“You are so sexy, so gorgeous,” he groaned as he entered her.
Slowly he penetrated her. Heat and pressure flared through her and her eyes widened in surprise at his large size.
Oh wow! He’s so big! she thought as he filled her. Wicked sensations snapped through her like a live wire and her body tightened so beautifully, chasing her toward the edge of the bliss she craved so much.
His eyes flared brightly with lust and the tips of his lips moved upward into a breathtaking smile as he looked down at her. He withdrew and pumped into her again, this time faster and harder, leaving her reeling at its intensity.
“Your pussy fits around my cock so perfectly,” he muttered in a strangled voice.
He dipped his head closer and she whimpered as his hot mouth seared hers in a sensual, tender kiss. The erotic way his lips smoothed over hers and the strong plunge of his tongue into her mouth had her closing her eyes and melting into the pleasure he easily created.
He pumped into her. His cock and his mouth moving in perfect rhythm. His thrusts hot and hard making her cry his name over and over in her head. She burned for him. Yearned for the climax, which was suddenly there.
Brilliant explosions seared through her. The shuddering waves piercing her, making her arch, making her tight grip convulse around his cock. He groaned. Kissed her harder. Fucked her harder.
Nick! Oh yes! Nick! Oh yes! That’s it. Nick!
She merged with him. Her mind. Her body. Her soul. She never knew something so beautiful existed. Never knew love could be like this.
Nick!
Summer awoke, flooded with pleasure, with Nick’s name on her lips. Opening her eyes, her arousal vanished instantly and her tummy hollowed out in utter disappointment. No beach. No sex. No Nick.
Everything looked dark. Completely black.
Shit! The shadows she’d started to enjoy were gone and so was Nick. She knew because of the silence and lack of his body heat and scent. The air inside the car was chilled too. So were her hands and feet.
Sitting still, she listened for any sounds, but none came. The silence seemed utterly deep. No traffic noises. No neighbors chatting or partying. Not even an airplane roaring past overhead. All she could hear was the rushing sound of blood in her ears and her heart pounding from that very erotic dream she’d had of Nick.
Uneasiness zipped through her as her thoughts floated away from her bodyguard and toward their trip. At the Monterey airport he’d had a private company plane waiting. Several hours later, they landed at Adirondack Regional Airport at Clear Lake where they’d hopped into a rental and she’d fallen asleep again, awakening here. Wherever here was located.
Maybe they’d had car trouble and Nick left her alone at the roadside? Or maybe she’d dreamed the whole hospital-bodyguard scenario and there was no Nick. Maybe she had fantasized him after being kidnapped by that horrible man and her mind was conjuring up fantasies to keep her sane?
She jumped at the crunch of footsteps on gravel just outside the car. The driver’s door burst open and a cold breeze slapped against her. She realized the shadows were back, compliments of the interior car light.
“Have you been awake long?” Nick’s concerned voice soothed away her anxiety.
“A few minutes.” She tried to smile but that didn’t quite work. Her lips trembled and emotions slapped through her. God help her, she wanted to cry. Heck, she wanted to go home and get into her comfortable routine and not have these hot, needy feelings for Nick Cassidy. Truth was, she didn’t want to have her heart broken when she fell in love with the guy all over again. He would leave, again, and not even look back.
“Are you okay? Do you still have your headache?”
His soft voice almost undid her. Almost. But darned if she would let Nick Cassidy in on the fact she lusted after him, even after all these years.
“Yes. I’m fine. Just a bit overwhelmed at all these changes.”
“That’s understandable. Just give me a second and I’ll have you in the cabin.”
True to his word, he had her in the toasty warm cabin in a couple of minutes. He led her with a tenderness she never knew he had. At the doorway he explained the layout of the one-bedroom cabin, admitting that while she’d slept he called Mary to get tips on how to guide her without making it seem like he was taking over.
“Mary’s okay?” Summer asked feeling overwhelmed with concern for the older woman’s safety.
“She says hi and she’s doing really good. She also said not to worry about her or the gallery. Um, your bedroom is straight ahead about thirty steps. Want to check it out?”
“Sure.” Using her cane, she memorized the layout as he led her by her elbow. She counted and sure enough in thirty steps, she reached the open doorway.
“It’s a pretty room,” Nick explained. “Roses are the main feature. Miniature red rose-patterned wallpaper, honey pine planked floor and a queen-sized bed to your right. The comforter is a dark pink and the sheets are light pink. The bed is in the right top corner of the room. There’s a door near the foot of the bed to the bathroom and there’s a baseboard heater beneath the window by the bed. That’s this room’s sole source of heat. They have a fireplace, but it’s out of commission and needs a new wood insert. They’re hiring someone to fix it up next year. So cross your fingers we don’t get any power outages.”
Summer nodded as she envisioned the layout and then walked into the room using her cane as guidance and investigated her surroundings.
“It smells nice in here. Like vanilla.”
“There’s a few vanilla scented candles in wall sconces around the room. I lit them a little while ago to help get rid of the musty closed-in odor. They closed it up for the winter just after Labor Day weekend.”
“It was nice of them to open it up for us,” she commented. Odd that she hadn’t smelled a musty odor. Maybe because his nearness was a distraction to pretty much everything?
Visions of Nick’s fingers sliding beneath the waistband of her panties zipped through her mind. Oh she wouldn’t mind having Nick’s hands roaming through her stuff or on her body for that matter.
“Are you hungry? It’s just about suppertime. I’ve got some canned stew I can whip up for tonight and toss a salad. You okay here for a bit on your own?”
Summer nodded, thankful for having some time alone. She needed to unpack and get into the shower. She still felt unclean whenever she thought about that horrid man touching her while she’d been unconscious.
“Oh and I put your work supplies in a corner of the living room. Its right in front of a bay window with a view of the lake and it’ll catch most of the morning and afternoon sun. I’ll show you around the indoors after we eat. It’s too dark to go outside tonight so we’ll leave that for tomorrow.”
To her going outside in the dark would just be second nature. “Thanks,” was all she could think of to say. When she heard the soft click of the bedroom door closing, she let out a heavy sigh. She’d never been one for liking changes and having Nick back in her life was a huge change. She just hoped she could say goodbye to him when the time came and that she didn’t make a fool of herself by clinging to him while she was here. She realized now that Nick wasn’t a man who stayed in one place for long.
Ryan had once told her Nick was an adrenaline junkie. Craved danger, dodged bullets and anticipated trouble on a daily basis. In a way, she was his job right now, wasn’t she? Danger surrounded her with the threat of a killer and he was probably anticipating trouble, that is, until the killer was caught.
But what if he wasn’t caught? How long would Nick hang around before he got bored with his blind client?
Summer frowned. Probably not too long. So it would be best if she kept herself cool and distant from him. At least that way she could protect her heart from being broken this time around.
Something was happening to Nick, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it. Instead of making sure the motion detectors were working and doing a perimeter check around the c
abin, he was humming while he tossed a salad. He never hummed. Another thing, he’d wanted to sweep Summer into his arms and carry her from the car into the cabin. Kind of as if he were carrying his bride over the threshold. He’d never had that urge before.
Now as he tossed the salad and hummed, he heard the water taps creaking as she found her way into the shower. He wanted to join her. That instinct wasn’t new.
The fantasies of her, naked, in the shower while he watched weren’t new either. Just thinking of her pink flesh being pummeled by water and his soapy hands roaming every seductive curve of her body had his cock going nice and hard. He shifted at the suddenly tight way his pants hugged his erection and settled the salad bowl to the side.
Time to set the table. Like a domesticated man. That last thought had him coming up short.
What the hell was the matter with him? He was here on a job, not getting ready for a dinner date and a followup of all-night sizzling sex. Besides, the woman had just been attacked a couple of nights ago by a madman who had every intention of killing her. The last thing he should be doing was thinking of sex because he knew that would be the last thing on her mind after her experience. He was also here because Ryan expected him to treat his sister with care and respect. Not hop into bed with her.
Man, he was out of control with his thoughts. He needed to stop thinking with his wrong head.
“Mind on the job,” he muttered to himself and hurried to set the table.
Summer felt better. Much better after having a shower and eating Nick’s delicious dinner. He’d been rather quiet while they ate, but he’d had a long day. They both had. So she fully understood and didn’t push or pry.
She did manage to get the location of their exact whereabouts out of him. Knowing she was here in the wilderness, surrounded by nothing but lakes and empty cabins—that had been closed down for the winter—and nobody around for miles, except Nick of course, she felt blessedly safe.
After dinner, he showed her to the area with her opened but unpacked boxes then left to clean up the dinner dishes. She was glad to be alone. Not that having him forty or so feet away was alone but at least here among her familiar wood carving tools, she felt as if some semblance of normalcy had returned to her life.
He’d supplied her with a lovely work table, a comfy chair and some wood shelves for her supplies. Running her hands over the top of the table, she could feel the nicks and scars from years of hard labor etched into the thick planked wood. Obviously someone had used this table a lot.
Piled at one end of the long table she found several blocks of wood. Blocks that she and Mary were supposed to go shopping for before she’d been attacked. Obviously Mary had done it without her, bless her heart. Running her fingers over the supplies, she noted Mary had picked up everything on their list. Very cool.
She would eventually turn these blocks into her erotic art. She used all kinds of wood for her work. Mahogany for its rich reddish tone, a tone she was told deepened in color over the years. She found its fragrance wonderful as she shaved the wood. The tupelo wood was a light wood that was knot free and easy to carve. Basswood was also light to handle as well as soft and easy to carve.
At the top of the blocks, she was thrilled to discover the three unfinished pieces of carvings she’d been working on at home. She smiled as she imagined Nick’s reaction to these particular products. What did he think of her work?
When he removed them from their boxes, had he run his hands over the smooth contours of the naked women? Did he touch their breasts? Gaze at the intimate areas of their bodies that she so tactfully carved?
Her favorite current piece was being carved out of cypress wood. She’d worked exceptionally hard with this one. She’d created a nude woman sitting down on a toboggan, her long legs pulled up against her body, her arms hugging her legs. The only thing she wore was a scarf. The scarf as well as her hair flew behind the woman in a free flowing motion as if she were going down a hill with the wind rushing against her.
Using her tiniest chisels and gouges, she made the woman’s hair strands feel as fine as the real thing and as soft as silk to a person’s touch. Her toes and fingernails were intricately etched as well as her eyes, nose and mouth. She’d given her generous breasts huge nipples. Now all she had left to do with this particular sculpture was a final fine sanding and spray with varnish.
Her other two pieces were about half done. One piece she called Blindfolded. A nude woman standing against a tree. Her breasts were bound with carved rope and her body lashed to a tree trunk. She’d gotten the bound and blindfold idea from one of the erotic audiobook tapes she listened to.
Her third erotic piece had been a challenge. She called it Available. A nude woman on her knees, her legs widespread, her back arched, her head tilted until the ends of her hair touched the ground.
Summer planned on putting a lot of details into this piece. Nude women with sultry erotic poses with intimate parts fully exposed and intricately designed sold very well and not only to men but also to women.
Placing her sculptures back on top of the wooden blocks where she found them, she continued to unpack her supplies. She had quite a lot of carving supplies, accumulating them over the years—wood carving knives, chisels and gouges to create her sculptures, whetstones and machine oil for keeping her tools sharp, clamps and vices to hold the blocks steady while she carved, thumb guards, cut resistant gloves and other protective gear kept her safe.
“Your work is very good.” Nick’s soft voice almost made her drop the package of Swiss made carving tools she’d just pulled out of a box.
“Thanks,” was all she managed to say as his powerful aroma drifted through the air and teased her nostrils.
“How long does it take for you to make a piece?”
“Depends,” she said as she reached out and found a place on the shelf for the tools.
“On?”
“On the project. The more intricate the work, the longer it takes. It also depends on how passionate I am about the sculpture as well as how hard the wood is, the grain of the wood and stuff like that.”
“Sounds complicated.”
He was moving closer. His big body a lovely shadow as she gazed up at him. However, she was careful not to look directly at his face because it could tip him off that she was actually seeing something. She didn’t want him to know about her eyesight. It really was none of his business and he’d blab it to Ryan who would just get his hopes up.
Not that her hopes weren’t up. They were. Big-time. But she needed to concentrate on her work, or she would go mad with worry about her eyesight.
“It was complicated at first. But I just kept at the carving until things started to click. Now I’m an old pro.”
“I noticed you seem to concentrate on female nudes. Is there a reason? Don’t women buy men nudes?”
His voice had lowered to a soft whisper and she shrugged. “I plan on moving into that area some day. And in answer to your question, yes women do buy nude males.”
She grinned. A little bit of teasing might be in order. She hadn’t been able to tease him in years and suddenly the urge to do so was great. “Are you volunteering to be my nude model?”
Silence drifted over her in waves and her face grew warm.
Oh shit. Perhaps he was taking this the wrong way? Maybe he thought her promiscuous?
“No experience,” he said. His voice sounded thick and sultry.
“No experience necessary,” she whispered back.
Something was there between them again. Just like there had been on that night he’d kissed her all those years ago. A thick tension she found both invigorating and scary at the same time.
He sighed and she swore she heard him run his fingers through his hair in that same endearing way whenever he got frustrated.
He cleared his throat. “It’s been a long day. We should get some sleep.”
Disappointment shot through her. Yes, she’d thought she was teasing him, but now she realized
she wasn’t. Maybe comfort in his strong arms is what she was looking for? Or maybe she just wanted to relive that awesome kiss from that night and forget the things that had happened over the last few days.
Yes, that’s what it was. She was only looking for some form of comfort. She shouldn’t be reading more into this.
She nodded. “Yes, that’s a good idea.”
“You can find your own way to the bedroom?”
“No problem.” She grabbed her cane and rose.
“Let me know if you need anything tonight. I’ll be out here on the couch.”
“Oh I’m sorry. You should take the bedroom,” she said as guilt slashed through her at having put him out.
He chuckled. “Me? In a room full of roses? I don’t think so. My reputation as a tough bodyguard would be ruined.”
She laughed and mimicked seriousness. “Yes, of course and I guess I wouldn’t be able to trust a man who slept with roses.”
“Definitely not.” She could hear the grin in his voice and then an awkward silence drifted between them. She broke it quickly.
“Thanks for the dinner and for bringing all my things in here. Hopefully I won’t be in your hair for too long.”
“You aren’t in my hair, Summer.”
She thought he was going to say something else about it, but he didn’t. Instead, he moved away from her.
“I’ll just finish up with the dishes,” he muttered and a moment later, she heard some pots and pans clanging.
“Good night!” she called and made her way to the bedroom.
“Night,” he tossed back between more tinny sounds from the pots.
After entering the bedroom, she closed the door and inhaled the luscious aroma of vanilla. The fragrance cheered her up and she found her nightgown, toothbrush and toothpaste, where she’d placed them earlier on her pillow when she’d unpacked before heading into the shower.
Whispers of Winter: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Romances Page 48
