"We'd better go back to the house. The trail is treacherous after dark."
The warm breath carrying his words brushed lightly against the exposed nape of her neck, evoking a surprising response. As Kaitlyn turned, she found herself encircled in his arms and placed her hands on his chest. He was quite disarming, and she had no notion to pull away. In the diminishing daylight, they stared into each other's eyes. Kaitlyn felt irresistibly drawn to his mustache and raised her hand to his face. She was surprised by its softness. He parted his lips and nibbled lightly on her fingertips. This seemingly simple gesture sent a streak of fire plummeting down her spine to settle within the wetness of her undefiled innocence, sweeping in its wake the very breath from her lungs.
"We, we should leave." Matthew's murmured words lacked conviction.
"Oh, Matthew, I don't want to leave yet." She drew in a gulp of air. "Please, don't disturb the magic."
"Oh, Kaitlyn, the magic is you." A touch of fierceness shaded his voice. He couldn't stop, crushed her against his body and brought his mouth down on hers. He would make it a kiss she would remember, not like the one lost in the fog of her fever. His hand slipped slowly down her back to press her hips against his, while the other cradled her head with his fingers laced into her hair.
Swept away by the strength of her physical reaction, Kaitlyn responded, sliding her arms around his neck and molding her willing body to his. His mustache played distracting games with her senses. Thoughts of interrupting the flow of these rapturous feelings were obliterated from her mind. Her mind was totally focused on his lips and the hot current flowing through her veins.
For Matthew, the dream was turning into reality. Kaitlyn was returning his kiss, parting her lips in a welcoming gesture. It was a deep, plunging kiss, wherein he poured out his loneliness and savored her sweet taste as his tongue gently explored her mouth.
If only time would stand still, if only Abigail and Thorn did not exist. He wanted Kaitlyn for his own. Oh God, how he wanted her. And the impossibility of this dream shattered his senses into splinters of sadness. Suddenly, he backed away just short of losing his tenuous grip on control. Tightly grasping her shoulders, he shoved her at arm's distance. If he followed passion's urging, he would lower her to the soft soil beneath their feet and make love to her then and there. The fierceness of his craving to bury himself inside of her caught him off guard.
)
