“The river.”
“Our river.”
She smiled, he could hear it in her voice when she said, “You realize that the city of Savannah thinks the river belongs to them.”
“Everybody makes mistakes,” he quipped, then waited to see if she was going to throw his six-year-old error back at him. But she didn’t.
“Yeah, they do,” she said quietly, and tightened her grip on his hand.
At the river walk, they fell into step between clusters of locals and tourists, all looking for a little breeze and coming to the water to find it. Apparently, no one wanted to stay inside on a beautiful June night—even if they had air-conditioning.
Kelly breathed deeply, letting the warm, flower-scented air engulf her. But along with the sweet perfume of the magnolias and jasmine, she also caught the scent of Mike’s aftershave, and the fresh, citrusy aroma slapped her hard.
That hadn’t changed, either, she thought. So much was the same between them, and yet the differences were blatant, too. He was no longer the eager young lover—he was strong and quiet and sure of himself in a way he hadn’t been before. And she felt herself drawn to him more inexorably than ever.
Which clearly made her nuts.
His hand on hers was callused and rough and brushed against her smooth palm with an erotic slide that made her blood rush and her head swim. His voice rumbled around her as he told her about his life in the Navy. With his words he painted vivid pictures for her, and she felt almost as though she could feel the swell of a ship beneath her feet. As though she, too, were jumping out of an airplane in the darkness and waiting lifetimes before opening a parachute. It was a world so different from her own—yet now it was Mike’s world.
“You’ve done so much,” she finally said, and he glanced down at her. “And I’m still here.” She laughed shortly. “Heck, still in school.”
“Colleen told me you took a couple of years off in the middle of college.”
“I did,” she said, turning her gaze out to the moonlit surface of the river as it rushed through the city.
“She didn’t tell me why.”
“My mom was sick.” Kelly felt his hand tighten on hers, and she felt a rush of gratitude for his silent support.
“What was it?”
She shifted a quick look at him. “Breast cancer.”
He stopped dead and pulled her around to face him. Surprise, sympathy and frustration darted across his features in quick succession. “Man, Kelly, you should have told me. Colleen should have told me.”
She shook her head and reached her free hand up to cup his cheek. “There’s nothing you could have done, Mike.”
He caught her hand in his, linking them completely. “I could have been here. Damn it Kelly…I’m so sorry I wasn’t.”
Kelly stared up into his eyes, and heat dazzled through her in response to what she saw there. His emotions, once so hard to judge, were there, written plainly in his eyes. Regret was uppermost, and just for a moment she let go of the past and the pain she’d clung to so desperately for so long.
And it was good to be with him. Good to have him to lean against. “I was, too,” she admitted. “But we got through it and Mom’s fine now, Mike. She and Dad gave me the house, bought an RV and took off to see the country.”
He grinned, relief shining in his eyes. “Your mom? Camping? Wish I’d seen that, too.”
Kelly laughed. Her mother had never been the back-to-nature type. But her brush with cancer had awakened a need to experience more of life than she had before. Kelly started walking again and said, “Mom insists it’s not really camping as long as you’re cooking on an actual stove and sleeping in an actual bed.”
“Bet your dad’s loving it.”
“Are you kidding?” Kelly laughed. “He’s in heaven.”
“Right now,” Mike said softly, “so am I.”
She sucked in a gulp of air and held it. “Mike…”
“Don’t say anything,” he said quickly. “Not yet.”
She smiled. “Then when?”
“After.”
He bent his head and kissed her. Gently at first, the smallest brush of his lips across hers. And Kelly’s insides lit up like a fireworks display.
Gently, relentlessly, he coaxed her into the rush of sensation that only he had ever been able to make her feel. This was what her life had been missing for years. This is what she’d searched for in the men she’d been dating.
He pulled her close, folding his arms around her, molding her body to his and keeping her there with a viselike strength. Kelly stared up into his eyes and felt caught.
A kid on a skateboard roared past, his wheels howling on the asphalt. Somewhere in the distance a cranky toddler screamed, and all around them tourists snapped pictures of their kids, the trees or anything else that caught their fancy, while their camera flashes lit the night like high-tech fireflies.
And none of it mattered.
All that mattered right now was Mike and how she felt being in his arms again. Slowly he lowered his head, keeping his gaze locked with hers as if trying to keep from breaking the spell locking them together. But there was nothing to worry about there, she thought mindlessly. The spell hadn’t been broken in six long years—it couldn’t be broken now.
When his mouth touched hers, she leaned in to him and took all he offered. She sighed into him and opened her mouth to his relentless invasion. His tongue swept past her lips, and the intimate caress sent ribbons of want and need spiraling throughout her body. She reached up, locking her arms around his, and wished the rest of the people on the riverbank into oblivion.
An instant later, though, Mike lifted his head, looked down at her and whispered, “Let’s get out of here.”
Her brain was fuzzy, and her lips were still buzzing. Her knees were ready to fold, and something deep inside her was on fire.
He wanted to go home with her.
And, oh, boy, she wanted that, too.
Here it was.
What she’d planned.
But given the way she was feeling at the moment, she wasn’t at all sure of her plan anymore. What if, instead of getting over him, she only fell deeper into the feelings and desires she’d known before?
That thought was enough to put a steel rod down her spine. She straightened right up and stepped out of his embrace, swallowing hard, trying to make her brain override her hormones. No easy trick. The fact that she felt suddenly and completely cold without his arms around her only proved to her that she was in big trouble.
“Yeah,” she said, turning back the way they’d come. “I think I should get home. Good idea.”
“Kelly—”
Plan, schman, she thought. What she needed was time enough to convince herself that she could survive Mike touching her and leaving her again. A couple of years ought to be enough. “Mike, we’re not going to do this.”
“Oh, yeah,” he said, oblivious to the tourists now watching them as intently as they would a stage play. He took her arm and turned her to face him. His eyes were on fire, and need was etched into his features. “We are.”
Hunger reached up and clawed at her. Amazing what the look in his eyes could do to her. Reason went out the window. If she listened to her brain, she’d say no way. After all, he’d been back in town—in her life, for only a few days. If she slept with him now, did that make her a sucker? Easy pickings?
Or just destined to be in Mike Connelly’s arms?
Oh, time wasn’t going to help, she thought absently, losing herself in the flash of Mike’s eyes. Her plan might be risky, but at least it would get her one more night with Mike. One more night to feel the wonder, to surround herself with the magic that was only created when they came together.
Was it all as beautiful as she remembered?
She had to know.
“Yes,” she said, forgetting about second thoughts. Forgetting about the plan, about anything beyond the feel of his hands on her. “I guess we are.”
Chapter 7
Kelly didn’t even remember the walk home.
Her elegant, three-inch heels hardly touched the ground throughout the trip. Mike’s long legs made short work of the few blocks between the river and her house. Like an aircraft carrier leading a dinghy, he towed her in his wake so quickly her hair flew out behind her like a dark red flag.
He didn’t stop until they were on her front porch, surrounded by ferns, and she was fumbling in her too-small purse for her house keys.
“What’s the holdup?” he muttered, his voice thick and rough with a need she recognized and shared.
She blew out a short breath. “I can’t find the darn keys.”
“It’s a small purse, how hard can it be?”
Pretty darn hard when your hands were shaking, and Mike’s big body was blocking the porch light—not to mention hovering close enough to make her blood boil and hum in her veins. Impatience screamed inside her as she pushed her compact, wallet and tin of mints aside.
“Got ’em!” She yanked them free of her purse and held them up like an Olympic champion holding her medal up for the world’s approval.
“Thank God,” Mike muttered, snatching them out of her hand. Turning quickly, he shoved the key home, unlocked the door, then threw it open. Reaching back, he grabbed Kelly’s hand and pulled her into the house behind him. Then he slammed the door shut again, flipped the dead bolt and leaned back against the door, yanking Kelly close.
“Can’t wait,” he murmured, bending his head to kiss her neck, the line of her jaw. “Not another damn minute.”
His desperation fed her own.
As if it needed any help.
“Me, too.”
His tongue traced a damp, hot line down the column of her throat, and Kelly gasped. “Oh, boy.”
“Oh, yeah.”
His breath dusted her skin, caressed her in a soft, barely there sort of way that teased as it seduced. His hands slid up and down her spine, feeling for the zipper at the back of her dress, and Kelly squirmed against the rock-solid wall of his chest, willing him to hurry up and find it already.
He did, an instant later. The silky sound of the zipper sliding free invaded her senses almost as much as the feel of the icy, air-conditioned air touching her bare skin. Then he touched her, skimming his palms up and down her bare back, and Kelly closed her eyes, giving herself up to the wealth of sensations coursing through her.
His work-roughened hands scraped against her flesh, awakening every cell in her body. She leaned in closer still, wanting more, wanting everything. He shifted his kisses, moving back up her throat to her cheeks, her eyelids, the tip of her nose and then, at last, her mouth.
He took her lips, pushing past them with a wicked swipe of his tongue that stole what was left of her breath. Her mind shut down. At least, she was pretty sure that was the reason she was suddenly blind to everything but this man’s hands on her body. This man’s mouth on hers. His breath rushing into her lungs, her sighs feeding his hunger until the air around them pulsed with the nearly electrical flash of desire erupting between them.
“Mike…”
“Shut up, Kel,” he whispered against her mouth, and she felt his smile. That seriously sexy half smile that had always had power over her.
“Right,” she whispered, nibbling at his lower lip. “Shutting up now.”
“Atta girl,” he said, and, shifting, he bent, scooped her up in his arms and held her tight against his chest.
“Whoa…”
He smiled again and Kelly’s heart slammed against her rib cage hard enough that she wouldn’t be surprised to find a bruise there in the morning.
“You said you were shutting up,” he teased.
“Yeah, but when Tarzan picks a girl up, she’s got the right to comment.”
“Tarzan, huh?” Both dark eyebrows wiggled.
“Don’t let it go to your head.” She laughed up at him and realized how much she’d missed this. Not just his kisses, his touch, his heat, but the laughter. The arguing, the making up, the little jokes that only they shared. This was what had been missing. Not just the romance, but the connection.
Something she hadn’t found with anyone else.
“Tell you what,” he said, letting one hand slide up her thigh until she shivered, “How about tonight…me Mike, you Kelly?”
She took a deep, shuddering breath before releasing it on a moan. His fingers kept sliding higher and higher on her leg until he was close, so close to the heat pooling at her center. His gaze caught hers, and the blue of his eyes churned with emotion. Deep waters, Kelly thought, and wondered absently if she would sink or swim. But an instant later she realized it didn’t matter—she was neck deep now, so she might as well enjoy the ride. “Okay,” she finally said, “that works for me.”
One corner of his mouth tipped up into that half smile again, and this time she felt way more than her toes curl. She didn’t have time to react, though, before he started across the living room, headed for the stairs.
She’d left two lamps on when they’d gone out for dinner, and now they produced two wide pools of golden light that fell across the well-worn, comfortable room.
Mike’s gaze was focused and his steps long and sure. He took the stairs at a dead run, holding her close to his chest, and a wild thrill erupted in Kelly. He carried her as if she weighed nothing, and the sensation of the big, strong man holding her close raced through her. Oh, boy. Maybe there was something to be said for the Neanderthal routine after all.
He reached the top of the stairs and ground out, “Where?”
She blew out a breath. “I’m in my parents’ old room. End of the hall on the right.”
“I remember.” He was already moving, apparently not willing to waste a moment of their time together.
He walked into the big, square room, and when Kelly reached for the light switch, he twisted her away from it and looked down into her eyes. “No. I want to see you in moonlight.”
She met his gaze and relished the swirl of excitement and arousal spinning through her. “I don’t remember you being this romantic, Mike.”
“I don’t remember you being this beautiful,” he whispered, and kissed her, locking their lips together as he crossed the room to the queen-size bed on the far wall.
The brightly colored but faded rag rug muffled his footsteps until they sounded like a rapid heartbeat. Air-conditioning kept the room pleasantly cool, and moonlight speared in through the frothy white sheers hanging at the bank of windows on either side of the room. Unlit candles dotted the surfaces of her dresser and the nightstands and even without lit wicks, the sweet scent of honeysuckle and jasmine pervaded the room.
“I want you bad,” Mike said as he reached down with one hand to grab the flowered quilt bedspread and toss it to the foot of the bed.
“Back atcha,” Kelly muttered, and clung to him when he laid her down on the mattress. She kept him with her and when his mouth came down on hers, she gave herself up to the moment. The moment she’d dreamed about, and hungered for, for six long years.
Everything in her came alive as it hadn’t since he’d left. Every cell in her body jumped up and shouted hooray as his right hand swept up beneath the hem of her skirt. His long fingers dragged across her skin, sending tingles of expectation racing along her nerve endings. When he met the flimsy barrier of her black silk thong panties, he groaned tightly and nestled his head in the curve of her neck.
“Oh, man, if I’d known you were wearing these under that incredible dress, I never would have made it through dinner.”
She laughed, a deep, throaty roll of amusement. “Maybe I should have told you.”
He grinned against her neck. “The surprise was better.”
“Happy to help.”
“Now it’s my turn,” he said, and flicked off those panties with one quick move of incredibly strong fingers.
She gasped, then held that small breath and hoped it would be enough to sustain her as he slipped one finger i
nto her depths. Kelly arched into his touch as if reaching for light after a lifetime of darkness. Her hips moved into his hand as his thumb stroked the tiny bead of flesh at her center, and exquisite sensations rocketed through her body.
“I’ve missed you,” Mike whispered, lifting his head long enough to plant a deep, soul-searing kiss on her mouth. When it ended, he left her gasping—for air or for more, she wasn’t sure.
And it didn’t matter.
He touched her more deeply, caressing, stroking, pushing her toward a climax that had been years in the making. Kelly kicked off her heels, planted her feet on the mattress and rode his touch fiercely. It was good. It was right. And it wasn’t nearly enough. She wanted Mike inside her. She wanted his hard length buried deep within her body, locking them together as they used to be, as they should have been…always.
“Now.” She squeezed the one word out past the knot of need lodged in her throat.
“Soon.”
She grabbed hold of the jacket he was still wearing and yanked him even closer. “Now, Mike. I need you inside me, now.”
He groaned, stared down into her eyes and said, “Okay, yeah. Now.”
Moving together, they tore at each other’s clothes, hands stroking, taking, giving. And then there was nothing but skin on skin, heat on heat.
Mike rolled across the bed, holding her tight, keeping her with him, loving the feel of her long, lithe body aligned with his. He couldn’t seem to touch her enough. He wanted to explore every inch of her body and learn its curves all over again. They’d been apart so long that it was all new—all encompassing.
How had he lived so long without her? How had he made it through years of days and nights empty of her scent, her sighs, her touch?
And how could he ever go back to that emptiness?
At the thought, he stopped thinking. Now wasn’t the time to worry about tomorrow or the days to come. All he wanted to think about now was Kelly. And having her in his arms again.
He kissed her, taking her mouth in a gentle invasion, sweeping his tongue into her warmth, staking his claim again, branding her with his heart and his body. Her tongue brushed against his in an erotic dance that caused his heart to race and his brain to shut down. She was everything. Everything and more.
The Dare Affair: Summer In Savannah Anth. (Dynasties: The Danforths Book 6.5 Page 12
