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Chapter Five

B ella's last coherent thought as Will's arm came round her and his head descended was that she was so out of her depth she might as well be sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic with lead weights attached to her ankles.

The minute she'd got into his dry warm car, his eyes had been on her every movement and any control she'd felt, any spurious inch of moral high ground she might have occupied, had vanished.

How she'd managed to peel off her sopping clothes with such shaking hands and trembling fingers she had no idea.

When her elbow had accidentally brushed his shoulder she'd nearly leapt off the seat, so strong had been the electric charge that coursed through her body.

The heat and need that had then gripped her had been so overwhelming, so alarming that she'd felt she had to cling onto her indignation as some kind of defence against him.

Hah. Defence? It was becoming pretty clear that she had absolutely no defence against Will. He'd told her he thought she was beautiful and that had been that. The last smidgeon of resentment still bouncing around inside her had evaporated and she'd crumbled.

Somewhere in the hazy fog of desire that had replaced her brain she was dimly aware that she was once more being skilfully manoeuvred. Not that her melting, quivering body seemed to care. No. One touch, and her fickle body decided that the more skilfully Will wanted to manoeuvre her, the better.

Bella stared at him, her mouth going dry and her heart beginning to gallop. Her breathing shallowed as if he'd stolen her oxygen and at his heat, his scent, his proximity and the intensity of the look in his eyes, her insides liquefied.

She held her breath as his head moved lower, closer. His scent engulfed her and she went dizzy. Her mouth actually watered. The slow steady beat of desire began to drum through her and something inside her melted.

She'd spent every second since she'd met him desperate to find out what he tasted like, and it had been driving her nuts. Frankly, she was through with guessing. And through with waiting.

It was only a kiss, after all, and how could one little kiss hurt? She'd had countless kisses and none of them had ever hurt. Why should this one be any different?

Bella parted her lips, felt their breaths mingle for a second and then she moved forwards and settled her mouth on his.

She felt him jolt. Tense a little, and she wondered if he'd jerk back. But he didn't, so she closed her eyes, ran her tongue along his lower lip, revelling in its firmness and heat, then slid inside.

And immediately lost all sense of reality.

Sensations cascaded through her as she gave up to the deliciousness of his mouth. Liquid fire replaced the blood in her veins. Pounding desire filled every cell of her body and her insides began to quiver.

Oh, God, Bella thought as their tongues tangled languidly. Now she knew what he tasted like. He tasted of excitement. Arousal. Wickedness. And she was utterly intoxicated.

Unable to prevent it, she sighed into his mouth and he responded instantly, moving the hand that wasn't caressing her hip to the nape of her neck, sliding his fingers through her hair and angling her head to deepen the kiss.

And then he was back in control, claiming possession of her mouth, her lips, her senses.

She clutched at the back of the seat for support with one hand and curled the other into a fist, digging her nails into her palm in a desperate attempt to focus on something other than the desire clawing at her stomach.

But at the devastation he was wreaking on her, at the mercy of such exquisite need, she didn't stand a chance.

She groaned and leaned into him, and then Will was hauling her onto his lap, pulling her closer and anchoring her against him as he devoured her mouth.

Bella twisted slightly so that her torso was plastered against his, wrapped her arms around his neck and felt her mind go blank. All that existed was the two of them on the back seat of his car and the scorching heat they seemed to generate.

He broke away and slid his mouth along her jaw to her ear. 'This was just supposed to be a kiss,' he whispered raggedly.

'It still is.' And as long as it stayed that way she'd be fine.

'You think?'

The warmth of his breath on her skin made tiny shivers scuttle all over her. 'Absolutely.'

'So stop me,' he muttered, tugging at the tie that secured her dress so that it loosened enough for him to slip a hand beneath the flimsy fabric to find her breast.

Bella gasped as his hand cupped her there and his thumb brushed over her nipple. 'In a minute.'

'In a minute you might not be able to,' he said, dropping a trail of searing kisses down her neck and over the slope of her chest. He pulled aside the lace of her bra and took her nipple in his mouth and Bella bit her lip as a million tiny electric shocks shot through her veins.

And it was all too much. The feel of his body hard against hers and the wet heat of his mouth devastating her senses.

The sizzling of her skin from where he'd kissed it.

The scent of him winding up her nose and the rocking motion of the car.

The way he'd been utterly impervious to her stroppiness and the confident ease with which he'd been prepared to apologise.

And the fact that despite all earlier appearances to the contrary he seemed to want her as much as she wanted him.

It was all much too much. She wanted him to touch her everywhere. Needed him to touch her everywhere.

'In a minute I might not want you to,' she said hoarsely, somewhere in the depths of her mind thinking she must be mad but too far gone to care.

And then as lust began to pound through her Bella gave up thinking and gave in to instinct. She threaded her fingers through his hair and dragged his head up. Their mouths met and a shower of sparks darted through her as his tongue delved between her parted lips and tangled with hers.

Her hips twitched and she tilted them closer. When she felt the hard length of his erection press into her she moaned and the kiss spiralled out of control in seconds. The back of the car filled with her breathy groans and Will's ragged pants and the sounds made her excitement rocket.

He put his hands on her knees and slid them beneath her coat, beneath her dress and up her thighs and Bella shivered.

Until he stopped, jerked back and muttered a low oath. 'What?' she said, pushing her hair back and dragging in ragged breath.

'Stockings.'

'Is that a problem?'

'I didn't think of stockings,' he muttered.

'Huh?'

Colour slashed along his cheekbones. 'Nothing.'

Will made an aim for her mouth but she moved back out of reach and tilted her head. 'Tell me.' He might not have been thinking about stockings but he'd definitely been thinking about something else involving her in this kind of a scenario, and the knowledge unravelled what was left of her brain.

He gave her a smile that she could feel right in the marrow of her bones, while his fingers continued to create havoc on the bare flesh of her upper thighs. 'On the way to the bank I imagined you doing this.'

Bella's eyes widened. 'You did?'

'Mmm.'

'But you were on the phone.'

He arched an eyebrow. 'Why do you think I was on the phone?'

She blinked. He'd felt it too? Way back then? So she hadn't imagined that flicker of desire in his eye when she'd stumbled…

The realisation that he'd been thinking about this as much as she had made her brain start up again and absorb this revelation.

Her pulse leapt. All relationships had to start somewhere, didn't they?

And yes, maybe dinner, a date or two, was the conventional method, but where had conventionality got her?

Higher up the shelf, that was where. Her heart began to hammer as a thrilling notion planted itself in her head and took root.

She'd done demure and sensible, and she was still single so why not throw caution to the wind, locate her inner vixen and start with sex?

She couldn't end up any worse off, could she?

'So you imagined me like this?' She arched her back and gazed down at him.

Will nodded, his eyes glazing over. 'I did.'

'What else was I doing?'

'Writhing,' he muttered. 'You were writhing.'

Writhing she could do. 'Like this?' she said, rotating her hips and rubbing her breasts against his chest.

'Exactly like that,' he said hoarsely.

'Anything else?'

'You don't want to know.'

'Maybe I do.' And, heaven help her, it was true. She was burning up. Everything inside her had melted into a boiling quivering mass of need and she couldn't back out now even if she'd wanted to.

'Are you sure?' Will's hand moved higher.

'Absolutely.' She bit her lip as a thought popped into her head. 'Bob?'

'Soundproofing.'

'Effective?'

'You can scream if you like and no one would hear you but me.' Ignoring the little voice in her head that wondered how he knew a thing like that, Bella lowered her head and gave him what she hoped was a seductive smile. 'Make me.'

His body churning and aching with need, Will stared at Bella and wondered how he could have got her so wrong.

Someone who wanted the whole relationship works, the whole 'for ever' nightmare, would never sit astride a man she'd only just met, give him a smouldering smile and basically order him to ravish her, would she?

No, a woman with a long-term relationship on her mind would be scrambling for the door handle and tumbling out of the car in her haste to escape.

And Bella definitely wasn't showing any signs of wanting to escape.

Instead she'd ensnared him with her body, her scent and her devastating mouth until he'd begun to feel as if he was the one who was unable to escape.