Never Let Go by Sherryl Woods Page A

him. He wondered how he could possibly last until they got to her apartment.
    He did it by avoiding all contact with her, not even a hand on her elbow as she got out of his car or the most fleeting caress of her cheek. He knew that the tiniest spark could ignite a fire inside him that would rage until it burned itself out in her arms.
    Her apartment was not at all what he’d expected. Except for the books scattered everywhere, it was bland and uninteresting. Mallory noted his surprised expression.
    “Awful, isn’t it?”
    “It’s just not you. Itdoesn’t have any life to it.”
    “Thank you,” she said, standing on tiptoe to press a kiss against his cheek. His arms went around her automatically and he pressed her head into his shoulder. A deep sigh of satisfaction rippled through him, followed by an utter sense of peace. Nothing had ever felt so right before. Despite his fear that he would rush things, he found now that he could wait. There was none of his usual sense of urgency, spawned by a need to get things over with so he could retreat to emotional safety. The desire that was building in him now was a gentler sort, a yearning to discover every nuance of this woman who was so still and quiet and patient in his embrace.
    As he might have expected, though, it was Mallory who broke the silence. “You aren’t going to sleep on me, are you, doctor?” she said lightly, her breath whispering past his ear.
    He tilted her more intimately against him. “Does that answer your question?”
    She wriggled with the slinky sensuality of a cat, and Justin gasped at the shock of pleasure that ripped through him. The blazing inferno wasn’t nearly as far away as he’d thought. “Do that again, and I won’t be able to stand up.”
    “Then I suggest we lie down,” she said with the boldness that unnerved him, even as it drew him on.
    She turned to lead him into the bedroom, but suddenly hesitant, he halted and stared deep into her eyes, searching for doubts. He saw none in the shining depths, but he asked anyway. “Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?”
    “Absolutely,” she said withouthesitation. “What about you?”
    The question was startling, and suddenly a part of him wanted to turn and run from this woman. She was giving him every chance to do just that, but freedom, he was discovering, was sometimes the most binding gift of all.
    “I’m sure,” he said with more conviction than he felt. He knew that this would be a night from which there might very well be no turning back, but it was an experience he wanted more than he’d ever wanted anything before. He sensed that if he ran, he’d be losing far more than a few hours of passion.
    They shed their clothes by moonlight, taking turns so they could enjoy each moment. Mallory turned the undressing into a playful striptease that had him almost panting, his body hot and throbbing with the same urgency he’d been so certain earlier he couldn’t control. He was hanging on now by the slightest thread.
    Standing just out of his reach, Mallory was lovely, her pearly skin shimmering in the pale light, her body a rare combination of lush curves and fragility. He moved closer and his fingers trembled as they touched the surprising fullness of her breasts. She was as beautiful as a marble statue of the goddess of love, but her flesh was warm and supple and far more alluring. His tentative touch became strong and sure as he teased her nipples into rigid peaks and drew a ragged groan from her.
    His lips followed, tasting the faint saltiness of her skin, tugging gently until she shivered against him and a low moan of pleasure sighed past her lips. Her head was thrown back, baring the slender column of her neck to his marauding mouth. His own muscles were tight with tension as her nails dug into his shoulders and she pulled him to her.
    When at last his handscaressed the satin length of her legs, hesitating for what seemed an eternity on the heated flesh of her