“You were—” She took a deep breath as he nipped at the skin behind her ear. “You were thinking about this in the snow?”

His nose was in her hair, mouth against her ear. Charity could actually feel his breath break when he discovered she was wearing thigh-highs. His hand froze as his penis leaped against her.

She’d put them on this morning, knowing she’d be cold when she left the library, but also knowing it would excite him when they got home.

It never ever occurred to her that he’d discover them in the library!

“God.” His hands found the bare skin between the tops of the stockings and her panties. They were warmer now. Not even a Vermont winter could keep Nick cold for long. “You wore these to drive me crazy, didn’t you?”

“Mmm.” Actually, yes.

His hand cupped her, middle finger pressing lightly, the silk a thin layer against her opening and she shuddered, the movement evoking another surge from him against her.

“For the record, it’s working.”

He kept his hand there, warm now, hot even. Just the pressure of his hand against her made her thighs clench.

He was kissing her now, slow, deep kisses, licking her tongue, her teeth in slow movements, echoed by his hand against her, stroking slowly.

She felt him everywhere, pressing against her, smelling of snow and pine and Nick. Then the smell of sex bloomed in the room after he unzipped his pants, the sound soft in the dusty room, as his penis sprang out.

Charity wanted to open her eyes and see him. She loved the sight of it—a hard column with thick veins in an unruly nest of curly black hair. But her eyes wouldn’t open, not while he kissed her so deeply.

Nick pried her right hand away from his coat and curled it around him. She couldn’t see him but boy, she could feel him. Everything about him tightened when she touched him. His penis became, impossibly, even longer and thicker. His heart beat hard and fast, and she could feel the heartbeat, right there in her hand. Her thumb covered the huge, rounded head and he wept for her, too.

Such power, she had.

Then Nick tugged sharply, tearing her panties right off, and his finger slid inside her and she gasped, legs trembling. Oh God, he had power, too.

His finger stretched her, mimicking the movements of his tongue in her mouth and she whimpered.

The smell of sex was suddenly stronger in the air—her arousal and his. He’d touched her for only a minute, but she was soft and wet. His finger penetrated with ease. She’d been thinking about him all day. And all day her body had been primed for this.

Nick withdrew his finger, running the tip around her opening, preparing her.

“You’ve been thinking about me, too, honey.” Another slow penetration, withdrawal. She ached with emptiness when his hand pulled away altogether. “Haven’t you?”

He was asking her something. She had no idea what. But with Nick touching her like this, there was only one possible answer.

“Yes.”

He shuddered. She felt it all through her own body.

A ripping, crinkling sound and he had protection on. His kisses were wilder now, so deep she almost couldn’t breathe, and had to breathe through him. His own breaths heated her cheek and she could feel his wide chest rising and falling at a faster rhythm.

“Lift your leg,” he whispered, running his hand down the back of her thigh. Charity obeyed, as he helped her curl her leg around his, opening herself completely to him.

He had to bend his knees slightly to fit himself to her opening, swirling himself around her, trying to go slow.

She could feel his tight control in his hands, slow and trembling, in the drop of sweat running down his temple, in his harsh breathing. He pressed a little inside her and she clenched around him.

“Jesus,” he breathed. Another drop of sweat fell. “It has to be hard and fast, honey, because I’m about ready to blow. I really have been thinking about this all day. Had a woody, too. Really uncomfortable, let me tell you.”

Charity let out a burst of laughter, charmed at the thought of him negotiating business deals with an erection. Her laughter was cut short when he entered her completely in one hard thrust.

Charity’s eyes opened wide, staring into his, an inch away. His eyes were narrowed, staring at her intently. A muscle twitched in his jaw.

“Fuck. Sorry.” He took a second to catch his breath. “Did I hurt you? Honey?” He frowned when she didn’t answer. “Charity answer me. Did I hurt you?”

She could barely hear him, his voice distant, as if he were a thousand miles away, instead of pressing against her, up in her. She was totally caught up with what was happening inside her, tightly wound, everything in her circling inward, hardly able to breathe. All the nerve endings between her thighs were on fire as she clenched and clenched again around the huge, hard rod inside her.

He pressed a little harder and the tension broke. The world spun away, everything inside her got tighter and tighter until, with a little cry, she began coming in long hard pulls, as if her body were trying to entice him even more deeply inside her.

“Shit!” Nick’s entire body jerked in surprise and he started moving in her, short, hard jabs, completely unlike the easy, long rhythms of his normal lovemaking.

Both his hands were cupped around her bottom, holding her up to him as his tight, hard strokes banged her against the wall. He swelled inside her, his movements becoming irregular, almost frantic and then he started coming, too, teeth and jaws tightly clenched against a moan, a lock of raven-black hair falling over his damp forehead, tapping against his skin with each hard movement.

Charity softened, her contractions slowing down, her muscles turning lax. The only thing holding her up was his chest pressed against hers, his hands on her buttocks, and his penis inside her. Her arms dropped. She didn’t even have the energy to hold on to him.

There was a faint noise, a clattering sound, which she couldn’t decipher. It was only when she felt cold air against the sole of her foot that she realized she’d lost a shoe.

It was the only place she was cold. Every other part of her was steaming hot, particularly where he was still inside her. He had softened a little after his climax, but not much. He was still hard inside her and it felt like flameless fire.

“My God,” he muttered. “That was—” He blew out a breath. “Well.”

“Absolutely,” she whispered. She couldn’t have said it better herself.

They rested against each other. If it hadn’t been for the wall, they would have both fallen to the floor. Nick rested his cheek against the top of her head and her lips curled in a smile.

Impossibly, his penis twitched and her vagina spasmed around him.

“No,” she said. “Can’t.”

“Me, either.” Nick let out a gusty sigh against her hair, ruffling a curl. “Like to, but can’t.” He shifted slightly. “As a matter of fact, I’d better do something before the rubber leaks.” He straightened slightly, starting to pull out.

“Charity? Charity? Where are you?”

Charity froze and looked up, appalled, into Nick’s amused gaze.

“Charity?” The tone was peremptory, her name pronounced in short, staccato syllables. Cha-ri-ty. A long stress on the last syllable. Cha-ri-teee! Only one person spoke her name like that. Mrs. Lambert, the former chief librarian.

Oh God, she couldn’t even pretend not to be here. The door was unlocked and her coat was hung on the coat rack. Mrs. Lambert knew this place like the back of her hand—she’d worked here for forty years.

The supply room would be the first place she’d check. And there was no place at all in the room to hide a six-foot-two handsome devil of a man.

Charity pushed at Nick. “Let me go!” she hissed.

With a little sigh, he pulled out of her and stepped back, penis bobbling at half-mast. Charity looked at it, then at him, and with another sigh, he tucked himself away in his pants and zipped up, wincing, the zipper loud in the silence.