A/N: Here we go. Chapter four. The End. I was going to make it longer but my other stories are clambering for attention. What can you do? I hope you all enjoyed this story. It was fun to write. Thanks for all the lovely reviews. Alexandri

Adam had just turned off the stove when Joan's arms snaked around his waist.

"Gotcha," she whispered in his ear.

"Good morning."

Joan's hands slid up his chest as she rose on tiptoe and nibbled his earlobe. "Good morning." Her warm, sultry voice made him shiver with desire as she pressed against his back. "Whatcha doing?"

Clearing his throat, he said, "Making breakfast."

Her tongue dipped in his ear and Adam's concentration wavered. "Do you always cook without a shirt on?"

"No," he whispered.

Sliding her fingers down the trail of hair on his stomach, she stopped just above his waistband and traced his navel with her thumb. "Your sweats are riding awfully low on your hips," she observed as she kissed her way down his neck and her fingers slipped inside his waistband. Her tongue flitted over his hammering pulse as her fingertips fluttered across his abdomen.

Adam's head fell back, his muscles twitched, and he wondered how he was still standing. "Why are you telling me this, Jane?" he panted.

"I just thought you should know you're far more appetizing than breakfast."

Taking her hand out of his pants, Adam turned and pinned her arms behind her. "You're being a very naughty girl," he teased.

The smile she gave him was downright wicked. "I'm your naughty girl, though."

"That you are," he agreed and pulled her into his arms. "I didn't expect you to get up so soon. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, very well." Joan wrapped her arms around his neck. "So you gonna kiss me or what?"

He cocked an amused eyebrow at her. "You're turning out to be a very impatient and demanding lover."

"Answer the question."

Suppressing a giddy chuckle, Adam gave her a quick, chaste kiss.

"You're going to have to do better than that."

Laughing in earnest now, he rested his forehead against hers and slid his thumbs up and down her spine. When she shivered, he asked, "You like that?"

Joan glared at him, a slight smile on her lips. He knew very well that she liked it.

Sensing that she was close to retaliating, Adam decided to give her what she wanted. He kissed the corners of her mouth then scattered tiny kisses along the rim of her lower lip. Joan leaned in, trying to plant her mouth soundly on his. "Patience," he murmured as he pulled back. She grumbled her dissent and pressed into him again.

Adam thrust his hands into her hair, cupping the back of her head and pulling her tight against him. Joan's eyes flew open, startled by the abrupt movement. Grinning, he said, "Patience, Jane." Then he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth.

Determined not to be rushed, he continued his deliberate campaign. By the time he'd fully claimed her mouth, Joan had risen on her toes and clutched his neck. She strained against him like she was trying to climb his body. Adam seized her bottom and drew her closer. Moaning, Joan grabbed his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist.

It wasn't his hand massaging her breast or the sexy little whimpers she made in the back of her throat or the way she kept brushing his arousal that made Adam realize just how close he was to making love to Joan on the kitchen floor. It was the sound of a stomach rumbling. Reluctantly, he released her breast, ended the kiss and set her on the floor before holding her at arm's length and fighting for his lost composure. She didn't protest and for that he was grateful. It took everything he had not to pull her back into his arms and ravish her again.

Eventually, she let out a sigh and focused her gaze on him. "Hello."

"Hey. Get out."

She blinked at him. "What?"

He turned her around and pointed to the dining room. "Get out," he repeated. "Go sit. You're distracting me.

"Am I a good distraction?" she asked, gazing at him over her shoulder.

"Go," he commanded laughingly and swatted her behind to get her moving.

"Did you just spank me?" she asked, incredulous.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he nodded. "Go on. I have to finish breakfast."

"Why is this so important to you?" she asked.

Adam shrugged. "Isn't it enough that it is?"

She made it as far as the doorway before turning to face him. The t-shirt she'd worn to bed the night before now hung almost to her knees. Sunlight streamed through the patio door bathing her in a brilliant halo as she reclined against the frame. Once again, he was reminded of how beautiful Joan was. He still found it incredible that he was lucky enough to have such a special woman love him the way she did. "How can I help?"

"By sitting at the table."

Joan giggled. "Okay. You win."

Once she was safely seated in the dining room, Adam busied him with the eggs, toast and coffee. The juice and strawberries were already prepared and waiting in the refrigerator. He'd just finished the bacon when she'd snuck up on him.

"Did I ever tell you I'm not much of a breakfast person?" she asked as he beat the eggs.

He smiled and ignored her. He already knew that.

"Really, it's true. Ask my mom. She was always trying to get me to eat something in the morning."

Still not responding, Adam put four pieces of buttered bread in the oven and checked the oil's heat for the eggs.

"Why are you putting the bread in the oven?" she asked. "You have a toaster."

"Oven toast is better."

"Oh. You're sure you don't want any help?"

Adam laughed. The resonant, masculine satisfaction in it surprised him. He'd never laughed like that before and he knew instinctively that it was a direct result of the change in his and Joan's relationship. Something about the new freedom they had with each other pleased him, made him giddy, and he laughed again just because it felt so good to feel so close to her. "Thanks for offering, but I have everything under control," he finally answered as he began to scramble cheese into the eggs in the skillet.

Joan fell silent. Oddly enough, her silence made Adam hyperaware of her. He detected every rustle of movement, every deep breath, every glance without seeing it. He was certain she was checking out his butt when he bent to take the toast out of the oven. Unnerved by her quiet attention, he hurriedly assembled breakfast on a tray and turned toward the dining room.

Sure enough, she sat there, staring at him with lustful eyes. His heartbeat sped up and his fingers tightened on the tray's handles. The things she did to him with even trying. Carefully, he set the tray down and pulled her out of the chair. "Were you checking me out just now?"

"Mm-hmm."

With an amused shake of his head, he sat in her seat and settled her in his lap. "Hungry?"

"Not for food."

"Be good, Jane," he admonished as he offered her a forkful of eggs.

"Aren't I always?" She popped a strawberry into his mouth before he could answer.

Breakfast continued in the same playful manner. They fed each other, kissing between bites. Joan kept whispering suggestive ideas in his ear until he whispered something particularly dirty in hers. She'd gawked at him for the next five minutes but she stopped whispering in his ear.

When they finally finished (Joan had eaten quite a bit despite her general dislike for breakfast), she laid her head on his shoulder. "That was really good."

"Glad you liked it."

She kissed the underside of his jaw and trailed her finger along his collarbone. He moaned her name when she pinched his nipple and rolled it.

"What are you doing, Jane?" he asked even though he knew perfectly well what she was doing.

"What are you doing?" she countered with a sigh. She rolled her hips forward and Adam realized his hand had crept up her thigh and was a hair's breadth from the edge of her panties.

With a groan, he pushed back from the table and stood with her in his arms. As he crossed the living room, she said, "Where are we going?"

"The bedroom."

Joan giggled. "I've been fantasizing about this since the semester began."

"Yeah?" he asked as he started up the steps.

"Uh-huh." She snuggled deeper in his arms. "Adam?"

"Yes."

"Are we going to do that thing you mentioned at breakfast?"

Adam missed a step and almost pitched them both to the floor. "Do you want to?" he spluttered.

Joan worried her lip with her teeth and blushed. "It does sound awfully interesting." When he didn't respond or continue up the stairs, she smiled. "Let's do it."

He closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. "You are going to be the death of me."

She shrugged and nuzzled the spot below his ear. "If what you suggested feels half as good as it sounds, you're going to be the death of me, too."