Chapter Ten
Action. Such a simple word, but she had no idea where to start. Okay, she had an idea. She’d like to get a closer look at his incredible body and touch his warm, smooth skin. She’d like for him to kiss her again, hold her close and assure her she was wonderful. That she was doing great.
“First, we are wearing way too many clothes.”
“Right. You first,” she suggested.
He chuckled. “You aren’t that shy, are you?”
“I’m pretty shy.”
“Then let’s compromise. I take something off, you take something off. Deal?”
“O-okay.” I can do this, she told herself. She didn’t look bad. And it was kind of dark in the bedroom, even though it was broad daylight outside. She and Johnny Ray had made love in the daylight. A long, long time ago.
At least Greg wasn’t throwing her down on the bed and rushing her with sloppy kisses and pawing hands. Not that he’d do any such thing.
He whipped his T-shirt over his head and grinned.
She pulled apart the snaps on her shirt, each “pop” loud in the silence of the bedroom as she watched the fabric separate. When she got to the last one, she looked up at Greg.
“Next time I get to do the shirt,” he said in a husky voice, his breathing rapid. “I never knew how sexy those shirts could be, although I have to confess to some pretty vivid fantasies during the past week.”
His words made her smile, easing just a little of her nervousness. She longed to run her hands down his heaving chest, across his defined ribs, but she didn’t. Not when she was shrugging out of her shirt and letting him see her new baby-blue, lacy underwire bra that gave herself just a little more cleavage.
She just couldn’t make herself buy black or red, which were probably sexier. She’d decided to start with the pastels and work up to bolder colors…if the affair lasted that long.
“I’m not sure this is going to work.”
Her gaze snapped back to his face. Had she already done something wrong? “Why?”
“Because you have on way more clothes than me. I’m going to be buck naked while you’re still dressed in that sexy underwear. Not a good idea in my current condition. Let’s revise the rules. You take off two pieces of clothing for each one of mine.”
“I’m not sure I like you changing the rules in the middle of things.”
“We’re not in the middle yet. We’ve just started.” He ran his hands down her bare arms, making her shiver. “Trust me.”
She took a deep breath, which made his eyes widen as he stared at her…bra. She hadn’t planned to swell her chest so much, but he obviously appreciated it. She’d have to try that again. Later. When she felt more brave. For now, she had more undressing to do.
“Do shoes count?”
“Not for you, since I’m not wearing any.”
She gave herself more time by easing off her tennis shoes and kicking them out of the way. Too bad they didn’t count; there were two of them.
Okay, moment of truth, she thought as she tackled the buttons on her jeans. If he was going to be turned off by her stretch marks, she’d know soon enough. She glanced at the impressive bulge in his shorts. No, not turned off yet.
The blue lace of her panties barely showed when she started shimmying out of the denim. She had to lean back against the mattress to take them the rest of the way off. Finally she kicked the jeans away and stood up straight.
“I’m feeling a little awkward here,” she said nervously as he continued to look. She shrugged and let her hands fall to her sides.
“I’m feeling a little awkward myself. You haven’t done this in ten years? I feel as if I haven’t, either. In fact, I’m feeling a bit like a teenager myself. I hope I have better control now than I did when I was eighteen.”
Lord, she hoped so, too. She didn’t recall control being one of Johnny Ray’s greatest assets, not that she could even compare the two men. Her husband had been a boy; Greg was a man. A very large man.
“Your turn,” she said, hot and flushed. She wished he’d turned on the ceiling fan. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel as if she was about to boil over, especially when his hands went to the waist of his shorts and eased them lower.
The elastic caught on his erection, barely contained by white briefs. She sucked in a breath, imagining the feel of fabric against his aroused flesh. She wanted to “help” him by kneeling down, removing the shorts inch by inch. She wanted to do a lot of things she’d never done before.
Her legs started trembling and her mouth felt as dry as the Texas plains in July. Time seemed suspended. Was he never going to finish undressing?
“Is it hot in here?” she asked rhetorically. Greg just smiled and continued to slowly remove his shorts.
She spun away, unable to watch. Spotting the wall switch to the ceiling fan, she turned it on, praying the setting was on high. She needed help so she didn’t burst into flames. Fortunately the attached lights weren’t turned on, so she was saved more intense scrutiny. Cool air swept her body as she turned back to Greg.
“Your turn,” he announced, hands on his lean hips.
“Would you like to lie down and talk some more?”
“Nope.”
Carole sighed, then walked over to the spot where she’d undressed before. Closer to Greg. Closer to that bed. Her shaking hands went to the rear clasp of her bra and fumbled. And fumbled.
“Need some help?”
“No!” She groaned in frustration. She’d done this a zillion times. Why couldn’t she do it now? “Yes.”
He stepped around her, flicking open the catch as though he’d performed the task a zillion times. Maybe he had. To other women. Other lovers.
Don’t think about that now. Just get on with it, while he’s behind you and maybe not looking so intently at your body. Right. She could practically feel laser beams scanning her from breasts to legs and back up again.
He eased the straps off her shoulders, and her new bra fell to the ground. Her nipples contracted almost painfully in the cool breeze from the fan.
Okay, just get it over with. She grabbed the elastic of her matching blue-lace panties and skimmed them down her legs as quickly as possible, realizing too late that her butt was sticking out, bare naked. She jerked upright, face flaming, and kicked the panties in the direction of her jeans. Why couldn’t she be one of those women who undressed seductively? She’d seen them in movies and Victoria’s Secret television ads.
“Carole?” His whisper came from beside her, by her right shoulder.
“Yes?”
“Open your eyes and look at me.”
She hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes. She hadn’t even realized where he was, but knew he still watched her. She felt his gaze like sunshine on a cloudless day, burning her skin wherever it touched. She wondered if she’d show burns tomorrow from her exposure to Greg. She turned around.
He slowly took in her body, from her messy hair to her level shoulders to her nice-size, but not quite “pert” breasts, to her faintly stretch-marked belly and lower. Okay, now he knew she was a natural blond.
“It’s a sin to hide that body under clothes.”
Her attention snapped to his face. Was he serious?
She thought he was reaching for her, but instead, he yanked back the bedspread and top sheet in one sudden movement. The scent of fresh linen filled the air.
Then his hands came to rest on her waist, his thumbs just inches from her breasts. “You are so beautiful you take my breath away.”
“I’m not—”
“You are. I’m in awe. I think perhaps we should lie down now, but not to talk. Are you okay with that?” He sounded husky and shaky and oh, so sexy.
She was more than okay; she was melting into a puddle on the carpet. She nodded, not trusting her voice. With a quick lift he deposited her on the mattress. She had the ridiculous urge to ask him which side he preferred, which almost made her giggle. Nervous energy, she realized. She scooted int
o the middle of the mattress and watched.
Instead of immediately joining her, he quickly removed those white briefs—his last article of clothing. The only thing that kept her from seeing all of him. She felt her eyes widen. Oh, my.
He smiled as he placed a knee on the mattress and slid toward her. “Don’t worry. We’ll take it slow.”
Slow? She wanted it fast. She wanted it now. She wanted all those fantasies she’d experienced only in her mind, and especially in the last week.
Her legs shifted restlessly on the bed as he eased down beside her. “You don’t have to treat me like I’m going to break. I’m a strong woman.”
“I know you are, but lifting feed sacks and taking care of your land and house are different from making love. Especially when you haven’t done it in a long time.”
“I’ve had a baby. I don’t know how that…changes things.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, leaning down to place a kiss on the upper slope of her breast. “You’ll find out soon enough how well we fit.”
“Kiss me, Greg,” she whispered, sliding her hands around his back, pulling him close. The feel of his bare chest against her made her gasp. She arched off the bed to be closer. Closer.
His lips sealed tightly over hers, pressing her down, making her moan. His hands sculpted her body as his tongue thrust inside her mouth, mimicking the motion of her hips. She wanted everything right now. She felt as though she’d burst into flames if she didn’t get it right now.
His leg eased between her restless ones, his thigh pressing against her there. Yes, there, she wanted to cry out. She felt his arousal against her leg and wanted to touch him, but she didn’t want to let go of him. What he was doing felt so good. He felt so good beneath her grasping fingers. Was she holding him too tight? Making a mark with her short fingernails? She didn’t know, and as he pressed his leg higher against her, she didn’t care.
He reached down and captured her nipple, rolling it between his fingers so expertly she broke away from the kiss and gasped. The feeling was so near pain she wanted to cry out, but such incredible pleasure that she arched higher, offering him everything.
More, she wanted to shout, and then he bent his head and took her other nipple in his mouth, and she did cry out, long and low and breathless. She moved against his thigh, wanting him to fill her there. Right there, where she ached. The room dissolved into a kaleidoscope of shadows and light. Before she could tell him what she needed, before she could ask him to touch her, now, she pressed upward one last time and convulsed and screamed and dissolved into the light.
The last thing she saw before giving in to the shadows was the shocked expression on Greg’s taut, strained face.
WOW! HE HADN’T EXPECTED Carole’s almost immediate climax. Hell, they’d just started! He’d planned to draw out the experience, building her passion, allowing her to enjoy every minute of their lovemaking.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder.
“Sorry? You don’t have anything to apologize for. Carole, that was fantastic. You just took me by surprise.”
“You?” she laughed weakly.
He tipped her face up. “Hey, that’s never happened to me before, either. I mean to anyone—”
“I think I know what you mean.”
“But you know what? I don’t think you’re completely satisfied.”
“I’m not?” She frowned as if she was testing her various body parts to get a consensus.
He cupped her breast, then skimmed his hand down her side, pulling her tight against his arousal. “I think after ten years you need more.”
She smiled and turned toward him. “I think you’re right.”
Greg smiled in return, then lowered his head and kissed her. Slowly at first, then harder as she responded. Her enthusiasm inflamed him, making his heart beat hard and fast. His breath grew heavy against her neck, her breast, her stomach. And then he couldn’t wait any longer, quickly donning a condom.
He parted her and pressed home, as slowly as possible. She was so tight and hot he had to close his eyes, lean his forehead against hers and stop moving before he lost it completely. When he had himself under control once more, he eased deeper inside. Deeper. Faster. She moved against him, clutching his back, his butt. He felt her muscles clench, vaguely heard her cry, and then joined her in the most powerful climax of his life.
THEY MUST HAVE BOTH fallen asleep, because when Carole awoke, the sun was low in the western sky. She blinked, sitting upright, wondering where she was. Why she’d taken a nap in the middle of the day. But then she remembered. She smelled the scent of freshly laundered sheets, expensive male cologne and hot, hot lovemaking.
She wouldn’t be surprised to see scorch marks on the linens.
Greg stirred beside her, then opened his eyes. He didn’t seem disoriented. Instead, a slow, satisfied smile spread across his face.
She yanked the sheet up to her neck, her pulse racing. Had she made a horrible mistake? What should she do now? Jump up and leave, or relax back onto the mattress? Fat chance! There was no way in the world she could relax after what she and Greg had done this afternoon.
“Hey, beautiful. Are you okay?” he asked in a sexy, husky voice.
He was the beautiful one, with his tousled dark hair, tanned, smooth skin and slightly hooded eyes. “I’m fine.”
“That didn’t sound very decisive.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
He looped an arm around her neck. “I know you’re not comfortable with this…situation, but it’s okay. As long as you…well, as long as I didn’t hurt you.”
She hadn’t even taken inventory of her body yet. Shifting her legs and slipping back down to the mattress, she felt twinges of discomfort. Some muscles she hadn’t used in…forever. And some positions she hadn’t been in in about ten years. Maybe not then. One thing she knew for a fact—she hadn’t enjoyed being in any position as much before.
“I’m fine.” She smiled.
“You were incredible.”
“Not me.” He was the incredible one. “You made me feel…wonderful. The woman you made love to wasn’t the real me. At least, that wasn’t the me I’ve known for twenty-eight years.”
“Maybe this is the real you. Maybe you’ve been waiting for the right time in your life to discover the hidden depths of your passion.”
Or maybe I’ve been waiting for the right man. The thought frightened her now as much as removing her clothes had earlier. She tried not to let her panic show as she scooted toward the edge of the bed.
“Where are you going?”
“I…I have to go. I have chores to do.” She needed space, and time to think. She hadn’t rushed into making love, but she hadn’t known how she would feel, either. And she needed to remind herself that Greg Rafferty was not the right man for her, no matter what her long-starved nerve endings thought.
He raised up on one elbow. “Need some help?”
“No! I mean, I just need to feed Puff,” she said, clutching the top sheet to her as she slowly pulled it off the bed. “He’ll be trying to break down the door to the feed room. You know what they say. No rest for the wicked,” she added, attempting a little humor. She could tell it fell flat.
“I think that’s ‘no rest for the weary,’ and you’re running away.”
“No, I told you that I have chores.”
He caught her hand. “Don’t, Carole. What happened here today was wonderful, not wicked. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I’m not ashamed. Like I said, I don’t have a lot of experience with the…well, not the morning after, but close.”
“Do you want more?” he asked, rubbing his thumb along the pounding pulse in her wrist.
“More?” Her heart began to race.
“More experience,” he replied, his tone seductive. “Come back to bed. Then I’ll help you feed that big fur ball. We can go out to dinner. I’m starving.”
She was s
hocked that she considered his suggestion, even for an instant. “No, I can’t. I really have to go.” She needed to put some distance between them. A couple of miles at least. Maybe then she’d be able to think clearly. Her brain again felt like mush as he held her hands and stroked the pads of her thumbs while looking into her eyes.
“Then dinner later. After chores.”
“I don’t know, Greg.”
“Let’s go eat Mexican food. Travis and Hank told me about a place not too far from Ranger Springs, on the road to San Marcos.”
“Ah, I know the place. Their food is good.”
“Then let’s go together. You can tell me about Jenny’s camp. I’ll tell you what I did in Chicago. It will be very tame, very normal.”
She doubted anything about Greg could be considered “normal.” He was over the top, as Cheryl would say.
He’d certainly made her go up in flames. Her face heated as she remembered how easily she’d climaxed the first time. And the second, for that matter. Despite his words of reassurance, she must have seemed very needy to him. Very unsophisticated to have been so out of control.
On the other hand, she’d already decided to have an affair with him for the duration of his visit to Ranger Springs, or until he tired of her. And in a public restaurant surely he wouldn’t say anything too personal. She needed to spend more time around him so she wasn’t so nervous. She couldn’t have a real affair if she jumped every time he touched her.
“Okay. I’ll be ready at six o’clock.”
“I’ll be there.” He pulled her closer. “Now give me a kiss to remember you by until I see you again.”
“It’s only a couple of hours at the most,” she said weakly, already leaning toward him.
“That’s a long, long time when you’re not the most patient of men.”
“You’re very patient,” she said, surprised at the quick defense she mounted.
“No,” he said with a grin, “I’m persistent. Wait until later and I’ll show you.”
Chapter Eleven
They ate nachos and fajitas, drank margaritas and talked until the sun set. By the time they walked hand in hand to her truck, Carole felt much more relaxed about the affair. She’d survived her decision to begin a sexual relationship, gotten naked in front of a man and responded passionately to everything they’d done.
The C.E.O. & the Cookie Queen Page 13
