by J. Jenkins
Fiercely gripping her hips he plunged into her, his tongue and penis simultaneously staking their claims. His body burned, heat, strong and pleasurable seeping from her into him. Her mouth tasted of honey and chipotles. The haven that housed his shaft had the feel of a hot spring and at every point where their bodies connected, he felt tiny zings of electrical warmth. Continuing to mate his tongue with hers he pulled his engorged flesh from inside her to its throbbing head before surging strongly into her again, his fever intensifying, a vortex of heat surrounding them.
Moaning, she felt herself stretching to accommodate his amazing size. Wrapping her arms around him she surrendered, seduced by scents of scorched earth and rosewood, her guard slipping and the heat she was exuding intensified. She rose and fell, as he advanced and retreated until she cried out her release into his mouth, a pinkish-gold, swirling vapor, she prayed he couldn't see, cloaking their joined bodies.
Carolina's arms and legs were still wrapped around him and he remained stone hard inside her as he rose to his feet and carried her into the outer room. When he felt her back touch down securely against the mattress, he slammed into her, the bed shaking from the force of his thrusts. Lowering his head, Dylan sucked at her pale breast, rolled the pebble-hard nipple between his teeth before biting gently. He felt her legs unlock from around his waist, to rest upon the mattress, and then she lifted her pelvis so he could slide further into her warm body. He thrilled in the pleasure of her quivering inner thighs as she strained her muscles to stay elevated while he rammed into her, then she rocked her raised hips back and forth, keeping tempo with his vigorous thrusts. From her breast to her throat his lips blazed desire until he finally reached her ear where he repeatedly panted her name, setting her wild beneath him, her hands playing across the muscles of his back and shoulders, stroking, clawing, searing his skin delightfully and purposely he wished she'd give him a child.
With considerable strength, he forced her flat against the mattress, repositioning her legs around his waist and locking her arms around his neck. He bound his hands in her hair, tugging strongly, making her look into his eyes as he resumed thrusting, “I want us to stay like this until we climax together.”
His weight was crushing her, pain darting across her scalp as he tugged harder. Breathless and trembling she nodded her agreement only to have him wrap his hands tighter in her hair, pulling much harder. Carolina felt bands of heat coiling around them as she waited for him to lead her.
“I need you to completely give yourself to me,” he bid softly above her lips.
“I'm yours, and for tonight, will do and be, all that you ask. Tell me how to move, when to come, and I’ll satisfy you.”
His heart doubled in size at her promise and he ordered huskily, “Tell me what you feel.”
“You, thick, long and hard, waiting to fill me. I know pain, pleasure, and your desire, feel such immense heat I can hardly bear the intensity.”
He yanked down on her hair and thrust up inside her demanding, “But for me you will.”
The light in his eyes captivated her and she vowed, “For you, I'll do anything.”
Kissing her deep and long, he continued thrusting forcefully, felt her tight wetness clenching, beginning to unhinge the floodgates. Reluctantly parting from her lips he blew the narcotizing smoke of his voice into her ear, “Honey, keep all of me inside you.”
Her trembling intensified and she felt as if she were shattering, leaving her body, prompting her frantic declaration, “I swear I will.”
With his hips repeatedly crashing into hers he sucked on her ear lobe, puffed warm breaths into the canal, then demanded passionately, “Now Carolina. Come with me now.” He felt a fiercely gripping orgasm take her at the same moment he discharged three years of pent up, rudimentary sexual need into her quaking body.
Together they zoomed up beyond earthly gratification where the atmosphere was so thin they could hardly breathe, yet still he gave of his loins and she absorbed his plentiful fluid into her droughty garden until his thrusting and panting ceased. Then they were plummeting, sweat drenched bodies shivering. He collapsed on top of her, gasping out her name and sweet endearments. She remained silent and held him tight while focusing her energy to contain his torrential release.
Much later, he felt her wriggle from beneath him, out of his tight embrace, to turn on her side. Not wanting to be apart, he pulled her back against him and touched between her thighs, stroking her mons venus, smiling when he discovered she was completely dry. He cradled her in his arms, cupping her breasts as he buried his face in her fiery hair. In a low, sandpapery voice, he told her all the ways he would cherish her. His words trailed off into a soothing hum that lulled her to sleep and he continued holding her, wishing for their child that would be like them both, desiring for her to be always at his side. Finally, he slept, and even in his dreams he held on to her, mentally and physically gripping her possessively until they woke the next morning and she obstinately sent him away.
Chapter 3
Complications abounded inside the Conway home when the twins learned Justin and Dylan weren’t coming back. Listening to weeks of the twins' whining and heated tantrums only hardened Carolina's resolve to keep the Savages out of their lives. Today marked the beginning of week four of their campaign to get her to change her decision and they were waging a war of silence at the breakfast table.
Almost at the end of her emotional rope Carolina asked them, “For how much longer are you two going to misbehave?”
Silence.
“I've explained why they won't be visiting. This family needs to stay focused.”
Sullen glares.
“Alrighty then, let's strike a deal. If you two stop being obstinate, I'll buy you each one of those fancy guitars you've been wanting.”
One disgusted snort, then another.
Carolina was feeling desperate. “What about that snake? I'm sure I can find one, or two of them, even.”
They rolled their eyes.
Seeing she was getting nowhere, she told them to go and get their stuff for school. Carolina waited in the entryway, stealing minutes to survey her appearance in the mirror. As usual, her hair was clipped back at the nape and her skin was devoid of make-up, raising a tube of tint to her lips she felt her hand shake and decided to go without her only concession to beauty. No matter how much she willed them, the corners of her mouth wouldn't lift into a smile and there was a stern set to her brow. Smoothing her hands down the length of her charcoal-gray dress, that felt far too snug across the hips, she fussed over imaginary wrinkles and when her hand lifted to straighten the tie at her waist she felt a flutter in her stomach, her nerves trying to get the best of her. Hearing the twins descending the staircase she grabbed her keys, briefcase and gym bag before turning to see the boys looking at her coldly.
She didn't reach out to muss their hair or hug them as she longed to, fearing their recoil. They didn't stop to kiss her as they desperately wanted, needing her submission to their demands for the Savages. Uncomplicated, relaxed and normal, their long established family pattern, had all been left behind when she'd selfishly partook in a night of passion with Dylan. Now Callum, Calder and Carolina Conway walked out of their cheerful yellow cottage with no happiness in their hearts. The boys were glum and she was teetering on the brink of angry frustration with one thought at the forefront of her mind: that her life sucked.
****
Dylan sat in a black leather chair in an office with austere marble flooring, subdued silver light fixtures and coldly inflexible abstract art, unable to believe this was Carolina's company. He saw no evidence of the softness he knew she possessed and was eager to see how she could be productive in such an environment. He smiled at the female assistant sitting at the workstation, “With you not answering the phones how long will it take for her to come out?”
All atwitter at his presence, the beautiful, buxom, blond secretary extraordinaire smiled brightly and offered, “I'm not sure. Mr. Savage,
are you certain you don't want me to tell Ms. Conway you're here?”
“Naw darlin,' I'll wait,” he drawled, winking conspiratorially at her just as a door opened and Carolina, walking out, halted at the sight of him, her eyes narrowing.
She ignored him. “Erica is there a reason you aren't picking up? I need those contracts. Also, get me the Santa Barbara land lease and the financial reports from Jerry. Did you confirm the attendees for today's luncheon?”
“Sorry Ms. Conway. I'll get right on everything but there's-”
“I can see someone is here. Will you please get a move on? I don't want to be late.” Switching her focus to Dylan, she spoke to him politely but impersonally, “Mr. Savage please step into my office.”
As Dylan passed the assistant, he gave her an apologetic smile and the one she returned held a sensual invitation he would never answer. Hearing the office door close behind him, he informed her, “If you're going to be angry with someone then be mad at me. I asked her not to answer so you'd come out.”
Carolina spoke coldly, “I don't appreciate you disrupting my staff. Why are you here?”
Giving her a brilliant smile and playful shrug Dylan replied, “You never return my calls. So here I am.” He drank in the sight of her like a man who'd wandered the desert for days only to stumble upon a stream of crystal clear water.
Carolina saw those divine blue eyes and his seductive mouth smiling at her as if he'd just won the state lottery and between her thighs she felt her traitorous body clench with longing. She realized she needed to utilize real determination in order to get rid of him. “An unanswered call, no let me correct myself, a dozen calls a day, for twenty-six days, not returned, means what on your planet?”
'Meow', Dylan thought, resisting the urge to reach out and stroke her until she purred. “That we should work out our problems face-to-face.”
“No. My not returning your calls means I have nothing to say to you.”
“But-”
“We agreed. End of night. End of story.” Carolina didn't allow him to present an argument in case her resolve started to weaken.
“I'd like to start over,” he pleaded.
She gave a sarcastic chuckle, “No.”
Dylan wanted to take hold of her, bind her to him and erase every objection she could raise. The bands he threw around her were silken, “I miss you and the twins. Justin misses the twins but he misses you most.”
She wagged her finger at him disapprovingly, “Don't you dare try and use the kids against me. I'm living in a war zone because of the deal we made.”
“The disharmony would end if you'd agree to some type of contact. At the very least you and I could have a platonic relationship and the boys could hang out together.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, steely silence was the response she gave.
Dylan ran his fingers through his hair in frustration but he wouldn't be daunted in his efforts to get back in her life. He lowered his voice, brought words from the center of his chest so they rumbled like pleasant thunder before a gentle rain, “I'm begging you, don't continue with this mess we started. Do you want me to say I regret sleeping with you? I won't. Honey, I can still smell you on my skin, taste you in my mouth and the heat... I've never known such searing gratification. Remembering the way you took me in your mouth, your throat and lips closing tightly around me, sets my nerves to throbbing in anticipation of a repeat performance. But I'll tolerate a friendship if that's all you're willing to give me.”
Carolina fought the urge to clasp her hands over her ears to shut out the seductive timber of his voice, wanted to close her eyelids tightly so she wouldn't see his need. Frustrated, she glared at him, “You're already breaking the one agreement we made. I'd be a fool to take your word on anything else. Leave Dylan, I have no time for this and you shouldn't have come here. Don't ever come back or I'll...” Her words trailed off as she saw and sensed a shift in him.
Dylan narrowed his eyes and widened his stance. With pursed lips, he studied her, thinking he'd been enjoying the snippy schoolteacher bit but wasn't about to let her think she could intimidate him. With flint in his voice, he asked, “Or you'll what?”
His tone grated on her already exposed nerves and she figuratively put up her Irish dukes. “Have ye escorted out and barred from my building.”
Dylan's narrowed eyes opened wide in surprise. He hadn't figured her as a woman who would want to make a scene. “Are you serious?”
As a kill shot she thought. “Yes.”
Dylan shook his head in disbelief. “Who are you?” He looked about the office that was contemporary and devoid of vibrancy, completely different from the home she lived in and the contradictions made him seriously question her, “Where's the woman I held in my arms, made love to until I thought I'd died?”
She wasn't going to feel guilty because he'd filled his head with foolish romantic notions. “I'm right here and let's be clear, we had sex. Don't mistake animalistic coupling for love.”
He had a different opinion. “Can you still taste me? Do you wake up longing for my touch? Does your heart lurch every time you hear my voice? Do you find yourself thinking about me even when you try not to?”
Her heart cried out, 'Always'. However, her mind was resolved to have none of that foolishness. She closed herself off from the memories his words conjured up. “Stop trying to seduce me,” she rasped, raising her hand to her chest to protect herself further.
Dylan knew he was getting to her, saw the pulse beating rapidly at her throat. “Why did you let me stay that night?”
His relentlessness made Carolina want to punch him. “I wanted-”
“You wanted what?
She wearily confessed, “I wanted you to feel connected, nurtured, worshiped and adored, things you alluded to not having in your marriage.”
Dylan elevated his voice to the sultry mist-on-the-water quality he knew women found irresistible, “Why did you care that I'd been miserable and unsatisfied in my marriage and since my divorce?”
Carolina didn't like the way he kept trying to seduce her with his voice. The smoky, gritty, alluring tone reminded her of a life lost, of the trickster who'd hurt her badly, aiding in the theft of her most precious possession. She wouldn't be robbed and left to flounder for a new life again. She took a deep, steadying breath, and then exhaled slowly. “Leave Dylan.”
He wasn't going to back down. “Not until you give me an answer that makes sense,” he demanded in his normal speaking voice of subtle gravel and Texas twang.
“I tried to tell you that night but you wanted to pretend, but I should’ve made you listen. Therefore, I'm telling you now. I'm a woman who is happy with the unattached status of her life. I don't want entanglements. Sleeping with you was a momentary lapse of good judgment fueled by unresolved longing to have a man want me above all else, so I used you and you used me to forget your ex-wife.”
Remembering Carolina's unrestrained eroticism combined with her selfless desire to satisfy his every need, he jealously asked, “When we were making love who were you thinking about?”
She flung her hands up in exasperation, “We didn't make love. Will you please get the fact through your head?”
Dylan felt his chest muscles flexing. He wanted to pull her to him, needed to hear the truth spoken against his lips. “Who were you loving? Me or your ex-fiancee?”
Carolina deliberately hesitated, calculating. She wanted her life back to normal, minus complications. “My ex. Now get out, don't come back and stop calling me.”
He advanced on her, “You're lying.”
She nervously backed away from the vivid white light in his eyes. “No I'm not.”
“I don't think so.” Pushing her roughly back against the wall, he untied Carolina's wrapfront dress, to slide the flat of his palm across her abdomen, lowering his head to kiss the erratic pulse in her throat.
“Let go of me.” She didn't want to feel his solid strength or sniff the cardamom and ginger scent of
his body, nor taste his cinnamon flavored lips and tongue.
His hand undid the inner bow that kept the dress secure and as the fabric parted, he caught his breath at the sight of her in a dusky-rose bra, matching panties and fringed garter belt sparkling with tiny gems. “There ya are precious. I knew you were here all the time and you've put on weight. I like your new curves honey,” he drawled.
She tried to pull the dress shut, “Get out of my office.”
With one hand he captured Carolina's wrists in a strong grip to stay her movements while his other hand teased between her legs, feeling her wetness through the lace, “Who were you making love to that night?” His finger pushed aside the crotch of her panties and eased into her.
Squirming with pleasure at his touch, she cursed her renegade body, but her mind refused to relent. “I've already told you.”
“Wrong answer.” He slowly slid another finger into her tight opening, flexing them inside her until he felt her tremble.
Carolina wanted to rock her pelvis into his strong hand, couldn't deny that his callused fingers were doing all sorts of delicious things to her insides but she kept up her resistance until he did the one thing she couldn't ignore: he slowly removed his fingers from inside her and raised them to his lips.
