Intimate Seduction - Brenda Jackson [46]
This time he wanted to make love to her in a bed. His bed. He withdrew from her body, gathered her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way up the stairs.
Natalie wondered if she would ever be able to move again. She seriously doubted it. After making love with Donovan—on of all places—the stairs, he had brought her up to his bedroom where he finished undressing her and had made love to her all over again. He made love as intensely and thoroughly as he probably did everything else, and more than once he had whispered in a deep, husky voice just how much he enjoyed it. She believed he had, which meant Karl had said all those things only to hurt her.
“You’re awake from your nap,” that same deep, husky voice said now.
She found the strength to glance over at Donovan. He was lying beside her, one of his legs was thrown over hers as if holding her captive. She couldn’t miss the fact that they were both naked. After making love with him, she had drifted off to sleep, too exhausted to keep her eyes open any longer. To most people dozing at this hour would equate to retiring for the night, but since she intended to sleep in her bed at her aunt’s house, Donovan was right: she had only taken a nap. A much needed one. But now she was wide awake.
She glanced over at the clock on his nightstand. “It’s late. I need go.”
“Not yet. We need to talk.”
Tension settled in the back of her neck. She had a feeling she knew what he wanted to talk about. Given his reputation, she was surprised they hadn’t had the discussion before he’d taken her on the stairs. “I already know what you want to say,” she said.
“Do you?”
“Yes. You don’t want me to assume what we’ve done means anything of substance and that you aren’t the marrying kind and prefer short, meaningless affairs.”
He stared at her and didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he asked, “Knowing all of that, where does it leave you?”
She couldn’t help but smile. Lord help him, but the man actually thought every woman would be forever scarred because of his rejection. “That leaves me with what I want most, too.”
“Which is?”
“A good life without any man cluttering it up.”
His brow rose before he responded. “I recall you saying you’d taken a break from men.”
“It’s more than a break, actually,” she said, widening her smile. “I’m no more interested in a serious involvement with a man than you are with a woman, so you can lower your guard and sleep peacefully tonight.”
He would, Donovan thought, although for some reason it bothered him that she could so easily wipe him off. Why did she have to be so accepting of his stance on affairs? Why did he feel so annoyed by hers?
She made a move to get up, but his leg hindered her progress. She frowned. “Do you mind?”
Yes, he did mind—about a number of things that he really wasn’t even sure about. One thing was for certain, though. He didn’t like how easy it was for her to dust off what they’d just shared. Maybe he should be relieved that she wasn’t the clingy type, that she was mature enough to engage in a meaningless affair and know how to move on. That she wouldn’t be entertaining any lingering side effects from it. But still. He had made her scream—several times. He’d given her multiple orgasms. Her leg print was probably a permanent imprint in his back. He had been inside her so much tonight that his shaft would probably be suffering from withdrawals starting tomorrow. He was beginning to get awfully pissed that the one woman who affected him like none other was acting as if he hadn’t made an impression on her at all, lasting or otherwise.
“Donovan?”
He met her gaze deciding she had underestimated a Steele. “Yes?”
“Would you move your leg?”
“I don’t think so.” Instead of moving his leg, he shifted his body to straddle her.
Her gaze narrowed up at him. “And just what do you think you’re doing?”
“About to get some more of you.”
“And if I don’t want to give you more?”
An arrogant smile touched the corners of his