Exception to the Rules

by Stephanie Morris

  “Baloney. No matter the outcome at your job, you’ve already won. You’ve achieved what you set out to do, and did it through diligence and excellence. What’s not to like?”

  She laughed. He had a knack for making her do that. “Kallie called me today.”

  He pulled back so he could see her face. “Oh?”

  “Dax proposed to her. They are having an engagement party and want us to come up for it.”

  “In Wyoming?”

  She nodded. “In a couple of weeks.”

  “Should be a grand time. Can you get away?”

  “For a few days, definitely. I wouldn’t want to miss it.”

  “Excellent. I can make it, too.”

  “I haven’t told you the date.”

  “No need to,” he replied. He enclosed her hand in his. “I’ll be there.”

  She inhaled deeply, the air fragrant with the scent of basil and pesto. “What is that?” she asked. “It smells delicious.”

  He pulled out her chair, waited until she was seated, then headed toward the kitchen. “Salmon. One of my father’s special recipes. Why don’t you pour us some wine while I grab the food?”

  She did, enjoying the light flavor of the Chardonnay. He came back quickly, carrying a large tray weighed down with covered dishes, which he placed in front of her. When he took off the lids, she exhaled deeply with excitement. “It looks wonderful.”

  He leaned over until his mouth was very close to hers. “So do you.”

  She erased the rest of the distance and kissed him. Before she knew it, she was standing again in his arms and the alluring dinner wasn’t as desirable as getting her hands underneath his shirt.

  He had his own plan, and his was the more overwhelming task. She had on a blouse, a jacket, a bra, pants, panties. And yet, somehow, by the time they’d staggered into the bedroom, between kisses, chuckles and gasps, she was down to a bra and panties while he still had on his pants.

  His hands traveled toward her bra clasp, but she wiggled out of his reach. “Hold on a second,” she rasped. “I want—”

  He interrupted her with a kiss. A long one full of exploration and teasing, distracting her just long enough to undo her bra clasp and slip the straps off her shoulders. It fell to the floor to join the rest of her discarded clothing, leaving her in satin bikini panties.

  Bas stepped back, eyeing her from head to toe twice. “I love your outfit.”

  “Thanks,” she whispered. “Why are you still wearing pants?”

  He looked down, pretending to be shocked. “Oh hell. I wondered why I was feeling so confined.” Bas undid his belt, his zipper, and after he stepped out of his pants, he kicked them across the room, leaving him in a pair of boxer briefs.

  “Wow. You’re really excited to see me, aren’t you?”

  “I would have to be out of my mind not to be. Now, why is it that you still have clothes on?”

  “Tsk. Tsk. Tsk, Bas. Every time I come over, you’re always anxious to get me naked. I’m starting to think you’re trying to form a nudist camp.”

  “I am. Wait until you see what activities I have planned.”

  She looked at his huge bed, which looked awfully alluring with the comfy tan cover and overstuffed fancy pillow.

  “Scuba diving?”

  He moved closer to her as she slipped her panties down until they fell around her ankles. “Nope, too predictable. I thought we’d have a fashion show.”

  Her head snapped up. “Oh? Sounds interesting.”

  With a salacious grin, he walked over to his nightstand and opened the drawer. He brought out two silk scarves. “I think so too, and hopefully, you still will after you find out how I want you to model them.”

  Gaea’s eyes widened. “Now wait a second—”

  “Do you remember the first question I asked you that night at Pescatore’s?”

  “Um, yes, I do.”

  “I was going to do this after dinner, but I’m willing to reverse the order.”

  Her gaze stayed on the silk scarves. They looked soft. But being tied up?

  He walked back over to her, and his arms slipped around her waist. “It’s going to be magnificent,” he murmured. “All you have to do is lie back and let me take care of you.”

  “I don’t know about this, Bas. I like having my hands free.”

  “Which is a good thing. You have lovely hands. However, tonight is going to be about you. All the pleasure you can handle. Nothing but earth shattering things are going to happen to you. I swear.”

  She stared up into his eyes, but she already knew that he was telling her the truth. He would never do anything to hurt her. Completely the opposite. Bas was the most caring lover she’d ever had. Which didn’t mean he couldn’t take on his dominant persona on occasion. She liked it a lot. He was considerate and without restraint, and boy, he had some stamina.

  “Okay then,” she said, caressing his back. “I’ll agree to this. Do with me what you will.”

  He tried for a wicked chuckle, but the effect was ruined when he kissed her. She felt the hardness of his erection against her hip and it occurred to her that they probably should speed things up a little.

  Bas clearly had the same idea because he led her over to the bed. She went to sit on the edge, but he stopped her, instead lifting her up into his arms and placing her carefully in the center of the humongous bed.

  After she was settled, naked, exposed, he lifted her arms up and over her head, toward the posts. Her heartbeat sped up as he secured her right wrist, making sure that the scarf wasn’t too tight, but that she couldn’t escape. She tested it a few times, almost called it off, but then figured she had nothing to lose by taking a chance.

  When he wrapped the scarf around her other wrist, she realized there had never been another lover in her past she’d trusted enough to do this. And definitely no other man had made her this aroused and antsy. Gaea squeezed her thighs together, but it didn’t help. Only one thing would ease her ache.

  She squirmed on the duvet as he moved to the end of the bed, smiling, taking in the sight of her vulnerable body with clear excitement while he removed his boxers. His erection was as hard as she’d ever seen it, and she felt more attractive than ever that she could have this effect on him.

  Then he crawled onto the bed.

  Her pulse raced, and in spite of her willingness to try something different, her hands tugged at the bonds. It was hard to lie completely still, especially when he grasped her left leg in his hands and kissed the arch of her foot.

  “Relax,” he whispered. Then he kissed the top of her foot, and with indescribable composure and extreme gentleness, he moved leisurely up her leg, licking, nibbling, kissing. Gaea had never thought of her leg as an erogenous zone, but obviously, she’d been misinformed. Because every caress made her insides almost melt.

  “Stop wiggling,” he said.

  “Impossible.”

  He stopped moving until she met his gaze. “You can. You will.”

  She comprehended what he was doing, and it thrilled her. Tonight, he was calling the shots, not her. Of course, she was the only beneficiary of his attention, which wasn’t actually a burden, but still, she wasn’t used to giving up power. In fact, her days were completely designed around the idea of acquiring power.

  Yeah. She could do as he asked, for now.

  After she obeyed his request, he still didn’t go back to his ministrations until she lowered her gaze. Fascinating. A little strange, but good.

  Especially good because he traveled rapidly up her leg, sucking her flesh, kissing, nibbling. All the spectacular things his mouth and tongue could do.

  But that was only the beginning. The star attraction came a few moments later. His hands spread her legs. She felt incredibly exposed, totally worshiped, and a little self-conscious until she saw the lust in his expression.

  That’s all it took. That and his skilled tongue, of course. He knew exactly what to do, exactly how hard to lick, when to slow down. He tease
d her until she pleaded, then rewarded her with the focus and attention that was out of this world.

  She didn’t come just once. That would be too easy. If she’d had her hands free, she would have rearranged herself. Given him something as good as she was getting. But that wasn’t what he wanted. In the end, it clearly wasn’t what she wanted either.

  Gaea cried out loudly as she came. They probably heard her in Fort Worth. Several times. She lost track of how many times she climaxed. But Bas didn’t stop. Not until she was so wiped out that her voice cracked and her vision dimmed. Then he raised up. Gaea struggled to open her eyes enough to see his contented grin. But a bigger surprise was when her gaze traveled down to his waist. He wasn’t erect any more.

  Bas noticed her bewilderment. “It’s okay. The comforter is washable.”

  Then she understood. He’d experienced his own orgasm without a single caress from her. Bas had climaxed because he’d made her cry out in happiness. Because he…

  “Oh my,” she whispered, lowering her head back to the pillow.

  Gaea still struggled to breathe normally, and her body continued to tremble and quiver as residual quakes of her orgasm rolled through her. She was positive that all of the pleasure receptors in her body were on overload, had combusted several times. Which was a very wonderful thing.

  In the back of her mind, she felt him free her hands, and then he was next to her in the bed with his arms and one leg around her. He nuzzled her neck with his kissable mouth, and she sighed her contentedness.

  “Tell me, what did you think?” he asked.

  Gaea chuckled. Well, as much of a chuckle as she could squeeze out. “You don’t know?”

  “Yes, but my male ego wants to hear you say it.”

  She turned her head until her eyes met his. “You’re a magnificent man. I’d sign up for your fashion show anytime.”

  “So the scarf thing works for you?”

  Gaea nodded. “Maybe not as an everyday thing. But on occasion…”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  She laughed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Bas.”

  He lifted his head and winked. “Do you actually want me to answer that?”

  Gaea remained silent for several long seconds, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering just enough to make her very aware that she knew what he was going to say. But she nodded anyway.

  “Yes. Tell me.”

  “You can marry me,” he said. “Gaea, I love you. I want to come home to you every evening, go to bed with you every night. I want to wake up to you every morning, cook you breakfast, pack your lunch, and pick out wedding invitations. I want to hear everything about your day, each day.”

  She looked into his gorgeous face, the honesty shimmering in his green eyes. He loved her. There was no doubt about it. He’d shown her in every possible way.

  What Bas didn’t know was that she’d been doing some research of her own, which didn’t involve her job in any way. She’d checked out a few books and articles on love, marriage and what it takes to make a relationship work, especially the ones written by his mother.

  What she found was that there was no perfect answer. Just as Bas had no chance of figuring out the secret to understanding women, she stood no chance of finding the exact formula to happily-ever-after.

  There were no rules to follow, no master plan to formulate. The only specifications she had were her own. What did her heart tell her? What her gut told her about the man holding her. This future?

  She turned a bit further, raised up on one elbow. “Can I be completely honest?”

  “Always.”

  “This is what I know. I’ve never been in love before, so I have no idea if I’m doing it the right way. I’ve definitely never trusted anyone with my heart. You’ve seen how I am, what I do, and all I’ve received from you is understanding, love and support.”

  “I sense a but coming…”

  She grinned as she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. “So what do you say, Sebastian Fuller, that we go up to Wyoming to celebrate our engagement as well?”

  For several heartbeats, his expression didn’t change. No response. Then he grinned. Oh, what a smile.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Are you sure about me?”

  “I’ve told you once before that I want to spend the rest of my life unraveling the mystery of you. I haven’t changed my mind. I never will.”

  Gaea exhaled softly. Shifted once more so she was safe in the warmth of his arms. His breath caressed her cheek. As her eyes drifted closed, she felt something different, something wonderful. A heartbeat later, it dawned on her. She was where she always wanted to be.

  Home.

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  Gaea couldn’t ever recall being this nervous in her life. Not when she accepted her new position at Begum and Guinn. Not when she and Bas traveled to Wyoming and announced their engagement. And not when she walked down the aisle to begin the rest of her life with Bas.

  He grounded her. Kept her calm when things were chaotic. She’d made the best decision in her life when she said yes to Bas. In return, he’d kept his promise to her. He showed her he loved her every day. Most importantly, she hadn’t had to choose between her career and her man. She was handling both very well.

  The alarm on her cell phone startled her. She looked down at the counter for a long time and tears sprang to her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she tried to collect herself. Bas was in the living room waiting on her. While he typically had the patience of a saint, Gaea wasn’t positive that would be the case today.

  A short time later, she made her way to Bas. He rose from the couch when he heard her enter. One look at her face and disappointment flickered across his expression, but he opened his arms. She rushed into them with hesitation. Resting her head on his shoulder, she was content to let him hold her. Finally, she lifted her head to look at him.

  “Bas, we’re going to have a baby.”

  Bas went completely still. “But—”

  “These are tears of happiness,” she murmured.

  His knees buckled slightly as he eased down to the floor, holding her. He cradled her on his lap and held her tightly to his chest.

  “I can’t believe it,” he said over and over. “Thank you, love. Thank you,” he whispered hoarsely.

  Her hands cupped his face as she kissed his lips. Seconds later, she began to cry as they shared another joy that neither had ever experienced in their lives. A joy that she hoped to share with Bas for many years to come.

  The End

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