The Secret Child & The Cowboy CEO by Janice Maynard Page A

nipples. He flinched, but didn’t open his eyes. His jaw could have been chiseled stone.
    Her palms burned from the heat he radiated. She reached his hip bones and lost her courage.
    Trent moaned and, still with his eyes closed, took one hand from behind his head and grasped her wrist. Gently, but inexorably, he placed her fingers on hiserection. He was long and thick and fully aroused. She gripped his hard flesh and felt a rush of excitement fill the pit of her stomach.
    Carefully, she stroked him. His flesh tightened and flexed in her grasp. He was hot as fire, hard as velvet-covered steel, and so amazingly alive. Without weighing the consequences, she bent her head and tasted him. His hips came off the bed, and he gasped.
    His eyelids flew open. He looked at her with an expression that sent heat pulsating wildly between her thighs. He managed a tight smile. “That feels good, Bryn. So damned good.”
    The guttural words bolstered her confidence. She had no experience to guide her, but she wanted to know everything about Trent Sinclair. What made him smile, what made him shiver, what made him shudder in passion.
    She loved the intimacy of the act, the feeling of power, the exultation of being able to please him despite her naïveté. But he stopped her too soon, his expression rueful. “Not all the way. Not this time. I want to be inside you when I come.”
    Her face went scarlet. She could feel it. And for a moment, she panicked. Trent was a male in his prime, a dominant animal, a man set on a course with only one possible outcome. What was she doing? What was she thinking? Could she seriously spend one night in Trent Sinclair’s arms and not pay the consequences?
    His smile was more a grimace as he lifted her on top of him. “My turn. And this way I can see all of you.”
    The position made her feel horribly vulnerable. Hehad not joined their bodies. His erection brushed the folds of her damp sex and made her quiver helplessly.
    He studied her body intently, his gaze drifting from her face to her breasts to the place where their bodies were so close to consummation. His hands gripped her hips. “You’re beautiful, Bryn. But back then you were so young….”
    His voice trailed off, his expression troubled.
    She was the one to take his hand this time. She placed it on her breast. “Nothing matters outside this room, remember? We’re taking this night for us. Don’t think about the past or the future. Touch me. I’ve never wanted anything more.”
    Her impassioned speech broke the spell that held him still. He toyed with her breasts, plucked at her taut nipples, tugged them until she cried out. His eyes flashed, and he came to life suddenly, dragging her down to crush her breasts against his chest as he kissed her wildly.
    He thrust his tongue between her teeth, taking what he wanted. She tasted the wine he had drunk earlier in the evening, felt the urgency of his hunger as he explored the recesses of her mouth.
    Her head swam dizzily. The acrid smoke from the lantern and from the fire mingled with the scent of aroused male. She smelled his familiar aftershave and the tang of his soap.
    For a split second, as he put her beneath him, fear pierced her muddled senses. She should tell him…
    â€œI want you, Bryn.” His voice cracked as he nibbled her earlobe. “I can’t wait.” He reached blindly for hispants on the floor, found his wallet, and extracted three condom packets, still linked.
    Her stomach clenched. “Are you always so prepared?” she asked petulantly.
    â€œNo. Actually, I’m not.” His eyes locked on hers with determination. “But I’ve been carrying these around since the first day you arrived…for insurance. I knew how I felt about you. I’ve always known. And I wasn’t going to let bad planning on my part put you at risk. Do you believe me?”
    His eyes were warm. She saw the essence