It fell to the ground and he finally got to see her beautiful breasts in the light of day.

He was temporarily paralyzed by his desire for her. A small smile playing on her lips, she hooked her thumbs into the sides of her panties and slowly shimmied them off.

“I'm naked now. Just the way you said you wanted me.”

Was her playful spin on his angry, hard words her way of saying she forgave him? Please, he would give anything to have her forgive him. To have her know that he didn't mean any of the harsh things he'd said. That he wished he could take back all of the harsh things he'd done.

“Now it's your turn,” she said, breaking into his thoughts.

As if it were the most normal thing in the world, she sat down on the couch and crossed her legs, completely naked as she looked up at him and waited for him to comply with her request.

He'd never been with a woman who was so comfortable with her body. With herself, period.

His cock, already hard from their kiss and her striptease, twitched in response to her command. He moved to undo his belt, but she shook her head.

“Shirt off first.”

His entire adult life, Luke had been in control. Whatever he needed, whatever he wanted at the hospital, all he had to do was ask and it was delivered to him. For the first time, it wasn't his show.

Sure, he was bigger, stronger than Janica. He could take over in an instant, pick up her small body and pull her over him. But that wasn't what this was about.

Right now, he needed to not only give her back what he'd taken from her the night before when he'd been completely out of control, he needed to give her the most important thing of all.

His trust.

The question was, could he do it?

Chapter Eleven

There was so much going on in that head of his.

Too much.

“Sex doesn't have to be this complicated, Luke,” she said softly.

Wanting to help him, she reached for his hands and pulled him down to his knees in front of her. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she pressed her lips to his forehead, to his cheekbones, to his chin.

Saving the best for last, she pressed her lips to his mouth. All the while, emotion was building up from way down deep in her belly, from the center of her heart, and even though she knew what was coming, even though she knew she shouldn't say it again, she simply couldn't stop herself.

“I love you.”

She could feel his breath against her lips, his heart beating against her chest. And then he was kissing her again, and she was pulling off his T-shirt and unzipping his jeans.

His erection was hard and thick and hot against her naked skin.

“Take me, Luke.”

In one slow thrust he sheathed himself inside her and she gasped at how full, how complete she felt. Her pussy lips were still sensitive from their lovemaking the night before, but instead of pain she felt the deepest pleasure she'd ever known. Without even a thin layer of latex between them, she felt truly connected to him.

As connected as he'd let her get.

Luke was sitting back on his shins cradling her body above his. His tongue played with hers, his hands cupped the curve of her ass, the light dusting of hair on his chest tickling her erect nipples as she rocked against him.

Part of her wanted to stay like this forever, but the other part that desperately wanted to ride his hard shaft until they were both crying out in pleasure couldn't be ignored. Using the muscles in her legs, she lifted herself off of his long shaft until only the tip of his head still remained inside, then sank down on him again, as far she could go.

He pulled back from their kiss and captured her gaze.

“Janica.”

She couldn't read his expression, apart from the clear desire he felt for her.

She could feel tears coming again. Dammit, why was she crying every single time they had sex? Why couldn't she just concentrate on how good it felt? On the fact that every one of her sexual fantasies about Luke was coming true?

Ducking her head so that he wouldn't see—even though he already knew she loved him and really, what more was there to give to him?—she was surprised to feel the back of his hand beneath her chin tilting her face back up.

“How can you love me?”

His words were a raw whisper. She was surprised by the depth of pain beneath them, by the fact that he didn't seem to know just how wonderful he really was.

Their bodies still entwined in the most elemental of ways, she raised her hands to his face to run her fingertips over his lips, his jaw, his eyebrows. “Well, you're the most beautiful man I've ever seen, for one.”

But when he frowned, she knew now wasn't the time for teasing, for easy lines she could feed to any guy.

“I love you because you're good.”

Lost in her emotions, she unconsciously shifted her weight on him and as his thick shaft somehow slid in even deeper, on a gasp of pleasure she said, “I love you because you're honest.”

Her nerves endings were on fire, not just at the tips of her breasts, not just between her legs, but also the ones inside her chest, where everything she felt for Luke began and ended.

“I love you because you always took care of my sister and I always knew she was safe with you.”

The tears were falling now, along with spirals of incredible pleasure which were rippling all across her skin. There was nothing she could do to stop either of them.

“I love you, Luke,” she finally whispered in a voice that shook from the powerful sensations taking her over, body and soul, “because of everything you do and everything you are.”

She even loved him despite the fact that she knew he would never love her back, despite the fact that his eyes were dark and unreadable as he listened to her reasons for loving him.

Hating her endless, stupid tears, she fought desperately for control. Wanting to do something, anything to try and guard what was left of her heart, she shifted her weight on his lap to take him deeper.

“And I absolutely love your cock.”

The next thing she knew he'd shifted them so that her hips were right at the edge of the couch. Again and again he drove into her, harder and deeper with each thrust. One of his hands fondled her breasts while the other moved to her clit. All it took was the slightest pressure of his thumb on the hard nub between her legs and she was crying out as a shockingly powerful orgasm took her over, one that almost seemed to radiate out from her heart, rather than her pussy.

She heard him say, “You're amazing, sweetheart” as she was coming down from her climax. And although it wasn't even close to the same thing as being in love with her, at least it was something.

At least he'd called her sweetheart.