’d ever played or movie she’d ever watched could have prepared her for just how amazing it was to be intimate with the man she loved. The wonder of Ian’s body. The tantalizing way he stroked and caressed her. His hardness to her softness. Every whisper, every sensual command, every look of pleasure and satisfaction in his eyes, had stolen more and more of her heart. Every time she thought she’d experienced the peak of pleasure, Ian had continually found a way to take her even higher, and then higher still.

While shadowing him, she’d thought more than once that he was superhuman, both with regards to his drive and the way he obviously thrived on his intense workload. Now, she thought with a naughty little grin, she knew that he had just as much stamina in bed, too. And, oh how she’d thrived on it…

She knew most people would think it was crazy for her to wait this long to give up her virginity. But she’d been perfectly right to wait for Ian. Not only because she was head over heels in love with him—but because, she thought with another smile that felt wonderfully wicked and wanton on her lips, there was no way any other man could possibly compare between the sheets.

Smelling coffee, she slowly pushed back the covers and slid over to the side of the bed. In the sunlight that streamed in through his bedroom windows, she was more than a little shocked to see faint red marks on her hips. She blushed as she realized Ian had marked her in his passion, with the firm grip of his hands on her hips as he drove her over the edge of bliss again and again.

“I know I should be gentle with you, but all I can think about is how badly I still want you.” Tatiana shivered as she remembered his heated words, and her own heated response: “Then take me again.”

And oh, how he’d taken her. Rough, then sweet. Fierce, then tender. Then hard, fast, and wild again. All the while, even when he’d already pushed her body far past the limits of pleasure that she’d believed she could handle, she’d begged him for more, more, more in a blur of need and desire.

And, most of all, love.

Wanting nothing more than to be near him again, to see the way his dark eyes became even more intense whenever he looked at her, she looked around for her clothes. And then she remembered: Ian had shredded not only her dress, but her panties as well when he’d torn them off her.

She had to laugh, then, at the beautiful madness that had come over both of them yesterday. And thank God it had, because she couldn’t imagine feeling this way all by herself. Besides, she’d seen enough relationships on set to know that crazy only worked when it went in both directions.

She opened Ian’s closet and took one of his long-sleeved, blue striped shirts off the hanger. Wrapping her naked body in it, she breathed in his familiar scent as she rolled up first one too-long sleeve and then the other. Seeing his collection of ties, she decided the one she’d yanked off him the night before would be the perfect way to cap off her impromptu outfit. She headed into his home office, found his tie near the door, then quickly wrapped it around her waist.

Barefoot, she walked into Ian’s open living room and kitchen. She should have known better than to expect all wealthy businessmen to live the same way, but in the morning light she was surprised all over again at just how normal it was. All of the finishes and furnishings were of spectacular quality, of course, and the view from the penthouse had to be one of the best in all of the Pacific Northwest. But where most other men with his wealth would have owned ten thousand square feet or more just because they could have anything they wanted, she guessed his home was maybe a third that size. Probably, she figured, because he had the foundation of a great family to guide him.

Ian’s back was to her as he poured a cup of coffee and she had to stop for a moment at what a gorgeous sight he was in his well-tailored suit pants and starched shirt. Knowing exactly how broad his shoulders were beneath his clothes, and the way the muscles in his arms and thighs flexed as he levered over her and thrust deep, then deeper still, simply stole her breath away.

That was how he found her, standing and staring at him as if she could hardly believe he was real. Looking at his beautiful face, Tatiana knew she’d never been happier than she was just then as she smiled at him from across the room.