Her heart leapt in her chest. “Are you sure? Because you—”

“Can’t work these guys too much longer without all of us getting sloppy. And I don’t want another night to go by without you.”

“I’ll be working, too, and I have plenty to keep me busy on my computer at the hotel, so promise me you won’t rush and get hurt.”

“I won’t get hurt,” he promised, but he made no promises about speed.

* * *

Four hours later, Adam finally walked into the hotel suite. He’d texted Kerry several times to let her know how things were coming along, but unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to cut his guys loose until after nine p.m. By the time he’d finished closing up the site and dealing with paperwork that needed to be waiting on county desks first thing in the morning, another hour and a half had passed.

And every single second that he’d been working on the building, he wished he could have been here with Kerry, instead.

The lights were on throughout the suite, and his heart beat faster knowing he was only seconds from having her in his arms. Her name was already halfway from his lips when he saw her.

She was curled up asleep on a dining room chair. Her computer was open on the table in front of her, but the screen had gone dark…and she was so beautiful that his heart turned over in his chest. He swore it literally flipped head to tail, then back again.

A part of him didn’t want to do anything to wake her. Not when she was clearly exhausted. But how could he let her stay in such an uncomfortable spot?

And more important, how could he possibly stop himself from touching her?

There wouldn’t be any wild and crazy sex tonight, but that was okay. It was enough just to get to spend the night with her, even if she slept through the whole thing.

As gently as he could, he lifted her from the chair. She was soft and pliable and smelled amazing as her eyes fluttered halfway open.

“Adam.” Her beautiful mouth curved up as her eyes closed again, and she snuggled into his chest. “You’re here.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long.”

“You’re here now.” He was laying her down on the bed when she opened her eyes again and said, “I’m so glad you’re here with me.” She reached out and put her hands on his face. “So handsome. Sometimes I wonder if you’re even real.”

He’d never seen her like this, halfway between awake and asleep, her words soft and a little bit rounded on the edges. “I wonder the same about you,” he told her. “You’re so beautiful that I lose sleep dreaming about you. So breathtaking that I lose brain cells every time I look at you.”

“I dream about you, too,” she said, her words barely above a whisper. “Every night.” She threaded her hands into his hair. “Dream with me tonight, Adam.”

He already knew he couldn’t refuse her anything. Especially not on a night like tonight, when it really did feel as though some special spell wrapped all around both of them, making the divide between dark and light, asleep and awake, no longer clear.

Their kiss swamped his senses, dragging him deeper into her, then deeper still, until he couldn’t remember a time before her, couldn’t possibly imagine a life after her.

As he nibbled his way down to her exposed neck, she said, “I love the way you kiss me all over.”

“I love the way you taste all over,” he said as he covered her breasts with his hands and she arched into them with a sigh of pleasure. Moments later, when he opened up her shirt and unclasped her bra, her sigh turned to a breathless gasp as he stroked her bare skin.

“I love the way you touch me.”

“I love touching you.” He ran his hands down from her breasts over her taut stomach to unzip her pants. “I love how soft you are.” He slid his hand beneath her panties, and she shivered with need. “I love how sensitive you are.” As his fingers moved over then into her, she instinctively pushed up against his hand.

“I love the way you make me feel, Adam.” Her breath caught in her throat again as he covered her breast with his mouth at the same time as he took her with his hand. “Only you can make me feel this good.”

“I love knowing what I do to you.” He stroked her nipple with one thumb, stroked across the arousal between her thighs with the other. “I love it when you let yourself go for me.” Her gaze locked on his as her inner muscles tightened on him and her breath hitched. “Show me how much you love it, too.”

“Love.” She whispered the word against his mouth as she arched into his touch, giving herself up to him without holding anything back.

All week long, he really had lost sleep fantasizing about her. And yet, even now, when he needed her so badly that his need was a constant ache throbbing in the center of his chest, the dream-state continued. Each new patch of skin he revealed tantalized. Every sexy sound she made as she opened one button after another on his shirt and ran her hands over his chest titillated.

But the best part of all was watching her smile and hearing her laugh as fabric tangled, as fingers fumbled, as kisses teased.

Finally, when there was practically nothing between them, Adam found himself wishing out loud, “I want to feel you. All of you.” He knew it wasn’t possible. Not tonight, anyway. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to move inside of her, skin to skin.

“I do, too. All of you,” she echoed.

God, it was tempting, so tempting to give in to that urge to be completely connected to her. Soon, he promised himself as he put on protection, soon they’d talk about being each other’s one and only. Especially since she was already his, the only woman he ever thought about anymore. The only one who’d ever kept him up at night. The only lover to whom he had ever wanted to give all of himself.