by Rachel Lee
“It doesn’t offend me,” she said, a catch in her voice. Rising, she took the box with her to the bedroom.
He had touched her, she realized as she slipped into the peignoir, her hands trembling almost too much to manage the bows. He had reached down inside her and found an Andrea that had never been allowed to exist. In there somewhere was an Andrea who wanted to be beautiful for a man, an Andrea who loved beautiful things, who craved the softness of silk and the heat of a man’s need. Inside, buried in the tomboy, hidden in the officer, was a woman, and Dare had found her and touched her.
There was a full-length mirror on the back of the bedroom door, and Andrea stood before it, looking at herself in emerald silk. The peignoir concealed nothing, really. It was meant to be viewed only by a lover. She looked at herself and realized this was how Dare saw her, realized that he had guessed at something she’d never known about herself. To him, she was all the things she believed herself to be, but she was also more, much more.
He was right. Yesterday she would have thrown it in his face in fury. Tonight she hurried back down the hall to share her discovery with him.
Dare was pacing, scared to death he’d offended her beyond bearing. He called himself seven kinds of idiot for giving in to the compulsion to give her that gown.
“Dare?”
He turned swiftly. Andrea stood just inside the living room, wearing the peignoir. He sucked in his breath at the sight of her, her every curve outlined in clinging, soft silk. Her eyes were shining at him, as if he’d given her the most precious gift in the world.
“Is it…?” She hesitated. “Is it what you hoped?”
“You’re everything I hoped for,” he said huskily, deliberately changing the pronoun. “And more. Andrea, you’re stunning.”
She smiled then, and fresh tears filled her eyes. “I didn’t know this was me, Dare,” she said unsteadily, and then she flew into his arms.
He held her tenderly, kissing away the tears. “Andrea, sweetheart, you’re not upset?”
“No, sir,” she answered forthrightly. “Somehow I’m tickled to death.”
“Quit calling me sir.”
“Yes, sir.”
He lifted his head, looking down into her gently smiling face. “If you call me sir when I’m making love to you, I’m going to be very upset.”
“Yes, sir.” Her lips twitched, and her damp eyes gleamed wickedly.
“Andrea, you drive me to the edge of madness.”
“Sorry, sir.”
There was only one way to deal with this insubordination, he decided. Scooping her up easily in his arms, he carried her back down the hall to bed. In a very short while she was no longer sir-ring him. She was saying his name in a very satisfactory way indeed.
This time he turned the bedside lamp on, a warm glow across the silk of Andrea’s peignoir. For the longest time Dare caressed her through the silk. It was little barrier to his hands, and the glide of its cool smoothness on her skin provided her with a newly erotic sensation.
“I bought this gown right after Thanksgiving,” he told her softly as he shaped her breast with his hand and watched her nipple tighten against the silk. “I lost count of the nights I lay here in the dark and imagined you just like this.”
She drew a soft, shaky breath. “Did you?” Her insides were turning liquid. It had never entered her head that she might be the subject of his fantasies. “I thought about you, too,” she admitted unsteadily.
His blue eyes lifted to hers. “Did you?” With thumb and forefinger he teased an exquisitely sensitive nipple. “Did you imagine me touching you like this?”
Her eyelids fluttered heavily. “No.”
His fingers paused in their caress. “Why not? Don’t you like this?”
Her hand closed over his, holding it to her breast. “Don’t stop,” she sighed. “Dare…”
Lowering his head, he suckled her through the silk and groaned when he felt her twist eagerly toward him.
“How could I imagine this?” she asked breathlessly, hands grasping his head, hips rising toward him. “I had no idea.”
“You still have no idea,” he murmured, lifting his head to kiss her mouth. While his tongue stroked hers rhythmically, erotically, he slowly drew up the skirt of her gown. Only when his fingers gained unfettered access to her dewy core did he lift his head. Looking down at her, he smiled. “But I’ve got more than a few secrets to share with you, honey.” Parting her moist petals, he stroked her deeply, gently, and listened to the catch of her breath. “Is that good?”
“Yes. Oh, yes.” So good it almost hurt. Turning toward him, she flung her arms around his neck and pressed her face to his shoulder. “Dare, please…”
“Shh,” he said soothingly. “Shh.” He wanted this night to be as perfect as it was possible for him to make it. Eventually, though, he gave in to her pleas and his own needs. He rose above her and looked down at her as she lay in the pool of green silk that was bunched around her torso.
“It’s better than I imagined,” he said huskily. “You’re better.”
Before she could gather her wits enough to respond, his driving thrust carried them both away.
Chapter 9
It had begun to snow during the night, and Dare stood before the window of his kitchen looking out at North Dakota’s all-too-common white whirlwind. Snow so dry and fine never had an opportunity to settle in the winds that never ceased. It was unlikely that they’d gotten more than an inch of fresh snowfall, but the wind had drifted it into a four-foot dune across his driveway and front yard. Snowed-in, he thought with pleasure. He couldn’t even see the neighboring houses except as faint ghosts in the blowing snow. In all likelihood this meant no one would decide to pay a courtesy call on a lonely bachelor this Christmas day. He couldn’t have planned it better.
The coffeepot made the loud gurgles that signaled it had finished brewing. Dare reached for it and filled two mugs, then put them on a tray beside two plates filled with coffee cake. Ordinarily he avoided sweets, but Christmas demanded things that were out of the ordinary or it would be just an ordinary day.
Strange things happened to him when he thought about the fact that Andrea was soundly asleep in his bed. His heart zipped into high speed, his loins ached, and his mouth grew dry. Reaching back through his memory as he poured two glasses of orange juice, he tried to remember the last time merely thinking about a woman in his bed had caused such a strong reaction. Adolescence?
He returned his attention to the white world outside. He was afraid to wake her, he realized. He was afraid she would regret last night and look at him with hurt or horror. It was very possible she might, because there was nothing as awkward as the bright light of morning after a passion-filled night.
Muttering a soft oath, Dare picked up the tray. The best way to handle it, of course, was not to let her wake alone while he stewed out here in the kitchen.
Andrea woke the same way she’d fallen asleep in the wee hours of the morning, with a strong arm around her and fingers lightly caressing her bare arm.
“I brought you coffee,” Dare murmured near her ear, his breath warm and tickling.
“Mmm.” Stirring, she turned a little toward him. Her eyes remained closed, but he could see the beginning of a smile on her lips.
“And coffee cake,” he added softly.
“Mmm.” She sighed, and her smile grew a little wider.
“Orange juice.”
“Coffee,” she said on a mere breath. “Coffee and thee.”
“Me?”
Her eyes opened sleepily, misty green pools. “Most especially thee.”
Dare felt his own smile start to dawn. “In which order, Captain Burke?”
“That’s the Colonel’s decision, sir.”
“The coffee will get cold.”
“Too bad.” Her arm slipped around his neck, causing her to wince slightly.
“Andrea? Your shoulder hurts.”
“Just a little.” Her eyes opened wider
. “Don’t let that keep you from waking me up.”
He trailed a string of kisses along her smooth jaw. “Just how awake do you want to be?”
“As awake as it’s possible to be.”
Her hand found his cheek, tracing the strong bones and fine lines, as she watched the blue flames begin to burn in his eyes. “The first time I saw you in uniform,” she said, “that morning in my office, I knew I was a sham.”
“Sham?” He ran his thumb lightly over her lower lip.
“Sham. I knew right then I was really a woman after all.”
“And what a woman,” he said roughly as her silken thigh rubbed against his.
Andrea’s smile grew satisfied as she felt his building response to her light touches. “Yes, sir,” she murmured. “There’s something about the way you look in a uniform that makes me forget I’m wearing one, too.”
Dare sucked in a sharp breath as she began to lightly pinch the kernel of his nipple. Inexperienced as she was, she was teaching him things he hadn’t known about himself.
“Too much?”
“Not enough. What other tricks have you got?” His arm tightened convulsively around her.
“I don’t know yet,” she answered gravely. “Do you want me to experiment on you?”
He drew a ragged breath and looked down into her hazy, hot green eyes. “You go right ahead and try anything that occurs to you, honey. In the meantime, I’m going to try a few tricks of my own.”
Bending his head, he kissed her deeply while his hand foraged along her length. When he was sufficiently pleased by the ragged, rapid way she breathed, and by the way her hips kept rolling gently toward him, he sat up, throwing the comforter aside.
Andrea made a protesting sound and her eyes fluttered open. “Dare…”
“Hush, baby. It’s experiment time.”
Gently he pressed her legs apart and knelt between them. Andrea was dazed enough to let him do as he wished while crazy half-thoughts ran through her head about how magnificent he looked, how big he was, how…
Dare sat back on his heels and drew Andrea’s hips up onto his knees, pressing her legs yet farther apart. He knew the exact moment she realized how exposed she was to his eyes. Her breath locked in her throat, and her eyes flew open. He saw wild color flare in her cheeks and heard her murmured protest, but he also saw the unmistakable flare of excitement in her eyes.
And she was excited. No one had ever looked at her this way, and part of her wanted to hide, but another part of her was inflamed. Frozen, caught between conflicting impulses, she could only watch as he reached out with a forefinger and touched her. She jerked.
“Easy, Andrea,” he whispered roughly. “Easy. It’s okay. You’re so lovely, so perfect. Don’t hide from me.”
She couldn’t have hidden. His gently stroking, gently seeking fingers made a joke of her last inhibitions. Last night’s hungers paled beside the desire he stoked in her now.
“Let go, Andrea,” he crooned. “Do it for me, honey. Let it all go.” He wanted it all, all of her, all of the wildly passionate woman she hadn’t yet fully unleashed. Dare had always been a considerate lover, but never before had he wanted so badly to strip away the civilized veneer, to crack the last bonds of self-control in his partner. He wanted Andrea Burke, woman elemental, without a vestige of Captain Burke left to come between them. He wanted her complete and total surrender to the fires that raged between them. He wanted her partnership in this adventure.
And he got it. Suddenly, without warning, she sat up and straddled him, impaling herself on him, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. Her short nails dug into his back, and her teeth closed on the soft flesh of his shoulder.
Grasping her soft rump, he almost shouted his pleasure as she groaned deeply. Lifting her, he let her settle slowly on him and watched as she threw her head back and gasped. His own needs were pounding at him, but he gritted his teeth, wanting to give her every possible bit of pleasure and sensation before he succumbed.
“Dare!” She sounded almost frightened.
“I’m here, Andrea. I’m here. I’ll keep you safe. I’ll catch you when you fall.” He meant every word.
Her eyelids fluttered, and she arched backward. “Fall with me,” she gasped.
“Baby, I fell a long time ago.” But he let her pull him down, and as soon as he felt her beneath him he lost it, lost it all. With her legs wrapped around his waist, he fell into a hard, driving rhythm that pushed them to the brink and then over.
“I’m embarrassed.”
The muffled words against his shoulder brought a smile to Dare’s face. He lay on his side, holding her snugly against him, his leg thrown possessively over her hip. “Why should you be embarrassed?” he asked gently. “Nothing happened here that we didn’t do together.”
“Mmph.”
He chuckled. “You were shameless, Captain.”
She groaned and burrowed her face deeper into his shoulder.
“I liked it a whole lot. It’s what I wanted.”
“Well, you’re the CO. We aim to please.”
He laughed then. “Andrea, Andrea, you’re a marvel. You delight me. Everything about you delights me.”
Slowly, blushing profusely, she tilted her head back and stole a look at him. “Really?” she asked shyly.
“Really and truly.”
Yielding a sigh, she relaxed against him. “I like everything about you, too.”
Bending, he kissed the tip of her nose. “Are you ready for your coffee? Shall I bring a fresh cup in here, or do you want to get up?”
“I think I’ll get up. I’ve been decadent enough for one morning.”
“I bet I could make you even more decadent.”
Green eyes met blue. “No contest,” she said after a moment, and grinned her elfish grin. Suddenly she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. “Thank you, Dare,” she whispered. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
His throat tightened uncomfortably. When he spoke, his voice was rough. “Come on, Captain. Get your pretty little rump out of bed before you miss your coffee again.”
Fresh from a shower and wrapped in one of his flannel shirts, Andrea joined Dare at the breakfast table in the kitchen. He’d used the time to rustle up eggs and bacon, having seen Andrea’s morning appetite once before. She dug in like a trooper. Drinking his coffee, Dare watched her eat.
“How would you like to spend Christmas day, Andrea?”
She set her fork down and picked up her mug, taking a sip of coffee before replying. “I keep wishing there weren’t so many complications, but there are.” Her green eyes lifted to regard him steadily. “Reality won’t go away, Colonel.”
Sighing, he put down his cup. “I know it won’t. I don’t live in a fool’s paradise either, Captain.”
“I never meant to imply that you did.”
He arched a questioning brow at her. “Are you turning into Captain Burke again?”
She smiled faintly. “I never stopped being Captain Burke.”
“Okay, I get it. I’ll take you home.”
“No!” She startled him by reaching out and grabbing his forearm. “That isn’t what I meant, either! Will you just hear me out?”
Dare settled back in his chair and wondered why the devil he’d been so hell-bent on tangling himself up with a woman. He’d forgotten how confusing they could be. He sighed. “Burke, you’re going to be the death of me. Get to the point, will you?”
“I will, but it’s not easy. It’s embarrassing.”
“I thought we’d dealt with embarrassment.”
“We did.” Color rose to her cheeks again, and Dare was charmed. God, she delighted him!
“But,” she continued bravely, “that doesn’t make it easier.”
“Just close your eyes and spit it out,” he said kindly. “I promise I won’t laugh.”
“Well, actually,” Andrea said hesitantly, “what I want to do today is—live in a fool’s paradise.”
> It took him a moment to comprehend, but when he did, he smiled with such gentleness that Andrea blinked. “Consider it done,” he told her.
“You don’t mind?”
“Why would I mind? It’s exactly the way I’d like to spend the day myself.”
“Really?”
“Really.” And, Charlie Burke, may you burn for what you did to your daughter, Dare thought grimly. Competent, capable Captain Burke had absolutely no confidence in herself when she shucked the uniform and the role that went with it. Was she such a disappointment, Charlie? Dare wondered. Were you so blind?
“Dare?”
Andrea was looking worriedly at him, and he realized she must have seen some of the anger he felt on his face. At once he stomped down on it and smiled at her. “Sorry, I just got to thinking about something else. Lack of sleep, I guess. What kind of fool’s paradise do you have in mind?”
Again her color heightened. “Well, I’m not really sure. I’ve never lived in one before.”
His smile deepened. “Come on, Andrea, you admitted last night that you occasionally indulged in a romantic fantasy or two. Everyone has. Share one of yours.”
But her chin took on the stubborn set he recognized, and she shook her head.
“It’s hardly fair,” he pointed out, “if we only live out my romantic fantasies.”
“I think yours will do just fine.”
He considered arguing with her, then decided against it. “Well, you can’t say you didn’t ask for it.”
That evening, by the light of the Christmas tree, they lay side by side against pillows on the floor. Andrea curled against Dare, her head on his shoulder, and listened contentedly to the slow, steady sound of his heartbeat. Well, she had asked for it, she thought, but never in a million years would she have envisioned a romantic day that involved making Christmas dinner and playing cards. It had been a homey day, the kind of day she’d missed all her life, it seemed. And, surprisingly, it had been very romantic.
Dare lifted her hand from his chest and brought it to his lips. “Tired?” he asked.
