And then, he saw Katie. She was sitting with her back against the wall, smiling as Iris and Timothy approached the table. His heart squeezed. She was beautiful in a white silk chiffon dress with red poppies across it. When she stood up, the dress flowed around her willowy figure. Her black hair hung softly around her shoulders, a counterpoint to the bright colors she wore. She was breathtaking. He forced himself to ignore the yearning, the scalding heat coming to life in his lower body. Joe scowled. His erotic dream hung stubbornly in his memory.
* * *
KATIE WATCHED AS Joe Gannon wove through the jovial, partying crowd. He made her breathless. How dangerously sexy he looked in the dark brown Western suit. A Stetson of the same color hung casually in his left hand. He matched the image of the cowboy he truly was. His shoulders were broad and thrown back with a natural pride. Joe walked like the military officer he had been. Inwardly, Katie grieved for him losing his career. The expression in his green eyes was one of leadership, someone in command, someone who had real authority. When his gaze met and locked with hers, she flashed him a smile.
She quickly told the Mason family that Joe had just arrived.
Iris welcomed him to the table and gestured to the empty chair next to where Katie stood. “Glad you could make it, Joe. Sit down and join us.”
Thanking Iris, Joe nodded and greeted the family. They had the largest table in the room to accommodate the growing Mason dynasty. He shook hands with the men and nodded to the ladies. His heart, however, was centered on Katie who stood with her hands clasped in front of her sleek dress. When he finally managed to move behind the table to reach Katie, her winsome smile widened. He felt as if he were bathing in pure sunlight.
“Joe!” Katie greeted him. She stepped forward and threw her arms around his broad shoulders. After giving him a quick embrace, she stood back and smiled up into his shadowed features. His eyes narrowed as she withdrew. Breasts tingling where she’d pressed herself against his chest, she felt her heart flutter with need. “Come, sit down. I’m so glad you could make it.” She pulled out the chair for him.
Joe grinned sheepishly, then saw how everyone’s expression seemed to approve of Katie’s unexpected embrace. “Thanks, here, you sit down first.” He took her elbow and guided her to the chair. For a moment, he inhaled a faint scent of jasmine floating around Katie’s black hair and across her shoulders. After seating Katie, he hung his hat on a peg on the wall behind the chair and sat down.
“We were wondering if you were going to make it or not,” Rudd Mason said, smiling and lifting a wineglass in his direction. “Katie was beside herself.”
Joe nodded and slid a glance toward her. “My mom has the flu, so I was making a run to the grocery store to buy her some chicken soup.”
“Oh, your parents can’t make it?” Katie asked, suddenly disappointed.
“No. Mom is feeling pretty punk and my father is staying home to take care of her. She’ll be okay in a day or two.”
“Flu is going around,” Iris said. “It’s starting early this year.”
“I was so hoping to meet them,” Katie told Joe. “You always speak so highly of them.”
Joe nodded. The last thing he wanted was for Katie to meet his parents; she was still officially under investigation. “Maybe another time,” he murmured.
The band struck up a slow dance. Katie reached out and grabbed Joe’s hand. “Will you dance with me?”
Her fingers were warm and sent wild longing through him. He uncurled his hand and gripped hers. “Sure, come on.” He rose and pulled back Katie’s chair.
“You two go out there and enjoy yourselves,” Iris called.
Joe led her to the crowded dance floor.
Katie sighed as Joe gathered her into his arms. She inhaled the lime scent of his soap. His hand twined around hers, his other hand resting firmly against the small of her back. Looking up, she drowned in his gaze. “Remember? I might accidentally step on your foot.” She grinned and watched a slow, heated smile curve his masculine mouth.
“Forewarned,” he teased in return. “I’ve got two left feet, too. We’ll make a great couple.” He forced himself not to haul Katie solidly against his frame. Her laughter was breathy. She was like lava in his arms as she swayed naturally to the music. “I like your dress.”
“Iris helped me pick it out.” She released his hand and picked up the filmy material for a moment. “I love flowers. Iris found it and urged me to try it on. I didn’t think I’d look very good in it, but she said I did.”
Joe nodded and captured her hand once more. “You’re beautiful in it. The red poppies look nice with your shining black hair.” He watched her cheeks turn almost the same color as the poppies. Joe then realized that without a mother, how would Katie have been taught about dresses, fabrics and clothing in general? He was sure the foster parents must have given her some training, but she seemed awkward and unsure even though she sizzled in the dress.
“Thanks. I feel beautiful tonight.” She drowned in his smile. Without thinking, Katie rested her cheek against his shoulder. She closed her eyes and instinctively moved closer. As she felt the heat radiating from his body, Katie was happier than she could ever recall. And when Joe took her hand and pressed it between them, an ache grew within her. She recognized that gnawing sensation. For too long, she’d been without the love of a man.
Joe absorbed Katie’s spontaneous nearness. When her body pressed lightly against his, he drew in a deep, ragged breath. Did she know how much she affected him? He could feel her small, rounded breasts beneath the silky material moving against his suit. The scent of jasmine encircled him, strands of her ebony hair tickled his jaw. The softness of her hand was real.
“You remember our kiss?” he asked her, his lips near her ear.
Nodding, Katie lifted her head and drew back just enough to meet his shadowy gaze. “I do.”
“I remember saying something like it was a friendly kiss,” Joe said in a husky tone. Her eyes shimmered with something resembling desire—for him.
“I know....” One corner of her mouth pulled upward. “It was more than that to me, Joe.” Searching his face, she sensed his yearning for her. “Was it for you?” In her dreams, she and Joe were not only friends, but lovers. Katie wondered if she should admit it to him or not. He exuded power and masculinity and excited her as no other man had.
Compressing his mouth, Joe leaned over and whispered, “Yes, the kiss was much more than just being a friend to you, Katie.”
Mesmerized by his dark, deep voice, she stood up on tiptoe and whispered into his ear, “Take me home, Joe. I’m a lousy dancer but I’d love to spend some time with you. I know Iris and her family would understand.”
His heart pounded violently. Katie was guileless, Joe decided. He felt her hand leave his and her fingers trail slowly up his neck to graze his jaw. The longing in her blue eyes tore at him. Oh, God, he was in trouble. Deep, deep trouble.
“Yes, let’s go home....” he said.
“We’ll go tell Iris we’re going to leave,” she whispered. “And we’ll tell everyone good-night.”
* * *
“I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING, Joe. And I don’t care,” Katie said as he led her into his home. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he tossed his Stetson on the couch. The house was small but clean. To Katie, it looked as if a man lived in it. There were no living plants to make it come alive. Right now, her heart was focused on him. She felt his hands come to rest around her waist. It was a wonderful feeling to be desired.
Nuzzling her soft hair, the jasmine filling his senses and making him reel, Joe said unsteadily, “I don’t, either, Katie. All I know is I want you. All of you...” He eased her away from him just enough to see if she agreed. The vulnerable smile appearing on her lips told him everything. “Come on,” Joe said as he led her down the hallwa
y.
It was so easy for Katie to walk into his bedroom. A tan, brown and dark gold spread was across the king-size bed. The curtains were gold and closed, making the room dark except for the night-light in the hallway near the door. There was something so vital about Joe she didn’t even question her heart. In the past, Katie knew it had led her wrong, but tonight, nothing had ever felt so right. She kicked off her shoes as he shrugged out of the suit coat and boots. Appraising the white cotton shirt, black tie and brown slacks, she drank all of him into her heart. She reached up, untied the black tie and allowed it to fall to a nearby chair against the cream-colored wall.
“I don’t know why I want you so much,” she whispered as she kissed his jaw, feeling the sandpaper of his beard beneath her lips. Her fingers moved slowly across his chest and she began to unsnap each button of his shirt, revealing the dark curled hair beneath.
“Not as much as I want you...” Urgency tunneled through Joe as he felt Katie’s warm, searching fingers move across his exposed chest. She was fearless and he got caught up in her fervor and openness. Without a word, Joe shrugged out of the shirt, allowing it to drop to the waxed cedar floor. He felt powerful as she gazed admiringly at his naked upper body. And when her fingers slid provocatively around his waist, a flash of heat exploded deep within his lower body. As she searched for and found the belt, opening it and pulling it out of the loops, he admired her boldness.
Katie wanted him. All of him. And she was no game player. She was amazingly honest and the conflicted feelings Joe had dissolved as her fingers eased his slacks open. Heat curled and anchored in him and he groaned. She slid her fingers beneath the elastic band of his boxer shorts. In one slow, sensual movement, she pulled the fabric down across his hips and thighs and allowed it pool around his feet.
Katie stared at his hardened body and then lifted her gaze. The look Joe gave her was hungry and filled with urgency. His hands captured the zipper at the back of her dress. Her spine tingled wildly as he deliberately brushed her skin and touched the small of her back. He slid his roughened hands beneath the shoulders of the fabric and eased the material away. In moments, the silk chiffon fell as if it were a red-and-white waterfall pooling around her bare feet.
She met his smile and sighed as he expertly released the silky white bra and removed it. His hands moved in slow adoration along the curve of her taut breasts, and Katie felt faint. Joe’s hands were the calloused hands of a man who worked in nature. Her nipples puckered and, as he leaned over, his breath warm and moist against them, Katie moaned with anticipation.
Suckling her, Joe kept one hand against her curved back, worshipping the hardened nipples with gentle nips of his teeth and lips. Easing the white lingerie away from her hips, Joe heard her moan. Katie’s fingers dug frantically into his tensed shoulders while he explored her. In one, smooth motion Joe lifted and carried Katie to the bed. Her arms curved around his neck, her brow resting against his neck and jaw. As he gently laid her on the bed. He put on a condom. Joe straddled her and said in a raw tone, “I want to love you, Katie. I want to lose myself in you and never look back....”
Lifting her hands, Katie curved them around Joe’s taut shoulders. A slight sheen of perspiration glistened across his magnificent upper body. She felt equally hot and restless, her hips moving toward his, brushing him, teasing him. Katie pulled him downward to kiss his mouth and whisper against his lips, “Love me, Joe. Love me. It’s all I want. It’s you...” She met and captured his smiling mouth with her own. As his hands slid up her rib cage to curve and capture her breasts, she uttered a groan of pleasure, thrusting her hips against his. In moments, slick and hot with need, he pushed forward, entering her tight confines. For a moment, Katie broke their heated, hungry kiss, pleasure thrumming through her. He thrust his hips, establishing a wild and untrammeled rhythm with her. The heat and friction built rapidly and Katie gave herself in every way to him.
Joe caressed her hardened nipples, hips grinding into hers, his ragged breathing matched her own. Katie leaned up thrusting her tongue into his mouth. She felt him stiffen, a low groan rolling out of him. The urgent sound filtered through her like a living earthquake rippling every muscle, every cell of her damp, taut flesh. His mouth savagely took hers.
They became like two wild eagles, free-falling from ten thousand feet, claws linked and tumbling as they frantically mated with one another before hitting the earth below. His male scent, the roughness of his beard against her cheek, his hips thrusting wildly against hers, combined to create an explosion within her. She tensed, cried out and clung to Joe. His muscles knotted. A deep groan tore out of him, his body suddenly galvanized. The moments of rhythmic pleasure flowing outward lifted Katie into a surreal world of dancing lights. Frozen in those stolen seconds within one another, they felt pleasure so intense neither could move.
Her world became bright Fourth of July fireworks as she orgasmed over and over again. He continued to drive his hips, giving Katie more and more pleasure. She cried out, her voice hoarse as she pulled Joe down to meet his hungry, searching mouth. His hands captured her hips, and he moved hard and relentlessly against her body. With each thrust, she felt herself spinning off into an unknown galaxy filled only with fusion, heat and satiated hunger.
Katie heard him growl. Breathing unevenly, she opened her eyes. Joe’s face was darkly shadowed, his eyes shards of glittering desire. Absorbing his primal masculinity, she could only sigh, a tremulous smile pulling at her well-kissed lips. His hands memorized her body, caressing her breasts. Leaning down, he sucked her nipples, lavishing her with even more sensations and causing her to feel faint with ongoing bliss. This was how a man loved a woman. She relished Joe’s slow, delicious exploration of her even after they descended from the edge of the galaxy where only intense ecstasy existed.
The weight of his body was like a welcome blanket across her. Joe kissed her deeply, his tongue moving, mating with hers. Finally, as he eased his mouth from hers, he withdrew and pulled Katie to his side and into his arms. The darkness only made her feel as if she were in a deep, warm cave within his embrace. His body was damp and firm against hers. She nestled her head in the crook of his shoulder. Their breathing was shallow and fast, synchronizing with one another. Joe’s hand moved tantalizingly across her rib cage, lingered at her waist and then caressed her hip. Katie could sense him absorbing every inch of her flesh with his fingers. Reveling in his moist breath against her hair, she nuzzled closer and kissed his damp neck. Never had she felt so safe, so loved as right now. Whatever had drawn them together was real, Katie dimly realized, still caught up in the rippling movement within her lower body. Joe’s hand came to rest on her hip and she felt him relax against her, his breathing becoming less chaotic. Savoring him in every way, she whispered, “I’m not sorry about this, Joe.” Katie lifted her hand and placed it over his.
“Me, neither,” Joe admitted in a roughened tone. Right now, only Katie existed, her sweet body next to his. Joe realized he’d been without a woman for nearly two years. And he’d been starved. Katie had fulfilled him as no woman had before. He turned his hands so their fingers laced within one another. “Our relationship has changed.” He wanted to say, I’m falling in love with you, but didn’t dare. Turmoil began to gnaw away at the languorous feelings still flowing through his sated body. He’d committed a fatal mistake: making things personal between him and Katie. Guilt ate at him and Joe felt it sharply because she was trusting him. She didn’t deserve deceit. But what was he going to do?
Lifting her head, Katie pulled back enough to meet his sleepy gaze. “We have a lot to talk about, but right now, I’m feeling wonderfully tired and all I want to do is fall asleep in your arms, Joe.”
He lifted his hand and moved strands away from her cheek. Drowning in her slumberous half-closed blue eyes, he managed a slight smile. “Sounds like a plan....”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“DOES THI
S CHANGE ANYTHING at work?” Joe asked Katie as they ate breakfast together the next morning. She had awakened after he did, and he took the time to shower, shave and get dressed. An hour later, at seven, Katie had awakened and Joe had shown her the bathroom. Fluffy yellow towels were laid out. After a warm shower, Katie had dressed in her beautiful red poppy dress. Her hair, still damp from being washed, hung like a black frame around her face.
Katie picked up the toast and slathered on apricot jam. “It doesn’t change anything for me, Joe. Does it for you?” She searched his clear green eyes. This morning, he looked even more handsome, if that was possible. Joe wore a white cowboy shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his jeans and his work boots. His dark brown hair gleamed beneath the light above the oak table.
Joe shrugged. “No, I guess not.”
“We work well together.”
“Yes.” Joe’s body and memory immediately flew back to their lovemaking the night before. Even now, he could feel the warming ache for her once more. She was quiet and contemplative this morning. “Is something bothering you?”
“Does it show?” She laughed a little and held up her hand. “You don’t have to answer. I know I can’t hide a thing from anyone.”
His mouth curved ruefully and he murmured, “Well, maybe it shows to certain people, Katie. People who care for you.”
She set the toast aside and picked up her fork. Joe had made ham and cheese omelets for breakfast. “I was just thinking, I swore I wouldn’t get involved with another man. I made that promise to myself a year ago.” She rolled her eyes and admitted, “I have a terrible track record of always choosing the wrong guy. Donna often said that with my Pisces romantic idealism, I don’t see the man for who and what he really is.”
Wincing inwardly, Joe kept his face carefully arranged. “Maybe in this past year you’ve matured more. You might see people more clearly now.”
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