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advantage of it, deepen it, exploit it.

Dear God, she was beginning to unravel. The fortitude and pain,

caution and fear, that had held her together for years were coming apart.

Yes, she‟d come for Luc before, but this . . . this was reaching inside her to

claw out something she never shared with anyone. He was going to take

the pleasure from her, steal it right out of her soul without permission or

apology.

She tensed. Could she give that much of herself to him?

“Luc . . .” Alyssa squeezed her eyes shut.

Too intimate. Too real. Too deep. He was everywhere. Why hadn‟t she

had a lover in the months since him? Or in the years before him? Because

no one else made her feel as if sex was anything more than a cross

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between an obligation and a bodily function. Even if she‟d let every

customer who came to the club have his way with her, Luc alone could take

her apart, fill her with something so persistent and sweet and yearning,

then remake her.

“Look at me!” he demanded under the relentless pound of his body.

And that compelling voice . . . No way she could ignore him.

Biting her lip and bracing for the rush of feeling, Alyssa did as he

asked. She connected with his probing dark stare just as he rammed home.

Energy shifted, gathered, turned nuclear inside of her. Then she

exploded.

Clawing at Luc, screaming his name, she burst into a million pieces,

her heart beating for him, her soul scattered utterly by mind-bending

pleasure. He rode her through the orgasm from crest to blast, pulling back

as it coalesced into a tender ache that had her sobbing.

This time, like last, Luc used that as his cue to continue plundering her

into the ultimate pleasure.

THE morning sun soaked the sheer curtains and hardwood floors.

Gasping in a raspy breath, Luc pulsed up into the heat of Alyssa‟s pussy

again as she rode him. She moaned and clung to him, her nails raking his

chest. Above him, she looked like a sensual nymph, nubile, striking, built

for pleasure. She‟d long ago seared through his restraint and good

intentions. Again, he‟d lost every shred of control, and as he drowned again

in the fierce ramp from pleasure to orgasm, he was caught in her trap. And

he hungered for it.

Her mussed pale hair swung around her, some ends clinging to her

waist. The shorter ones around her face flirted with her hard nipples, which

he still hadn‟t been able to get enough of. Even now they beckoned.

Throwing his arms around her, he pulled her close, then anchored a

hand at her nape. The other clutched the small of her back, controlling the

arch. Yes . . . Right there. Again, he had the tempting little nipple on his

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tongue, his teeth scoring it just enough to sting. She hissed, then tightened

on his cock.

“Come again.”

He‟d been demanding her pleasure all night, and she‟d been giving it

with utter abandon. It was never enough. He needed to see her again now,

desire parting her lips and making her whimper. He craved the feel of her

clamping down on him and hearing her scream his name.

She‟d grown hoarse hours ago, her flesh swollen to the point that

every thrust was work. Luc had driven her to orgasm so many times, he‟d

lost count. He‟d fallen over the cliff into a fiery pit of pleasure three times,

saturating her every time, reveling with a primitive need to mark her that

he‟d stopped questioning. An odd relief poured through him each time he

spilled himself deep inside her. No, he couldn‟t get her pregnant, but

damned if he wouldn‟t fill her up anyway.

“Luc.” Alyssa sobbed
his
name.

Triumph spiked through him, followed by another insane urge to mark

her. He laved one of her nipples again, then the other. Her pussy became

sublimely, blisteringly tight. The fact she was so close urged him on.

He fit his mouth over hers, forcing her lips wide under his, and sank in

as far as possible. The cadence of his kiss matched the rhythm of his

thrusts as they strained together toward a cataclysm so powerful, it would

likely devastate them both.

He pursued it with reckless abandon.

His body was about to give out, and he was furious. Hours upon hours

he‟d spent delving her, but he hadn‟t tasted her cream with his tongue until

she cried out in surrender. Nor had he worked his way into that tight,

perfect ass. Tomorrow. No, later today. He would do both. But tonight, once

he‟d gotten deep within her wet folds, he‟d single-mindedly submerged

himself and watched her come apart in his arms.

“Come again, sugar. For me.”

He tiled her hips until they pressed completely against his, then rubbed

her up and down his cock, forcing friction on her clit. Alyssa undulated with

him, her groans becoming whimpers that turned to a plea, then . . .

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“Luuuucccc!”
She screamed his name as if it were a twenty-syllable

word as her cunt clamped down on him. He used all the strength in his

arms and thighs to keep her moving.

The pleasure was excruciating, scorching, beyond anything he‟d ever

experienced—or imagined. The sensations roiling around inside him

melded into a tight ache in his balls. Then, primed, the orgasm began to

explode.

Luc grabbed her tighter, clutching her hair, throwing an arm around her

waist.
Oh, fucking hell
. This was going to bring him to his knees. Destroy him. It swelled and built and converged, big as a mountain, powerful as an

earthquake.

“Alyssa,” he gasped. “Oh, God. Shit. I can‟t . . . Oh, my—” To merge

with her in every way possible; it was his most basic instinct. He slammed

his mouth over hers and dove into the sweet heat.

The orgasm flattened him.

As everything inside him crashed around his heart, he held her tighter,

burying his face in her neck while the storm raged inside him. “
Yes!
Lys,

yes . . .”

His heartbeat thundered in his ears, and he felt nothing but blinding

ecstasy. And Alyssa.

Long minutes later, exhaustion pounded him. Bitter reality roared in.

She was still a stripper, likely with another lover. He still needed to find a

suitable wife. And he wanted her more than he‟d ever wanted any woman

in his life.

Slowly, he lifted his head as Alyssa stroked his hair and tried to catch

her breath.

“Look at me,” he demanded.

She bit her lip, then glanced at him, her face flushed with satisfaction.

His gut clenched, even as a drugging call to sleep rolled through his

veins. “What are we doing?”

Her mouth tightened. Her eyes grew guarded. “Just fucking.”

Were they? Really? Because for long minutes—hours—he‟d forgotten

every other woman in the world. He‟d wanted to grab this one and never let

go.

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Alarm bells went off in his head. Luc knew he should say something . .

.

Before he could, exhaustion claimed him.

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“
A
RE you going to tell me what the hell happened?” Tyler barked.

I’m falling in love with someone who can’t love me back.

Alyssa winced at the thought. Lingering over the act of drawing back

the blinds at Bonheur to let in the midday sun, she tried to decide what to

say.

Finally, she turned to him. “Nothing.”

It was a huge lie. The most shatteringly pleasurable night of her life

reduced to one trite word. If she hadn‟t been going to hell already, the lie

would have put her there.

He arched a tawny brow. “The shadows under your eyes have bags so

large they could pack for a trip to Europe. As soon as we got to Sexy

Sirens this morning, you shut yourself into your bedroom. I fucking heard

you cry. I don‟t have to be a genius to figure out that since you spent last

night with that short-order loser, maybe something went down.”

“Tears are no big deal.” Except Luc didn‟t love her. They were just

fucking, and she‟d just charged down the path to a big, ol‟ heartache with

no idea how to backpedal.

“You didn‟t cry for your mother, but you cry for this prick? Baby, c‟mon.

You never call me at eight thirty in the morning unless it‟s an emergency.

While you were getting coffee, I peeked in your guest room. The bed was

perfectly made. Only other bed in that house is yours.” Tyler crossed his

arms over his chest, his glare pure pissed off. “Given that, you calling me

not long after the crack of dawn is significant.
Now
do you want to tell me what the hell happened?”

The bastard was too observant. “No.”

“You had sex with him.”

Amazing, relentless sex. Why confirm the obvious?

Alyssa moved to the next window and focused on the blinds.

“Goddamn it!” Tyler spoke through clenched teeth. “Did he hurt you?”

“Tyler, just leave it.”

“Hell, no! If he hurt you, if he
forced
you, I‟ll bust him up—”

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“No. We were mutually consenting adults, and that is the end of this

conversation.”

Suddenly, Tyler was across the room and his arms were around her.

He really was her best friend these days and it would be so easy to lean on

him. But so unfair to him.

“You don‟t have to be strong all the time,” he whispered. “Tell me. I‟ll

help however I can.”

She cupped his cheek in her hand. “You can‟t. But I appreciate you

more than you know.”

He sighed and tightened his grip on her, leaning into her until his

forehead pressed against hers. It would be easy enough to slide into bed

with Tyler, see if he could help her forget her overwhelming feelings for

Luc. Alyssa had never played that game before, but she was pretty sure it

would be pointless.

“Baby, you gotta give me something more. I‟m dying here.”

Before she could reply, the restaurant‟s front door slammed. Gasping,

Alyssa whirled, ready to tell the interloper that the restaurant wasn‟t open to

the public until tomorrow night. But it wasn‟t a stranger who stood there. It

was Luc.

He looked furious enough to spit nails.

Tyler‟s preservation instinct must be nonexistent because, instead of

backing off, he tightened his arms around her. She pushed against his

chest and nudged him away. Reluctantly, he let her go, muttering a vile

curse.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Luc asked him.

Crossing his thick arms over his wide chest, Tyler looked pumped up

on fury. “My job. You?”

“Since when is your job trying to get into Alyssa‟s panties?”

“She only wears thongs, actually.”

Alyssa gasped. “Tyler!”

Luc ground his jaw, fists clenched. This situation was headed for the

toilet unless she diffused it.

“Stop it, both of you. Tyler, can you leave us alone for a few minutes?”

“I‟m not budging if there‟s any chance he‟ll hurt you.”

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Spine stiffening, Luc stalked across the room. “I‟d never hurt her. Ever.

You, I‟d pound just for fun.”

“Bring it on, asshole.”

“No more!” Alyssa yelled. “We have things to do today that don‟t

involve you two beating the shit out of each other.” She looked at Tyler,

eyes pleading. “I‟ll be fine. Please . . . You‟d be doing me a big favor if

you‟d pick up my dress from the tailor.”

Tyler clenched his teeth and seethed, ripping his keys from the pocket

of his jeans. “If you need
anything
, if he harms one hair on your head, call me. You know I‟m here for you.”

She nodded. His devotion nearly brought her to tears. Why couldn‟t

she love him the way he wanted her to love him? Life would be so much

less complicated.

But easy was never her lot.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

He drew closer, his face solemn, communicating both his dedication

and concern. Then he cupped her face in his hands and placed a tender

kiss on her lips. A second later, he was gone.

Now she was completely alone with Luc. The silence was deafening.

“You‟re here early,” she said to break it. “The others have already

done most of the prep work in the kitchen, so you should—”

“Stop it.” He stalked to her, unnervingly close. “When I woke alone, I

worried about you, but you left before the bed was even fucking cold so you

could run to
him
?”

Alyssa paced across the room. How
dared
he imagine, after what

they‟d just shared, that she could possibly jump from his arms to Tyler‟s?

Here she was, terrified that she‟d lost her heart to a man who might never

be able to truly love her back, and he imagined she‟d run to another lover.

That alone confirmed that, no matter how intimate last night had seemed,

no matter how much her feelings had grown, his hadn‟t changed. She could

not lose her heart to someone who didn‟t respect her. Someone likely to

leave her in five days and never look back.

“Aren‟t we just fucking?” she challenged.

He stalked after her and grabbed her arm. “Goddamnit, answer my

question.”

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