Fabulous Beast by Unknown Page A

them mysterious pools which she couldn’t fully delve, but there was no denying the passion she saw there. Wordlessly she lowered her hand, taking one of his in a gentle grip.
    Dev followed silently as she led him toward the stateroom decks. All the way down the long corridor to her room she was pulsingly aware of his heavy, dark presence. Pushing aside the qualms and uncertainties she ought to be experiencing, Tabitha reminded herself that she was following her heart tonight. There was no need for fear or nervousness. If she gave in to either, Dev would leave in an instant, she was certain. He would do nothing to frighten her.
    No, she decided as she unlocked her cabin door. This was what she wanted.
    “Tabby?” Her name was a question as she resolutely closed the door behind him and she came close to touch his arm reassuringly.
    “It’s all right, Dev. I know what I’m doing.”
    “Do you?” he asked obliquely, his hands settling on her shoulders as she smiled tremulously up at him.
    “Yes, Dev, I do. I want you. I…I care for you very much. I’ve been hoping all day long that you feel the same.”
    “How could I not want you?” he said simply, letting his fingers trail through her hair in slow wonder.
    “Oh, God, Tabby!”
    She opened her mouth beneath his, inviting him inside and responding intensely when he accepted the invitation. She was falling in love with this man. There could be absolutely no doubt now. No one else had ever reached her in quite the same way, and she had never felt this flickering enchantment with any other man. Dev Colter was truly a fabulous beast: a silver-eyed dragon waiting for her to awaken him fully.
    Slowly, with infinite care, she slipped her hands inside his jacket and pushed it off his shoulders. The garment fell to the floor. The feel of his smoothly muscled shoulders held her attention for a long moment as she tasted his tongue in her mouth, and then she began the unsteady task of unbuttoning his white shirt and unknotting the striped tie he wore.
    Undressing Dev Colter proved to be a most satisfying endeavor. This was the first time she had been totally free to explore his body, and Tabitha found herself fascinated. It wasn’t only the feel of his firm contours that aroused and intrigued her, it was also the utterly masculine scent of him, tinged as it was with aftershave and soap. And then there was the crisp, curling cloud of chest hair which drew her coral-tipped nails like a magnet. Wonderingly she let her thumbs glide across his flat, male nipples.
    “Tabby, you’re going to drive me out of my head tonight,” he grated feelingly. She was aware that his fingers were trembling slightly as they found the zipper of her dress, and the knowledge warmed her.
    Poor Dev. He was so uncertain and nervous, so anxious to please. Tabitha was touched even as she allowed freer rein to her own passion.
    When the dress fell at last in a wave at her feet, Dev drew in his breath as her full, round breasts came into view. For a moment Tabitha felt a shaft of unease, and then she saw the glowing appreciation in his eyes as he scanned her gentle figure and she relaxed. He found her pleasing, she thought triumphantly.
    Wearing only the satin triangle of her underpants, she pressed herself closely against him and snuggled languidly when his palms cupped the curves of her derriere. She felt the strength of his fingers as he clenched them excitingly into her flesh. Tabitha trembled.
    “Dev, I’ve never felt quite like this before,” she confessed, letting her lips sample the flavor of his skin.
    “When I’m with you I feel marvelous. Passionate and exciting and sensuous.”
    “That’s because you are passionate and exciting and sensuous.” He slid his hands up her waist until they hovered just under the weight of her breasts. Then he let his thumbs gently rasp the nipples.
    “Oh!” Instantly the tiny buds responded, forming hard, tight buttons of desire. Tabitha moaned, her eyes