The wind down near the sand was every bit as cold as she'd thought it was going to be. She stopped near the steps and leaned against the railing, watching the moonlight play among the waves, wishing Grey was here to enjoy it with her.
Damn it, why couldn't she stop thinking about him tonight?
"Perhaps because I don't intend to let you stop thinking about me," he said, his voice so close it whispered heat past her ear. "Not tonight, not ever."
Her heart did a giddy little dance, and a gasp that was all joy escaped her lips. But as she tried to turn around and face him, he stopped her, his hands so warm, yet so unbelievably gentle on her arms.
"I don't know whether to kiss you silly for coming back," she said, leaning back against him. His arms slid around her waist, holding her tight. She closed her eyes, and somehow found the strength to add, "Or smack you senseless for the heartache you've caused me."
"I'm sorry." His lips brushed her ear, sending a flash fire of desire surging through every nerve ending. "But I dared not risk seeing you again until I'd filled out the appropriate paperwork and had all the right approvals."
"You're kidding?" She leaned her head back and met his gaze. His eyes were as bright and as silver as the moon.
Perhaps the moon had listened. Perhaps she'd bought him back to her.
"Not kidding," he said, brushing his fingers down her cheek. She trembled, and his gaze darkened imperceptibly. "I told you, the mob I work for is top secret and highly classified. Anyone I intend to see on a permanent basis has to be fully checked out."
"And that took six months?"
"Bureaucracy." He shrugged.
"So I'm approved?"
"Oh, yes."
She smiled and raised a hand, hooking it around his neck.
"And what about this business of seeing me permanently—
don't you think I should have had a say in that before you cleared it with your people?"
"I believe," he said softly, his smile evident in his voice, "that we have already discussed the matter. You agreed to be mine."
Her knees did their usual "almost unable to support you" act. "I believe I was insane with lust at the time."
"Ah." Mischief shimmered in his eyes. "Meaning I'll have to get you mad with lust every time I want agreement on certain matters?"
"Depends on the matters in question."
"Only the important ones. The unimportant ones, like where we're going to live, I will leave to your discretion."
"Is that a proposal? To a woman who is basically a stranger?"
He grinned. "I thought we'd just agreed not to discuss important matters until you're mad with lust? Besides, I do believe you owe me a pinnacle."
Amusement bubbled through her. "Well, I suppose I do.
Shall we go somewhere more private?"
"This from the woman who insists on flashing her thatch to all and sundry." He dropped a kiss on her shoulder, sending a warm shiver scampering across her skin. "Besides, moonlight is the perfect accompaniment to lovemaking, especially for shifters of every breed."
"Not when we're on the main beach road and inviting arrest." And yet, the shifter side of her did a mad caper at the thought. Exhibitionism was part of her nature. She knew it, and he knew it.
He undid the cardigan's loose knot and slid it from her shoulders, looping it carelessly around the post. "What can they see?" he said, his breath a heated caress against her skin as he kissed her ear, her neck, her rapidly beating pulse point. "A man and a woman cuddling close as they watch the ocean."
She licked her lips, closed her eyes, enjoying the sensations rioting through her.
"Of course," he continued, sliding his fingers under her top. "If the woman happens to be naked, then they might have their suspicions."
Her breath caught as he teased the hard nub of a nipple.
"If the woman is going to be naked, she insists the man be naked as well."
His throaty chuckle just about made her puddle. Lord, she was so ready for him, and he'd barely even touched her. Was there ever going to be a time when they could actually enjoy a long lovemaking session?
"What makes you think he's not naked?"
Her eyes sprang open and she looked up at him. "You're not!"
Amusement touched the lips she just wanted to kiss forever. "Aren't I?"
"You have a shirt on. I can see that."
"Ah, but what about the bits you can't see?"
She felt for his leg, and met bare flesh. She swallowed, as aroused by her discovery as she would have been had he touched her. "You're wearing shorts."
He shifted, and suddenly she was touching heated flesh, feeling the desire throbbing through his shaft. Felt him grow even harder under her touch.
"Oh my," was all she could think to say.
"Oh my, indeed," he agreed. "And it's been like that since you led me toward the pinnacle in that warehouse six months ago, but wouldn't let me reach it."
"Ah," she said. "Then I guess we'd better take care of unfinished matters before we move on to more leisurely discussions."
"You're not naked yet."
"And you call yourself a well trained government man?
Don't they teach you basic stuff, like undressing women in a hurry?"
"The methods are rough and ready."
The deepening roughness in his voice made the low down pool of desire tremble with expectation. "I think the situation calls for such measures."
"Perhaps it does. Stand still."
He moved back a little, and she felt a little cooler without his heat radiating across her skin. Metal touched her skin, briefly cold, then her skirt and panties were falling to her feet.
Where the knife had come from she didn't know, and didn't care.
"Now how am I going to go back to the party when my clothes have been sliced apart?"
His arms went around her again, and he pulled her against him. He might be wearing a shirt, but it was undone, and the warm press of flesh against flesh had her hormones dancing in delight.
"I have no intention of letting you go back to the party. I have six months of loving to catch up on. You're mine for the next week."
"I have to work."
His hands slid under her top and cupped her breasts, pressing them lightly together as his thumbs circled and teased her nipples. "You're calling in sick."
"My boss won't like that."
"I don't care what your boss likes. I only care what you like." He slid one hand back down to her stomach and pressed her back against him even harder, until it felt as if their flesh would fuse and their bodies would become one. Lord, he felt so good, so hard and hot. Heat pooled where his fingertips rested, quickly burning deep inside. "Tell me what you'd like right now, Eryn."
For a moment, the exhibitionist part of her warred with the need to simply feel him inside. The risk taker won.
She turned in his arms, and raised a hand to his cheek.
"Explore me," she said softly.
"Gladly." The hunger in his eyes made her tremble deep inside. "But I'm afraid the exploration will be fast. I want you so bad it's all I can do to just stand here."
"Then perhaps the exploration should wait."
He smiled and braced his hands on either side of the railing. "I have been waiting to taste you and touch you for six long months. Reaching the peak can damn well wait until we're both ready to break."
She was about to admit she'd reached that point the minute he appeared, but his mouth claimed hers. For the longest time there was nothing but this man and this kiss and the way it made her feel and the way it felt so right.
When they finally parted, both of them were breathing so heavily the wash of the ocean was barely audible. His kisses moved down her neck, reached the top of her breast. She closed her eyes, throwing her head back and arching her spine, offering him the swollen and aching peaks of her breasts. He complied with her unspoken request, running his tongue back and forth, until her whole body was shaking with the desire to feel his mouth on her nipples again. When he took in one throbbing nub and sucked on it fiercely, pleasure exploded and she groaned.