by Ana Blaze
“I think there’s something here.” He gestured back and forth between them. “Do you feel it, too?”
“I don’t know.” She stood up. “I’m sorry if I led you to … I barely know you. I can’t …” She shook her head. “I think we should both just try to get a good night’s sleep. You’ve had a rough day and maybe that’s ...” she trailed off awkwardly.
“I understand.”
The disappointment on his face hurt her stomach. “Please.” She stepped towards him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Let’s get some sleep. We can talk in the morning.”
His eyes met hers and held for a moment before he nodded.
Chapter Five
BETH FLED. SHE DIDN’T wait to turn off lights and check the lock on the front door. She didn’t turn on the dishwasher or water her plants. She just fled. She closed the door to her bedroom and rested her back against it. She wanted him. Every inch of her skin tingled with the want of him.
Colin was tempting, charming really, but more like a restoration project than a potential boyfriend, and Beth wasn’t in the market for a project, not even one whose kisses made her knees tremble. She glared at her traitorous, still shaky limbs, drew in a deep breath, and stepped away from the door because independent, professional women ignore their sexy houseguests and get ready for bed. She was not slave to her hormones.
Beth changed before going back to the kitchen to clean up and lock the front door.
The guest room door was open; she poked her head in and nearly fell over. He’d showered. His skin still glistened, droplets of water clung to the curls at the nape of his neck. She barely had time to register the most gorgeous back she’d ever seen when he turned to look at her with startled eyes. Her gaze dropped to the black drawstring pants riding low on his hips. The swimming and canoeing was working out for him. Right? Wrong? It was getting harder to care. His walking closer didn’t help. Beth sucked in a breath. “I – I just wanted to see if you needed anything.”
He smirked. Quiet, responsible men are not supposed to look like that.
Heat rose to her cheeks.
Colin stopped just inches from her. Unable to meet his eyes, she dropped her gaze to floor. His feet were bare. She stared at them. His feet were bare because he’d just been in the shower, with water and soap suds sliding down the long length of his back and over the lean ridges on his stomach. Beth trembled. Was it really so wrong? They were both adults, both unattached. If they kept things honest no one would get hurt.
“Beth?” His voice was rough.
“What if it’s just physical? This thing we feel … it might just be hormones… a fling.”
He cupped her cheek and used his thumb to lift her chin. “That’s a start, isn’t it? Couldn’t that be a start?”
“I don’t know.”
Colin placed his mouth near hers. “I’m trying to follow your lead here. But you’re not making it easy.”
She nodded. “Here’s the thing, I like you, Colin. I like the look of you, and the way you talk in a completely different accent when you’ve been drinking. I like that you write dirty rhymes in your head but have perfectly nice manners. And I really like the way you kiss me. I want you, right now.” She shrugged. “You good with that?”
He grinned. “Does it mean I can kiss you again?”
Beth’s restraint broke. She launched herself at him, kissing him hungrily, clutching his shoulders and neck as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. Colin laid her down on the coverlet then joined her.
Beth arched up to kiss him as she ran her hands down his back, loving the slippery feel of his still wet skin. He groaned.
“Colin,” she whispered.
“I love it when you say my name, even though you make me sound like an errant schoolboy half the time.”
“I do not.”
He grinned and spoke in an odd, high-pitched voice. “Colin, don’t mock the bridesmaids or I’ll tell the cake man where you’re hiding. Now, tuck in your shirt and stand up straight.”
Laughing, Beth shook her head. “I never said that.”
“Are you certain?” He pretended to think about it. “What about the part where you promised me a treat if I was a good boy?”
“I may have bribed you with a Hershey’s Kiss.” She grinned flirtatiously. “Would you have preferred it if I went to find the caterer’s wooden spoon?”
“I don’t know, you’re a fair bit cuter than my nanny was. Might not mind takin’ a lickin’ from you.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“So you were in trouble a lot? When you were a kid.” There was definitely a rascally side under his fine manners, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Not at all. The nanny bruised my knuckles once, and my mum fired her on the spot. She spent the rest of the day feeding me biscuits and promising that the bad lady would never hurt me again.” He grinned.
“What did you do to the nanny?”
“I was late for something, probably out in the yard daydreaming or lost in a book. Punctuality was never my strong suit, but I was hardly a ruffian.”
“And she hit you for that? Evil woman.” Beth reached for his hand and kissed the knuckles.
“It was the other hand, actually.”
“Should I kiss that one, too?”
Colin nodded and she brushed her lips across the knuckles of his left hand. “Better?”
“Like magic.” He rubbed his thumb over her cheek and buried his fingers in her hair, pulling her mouth to his. He took his time, sliding his tongue across her lips and over them to caress her tongue and teeth, the inside of her cheeks.
Beth looped her arms around his neck. Kissing him was like drinking champagne; she was almost giddy but her body was languid, every muscle melting into the bed, into him. She rubbed her cheek against his like a cat marking her place.
Colin lifted his head and met her eyes. “You’re beautiful. More than beautiful.” He pushed a lock of hair off her forehead, and ran his fingertips down the side of her face. “I don’t have the words for what you are.” His lips touched the hollow of her throat and sent a wave of heat down her body. It pooled in her stomach. And lower.
Beth’s head fall back and she closed her eyes as his thumb traced her collarbone and dipped down to draw a circle in the valley between her breasts. Her nipples tightened, eager, aching, and she tangled her fingers in his soft, damp hair. She wrapped a single curl around her finger and tugged. “Sweet talker.”
She stroked the back of his neck as he unbuttoned her top and slid his hand beneath the silky fabric to cup her breast. He exhaled shakily, his breath hot on her neck. “Gorgeous,” he murmured, “so lovely.”
Arching her back, Beth pushed herself into his touch and tightened her hold on his shoulders. He had beautiful shoulders, strong and smooth. Her hands itched to explore their shape like a sculptor. He’d be her favorite subject, the one whose shape she knew better than her own. But the startling pleasure of his touch had her clinging to him, trapped by racing tingles of anticipation. Had it ever been like this before?
His fingers teased her nipple to a hardened point as he lowered his head to suckle its partner. He left her top in place, wetting the shiny fabric with his lips and tongue then blowing a whisper of cool air across her breast. Beth shuddered as her nipple puckered tightly.
“Colin.”
He peeled her shirt away and covered her breast with his mouth, hot, so hot against her chilled skin. His tongue swirled and he nipped her with his teeth. She gasped.
“Is the other feeling left out?” He tugged the fabric away and brushed his thumb across the tip. “Don’t want that, do we?”
Beth buried her fingers in his hair and pulled his mouth to her breast. “We don’t.” He gave a low laugh before treating her nipple to a single long lick. And another.
He reached under her, splaying his hand against her back, and hugged her to him as he dragged her shirt down her arms. He tossed it to the floor and kissed her shoulder as he lowered her back to the
bed.
She caught his face between her palms and studied his gaze for a moment. Something flashed there, something more than hunger. Something more than she’d expected. “You’re good at this.”
He exhaled a husky near-chuckle. “You could try to sound less surprised.”
Beth sprang up and pushed him down on his back. “Not what I meant.” She pounced, sitting astride his thighs and grinning victoriously.
“No?”
Slowly, shaking her head from side to side, she leaned in. “My turn.” Beth rubbed her lips up his neck and licked the shell of his ear. “I’m good at this, too,” she whispered before leaning back to survey her prize. Oh yes. He was far too pretty not to touch.
The muscles in his chest were hard and taut. She trailed her fingers down to his navel, flattened her palm on his stomach and, smiling at his shudder, slid her hand back up to rest over his heart. His pulse skittered. She bent and kissed his chest, his throat, his chin.
Colin’s hands circled her rib cage, holding her tight as he sat up and pulled her to her knees.
“I —”
He pulled her nipple back into his mouth.
Beth wanted to argue; to pout that she hadn’t finished her turn but he was feasting on her. Her breasts. Her shoulder. Her neck. Again and again. His mouth had her writhing.
It was too much. She threaded her fingers through his hair and tugged, almost rough. “Now. Now.”
His fingers clenched at her words. When he lifted his head up to gaze at her, his eyes had darkened, his pupils dilated as though he too had grown drunk from their touching.
Beth shifted so she could rub herself against his erection. She scratched her fingernails down his chest and stomach and gave the drawstring on his pants a tug. It untied easily. She grasped the base of his erection and slowly slid her hand up its length. Colin gasped and she reveled in it, circling the sensitive tip with her finger and caressing him until his breath came in shallow, needful pants. She pulled away.
Colin’s head shot up. “Please, love. Don’t —” He watched her with hungry eyes as she slide her pants off and came back to straddle his lap. She stroked him again, bending to flick his nipples with her tongue as she guided him to just the right spot.
He grabbed her waist, nodding repeatedly as she slid down. “Good … so good.” He lifted his hips up to drive deeper inside. “Fuck.”
Beth watched his head drop back and his jaw clench. He was struggling not to lose himself then and there, an ambition that had never looked hotter. She tried to find a slow pace; they had all night and no reason to rush. But the sense of loss that hit her every time she rose off his hips spurred her forward faster and harder. “Oh, God.”
She leaned down and pushed her tongue between his tightly closed lips. He responded instantly, kissing her deeply and fisting one hand in the hair at the base of her neck. He muttered against her mouth nonsensically before tugging her hair down to bare her neck.
Giggling breathlessly, she pushed herself back up. “What happened to all the sweet talk?” Beth sped up, the sense of feminine power and control she had thrilling her to new heights.
“Thought I was … coming on too … hard.”
“I think you are just the right amount of hard, Colin.” She pressed down, taking him as deeply as she could, and they gasped in tandem.
She met his eyes and got trapped in their dark green depths. He offered too much, he was only hers temporarily but the openness, the longing in his gaze called to her all the same. She should close her eyes, protect her heart but already the pleasure was too great. He pulsed inside her and shouted, rough and deep, as he pulled her to his chest and she let herself be swept under.
Chapter Six
COLIN PRATT WAS A cuddle fiend. Beth woke to find herself clutched against him like teddy bear, her head resting on his chest and their legs entangled. Escape would be tricky.
“I know you’re awake,” he mumbled.
She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. “I didn’t realize you were.” Beth sat up and gave him a quick smile over her shoulder. “Morning.” Could he actually be hotter with bedhead?
Colin slid his arm around her waist, tugged her back down, and rolled onto his side to spoon. “I’m not nearly done with you yet.”
“Is that so?”
“You rode me like Valkyrie last night.” He cupped her breast and kneaded it for a moment before pinching her nipple lightly between his thumb and finger.
She closed her eyes. “What does that even mean?” And why did she sound so breathless?
“You nearly killed me. Now I want my turn at the reins.”
His erection on the back of her thighs brought a whimper. “Colin.”
“I dreamed about this -- touching you like this.” He brought his hand lower, slid a single finger into her folds and stroked her until she writhed against him. “I need you.” He lifted his hand and used it to guide her leg up so that her knee was tucked to her belly and, without another word, thrust into her warmth.
His arm clamped down across her chest and Beth grabbed hold of it. “I --”
“What, love? What do you need?” His breath was hot and wet on her ear.
“More,” was the only thing she could say. Arousal was a tight ball in her gut making her shake and tremble and need more than she’d thought she could.
He rolled them both over. “On your belly, love.” He covered her hands with his and thrust deeper. “Like this?”
She shook, wordlessly.
“Tell me what you want … what you need.” He whispered hoarsely, reaching up to brush her hair aside and kiss the back of her neck. He nipped at her shoulder. “I want to see you let go. Come for me.” He pulled her up on her hands and knees and held her hip, angling deeper, filling her with a perfection that shock her to the very core. She came until she was limp and her arms couldn’t hold any longer.
He caught her just before her face hit the sheet and gave a hoarse chuckle. “That’s it.” He guided her back on to the mattress, settled himself between her knees, and kissed the corner of her lips. “Sexy little Valkyrie.” He nearly growled as he slipped back inside.
Beth gasped and cupped his face. His eyes were fierce, almost feral.
“That’s it. God.” Still twitching from the after spasms of her own release, she rubbed encouraging circles on his back.
He dropped his forehead against hers. “My name. Please.”
“Colin?”
“Like you mean it.” He nipped her bottom lip.
Beth clutched at his messy curls, turning his head so she could whisper in his ear. “You feel so good, Colin. So good.”
He moaned, deep and ragged, as he buried himself inside her a final time before collapsing beside her. “That was …” He caught her hand and brought it to rest on his rapidly moving chest. “Beth, that was --”
“Oh, yeah.” She grinned at him. “Nice job with the mind blowing.” The sides of his mouth curved up, the classic self-satisfied male smirk, and she laughed. “Do I have to worry about your ego already?”
His head turned toward her and blinked one eye open to squint at her. “You did say ‘mind blowing’?”
“I did. Maybe you’re the Valkyrie.”
He chuckled and squeezed her hand. “Valkyrie are, by definition, female.”
“Oh.” Beth wrinkled her nose and shrugged. “I’m going to grab a shower.”
“Do I get to watch?”
“Nope.”
He sighed. “I’d argue, but I probably need a few more minutes to recover anyway. I’ll just lie here and imagine you taking a shower.” He smiled broadly and closed his eyes. “That’s right you dirty girl —use extra bubbles.”
Beth laughed as she glanced around the room in search of her pajamas. They were too far away. She wrapped the sheet around her chest and pulled it off the bed as she stood up, giving the bedding an extra tug to untangle them from Colin's legs. She ignored his chuckling at her light-of-day shyness and collected he
r clothes.
Beth took her time showering and getting dressed, and then headed out to the kitchen with a bounce in her step she was careful not to overanalyze.
Colin was sitting on her couch speaking on his cell phone. “No. No. I am certain. I’ve told you that your personal physician should not even have a medical license, and if he comes near me again I will be pressing charges.” He sighed heavily. “I’m fine. Truly. I’m certain that the doctor was merely being overly cautious. I’ll book a flight for early next week and give you a call when I arrive in London. No, please don’t. I’m not … no, I’m no longer staying at … hmm? I’ll be staying with a friend here in Los Angeles. You can reach me on my cell.” Colin sighed again. “I am not being … Fine, I’ve met a woman. No. She is spectacular and I intend to marry her as soon as she’ll have me. Of course she hasn’t agreed yet, she is entirely too practical to marry a man she has just met and who spent several hours acting like an imbecile last Saturday.” He gave a burst of boyish laughter. “Right. Yes. I’ll see you then. You too, Father.”
Beth stared at him wide-eyed.
“My father.” He gestured with the phone.
“I … umm ... I …”
“You were listening to my conversation with my father.”
She felt her cheeks heating up. “You were having that conversation in my living room.” She frowned. “That’s not the point. I think we should have a talk. I … umm.”
“You heard me tell my father that I plan to marry you and now you’re panicking.” He grinned. “Would you have preferred I share with him your remarkable talent for bed play?”
Beth tried to laugh. “So you didn’t mean anything by it, right? You were just messing with your father?”
“Of course I was messing with my father.”
She smiled. “I don’t know why I —”
“But I do intend to marry you.”
Her stomach clenched. “Colin, I … you are a … I … we …”
“You are adorable when you’re terrified.” Chuckling, Colin stood up and walked towards her. You’re forgetting one important matter.”
