She laughed an evil, but sexy laugh. “Read.” She whispered the command directly into his ear, making him shiver. She grinned in satisfaction. She loved to make him shiver.

       Maxim forced himself to pick his book up again and he stammered his way through a few lines as Alyx trailed hot kisses along the line of his neck and down his jaw.  His eyes rolled up into his head and he couldn’t concentrate anymore. She was robbing him of all thought, all logic. All he could do was feel. Feel her touches, feel her kisses, feel the way his body responded to them. Most importantly, the way his heart responded to them.

       “Why did you stop? I didn’t say you could stop,” she said.

       “Somehow I get the feeling you’re not paying attention,” he replied breathlessly.

       “Why would you say that?” She ran her tongue slowly up his throat and he groaned, tilting his head back to give her better access. She smiled and inched her way closer to his lips, trailing kisses across his chin and cheeks. She gasped as his arm came around her waist and, before she had time to even register what was happening, she was lying on her back with him beside her. He was cradling her in his arms and gazing down at her with that expression she loved. The one that made her feel like she was the only woman he’d ever seen. For several beats of her heart all he did was stare down at her, as if he was memorizing every detail of her face.