LITMIR.BIZ

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Without giving it a second thought, she wound her arms around his neck, and brought her parted lips to his.

      Matt stiffened instinctively. He might have suspected that, despite her denials, Joanna had never been indifferent to him. But in spite of the way she’d behaved since she’d been here, he’d assumed she was still planning on going back to England after the baby was born.

      And he’d thought he’d accepted it, until today. Teresa had only had to knock on his door and tell him that Joanna had disappeared, for him to tumble out of bed and race madly to find her.

      But what did she really want from him? Temporary consolation? And why in God’s name did he care? He had to remember it was she who’d wanted the divorce in the first place. Would things have been different if she’d succeeded in contacting him? If Laura Reichert hadn’t answered the phone when she rang?

      He’d moved on, he reminded himself. Or he’d thought he had. He’d made a decent life for himself here. He had to remember that.

      Joanna was staring at him now with anxious eyes. With her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers tangled in the damp thickness of his hair, this was where she wanted to be. But Matt had dragged his mouth away from hers and his hands had moved to her shoulders, closing almost cruelly over the tender sunburned flesh.

      ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ he demanded, and the emotion in his voice was raw and painful to his ears. ‘If this is your way of thanking me for saving you, I don’t need it.’

      He spoke almost brutally and Joanna’s lips parted in dismay. ‘It wasn’t meant to be a way of thanking you,’ she said tremulously. ‘What do you think I am?’

      ‘I don’t know, do I?’ retorted Matt, knowing he was being deliberately cruel. But he had to get away from her. It would be far too easy to succumb again.

      His life felt as if it had been put on hold ever since he’d found out about the pregnancy. He’d told her he was determined to play a part in his son’s life, and he was. But in all honesty, knowing he still cared about her, getting her to spend the last couple of months of her pregnancy on Cable Cay had definitely not been the most sensible thing to do.

      He had to keep his head, he told himself. Joanna was feeling lonely, that was all, and maybe a little hungry for affection, too. Well, he knew that feeling. Yet surely, he had more sense than to think that reckless sex with her would fill the hollow shell he’d become?

      Nevertheless, there was something oddly erotic about a woman who was carrying his child. He was responsible for the life that was growing inside her. It was his seed that had changed her perfect life.

      ‘Okay, so if this isn’t gratitude, what is it?’ he asked harshly.

      Joanna’s eyes filled once again with tears. And despite the heat of the sun on her shoulders, inside she suddenly felt as cold as ice. She pulled her hands from his shoulders and took a step back from him. ‘I’m sorry. Obviously, I’ve made another mistake.’

      Joanna caught her breath, wrapping her arms about herself in an effort to restore some warmth to her body. She should never have started this, she realised unsteadily, but she’d been fool enough to think he must still care about her.

      She would have brushed past him then. Her towel and the wrap she’d worn before her swim were only a few feet away, and she’d feel better with something to warm her. Something to hide, not just her bump, but her humiliation.

      Matt caught her arm as she swung past him and brought her round to face him. ‘So what do you want now?’ he demanded, and she trembled in the grip of emotions too long denied.

      ‘I—I want you, Matt,’ she said, her voice low and defensive, and, with a muffled oath, Matt’s resistance collapsed.

      With a groan of defeat, he reached for her, pulling her into his arms and covering her trembling lips with his. It was what he’d wanted to do, God knew, since he’d gathered her up out of the water. He’d been kidding himself that he could control the needs she aroused in him.

      Joanna didn’t know how her legs continued to support her. The savage pressure of his mouth on hers had her clutching the waistband of his shorts with both hands. She clung to him helplessly, desperate to redeem herself. Anything to avoid subsiding like a sack of potatoes at his feet.

      A reluctant shiver of anticipation made its way down her spine as he continued to kiss her. Her heart beat with a slow, heavy resonance, almost deafening to her ears. The beat thudded against his chest so that she was sure he must be able to feel it. And her skin, which moments before had felt damp and chilled, was now turning her blood to fire.

      Matt lifted his head, his eyes meeting hers, an unwilling hunger in their depths. Then he bent his head again and took one burgeoning nipple into his mouth. His tongue circled the tender tip, so that it hardened instinctively. The thin fabric of her tank top was no barrier to his searching mouth.

      With a low moan, she slipped the straps off her shoulders, exposing her breasts to his possessive gaze. She watched him as he ran his knuckles back and forth across the sensitive peaks, enjoying his quickening breathing, and saw the words of protest die unspoken on his lips.

      ‘So beautiful,’ he whispered.

      She swallowed convulsively before saying weakly, ‘Are you sure this is what you want?’

      ‘I thought it was what you wanted,’ he responded roughly, and Joanna sucked in a breath.

      ‘You know it is,’ she said, unable to deny it, and with an oath of submission Matt picked her up and carried her into the shade of the trees.

      Her towel made a makeshift couch and he laid her on it.

      ‘God, should I be doing this?’ he muttered. ‘I don’t know anything about these things. Will I hurt you?’

      ‘Don’t worry,’ she breathed, gazing eagerly up at him. ‘Believe me, I’m not made of glass.’

      Without another word, he dropped his own shorts onto the sand and then stripped the panties of her swimsuit from her. When he was lying naked between her legs, she pulled his face down to hers to trace his lips with her tongue. Time spiralled; she was hardly aware of where she was any more. All she knew for certain was that this was where she’d longed to be.

      His kisses grew harder, more passionate, until she was practically mindless with delight. Her hands slid down his chest to take his erection between her palms, her fingers threading through the nest of rough dark hair at his groin. She caressed him and whispered, ‘You used to like me to do this,’ and Matt’s answering groan was muffled against her throat.

      Somehow, he dragged her hands away and parted her thighs with an unsteady hand. ‘God, Jo,’ he said. ‘You make me crazy. This is crazy, but I don’t want it to end.’

      Her breath hitched with excitement as he bent towards her and then he was burying his face in the moist curls at the junction of her legs. He had barely to touch her, and she climaxed. Then his tongue stroked the tiny nub of her sex and she lost control again.

      His fingers parted her, and she arched beneath him. She craved the feel of his hands, the hungry pressure of his mouth. ‘Please,’ she said, clutching his hair and dragging his lips up to hers. ‘I can’t wait any longer. I want you; I want you inside me. Now.’

      Her voice was thick with emotion, and with a muffled oath he gave in to her demands. ‘Do you think I don’t want to be inside you?’ he asked, licking his lips, tasting her essence. ‘I’ve thought of little else since you came here.’

      Joanna found that incredibly hard to believe. But Matt was leaning over her now, trying not to hurt her or the baby, and she was so wet and ready for him, he couldn’t hold back. With a feeling of total indulgence, he let his erection tentatively ease inside her. And as her muscles stretched to accommodate him, he pushed himself deeply into her slick sheath.

      God, it was good. So good. Familiar, yet unfamiliar, and all the better for the months they’d been

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