Then, to her utter relief, he bent and skimmed the hem of her skirt high. Before her brain kicked into gear deft fingers hooked around her pantyhose and underwear, dragging them down her hips and thighs.

Ilsa clutched the surface behind her as Noah crouched low, his hand circling first one ankle then the other as he pulled her shoes off and the fabric free.

Breathless, she straightened, feeling cool marble beneath her soles. She reached for her waistband, then stopped as Noah lifted her skirt again. He bunched it up over her thighs and further, finally pinning the fabric to the flat of her stomach with his palm.

Eyes the colour of a tropical sea captured hers. Heat engulfed her in a whoosh of flame.

‘My turn.’ His teeth gleamed white against his tan as he grinned up at her. Then he leaned in, his breath stirring a flurry of sensation at the juncture of her thighs.

Firmly he pushed her legs wide. Then came pressure, delicious pressure from his lips and tongue.

Ilsa’s head lolled back, eyes shutting as he pleasured her with such delicacy, such intimate understanding, that she felt the quakes building deep inside.

‘Noah, please. I wantyou.’ Ilsa ached for him, as she’d ached all the long, lonely nights, the hollow sensation within unbearable.

She looked down to discover her fingers clenched in his hair and those eyes, those paradise eyes, staring up at her between thick black lashes.

Still holding her gaze, he moved his tongue, slowly, deliberately, stroking her very nerve centre, and suddenly Ilsa was flying, the world blurring around her. All but Noah’s eyes, watching her, holding her, keeping her safe as everything turned liquid and melting and ecstasy dissolved her bones.

When she came back to herself Noah was standing, pressed against her, holding her upright against something hard. She inhaled the spice and man scent she’d missed since Turkey and her throat closed on a sudden rush of tears.

‘Ilsa?’ He cupped her throat, his eyes questioning as they held hers.

In that moment she felt absolutely wide open and vulnerable. Every defence she’d ever erected around herself had shattered. Pride, common sense, caution, all gone. There was just her and Noah and the undeniable truth between them.

‘I need you, Noah. Now.’

He frowned and she wondered if she hadn’t spoken English but her native tongue. Then his hands firmed at her waist and he lifted her up onto the cool counter.

She sighed as he shoved her knees wide and stepped between them.

Ilsa’s heart catapulted around her ribcage.

It was bizarre that he was still fully dressed and she was almost so. The slick flesh between her legs, swollen from arousal, was so sensitive even the brush of air as Noah moved felt significant.

But he only moved to reach into a pocket and draw out a square packet.

‘You put it on,’ he growled, pressing it into her palm so he could deal with his belt and trousers.

Ilsa’s fingers trembled as she tore the packet and took out the condom. She was so eager she was clumsy, desperate to have Noah inside her. It took a couple of goes to get it right and unroll the latex around him. Noah didn’t help her, but she heard the hiss of his breath as she covered him and guessed he was as desperate as she.

‘Noah, I...’

Her words died as he kissed her. Hard and deep, yet at the same time impossibly tender. Everything she was rose to meet him. Her hopes, her fears, her yearning.

Her love.

Ilsa wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back as if this were the last time.

Because she knew now what deprivation felt like. The time since they’d parted had been an emotional wasteland.

Now she came alive again, joy melding with arousal.

He pulled her to the very edge of the counter and the action brought her into contact with his erection. Excitement rippled through her, then, before she had time to do more than register anticipation, Noah was there, joining with her, pushing slow and deep until he sank right to her centre.

The weight of him, the sensation of them melding into one, was indescribably wonderful.

Ilsa blinked back tears and she kissed him with a desperation that bordered on wildness. Noah had touched something innate within her. He’d touched her heart, maybe her soul.