Free The Princess and the Pauper by Nancy Bush Page B

muscles of his back, discovering the silky hollow at the base of his spine.
    Somehow her dress became unwound. Dimly April was aware that she was completely bare beneath him except for the thin barrier of her panties. Her head reeled. She hadn’t counted on this!
    “Jesse…” she murmured in a shaken voice.
    His tongue was tracing the curve of her jaw. She could smell a spicy cologne mixed with his own powerful masculine scent. Involuntarily she inhaled deeply, and his lips moved perilously downward until they closed over the dusty peak of one dark nipple.
    Sensations burst inside her like flames. April’s eyes flew open. She buried her hands in his thick, blond hair, intending to pull him away, but she was powerless.
    “Jesse…” she gasped.
    “If you want me to stop, I’ll stop,” he said in a strained voice.
    She tried to form words. She couldn’t. He lifted his head, studying her face through eyes that smoldered. April moved her head slowly back and forth. She didn’t know what she was saying; it could have been no, or it could have been yes.
    Jesse’s hand cupped her breast. He kneaded the soft flesh, his head bending once more to suckle it. Hot, wet, warmth filled April’s senses. She moved sinuously beneath him and wanted him so much that she throbbed with longing.
    His skin was damp with sweat. With quick, lithe movements he unbuckled his belt and removed his jeans. He then lowered himself to her, resting his smooth chest on her bare breasts. He regarded her in his silent, unnerving way, and April met his gaze. She slid one hand around his neck and brought his mouth back to hers.
    Somehow she slipped into a world of pure sensation. One moment they were kissing, the next they were both naked, entwined in each other’s limbs, poised on the brink of an experience April wasn’t quite ready for.
    “We’re okay, Princess?” Jesse asked softly. She heard his voice from a long way away. She tried to blot it out. She knew that if she thought too hard, she would realize the consequences of what they were about to do. She didn’t want to know.
    “We’re okay?” he asked again.
    She didn’t know what he wanted to hear. She didn’t care. “Yes,” she whispered, dragging his mouth to hers, her hands around the back of his neck, holding him tight.
    She felt the hard, masculine part of him against her quivering skin, but wasn’t prepared for his thrust of possession. Sharp pain stabbed through her and she cried out, reality washing over her in a cold wave.
    “Shh. I’m sorry,” he murmured. “You sure we’re okay? I’m—”
    “Yes, please!” she whispered urgently. “Please—”
    Then he began to move inside her, slowly, cautiously. April stiffened, prepared for another painful assault, but the pain never materialized. Instead she was swept away on a flood of wondrous sensation. Her pulse pounded. She could hear his labored breathing, and her own shaking breaths.
    “Jesse…”
    His hips ground against hers. April held him tightly, wanting to pull him closer, closer yet. She smelled his warm musky scent and a building, pounding wave of desire pushed against her. Unconsciously she strained upward, arching, reaching. Twisting, she heard his moan of torment just as ripples of pure pleasure overwhelmed her. She cried out in ecstasy as Jesse reached his own peak.
    Through a haze of sensual feelings April drifted back to earth. She was damp with sweat and stunned by the moment. She heard his ragged breathing, felt the pounding of his pulse. Pressing her lips hard against the taut, brown column of his throat, she smiled. “I love you,” she whispered in wonder.
    Jesse didn’t respond.

Chapter Five

    J esse stood in the foyer of the Hollis’s opulent home and kept his gaze trained on Peter Hollis’s face. April’s father couldn’t hide his surprise and worry. His dark brows arched skyward and he said in a subdued voice, “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name the first time.”
    “Jesse