Chapter 4

AN: Thanks so much for the reviews...I was going to post this in the morning, but I thought, "This is a pleasant thing to sleep on.." Hee hee, thanks, Angie, for making me think that!...

The kiss started soft, the barely perceptible movement of their mouths together. It was exploratory, testing, cautious yet curious. It was just a touch, the brushing of angel's wings, yet she tingled throughout her body and felt herself growing hotter and wetter.

He brought his rough fingertips up to touch the sides of her face, so gentle but capable of such strength. She'd closed her eyes; however, she opened them when he touched her, making her aware of exactly who was kissing her. As if she could mistake him for someone else; no one but him made her as erotically charged as this!

His eyes were partially open, as he continued to sweep delicious, teasing little kisses on her mouth. He was watching her mouth, her face, as if he were reading her expressions, her every move. He brushed her hair away from her cheeks, trailing his fingers down her neck with that hypnotic, dark look in his eyes.

"So sweet," he murmured, kissing the corner of her mouth, the tip of her nose, her soft eyelashes. "I always knew you'd taste so sweet."

"How?" she whispered, her voice sounding husky even to her own ears.

"Because it matches your disposition, angel," he answered, the corner of his lips coming up in just the slightest hint of a smile.

She smiled back, being held in the heat of his eyes. It felt so good, so warm, being the center of his world. That was how she felt at that moment; his attention was fully directed on her. She'd slid down in the bed during those light kisses, so that she was partially underneath him, the heavenly, solid feel of his body pressing against her. He kept touching her, like he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. He brushed his thumbs against her jaw so softly, his fingertips touching the nape of her neck, playing with the soft strands of hair there.

Then his eyes darkened immeasurably, he moved his hands to cup her skull, and he lowered his mouth to hers again. This time, fire shot throughout her body in a fast and furious rush of passion. She tingled from head to toe, so much so she shuddered and felt faint. She'd always thought they made that up in romance novels, but she'd been mistaken. She stretched underneath him, her silky thighs touching his hairy ones, her belly cushioning more of his weight, encouraging more contact.

She raised her hands to his shoulders, holding him against her as she opened her mouth to the insistent demands of his tongue. Again, electricity shot against her with each stroke of his tongue. Her nipples rose against the lace of her bra, the fabric rasping her now aching and erect nipples.

On and on, he kissed her, alternating licking deeply in her mouth to shallow thrusts, brushing his lips and melding them against hers, drawing deeply, demanding more, and backing off, making her clutch his head in her hands, dragging him down for more and more. He kissed with such skill and an obvious verve for the act, she felt it was almost an honor to be kissed by him.

There was no way this man needed a book for anything.

It was that thought that caused her to surface again from the spell he was weaving. It made her curious, uncertain of herself, and nervous. He sure as hell didn't need to practice, so why do this? It took everything in her power to break the hypnotic spell, to start pulling back.

"Ummm… D?" she croaked when she finally tore her mouth away from his, breaking the contact.

He looked at her, dazed, his eyes so black, she couldn't discern the pupils from their irises. For a moment, she wondered if he even knew where he was. It was obvious he was as lost in that kiss as she was.

That made her smile...and no longer care why he was doing this after all. He was doing this because he wanted to, wanted her, and that was all that mattered. Still, it was time to end this before they went too far too soon.

"Earth to Derek," she said softly, bringing a hand up to touch his cheek.

Fiercely, he turned his face into her palm, kissing it. "Baby Girl," he murmured. "That was incredible."

She nodded. "Yeah, it was."

He smirked at her then, leaning down a bit closer. "Let's do it again…"

For some reason, the smirk gracing his face bugged her. It showed that he was too cocky, too sure of himself. She placed both hands on hischest, thinking just for a moment how hard and hot that chest was, and then pressed against it to halt him.

He looked at her questioningly. "What?"

She gave him a sardonic look. "Don't you think we've had enough kissing for one day?"

"Hell, no," he scoffed. Then he asked incredulously, "Do you?"

She didn't answer him right away. She could feel the pounding of his heart beneath her palm, and the insistent heat of his erection against her hip.

His eyes darkened again as he pressed his lower body in contact with hers, his thigh coming between hers, against the telltale heat and moisture that built there.

He gave her a triumphant smile, so different from that earlier smirk. This smile was filled with rejuvenated pride… and unmistakable relief. So he wasn't as cocky as he appeared to be!

"I didn't think so," he said, then swept his mouth down on hers again.

They kissed for a long, long time, each movement getting wilder and hotter. There were slow kisses, hot kisses, gentle kisses, hard kisses. There was demand and there was surrender, their mouths doing battle, their tongues duelling, until they collapsed apart, laying flat and breathing hard.

"Damn, girl," he gasped, looking at her with such acute longing, it actually made her smile.

It felt so good to be wanted. She couldn't remember Kevin ever looking at her like that, not even close! She chuckled at that.

He began to scowl immediately, but the fire was still there in his eyes. He was rather defensive sounding when he snapped, "I'm glad you find my kisses amusing…"

"Oh, no, it's not that," she explained. "I..I'm just a touch surprised, that's all. It's nice to know you want me."

"Want you?" he said, growling, as he rose on his elbow to look at her. "Woman, I am on fire for you."

For some reason, she thought that was really cute. She smiled and touched his nose. "Awwww, you're so sweet. Thank you."

She saw the heat tamp down in his eyes just slightly. Sighing, he laid back and tossed his arm over his eyes. "Shit. We're done tonight, aren't we?"

She nodded. "I think that's best. We've only gotten to the kissing in the book."

"Screw the book," he mused, not quite under his breath.

She gave him a silly grin.

"I know, I know," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'll behave."

"Sorry, angel fish," she said. She couldn't help but be somewhat amused.

He tossed the blanket back and stood up. It was then she looked down and saw what she was missing. It looked even bigger than it had felt against her hip. He tugged on his jeans, carefully adjusting, before pulling up his zipper.

"See you tomorrow, baby," he said, leaning over and kissing her, a sultry kiss that lit her on fire again and made her moan. He grabbed his shirt and tugged it on as he walked out the beaded curtain, shoving the strings aside in frustration as part of it got stuck in his shirt. A moment later, she heard the front door shut.

"Poor baby," she murmured… as her body continued to throb rhythmically from his hot parting kiss.

She didn't know who she felt more sorry for; him or herself.