Man of Passion (29 page)

"You are so beautiful,"
Rafe
whispered as he moved onto the bed with her and uncoiled his length against her. The golden color of his skin beside her pale, white flesh shouted of their differences. And yet, as he watched her lashes close and her lips softly part when he began to touch her, worship
her,
there really wasn't any difference between them at all. Leaning over, he allowed his hand to trail languidly from her shapely collarbone and
follow
the curve of her flesh, the crescent of her small, upturned breast. As he closed his lips around the tight peak, he felt her arch and moan. Instantly, her hands slid up his arms, her fingers digging convulsively into his flesh. She tasted of life as he suckled her, first one nipple and then the other. Her moans of pleasure resonated through him and he smiled to himself. More than anything,
Rafe
wanted to please her, to initiate her and welcome her into the realm of his love for her. Never had he wanted a woman to be more satisfied than Ari.

The moments became molten for Ari. She was nearly helpless to do much of anything as
Rafe
performed his tender assault upon her senses. His fingers skimmed her tightening flesh, cupping her breasts and leisurely moving down her rib cage to flow across her slightly raised abdomen and then tantalizingly brush that most sacred, secret place between her taut thighs. As his mouth took hers, she leaned up, her fingers digging deeply into his shoulders. Her breathing was ragged. Her heart beat like a bird's wings in a sudden flurry of flight. And when he slipped his hand between her thighs and asked her to part them, to trust him, the heat, the sliding friction, of his fingers finding the moistness of her womanhood, exploded within Ari.

All sounds ceased to exist except his roughened breathing, the thunderous pounding of his heart pressing against her tightened breast. As his fingers hotly teased her, she cried out beneath his mouth, a cry of absolute pleasure from the velvet explosions taking place without warning deep within her body. Her skin was damp. She was hungry for him in ways she had never experienced. As if sensing this,
Rafe
eased himself on top of her, and gently nudged her with his knee, asking her to open herself fully to him.

She absorbed the feeling of his muscular bulk across her. As she slid her arms around his powerful shoulders, she felt him asking entrance. Opening her eyes, she saw the agony in his narrowed gaze. His nostrils were flared. He was gritting his teeth and controlling himself for her. All those realizations struck her, and Ari smiled softly up at him and moved her hips upward to meet and pull him into her. The sensation of pressure, heat and pleasure combined, and her lashes closed. A gasp tore from her lips as he eased into her, taking her and making her his. His hands moved beneath her shoulder blades and he thrust deeply into her at the same moment she arched her hips to receive him joyfully within herself.

The greatest gift Ari could give him was all of
herself
. All the power of the sunset moments, the moonlit nights, the rolling thunderstorms that she had experienced here, at his home, occurred explosively within her as he began to rock her, thrust deeply into her and brand her with himself, his essence as a powerful masculine animal. As she clung to his mouth, which took hers with relentless enjoyment, as she rocked with him in the primal rhythm, Ari began to understand the richness of being more animal than thinking human being. The odor of his flesh made her lick the perspiration from his shoulder. And when she
teethed
his shoulder, he groaned. Little by little, she released her human side and became more the raw, unfettered animal in his arms. His male scent intoxicated her. He tasted strong, and she cherished his mouth with a wild abandon, giving and taking with the same primitive joy that fueled a wild new rhythm.

She was a part of nature—of the rain forest, the damp, decomposing earth,
the
life-giving rain that splattered across the triple canopy.
Part of the howl of the monkeys, the call of the rainbow-colored toucans and the sunlight thrusting through the clouds.
She was all of those things as she felt her body become a volcano of swelling, building lava. And when the explosion tunneled through her, she gave a breathless cry of surprise and clung to
Rafe
as he thrust harder and deeper into her, to give her the pleasure, the gift of his sensual, primal lovemaking.

The world, the scents and fragrances, the feel of his longer, powerful body protectively covering hers, all melted together in a collage of pleasure that Ari had never before experienced. If she'd ever doubted what desire was, she knew now. When she felt him tense, and heard a low, guttural growl thunder from his chest, from his drawn-back lips, she moved her hips intuitively and created an equal pleasure for him as he released his life deep within her.

The moments afterward left Ari feeling weak but satisfied.
Rafe
moved off her and bundled her into his arms, his hand sliding deliciously down the long curve of her back in a reverent gesture. He kissed her damp brow, her closed eyes and the corners of her smiling mouth. She lay in his arms feeling loved, protected and cherished. How wonderful it was to love and be loved by him. Her mind refused to think coherently. Ari didn't care. When
Rafe's
mouth lingered like honey on her lips, she tasted him with her tongue.

"My flower is really a jaguar in disguise," he said with a chuckle near her ear. Indeed, Ari's wildness had surprised him, but it was a gift to
Rafe
. As he lay on his side, with Ari in his arms, her body pressed languidly against his all the way to her delicate toes, he smiled. Her eyes were barely open, her cheeks a rosy hue. Her mouth, that delicious part of her, was wet and gleaming from his kisses, his adoration of her.

"
Mmm
, well, it takes one to know one," she sighed. Running her hand across his chest, she let her fingers tangle in the damp strands of dark hair. "I love you,
Rafe
Antonio." Ari met his dark, stormy gaze. "I love you with every breath I take or ever will take." Sobering, Ari slid her hand across his damp jaw and felt the stubble of his beard. Her skin tingled wildly. "I've never felt like I do now…."

Rafe
nodded. "My body sings with yours. We were meant for one another, my beautiful flower." He eased several blond strands of hair away from her damp, flushed cheek. "The music we make is our own. The voice, the sound our bodies make with one another is simply a miracle,
mi
flor
.
"

With each tender stroke of his hand across her cheek, her brow and her hair, Ari absorbed him like he was the sun and she the orchid below, reaching for the life-giving energy. "You're my sunlight. Did you know that?"

He chuckled again and his hand came to rest upon her hip. "No, but I like the idea of it." Gazing deeply into her lustrous, pale blue eyes, he whispered, "You are my flower. I am your sun. Surely we will care well for one another, my woman." He eased his hands down across her abdomen. "Perhaps we will have children who will be like small orchids, who will grow between us and with us. You are the life-giving water, I am their sun."

Nodding, Ari snuggled her brow beneath the line of his jaw. "Life with you will never be dull,
Rafe
. And I'm sure that if we're meant to have children, they will be raised in the wilds of
Amazonia
." She curved her fingers against the hard muscles of his forearm. "I can't think of a better place to raise children than here. They'll discover life in all its fullness and beauty. We love
Amazonia
. We love the life in her." With a contented sigh, Ari whispered, "Oh,
Rafe
, I'm so happy. I think I'm going to explode."

His mouth pulled back in pleasure. "We'll explode together, okay?" Moving his hand languidly across her damp flesh, he looked up and studied the gauzy ambiance of the sunlit room. He had in his arms the woman he'd loved since setting eyes upon her eleven months earlier. They had each gone through their own private challenges and hells. And they'd emerged victorious because of the love they held for one another.

Rafe
didn't fool himself; he knew there was danger in his work, and that Ari needed protection. As he closed his arms more surely around her, he sighed. Life was a cycle, he reminded himself. They had gone through hell for one another and this was the reward. There would be many other challenges, but together, they could surmount them. As long as they had love, nothing was impossible.

As he lay there with Ari in his arms, the sunlight now shooting through the feminine lace at the open window,
Rafe
smiled softly. Sleep was nearby. He was fully satiated and fulfilled. The woman he loved was here, at his side. How much Ari had grown and flourished as a woman since he'd met her. He liked her newfound boldness, her certainty in who and what she was becoming.
Rafe
was going to enjoy watching her continue to unfold like the mysterious orchid she was. What a miracle that was to him: to watch her gain confidence, to change, to reach out regardless of fear, and to keep moving forward.

All these things she was experiencing now would be passed on to their children. His smile deepened as sleep's wings moved across him. Ari was his. He was hers. And he would love her—forever.

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