Only Skin Deep by Cathleen Galitz Page A

neglected to include the tenderness of his kisses.
    Kisses as demanding as they were soul searching.
    Moaning, Lauren parted her lips for him, and Travis thrust his tongue inside. Writhing with pleasure, Lauren placed her hands on either side of his neck and held him close. Without breaking their kiss, she wrapped her legs around him and splayed her fingers through his hair. Never had she felt more completely connected with another human being.
    Feeling suddenly brave, Lauren reached down and took his shaft into one hand.
    â€œSqueeze,” he commanded in a hoarse whisper.
    Good girl that she was, Lauren did as she was told. He was hard and hot. And vulnerable. It gave her the most incredible sense of power to hold this man in the palm of her hand. And it filled her with an overwhelming sense of love for him.
    Love?
    The word materialized in her consciousness like lightning striking the center of a dark forest. Only she could see the blinding flash, the glowing spark that was struck. Lauren knew it was capable of razing everything in its path.
    Including herself.
    She told herself that she was a silly fool to fall head over heels in love with a man so committed to his single life.
    Then she heard herself scream, and rational thought dissolved into nothingness. It was not a scream of fright or of pain, but rather a primal reaction to Travis pressing the tip of his shaft against her clitoris. Lauren arched her back. She dug her fingernails into the hard plane of his back and unleashed the animal deep inside her.
    â€œI don’t,” Travis gasped, holding back, “want to hurt you.”
    â€œYou won’t,” Lauren lied.
    The body knows things long before the mind can accept them. Physical pain was not a priority at the moment. Nor was the certainty that she was destined to pay an emotional price later. Seeking the exquisite perfection of her love for this man, Lauren knew only that her soul would tear apart at the seams if he did not complete what he had started.
    Travis plunged deep inside her with an urgency that seemed to surprise even him. Nothing in Lauren’s life had prepared her for the utter bliss of being filled so completely by such a man. Of surrounding him with her warm, willing flesh. Of simply letting go. And letting herself go a little crazy.
    Moving her body in unison with his, Lauren met him stroke for furious stroke. She climaxed quickly. Clawing and gasping and forgetting her own name, she called his out as if it were a magical incantation. The sensations assaulting her from every direction were sublime. Her body clenched in spasms of white-hot flame, demanding that Travis succumb to his own need. The muscles of his neck corded as he closed his eyes and threw his head back. Buried to the hilt, he exploded.
    Lauren filled her senses with that glorious sight, holding him deep inside her until well after the throbbing subsided. Panting and slick with sweat, Travis opened his eyes to regard her with wonder. She smiled at him almost shyly and spiraled back to earth in his arms. Although she did not want to let go of what she was feeling for this man, she was also afraid of holding on too tight.
    Was after-play too much to expect after such an incredible experience?
    She brushed a damp lock of hair away from Travis’s forehead. With infinite tenderness she traced an eyebrow with the tip of her index finger, stroked the stubble of a cheek that would need to see a razor in the morning and raised her head up to suckle the lobe of his ear.
    â€œThat was very nice,” she murmured.
    Travis blanched at the tepid choice of words.
    â€œNice?”
    â€œFabulous,” Lauren amended.
    In fact, she hadn’t believed it possible for earthbound creatures to experience such ecstasy in this life. Although words could not do it justice, she did her best.
    â€œSpectacular. Fantastic. Incredible. Mind-bending. Life-altering. Utterly indescribable.”
    â€œThat’s better,”