The Spanish Tycoon's Temptress by Elizabeth Lennox

since earlier today when he’d kissed her before their lunch.  She’d wanted to see if it had been real, if the feelings he’d evoked within her had been as intense as she’d remembered.  And she hadn’t just imagined those feelings.  In fact, now that they were alone, in her apartment without the possibility of interruption, she thought that perhaps this kiss might be more intense. 
    Her fingers splayed over his chest, moving upwards around his shoulders and touching those muscles underneath the tailored shirt.  In the back of her mind, the part that wasn’t shivering from reaction, she realized that she’d been correct.  His muscles were bigger, the areas on him that had always been strong were now bulging, showing that he had increased those workouts that had exhausted her while she’d watched him.  With a whimper of need, her hands floated down his shoulders to his arms, curling around those biceps that, despite her better judgment, had fascinated her when she’d first seen him. 
    She wasn’t sure how it happened, but suddenly she was no longer standing on the floor of her kitchen but was instead sitting on the countertop with her legs wrapped around his waist and he was leaning into her, his body pressing against her intimately and she was gasping for breath as he kissed his way down her neck, along her shoulders and lower.  His mouth found her breast, unerringly discovering her nipple through the fabric of her red sweater and bra but his hands quickly rectified that issue by pulling the sweater over her head and tossing it behind him onto the floor of her kitchen. 
    Elana didn’t care.  She was too overwhelmed by the heat that surged through her when his hands came back to her body without the impediment of fabric to slow him down.  His fingers slid the strap of her bra down off her shoulder, which released the tension in the fabric covering her breast and he took full advantage of that issue.  One finger slid down inside, rubbing against the taut peak and sending lightning bolts of fire down through her body and into her core, making her wiggle against him.  She pressed her core closer, rubbing against the hardness she had found and trying to assuage the intense need, the almost painful desire that was coursing through her. 
    And then he stopped! 
    Elana pulled back and looked up at him, her eyes almost tearing up with the need to have him continue.  “What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice barely registering. 
    Gaston took a deep breath, flexing his hands against her beautiful, white skin that felt softer than satin and more amazing than he remembered.  But this wasn’t his goal, he told himself.  He had to keep in mind why he was with her and what the ultimate goal was.  He couldn’t let himself be distracted by her beauty and her scent.  He knew he could have her, eager and willing, but she’d never speak to him afterwards. 
    He shook his head, trying to come up with a reasonable answer for stopping.  They were adults and there really was no real reason to stop, except for his mission which he couldn’t reveal to her. 
    He took a deep breath, trying hard to get his body back under control.  “I want this,” he said with firmness so she wouldn’t misinterpret his intentions.  Or at least she wouldn’t suspect him of his real intentions.  “But not like this,” he said.  “There’s too much anger between us and I don’t want that.  When I take you to bed,” he said, putting a finger over her mouth because he’d used ‘when’ instead of ‘if’ but in his mind, intimacy was a foregone conclusion between the two of them.  “When I take you to bed,” he started once again, “I want it to be real.  I don’t want you thinking about any of your old boyfriends or any man in the lab that might be interesting.  I want your whole focus to be on me.”
    Elana blinked, trying to interpret his words.  She was still sitting on the counter, trying to rein in the