Falling For His Proper Mistress by Tessa Radley

no idea of the fantasies she’d woven around him.
    Fantasies involving love…family…and forever after.
    She must’ve been dreaming. Or drugged. By sex? Yet right now, sex was almost enough.
    Sensation shuddered through her as his mouth closed on her tight nipple. Something close to ecstasy coursed through her blood, and she gave a moan of dark delight.
    Nothing wrong with sex.
    Especially since this time there’d be no emotional component. It would be nothing more than an exorcism of a very bad habit.
    Her legs entwined with his. Breaking the connection ofhis mouth on the tingling bud of flesh, Guy linked his hands behind her neck, and she again came into full, too-tantalizing contact with him. The softness of her breasts again brushed against his chest, and arousal spiraled. He pulled her head down, and she could no longer resist.
    His tongue swept across her bottom lip. Lust surged through her when the tip of her tongue met his. He sucked it into his mouth, and then plundered the warm heat of her mouth, seeking out every corner.
    His fingers explored the indent of her spine, then moved under her belly and slid between her legs. At the first intimate touch she stiffened reflexively, then her legs parted. She was twenty-seven years old, too old to fool herself that Guy could make all the silly, romantic dreams of love-for-life come true. She’d left those behind the night of her birthday.
    She was a woman, not a girl.
    With a woman’s wants.
    It was time to recognize that her desperation to find love was nothing more than a ticking biological clock—an animal need to find a mate to help her raise the brood of children she’d always yearned for.
    The kiss ended. His touch did not. It was expert, knowing, and gave exactly what she craved. Opening her eyes, she saw that the taut mask of desire had transformed Guy’s face. Not even candle glow could soften the hunger.
    He wanted her.
    She wanted him.
    At least there was honesty in desire.
    Tonight she’d settle for lust…and deal with the fallout tomorrow.
    Stretching out a hand, her fingers lightly stroked the hard, bold length of him beneath the silken water.
    Guy stopped caressing her, and used both hands to yankher up. “Stop! If you do that it will all be over way too soon.”
    She gave him a wicked smile. “And we can’t have that.”
    â€œNo,” he growled.
    Avery bent forward and outlined his lips with the teasing tip of her tongue. His arms tightened around her, bringing her softness in contact with the hard rock-like ridge of his arousal. He raised his hips, and the friction was exquisite.
    Another shift, and her body sheathed his.
    His head went back, the tendons on his neck drew tight. Leaning forward, she tongued them, tasting the moisture of the water, the slight tang of salt from his skin.
    He was moving below her, his body sliding within hers, heat twisting into a blaze of unbearable pleasure. The pressure built and built until her climax rushed toward her, at the same time as Guy shuddered beneath her.
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    Avery was floating on a cloud of pleasure.
    Her skin was flushed a rosy shade, and her body was soft and pliant. She felt like she’d died and gone to heaven.
    â€œSo what about making this a more lasting arrangement?” Guy whispered, cupping her chin with his hand.
    The dreamy, heavenly feeling evaporated. Her eyes popped open and, shocked, she gazed down into Guy’s smiling eyes.
    â€œA more lasting arrangement?”
    Avery almost forgot to breathe. This was what she’d wanted…hoped for…those two toe-curling weeks in New York, before the rug had been ripped out from under her on the night of her birthday.
    What was wrong with her? Did she want to marry a man who thought her easy, a conniving gold digger? A man who’d wanted to share her in a tryst with his friend?
    The Guy she’d imagined herself in love with didn’t exist.
    â€œMarriage is a