He moved his hands from her hips and up over her gorgeous hourglass figure so that he could slide his fingers into her hair and tilt her head at exactly the right angle to plunder her mouth with his tongue. And then neither of them was wary anymore as their hot kiss pushed away any concerns they had about hurting each other.

Pleasure.

That was what they’d focus on tonight—the only thing that mattered.

* * *

Yesterday, there’d been plenty of time to get nervous, to plan and anticipate. But the past twenty-four hours had been so full of unexpected guests and emotions that Brooke was almost surprised to finally find herself in Rafe’s arms.

But, oh, as he kissed her and she melted into his arms the way she did every time his lips touched hers, she knew there had never been any reason for nerves or worries. Nothing had ever been as natural as the passion between them—two friends who had been destined to become so much more.

And it was their past—all the little connections that had been forged over summer barbecues and sand-castle contests between a young girl and a beautifully wild teenage boy—that made it so easy for her to dive headfirst into whatever their future held.

He took her hand and tugged her down the hall. "I’ve needed you in bed, naked beneath me, for forty-eight hours. I can’t wait another second for you, Brooke."

No one had ever talked to her this way before, with such frank desire, drawing pictures with words that had her shuddering with pleasure as much as any caress. Seconds later, Rafe had closed her bedroom door behind them and locked it. Already she knew that the sound of a lock clicking into place would forever be a sensual cue, a promise Rafe would make to her of the pleasure he was going to give her with his hands, his lips, his—

Brooke’s thoughts were stolen away as his mouth closed down over hers. God, just to kiss him like this—his tongue slicking against hers, his teeth gently nipping at her lower lip—was more pleasure than she’d ever thought to experience.

Every time until now, their kisses had been cut short, either by Rafe’s conscience kicking in, or by his siblings’ arrival. Tonight she would finally have enough time to truly learn not only the taste, the feel of him, but also all the ways the two of them could take their individual pleasures and multiply them together.

She flicked her tongue against the corner where his lips met, and the way his strong pectoral muscles jumped beneath her hands told her just how much he enjoyed it. Taking a slow, wet slide over his lower lip, she found the other corner and licked out against it. Delight strummed through her system at the way he responded to nothing more than the damp press of her tongue. She wanted to taste more of him, so much more, but she wasn’t anywhere near close to done with his lips yet.

He could easily have led their kiss, and she could feel his innate dominance even in the way he let her explore him. Sliding her hands up from his hard chest to brush over the strong lines of his neck and jaw, while the prickle of his dark five o’clock shadow against her fingertips sent sharp bursts of pleasure down through every inch of her, she slipped her tongue between his lips on a soft moan.

Soon, the heat of their kiss took over and drew away any control either of them had been holding. Brooke couldn’t get close enough, not even with her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her br**sts and stomach and hips pressed against the front of his hard body.

Rafe tore his mouth from hers. "Time to get you naked."

She wanted him naked, too, but she couldn’t find the oxygen to put the words together to tell him, not when he was already teasing the patch of bare skin beneath the hem of her tank top with his fingertips as he slowly pulled up the blue cotton. He’d stripped her clothes from her before, in the locked linen closet, but tonight it all felt brand new, as if last night had only been a dress rehearsal for the real thing.

He surprised her by leaning down to press a kiss to each new inch of skin that he bared. It was glorious to be appreciated so much…but how was she possibly going to make it through to morning in one piece?

"Rafe," she whispered, and would have begged him to go faster if he hadn’t responded by smiling against her stomach.

"I made a promise to you last night that the next time we did this, I’d go so slow that you’d be begging me," he murmured against her skin, his warm breath sending as many shivers through her as his words did. He lifted his dark gaze to hers. "I never break my promises."

A moment later he slid cotton up over silk so that he could press hot kisses to the undersides of her br**sts through her bra. His shoulders were strong and corded with taut tendons as she gripped him. Soon he was going to be moving up another couple of inches and his mouth would find—

Oh, God.

The whispered prayer left her lips as Rafe’s lips closed over her nipple, the silk instantly wet beneath the sweet stroke of his tongue over her tightly aroused flesh. Her heartbeat raced fast and hard as he kissed his way across silk and then the bare skin between her br**sts and then more silk to find her other nipple with his lips and tongue.

"So sweet, even through silk." He pressed a kiss to the center of her throat right before he shifted back enough to draw her tank top all the way over her head.

Brooke had lingerie that was far more revealing than this bra in light blue silk. But the way Rafe was looking at her as she stood in front of him in her simple bra and shorts made her feel as though she was wearing the sexiest undergarments ever made. And when he reached out to run the tips of two fingers across the upper curves of her br**sts where her flesh rose up from the silk, she wasn’t the only one shaking with need.