Luisa's heart raced. Love. He said he was in love with her. Her heart soared, but it didn't take long before fear clipped its wings.

Tears burned her eyes as she shook her head. "You can't just say things like that, Alden."

"Why can't I say it when it's the truth?" Alden asked. "I know it sounds crazy, and we haven't known each other for long, but I've fallen in love with you, Luisa."

"Just like you loved Vanessa?" The words escaped her mouth before she could hold them back.

Alden stared at her, then sighed. "Everything was different with Vanessa. I thought I loved her, I don't know. When she cheated on me and left with another man, I thought it would hurt, but it didn't. That's when I realized I probably didn't love her like I thought." That didn't do much to ease Luisa's anxiety as she asked, "You thought you were in love with her but later realized you weren't. How do I know it's not the same thing? That you're not just confused?"

Alden smiled patiently. As frustrated as he was, he could see it was her fear talking.

"Because what I felt for Vanessa doesn't compare to what I feel when I'm with you-or even when I'm away from you. I've never felt like this before, Luisa. Not with Vanessa or any other woman. You drive me crazy, and I swear, if you tell me you don't feel the same, I'm going to go insane."

He kissed her nose. "Tell me you feel the same, Luisa."

Luisa's chest tightened with breathlessness as her fears and her desire for him battled inside her. How long was she going to let fear control her?

Swallowing hard, she nodded earnestly. "Yes, Alden. I feel the same way."

"Oh, Luisa," Alden groaned, his head swooping down swiftly.

Their lips met in an explosion of sensation. Fiery, relentless, their tongues lashing against each other while their hands run all over each other.

He was wearing a suit over a white shirt-too many clothes. Luisa wanted to feel him against her. She wedged her hands between them, immediately unbuttoning his suit and pulling it off his shoulders.

The suit fell to the floor, and Luisa did the same with his shirt, leaving him in just his undershirt. As she grabbed the hem of it to pull it over his head, he broke the kiss.

"No, Luisa. I respect you too much to let our first time be here."

"Fuck respect. My couch is big enough. Make love to me right now, Alden." Luisa demanded, smashing her lips against his again.

She didn't know where her boldness was coming from. All she knew was that she wanted him, wanted him so much it hurt.

After pulling his undershirt off, he spun her around suddenly, causing a gasp tonoveldrama

neck, Cape her. Kissing her

neck, he pulled down the zipper of her dress, sliding the straps off her shoulders until it pooled at her feet, leaving her in just her bra and panties.

Spinning her back to face him, he captured her lips again as they almost instinctively moved toward the couch. He gently lowered her onto her back before kissing down her body, pulling her panties off as he went.

A harsh moan escaped her as Alden blew on her heat, the cool air from his mouth sending tingles across her nerve endings.

"Careful," Alden smiled teasingly, looking up at her. "We don't want your secretary to walk in, do we?"

Alden chuckled, and without warning, his tongue seared a sensuous path up her core. It took everything in her to hold back the scream of pleasure that desperately wanted to escape her mouth.

"No," Luisa responded, her cheeks flushing.

Alden devoured her like she was his

voured

last meal, using a combination of his

tongue and fingers. He was

relentless, doing everything to push her over the edge. It didn't take ong before her orgasm exploded through her.

The pleasure left her delirious. She bit down so hard on her lip that she thought she'd drawn blood as her hips bucked against his face. Alden didn't mind, allowing her to ride his mouth until the waves subsided.

Moments later, little tremors still ran through her body. She expected Alden to take off the rest of his clothes and take her, but instead, he gently kissed her inner thigh, gazing up at her from between her legs.

"I know you're eager for my dick, gorgeous, but let's save that for tonight when I have you in my bed. We'd better conserve our energy, because I'll make love to you until we both pass out."

A shiver of delight and anticipation ran through Luisa.