Mr. February by Ann Roth Page A

ordered.
    His eyes glittering dangerously, he complied.
    Straddling his hard body, she inched down until he was buried inside her. Groaning, he gripped her hips and raised up, pushing even deeper, until she was certain he touched her very soul.
    Her body pulsed as the delicious tension low in her body coiled tighter and tighter. She began to shudder with pleasure. Rafe urged her to move faster, until they climaxed together. One long, shuddering cataclysm obliterating all but the two of them, joined as one.
    When it finally ended, Jillian collapsed on his chest. They were both sweaty and breathing hard.
    Her body was replete and spent, and her heart full to bursting. It had found Mr. Right. Unfortunately for her, Rafe wasn’t her Mr. Right. He didn’t want to be.
    What they’d intended to be sex and only sex, a way to get out of each other’s systems, had become much, much more. For her, anyway.
    What to do? Hiding her feelings seemed the safest route. Jillian had never been good at that, but for her sake, she must.
    *
    Blown away by the best sex of his life, Rafe pulled Jillian closer. “That was off the charts.”
    “We were pretty amazing.”
    He tipped up her chin and kissed her sexy mouth. “Give me time to recover. Then we’ll do it again.”
    For some reason, she tensed up and wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Better not. I should probably get home.”
    Caught off guard, he frowned. “Do you have something scheduled?”
    “Work. I’m a little behind on my inventory for the Arts Festival.” She still wouldn’t look at him.
    His gut twisted. “Something’s wrong.”
    “It’s just… We said one time.”
    “Maybe once isn’t enough.”
    Not for him. By Jillian’s passionate response and enthusiastic participation, she’d liked having sex with him. A lot. He nuzzled the sensitive crook of her shoulder, pleased when she moaned and tilted her head to the side to give him better access. She wanted more, too.
    “What if I want to spend the rest of the day and all night in bed with you?” he said, moving to kiss her lips again.
    “I can’t, Rafe.” Pulling out of his arms and taking the blanket with her, she scrambled out of bed.
    Confused, he sat up. “I don’t understand. You enjoyed making love as much as I did.”
    In the process of wrapping the king-size cover around herself—no easy task—she glanced at him. “That’s true.” She bit her lip then looked away.
    Rafe stood and helped her secure the blanket under her arms. She smelled good, a combination of their lovemaking and her special woman scent.
    “You’re hiding something,” he said, going commando as he stepped into his jeans. “Spit it out, Jillian.”
    “I shouldn’t.”
    He got into her face, and she had to meet his eyes. “Talk to me.”
    She muttered something about being a lousy liar then sighed. “Since you won’t let this go… I’m afraid to have sex with you again.”
    Her words totally surprised him. “You’re afraid of me?” He scoffed. “When you screamed my name during your three orgasms, you sure didn’t seem scared.”
    This time, she looked directly at him. “I’m not talking about you, Rafe. As big and powerful as you are, I know you’d ne never hurt me. You were passionate, considerate, tender—the best lover I could ever want. I loved what we did. Every second of it.”
    “So what’s the deal?”
    She cleared her throat a couple of times, as if the next words were difficult to get out. “This is about me and my feelings for you.”
    He didn’t like the sound of that. “You said they were purely sexual.”
    “I wanted them to be.”
    Aw, hell, she’d fallen for him. He’d never guessed. Or maybe he’d wanted her so much, he’d turned a blind eye. Either way, this was not good.
    Rafe scrubbed his hand over his face and fumbled for the right words. “You know I like you a lot. But for me, that’s as far as it goes.”
    “And it’s okay.” Still clutching the blanket tightly around her, she