“Right.” His gaze settled on her mouth again and then wandered lower to her bust line. Oh, mama, what that did to her pulse. He ought to be able to see her heart beating under her blouse.

  “As soon as we finish dessert,” he said.

  “Sounds like a plan.” And then, she’d make him into dessert.

  *

  Kurt clearly hadn’t thought everything through. Neuhauptstadt didn’t exist, as the woman opening the door to her apartment could easily discover with a glance at a map of Germany. Goat cheese had popped into his head when she’d asked what his family did in the East German hamlet he’d made up.

  He’d have to figure out a way to explain that boutique goat cheese rewarded its makers with enough money for his clothes and the dinner they’d enjoyed. Plus, his apartment overlooking the river, if they were to have more dates. He was most assuredly not a one-night-stand sort of man. Eventually, she’d have to find out about his car and driver, too.

  For the next several minutes and longer, if he managed, he’d only have to worry about Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and whether she had a big enough couch for lovemaking. He had plenty of protection in his pocket.

  She turned on a light as they entered, giving him a view of a tiny but uncluttered studio apartment with a kitchenette in the back and a bed alcove to one side.

  “Make yourself comfortable.” She gestured toward a couch in front of a flat screen television. “I’ll get the DVD.”

  She kicked out of her shoes, leaving them where they fell and went to a cabinet under the television. When she bent to turn on the DVR, she gave him a grand view of her derriere. He’d had a glance at it at Comstock’s place, but now he got the full treatment. Her buttocks were round and firm, just the right size for his palms. His cock stirred to life as it had on and off all through dinner. If he hadn’t thought of small talk about Wichita and goat cheese, he could have really embarrassed himself.

  She looked over her shoulder and caught him staring. Instead of anger at his familiarity, she smiled. “You call that comfortable?”

  “Not by American standards, I suppose.”

  “We’re in America,” she said.

  He couldn’t help but smile back. Her easy acceptance of what would happen between them might have sent up warning signals if she’d known his true identity. Though he’d likely never rule in Danislova, he was a prince and therefore prey for fortune hunters. Kurt Schmidt, goat cheese maker from Neuhauptstadt had no such worries. When he knew her better, he’d tell her who he really was. Tonight, they’d enjoy each other’s bodies.

  He removed his coat and draped it over the end of her couch. His tie followed, and he unfastened the top buttons of his shirt. After toeing out of his shoes, he sat and waited for her to join him.

  She slid the disk into the machine, straightened, and brought him the remote. “I’ll make popcorn.”

  After their dinner, they didn’t really need anything else to eat, but if the lady wanted popcorn, popcorn she’d have. She went into the kitchen area and pulled a box of the microwave kind from a cupboard. As it cooked, he studied the controls and started the movie, pausing it when the opening credits started to roll.

  “You can play it,” she called. “I can see from here.”

  He did, and the screen filled with the opening scene. Kurt hardly noticed because in no time at all, Casey was next to him, the open bag of popcorn in her hand. She propped her bare feet up on the coffee table, took a handful of the popcorn, and handed the bag to him.

  She had the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. Even in the dim light from the television, they sparkled. She wore her hair loose, probably because there was no real way to tame the cascade of dark curls. He set the popcorn on the coffee table and leaned toward her, catching a fistful of her hair and bringing it to his nose. She watched, not moving. Hardly breathing as far as he could tell.

  She smelled of shampoo rather than the expensive perfume other women wore. It gave her a floral scent with a hint of spice that drew him ever closer.

  “You like my hair, I gather,” she said softly.

  “I do. I like everything about you.”

  That declaration made her bite her lower lip. The action reminded him of the way she’d eaten her caviar...slowly and carefully, savoring every bite. Watching her had made him hard, and his cock swelled in his pants again. This time, the erection wouldn’t go away until he’d finished things between them.

  She held a piece of popcorn to his mouth, and he had no choice but to eat it. The morsel had a strange taste that bore no relationship to food that he could discern. She still had a handful of it, and he’d have to get rid of it one way or another. He fed her a piece, and she let her lips linger around his fingers. Soft and wet, the way he’d have her pussy in a minute. Now, there was a feast worthy to follow the fine French food.

  “We’re not watching the movie,” she said.

  “I know how it ends, don’t you?”

  She nodded, her lips parting. He fed her another morsel of popcorn and watched her close her mouth around it, again caressing his fingertips, even sucking one into her mouth.

  To hell with the faux popcorn. Placing his hand at the back of her neck, he pulled her toward him for a kiss. She must have swallowed the stuff because he encountered nothing but her mouth. Their lips met as if they’d rehearsed the exact way to fit together. He explored every curve, every tender spot, even at the corners. In response, she ran her arms around his neck and urged his body closer. The popcorn must have dropped somewhere. It might even be crunching between them now as her soft breasts pressed against his chest.

  He had to remind himself to go slowly. She was a banquet to be savored, not a bag that went into the microwave. He’d have her again, if she’d let him, but tonight was for discovery...to find every sensitive part on her and feel her small hands on him as she explored.

  “This is crazy,” she murmured against his lips. “I don’t do this with men I’ve just met.”

  “Neither do I...with women, I mean.” Crazy? The way she made him feel was completely insane. He couldn’t get enough of her mouth, as if he’d stop breathing if he couldn’t kiss her. Between them, their hands tangled as she tried to unbutton his shirt while he did the same to her blouse. Somewhere in the distance, a movie played, its soundtrack the backdrop to heavy breathing—his and hers. They weren’t getting anywhere working at cross purposes, and he definitely needed to make progress before he became so aroused he’d take her roughly. So, he caught her fingers in his own to still them and gazed into her face.

  The sight of her almost unmanned him on the spot. Her lips were parted and moist from his kisses, and she dragged breath in between them. Eyelids drooping, she had the look of a highly aroused woman surrendering to her own passion. That he could create that expression humbled him. That he could drive her need higher and deeper and then satisfy it made him the most fortunate male on the planet. And satisfy her, he would.

  “Let me.” His voice came out harsh to his own ears, proof of his very real and very pressing need for her. Still, she came first.

  He did, indeed, have to push away a few stray kernels of popcorn, and his fingers fumbled a bit with the tiny buttons of her blouse. When he had them open, he discovered a lacy, black bra with vielen Dank a front closure. It popped open easily, exposing small breasts with erect nipples. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

  Kneading her flesh with his fingers, he took one peak into his mouth and swirled his tongue around the stiff flesh.

  “Oh,” she crooned. “That feels so good.”

  He guided her down against the cushions as he continued sucking. If her breathing had been labored before, it became ragged now...the beginning of the concerto of sounds she’d make for him once he had her naked. As he switched to the other breast, he ran his hand along her ribs and downward to her belly. The button to her slacks took a bit of work to open, but the zipper went down easily. Still loving her nipple, he slipped his fingers into her panties and went in search of her prize.

  She was wet...for him. Hot, sweet, and eager. And she moaned when he touched the lips of her sex, stroking back to the entrance to her body. His cock strained against his clothing at the thought of burying itself inside her. Instead, he probed with a finger and savored the way her hips rose, straining right back.

  He rose up and studied her face again. Her eyes had closed, and she whimpered each time he pressed into her. Another sound. Pleasure, not pain.

  “I want you naked,” he whispered.

  She nodded, not opening her eyes. Lost in sexual arousal. For the next moments, he’d give and she’d take. The way sex should be. She’d repay him ten times over.

  He guided her to a sitting position and removed her blouse and bra. When she lay back, she closed her hands over her breasts, squeezing and tugging gently at the nipples. He’d remember she liked that just as soon as he got his own libido under control. When he pulled down her pants, her panties came with them, and now, he could gaze on her body the way the creator had made it for just this moment.

  She was plump in all the right places—breasts and hips—and if he turned her over, he’d no doubt discover an arse worthy of a Renaissance painting. Right now, the spot between her legs most drew him, and he smoothed his palms along her inner thighs.

  She whimpered again. “I…I…”

  “I know.” Just as his cock felt ready to explode, her clitoris would also be hard and eager for his touch and more. He found it and stroked it, and she arched her back, nearly floating from the cushions. That left only one thing to do.

  They wouldn’t both fit on the couch, so he knelt beside it and drew her hips toward the edge. Then, he parted her legs and nipped at her thigh.

  “Kurt, you don’t have to…”

  “Yes, I do.” He’d never needed to put his mouth on a woman the way he did with this one. The feeling was primal, instinctive. Mine.

  Sliding his arms beneath her legs, he guided her against his face and breathed in the scent of her arousal.

  “Really, you don’t…” she said.

  He gave her clitoris a long, slow lick.

  “Oh, God!” she cried.

  He’d store that sound in his memory, too, as he continued teasing her bud. Her cooing responses told him she liked a firm stroke, so he kept at her as her gasps turned to cries and rose in pitch. She’d reached the very edge, the high plateau from which she’d rocket to the stars. He held her there as long as he could until she was fairly sobbing, begging for relief.

  He gave it to her, pushing her hard and fast until her hips rose and he had to hold her against his face. She stiffened and shouted as she came, and he kept up the pressure until she went limp against the cushions. When he slid a finger into her again, the aftershock of her orgasm fluttered around it, testifying to the force of her release. Success.

  He managed to cram himself onto the couch with her and drew her against his chest. “You liked that.”

  “Oh…my...fucking…God.”

  He chuckled as his heart swelled with pride. The other swelling...the stiff-as-a-brick cock in his pants…demanded a lot more than pride. He’d have that as soon as she got over glowing.

  “Where did you learn to do that?” She flattened a palm against his chest. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

  He had to chuckle at the hint of possessiveness. If he was to be truthful with himself, he’d have to admit to the same sort of feelings. Having made her completely vulnerable to him and holding her now, he couldn’t imagine another man taking the same enjoyment of her. He didn’t usually experience those emotions, but nothing came in the unusual manner with this woman.

  “Want to move to the bed?” she asked.

  “Want to watch the rest of the movie?”

  “What are you, nuts?” She snaked a hand between them and pressed it against his erection. He shuddered and let out a grunt. God, how he needed that and so much more.

  “You’re a nice guy and all,” she said. “But no man is that considerate.”

  “You’re right. I’m going to rip off your clothes and take you by force.”

  “I’m already naked.” She gave him a squeeze through his pants and boxers. “You, on the other hand, are fully clothed.”

  “I need to do something about that.”

  “As someone once said, let me.”

  When she squirmed in an attempt to get up, he climbed off the couch and took her hand. She took him the few steps to the bed, and without so much as turning down the comforter, she started in on his clothing.

  Watching her proved highly erotic. Maybe it was the deliberate way she worked, giving each button her total attention. More likely, it was the smiles of appreciation as she bared his chest. He’d never thought of himself as beautiful before, but she treated him like a present to unwrap.

  “Nice,” she said as she smoothed her palms over his pecs and circled his nipples with her thumbs. She licked first one and then the other, making them sensitive in a way they never had been before.

  She continued, tugging the tails of his shirt free and unbuckling his belt. For a moment, she paused and instead of reaching for his zipper, she placed her hand against the bulge at his crotch.

  “Really nice,” she said as she stroked him from the base to the tip.

  “I’m about to burst my fly.”

  “We can’t have that, can we?” She pulled the zipper down and freed him. His cock stood rigidly away from his body. In the dim light from the television, she couldn’t recognize the livid color that would tell her how close he’d come to orgasm. He’d have to warn her himself, except she kept petting him, and the speech centers of his brain had blinked out.

  “Casey…” he managed.

  “I know.”

  She probably didn’t, though. Unless she crawled into his skin, she’d have no clue how aroused he was. She went down on her knees, dragging his pants and boxers with her. When she helped him out of them and his socks, he was as naked as she and twice as vulnerable.

  She grabbed his cock by the base. “Really, really nice.”

  “I wouldn’t…not with your mouth…”

  “Oh, but I would.” Before he could attempt to gather a protest, she’d closed her lips around the head of his cock. He nearly came apart on the spot but managed to hold onto one tenuous thread of control. She swallowed him. Not all of his shaft, of course, or she’d choke. But she slid her mouth down him, taking more and more.

  For balance, he dug his fingers into her hair and pumped his hips. Surely, that would have to warn her to tread lightly. It didn’t, though, as she kept devouring him until he just couldn’t take any more.

  Finding strength he hadn’t known he possessed, he pulled back. “Jesu, I almost climaxed in your mouth.”

  “That would be okay.”

  “Maybe another time. Not tonight.” He reached down and lifted her. “Get on the bed.”

  “Animal.” She did as he asked and opened her arms and legs in invitation. “I’m ready.”

  “I’m not. I have to find my pants.”

  One eyebrow went up. “What for?”

  “The condom.” One of many. He hadn’t known how many he’d need.

  “Never mind that. I’m on the pill.”

  Wonderful woman. Wonderful, wanton, and all his. He accepted her invitation, joining her on the bed and settling between her legs. Before he had a chance to touch her again to make sure she was wet and ready for him, she wrapped her fingers around his shaft to guide his cock between the lips of her sex. He eased into her, gritting his teeth for control. Her answering “ahhh” told him he’d pleased her.

  Now he could have what he’d craved all through dinner. No, since the night before on the phone. Earlier still...since he’d first kissed her, dressing in those ridiculous clothes and with a camera man and female model for an audience. They had a chemical reaction between them, like two elements safe when apart but explosive when together. As he thrust, she made the same noises she had when he’d driven her to orgasm with his tongue. She’d come again, if he could make himself last, and he’d feel the miracle of her spasms around his cock. If he could last.

  He might manage if she didn’t feel so fucking amazing. Hot and moist and tight. Despite his best intentions, he moved faster, his lust driving him. And she loved that even more. Her cries came in rhythm with his movements, as if every new thrust pushed her higher. Her fingernails bit into his shoulders.

  “So good,” she whispered. “Don’t stop.”

  He could have laughed at that. Stop? No way in hell. An earthquake could tumble the building around them, and he’d hardly notice.

  “Come with me,” he murmured against her shoulder.

  “Anything. Just don’t stop.”

  This would end, no matter how much he’d like to stay inside her, moving, all night. Already, the climax was coiling inside him. He had to have her with him. Nothing less would be good enough for her, for both of them.

  Remaining between her thighs, he pushed upward to a kneeling position. That pulled his cock from her, but he guided her hips upward to meet him. She caught on quickly, wrapping her legs around him, and he shoved himself back into her, watching as each inch of his swollen flesh disappeared between her folds.

  In this position, he could stroke her clitoris while he fucked her, because that’s what he was doing. Niceties gone, he let himself go wild. Pray God he didn’t hurt her, because he couldn’t help himself.

  Her cries grew louder. Not the sound of pain but the sweet music of female passion. He kept up the pressure on her bud as her muscles tightened around him. She was coming. Yes, God!

  Her pussy erupted into powerful contractions. Sucking him. Snapping the last shredded tie to reality.

  The orgasm rushed through him with enough force to knock the air out of his lungs. Holding her hips in his fists, he steadied her as he made the last savage thrusts and emptied his seed into her. Again and again. A voice shouted. His own. A cry of victory and possession.

  Finally, drained, he fell onto her. He’d crush her. A good lover didn’t do that. He never had. But he simply couldn’t move.