“Ahh,” she moaned as he slid out of her nearly all the way, only to gradually push his cock back in a bit at a time. “I love it when you do that, love how good it feels.” She turned her face to meet his lips in a sweet, soft kiss. “And I love you, too. So much.”

Ian groaned. “As good as this feels, love, I’m afraid I can’t hold back much longer.”

“Then don’t,” she whispered. “Take your pleasure, Ian. Take me.“

His immensely aroused body rejoiced at her words of encouragement, and he quickly increased the tempo of their lovemaking. The blood began to pound fiercely in his ears as sweat dripped from his forehead, and he could barely hear the little gasps she made as he fucked her harder. He was mindless with the pleasure, his entire body consumed with feeling, but he had just enough presence of mind remaining to slide a hand to where their bodies were joined, his thumb rubbing over her clit to make sure she found her release before he followed her over almost violently.

When his body had stopped convulsing, he gently eased himself off of her, turning onto his side and cradling her close. Her eyes were still shut, her breathing choppy, and he touched the side of her face in concern. Slowly her lids fluttered open, and the breath caught in his throat a bit at the dazed look in her eyes.

“Tell me the truth,” he murmured, his hands gently caressing her back and buttocks. “Was that too much for you? I was afraid for a bit that you might have felt, well, too dominated in that position.”

“No.” She shook her head fiercely, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I loved it. I love everything you do to me, everything we do together. And when you take me over that way - it only makes me feel safe and protected, and never, ever afraid.”

He captured her lips in a long, deep kiss, touched beyond words at her heartfelt assurances. “I’m the luckiest man in the whole world,” he whispered to her. “To have found someone as perfect as you. I’ll never understand how I got so lucky.”

Tessa’s blue eyes were twinkling merrily as she gently pushed him onto his back and crawled on top of him. “Speaking of getting lucky,” she told him mischievously, “how much time do we have before we need to get ready for dinner?”

He grinned, pulling her head down for his kiss. “Hours yet. But I, ah, might need a little while here to recover. The spirit might be willing but the flesh isn’t quite strong enough just yet.”

She laughed softly, her hand caressing his thigh. “You feel very, very strong to me.” He hissed as she began to stroke his semi-hard cock. “And very, very willing.”

“I’m still unclear why the identity of our dinner guests has to remain such a closely guarded secret,” pouted Tessa as she finished getting dressed.

They had spent the better part of the afternoon in bed, alternately making love, dozing, or cuddling, and had to hurry a bit now to make sure they were ready in time for the arrival of the hotel staff with their elaborate, multi-course Thanksgiving meal.

Ian merely gave her another mysterious smile, as well as a pat on the butt. “You’ll see soon enough. Or at least you will if you get this gorgeous arse in motion.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “And just whose fault is it that I’m running late? Who begged me for ‘just one more time’?”

His smile deepened into a grin as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I don’t exactly recall having to beg for it, love,” he reminded her. “You were rather eager to comply, if memory serves me.”

She stepped into her gray suede Prada pumps, before presenting Ian with her back so that he could zip up the fitted plum wool dress she’d chosen to wear this evening. “You’re right, as usual,” she acknowledged ruefully. “What can I say - you’re awfully irresistible. Not to mention,” she whispered as she turned into his embrace, “really, really hot.”

He bypassed her eagerly offered mouth and kissed her cheek instead. “No time to fix your lipstick,” he explained, shrugging into his charcoal gray suit jacket. “The food will be arriving any - ah, and there it is.”

He hurried off to answer the doorbell and let the restaurant staff inside, while Tessa quickly slipped on a gold bangle bracelet and a pair of amethyst drop earrings before joining him.

The wait staff was almost frighteningly efficient, pointing out what course each of the warming dishes contained, and giving Tessa some brief serving instructions. Initially Ian had wanted a staff member or two to stick around and serve the meal, but Tessa had insisted that she wanted to do at least that much. She’d never had the opportunity to prepare a real Thanksgiving dinner before, and hoped that by this time next year she would be cooking her own turkey and all of the many side dishes.

She regarded Ian curiously as he began to set out champagne flutes along the counter of the built-in bar. The flutes, of course, were Baccarat crystal, and the champagne the same excellent vintage they’d enjoyed at brunch. She’d stayed in enough Gregson properties by now to know that every detail - from the furnishings to the glasses to the artwork - was of only the very finest quality. It was one of the many reasons why the hotel brand was consistently ranked as the top luxury chain in the entire world.

“I didn’t realize you had so many friends who lived in New York,” she remarked casually. “Do all six of them know each other?”

He nodded. “Related to each other, actually. Except for one, and that will change next spring when he marries one of the other guests.”

“Hmm.” She tapped a finger against her chin. “I’m guessing they aren’t friends from England, because Thanksgiving isn’t exactly one of your national holidays after all.”

Ian smirked. “I know your little game, Tessa, and it won’t work. You’re trying to figure it out on your own, or trick me into telling you. Our guests will be here in less than five minutes now, and the wait will be over.”

She made a little face at him. “Spoilsport. Three or four more questions and I bet I would have figured it out.” She looked over at the elegantly set dining room table and sighed. “As lovely as all of this is, I sort of wish we were back home right now. I - well, I wanted to cook Thanksgiving dinner for you, to celebrate our first real holiday together.”

“Next year,” he promised her, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I’ll even figure out how to carve the turkey by then.”