Killjoy

wanted to be on equal footing. She scrambled to get off the bed.

"Yes, I was," she said. "I was trying to relax."

He yawned loudly. "Avery?"

"Yes?"

He leaned casually against the door frame, one ankle crossed over the other, his arms loosely folded across his chest. She tried

not to stare at the dark swirl of hair around his navel.

"Am I sleeping on the sofa or in the bed?"

Did she have the courage to be completely honest with him, to tell him what she wanted? Put up or shut up time, she thought a little frantically. She cleared her throat, then whispered, "In bed… with me, if that's what you want."

Damn it, she sounded vulnerable, maybe even a little afraid. She couldn't quite manage to look into his eyes. "If you want," she repeated hoarsely.

"Yes, I want."

John Paul took a step toward her but stopped when she put her hand up. "Not so fast, Renard."

"What?" he warily asked.

"There are a couple of ground rules we need to go over first."

She wasn't kidding. He would have laughed if she hadn't looked so nervous. "Ground rules? Like no hitting below the belt?

That kind of rule?" When she didn't immediately answer, he asked, "Are we going to box, or are you going to let me-"

"I'm keeping my T-shirt on. Agreed?"

"Okay, if you want to, but if you change your mind and want to take it off, that's fine too."

"If I want to, I will, but I don't want to, and I probably won't. Agreed?"

At this point he'd lost track of what she was negotiating. "Yeah, sure."

He took another step toward her. "I'm not finished."

He gri

"You have to use protection. I can't have children, but we haven't had blood tests, and we…"

"I pla

"You pla

"Uh-huh." He pulled the condom out of his pocket and tossed it on the bed. "Anything else?"

"That was pretty presumptuous."

"Avery, if I don't touch you pretty soon, I'm go

Her heart was racing. "If you're disappointed…"

"I won't be."

"But if you are, you keep it to yourself. Don't complain to me."

"Honey, are you always this uptight before sex?"

"Do you agree?"

"Okay. I won't complain."

"This isn't fu

He'd waited for as long as he could. "Now it's my turn," he said as he grabbed a wad of her T-shirt and pulled her toward him. "You are underneath here somewhere, aren't you?"

He let go and put his arms around her waist. His hand slipped up under the fabric and splayed wide across her back. She didn't

try to wiggle away when his fingers touched her scars. He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck just below her ear.

Shivers raced down Avery's spine. Her hands had been balled into fists, but as he tickled her earlobe with the tip of his tongue,

she began to relax. His sweet warm breath against her sensitive skin only made her shivers intensify. She could feel the strength, the power of those hard, steely muscles under her fingertips. How could anyone this strong be so very gentle? She sighed into his neck and dropped her head on his shoulder.

"Pay attention, sweetheart. I've got some ground rules too."

She lifted her head and stared into his eyes. Why hadn't she noticed how incredibly beautiful they were? When he smiled, they

lit up.

"Yes?"

"Do you trust me?"

Trust him? She was falling utterly in love with him. Of course she trusted him. She was terrified of admitting it, though.

"That's not a rule."

He wouldn't let her dodge the question, and when she tried to distract him by pressing against his groin and kissing him, he

shook his head. "I already know the answer, but I want… no, I need to hear you say the words."

"You are the most opinionated, obstinate, exasperating man I've ever known, but almost from the moment we met, I felt this strange co

He tilted her chin up, brushed his mouth over hers, and then whispered, "Then trust me. That's my rule. You have to trust me."

She thought she understood what he was asking. And he was right. Love and trust went hand in hand.

It was now or never. Please, God, don't let him be repulsed. She stepped back into the soft light from the bedside lamp, waited until he had let go of her, and then, before her courage completely deserted her, she pulled the T-shirt over her head and tossed

it on the floor. She turned so that he could see her ravaged back.

Most of the damage had been done to her lower spine. The angry, ugly scars puckered her skin. She was afraid to turn around,

to look into his eyes.

"Sugar?"

There was laughter in his voice. Confused by his reaction, she stood as stiff as a corpse with her hands at her sides, staring at

the wall.

"Yes?" she whispered.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm a little more interested in the front right now."

"What…"

He gently turned her around and pulled her up against him. Her soft breasts pressed against his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and whispered, "Damn, I've been dreaming about this. It's better than the dream, though. Much better."

"But my back… You saw…"

"We'll get to that," he promised. "I've got a lot of territory to cover," he whispered as he kissed a tear away from her cheek.

"But in my present condition, I've gotta prioritize."

Before she could argue, or worry, or cry, his mouth took absolute possession of hers in a kiss that was sinfully carnal. His tongue slid in and out of her mouth in a ritual of lovemaking until she was trembling with desire.

His hands were everywhere, caressing, stroking, teasing, as his mouth slanted over hers again and again. He rid her of her inhibitions, and she eagerly kissed him back. She stroked his chest, loving the feel of his coarse, dark hair under her fingertips.

He growled low in his throat with pleasure when she tweaked one of his nipples between her fingertips, and so she did it again.

They were both panting for breath when he ended the kiss and stepped back. He let his shorts drop to the floor, staring into her eyes, reveling in the passion he saw there.

Avery held his gaze as she slid her hand down to remove her panties. The look of surprise when she realized they were on the floor made him smile over his handiwork.

She let him have his moment. "You're good," she whispered shakily.

He followed her onto the bed. Bracing his arms on either side of her, he leaned up and said, "You haven't seen anything yet."

His face was taut with passion. The way he was looking at her made her feel bold. "Neither have you," she whispered back. She moved restlessly against him, her hands slowly easing down his sides. His body was as hot as his gaze.

John Paul loved the way she touched him. Hell, he loved everything about her. She made him crazy. She pulled him down for another kiss, and this time he let her be the aggressor. Their tongues dueled as their hands learned the secrets of each other's bodies.

When she touched his erection, he thought he might just lose it then and there, and he tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn't. He could barely breathe because of the ecstasy she evoked. His hand slipped down between her thighs, his fingers caressing her intimately until she arched off the bed and cried out.

He held off as long as he could until he was desperate to be inside of her. He hungrily kissed her soft, sweet mouth as his knee nudged her thighs apart. Gripping her derriere, he leaned up so that he could watch her. In one slow push, he entered her, then plunged deep.

She arched up against him at the same time, crying out in rapture as she wrapped her legs around his thighs and squeezed him tight.