“Yeah,” she said. “All the time.”

“I’d kiss you quiet, but I’m going to be back here for a while. Hold your questions until the end.”

She laughed. “I’ll try.”

He positioned himself to kneel behind her, lifted her by the hips and slowly lowered her until his cockhead was probing her opening. Shifting his hips to find a better angle, he placed both large hands to her br**sts and pulled her down onto his shaft. He used the momentum of her weight and the recoil of the swing’s springs to find a rhythm. The angle of his penetration felt amazing. The ease of movement kept her muscles from tiring. And the damned thing was just a lot of fun. In fact, she didn’t know if she should moan in pleasure or giggle in glee as her body bounced with the action of the spring. It took her less than a minute to decide that moaning was the best response. Once Shade had his rhythm in tune with the music, he continued to use one hand to pull their bodies together. The other began to roam her heated flesh—breasts, belly, thighs, hips. Suspended as she was, she had no choice but to give herself over to the pleasure. There was no fighting Shade’s experienced delivery. When the music built toward the crescendo, his fingertips sought her clit and sent her flying. Her body strained to find grounding as she soared into nirvana. The only thing solid she felt connected to was him.

“Oh!”

When she’d recovered her breath, he shifted her position so that she was still suspended, but now on her side. Startled by the loss of her center of gravity, she clutched at him for balance.

“Easy, baby,” he said. “Trust the swing to hold you. Trust me to guide you. You won’t fall.”

Her breathing slowed, and she removed her death grip from Shade’s forearm. She did trust him. She wasn’t so sure about the collections of straps wrapped around her body.

He took her from the side in a position that would have been impossible to maintain for more than a few seconds without the assistance of the swing. She loved this position because she could see some of him. See the blend of concentration and pleasure on his strong, handsome face. See the sweat dripping from his brow. See the flexion of his bulging biceps as he tugged her body toward him and thrust in time with the music. She was floating on air. She wondered how long he could keep this up. While it was easy on her body, he had to be getting tired.

Amanda soon learned that a man with a sex swing, stamina, and fantastic upper body strength could f**k a woman into a state of delirium. Especially a man who knew at least forty-five positions. She lost count of how many times he brought her to orgasm. When he claimed his own release at last, she strained against him as he brought her to the pinnacle once again. “Jacob.”

After his shaky breathing quieted, he released her from the swing and gently lowered her to the bed. She tried to lift her trembling arms to hold him. She wanted so much to hold him. “I can’t move,” she whispered.

He cradled her body against his sweat-slick body, her head resting on one of his arms, and then folded the bed sheet over their entangled bodies. “Sleep now,” he whispered.

Her eyelids were minutes ahead of him.

Chapter 10

Someone cuddled up against Shade’s side, and his eyes flipped open. Sunlight streamed from between the window blinds and across the tangled black and red sheets of his bed. Okay, he was going to look down at the warm, soft body pressed against his side and it wasn’t going to be Amanda. Because if it was her, if last night had really happened and not just been the most amazing wet dream of his life, he’d f**ked things up big time.

He tilted his chin, praying it was some random groupie using his shoulder as a pillow.

No such luck. His heart skipped a beat as Amanda’s beautiful face, peaceful in sleep, graced his vision. It skipped a second beat when the enormity of their situation settled in his thoughts.

Shit. Shit. Shit. What had they done? What had he done? He’d touched the untouchable. Touched? Hell, he’d f**ked her to the point of unconsciousness. And now he felt how much he’d relished their physical contact in every aching, weary muscle of his body. But just because he’d enjoyed it, just because being with her had surpassed all expectations, didn’t make it right. What was it about sunlight that brought him back to his senses? And made one of the most wonderful nights of his life seem like a mistake.

He lay there for a long while, staring at the ceiling and stroking Amanda’s arm absently, trying to sort through the mess he’d made. He knew they had to keep this from everyone, especially Tina. The woman would use his indiscretion with her sister against him. He knew that. She’d use it as an excuse to keep him from Julie and as much as he adored Amanda, he couldn’t do anything to jeopardize his already limited relationship with his daughter.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Why hadn’t he thought of these things last night before he’d acted on impulse?

Amanda murmured in her sleep, “Dogs don’t have money for rent.”

He smiled, wondering what she was dreaming about. Not him, apparently. Which was for the best. As much as he hated the idea of never spending another night engulfed by her heat and her heart, this couldn’t go any farther. And they couldn’t do this again. Ever. He had to make that clear to her. God, he hoped she didn’t cry when he made his lack of intentions clear. He wasn’t sure if he could handle her tears. He squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and took a deep breath.

If he stayed in bed with her any longer, his resolve would crumble. He’d have her on her back and his hands filled with her soft curves before she could blink. Shade carefully slid from beneath her body, settling her head on a pillow, and climbed from the bed.

“Don’t give that schnauzer a flea bath in cottage cheese,” she said and hugged her pillow.

Shade bit his lip to stifle a laugh. Even in her sleep, she made him smile. And warmed his heart. And made part of him wish he could wake up beside her every morning.

Not good.

He watched her for a long moment, her looking all tousled and sexy and unattainable. Even after they’d spent the night together, he still thought of her as beyond his reach. And she should have stayed out of reach. God, he really was an idiot. What in the f**k had he been thinking? He hadn’t. He’d been feeling. Shit, when would he learn to stop doing that? When would he figure out that feelings, any feelings, always led to complications he wasn’t prepared to deal with?

He put on a pair of swim trunks and headed for the pool. There was nothing like an hour of vigorous exercise to get a woman out from under his skin. But he wasn’t even a half a lap down the pool’s length when he realized that busying his body had freed his mind to churn over images of Amanda’s body as he took her, Amanda’s face as he made her come, Amanda’s eyes as she gazed into his soul.