by Leanne Banks
Sara closed her eyes. “Oh, Daniel.”
He swallowed a curse. “Oh, Daniel what?” he asked in a tight voice.
Sara bit her lip and shook her head.
Daniel’s heart fell to his knees. He couldn’t read her. Her face was saying yes, but she was shaking her head no.
“Yes,” she finally said, putting him out of his misery.
He blinked. “Yes?”
“Yes,” she repeated, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “But do I get the chocolate the maid left on your pillow?”
She could have asked for a lot more and Daniel would have given it to her.
He lit the fire and ordered another bottle of champagne from room service while Sara popped microwave popcorn. It was a crazy combination, but the night seemed to call for craziness. Twenty minutes of easy conversation, two glasses of bubbly, and Daniel watched Sara turn delightfully, deliriously tipsy.
Her fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. “Do we dance or go swimming?”
“Swimming?” he asked, letting her fumble all she wanted. It was sheer pleasure to be the single object of Sara’s attention.
“In the Jacuzzi.” She frowned in concentration and pushed his shirt from his shoulders. “I think dancing first, don’t you?”
Actually the bed appealed to him. “How about—” he began, but she’d whirled away from him to fiddle with the radio. She found an easy-listening station and was humming along with a popular tune.
Her gaze fixed on his, she unbuttoned her silky blouse and let it slide from her shoulders to the floor. Her skin shimmered like satin in the firelight, and Daniel’s attention was caught by the way her nipples nearly spilled from her sheer, low-cut, bra.
When Sara opened her arms, he went to her and brought her close to him. “I thought you wanted to dance,” he murmured, running his lips along her neck.
Sara shivered. “I do.”
He unfastened the clasp of her bra. “It’s gonna be tough to concentrate on dancing when you don’t have any clothes on the top half of your body. I’ll be the first to admit I’m very—” he cupped her breasts and groaned “—distracted.”
Closing her eyes, Sara pushed herself into his hand, and he felt her nipples peak stiffly against his palms. “You think it’s tough to concentrate now. Just wait until the rest of me is bare.”
“Ahh, Sara, I’m not sure this is gonna work.” He rubbed his aching masculinity against her belly.
“Sure it will,” she said breathlessly. “You said you wanted a private party with a wild woman, and that’s what I’m going to give you.”
“Not—” He wanted to say, Not just any wild woman but she chose that moment to kiss him. In the back of his mind he wished he’d never made that comment about wanting a wild woman, because his desire was directed toward a particular woman. And that woman was Sara, wild or not. He needed to make sure she understood that.
But her scent was wrapping around him, her tongue was teasing his lips and her breasts were rubbing tantalizingly against his chest. She made him feel giddy with desire.
Her hands fluttered down to the front of his slacks.
“Ah, Sara, Sara…”
“Keep dancing, Daniel,” she whispered, working his belt loose and his zipper open.
He gave a frustrated groan. “Dance?”
As she pushed his slacks and underwear down, she brought his manhood into contact with her stomach, and then, to his utter delight, her breasts. The sight of him hugged tightly within her cleavage was so erotic, his whole body throbbed with arousal.
She pulled away to tug off his boots, and Daniel muffled a shout of despair. Impatiently kicking his clothes off, he twined his fingers through her hair and urged her to her feet. He took time for a kiss that rocked him and made her tremble. With little finesse he pushed her slim skirt and panties past her hips and down her thighs.
Moving in a little wiggle that electrified his body, she stepped out of the clothes. Daniel tried to nudge her toward the bedroom, but Sara shook her head. “We’re gonna dance.” She interlaced her fingers with his and held their hands out to either side.
Her body swayed back and forth, brushing, teasing his. He was starting to sweat. “This is torture.”
Sara rubbed her open mouth over his chest. “Concentrate on the music.”
Daniel freed one of his hands and drew her hips closer to his. “Honey, there’s only one thing I’m concentrating on.” He bent his knees and slid his hard arousal between her thighs, instinctively searching for her heat and moistness. A half beat later he found the slick, silky notch and swallowed her gasp.
He rocked and thrust against her while she moved in exquisite counter motion. Exquisitely stimulating, exquisitely breathtaking, exquisitely heart-robbing.
“Daniel,” she murmured in a trembling voice. Her breath came in little pants against his chest. Daniel felt the warm moistness between her thighs bathing him. He nudged against her opening, wanting nothing more than to slip inside her. His mouth was dry with excitement. “It’s time,” he said. “Let me—”
She shook her head again and slid down his body, her breasts painting a path of fire down his abdomen, over his jutting flesh, to his straining thighs. “Christ! What—”
He felt her breath on him. She touched him delicately with her lips, caressed him with her tongue, then took him into her mouth. A red mist of excitement fell over his eyes. Cradling him in her palms, she loved him with uninhibited delight, driving him to the brink. He was about to lose himself to her sweetly milking caress when she pulled back and looked at him.
She wanted all of him.
He could tell by the dazed expression in her smoky eyes, and the realization of her intent scorched his soul. It was thrilling to have Sara utterly consumed with his satisfaction. Slowly she glided her tongue up the length of his shaft.
Daniel was caught between feeling helpless and feeling powerful.
She moved her mouth to him yet again, ready to take him over the edge. But in a moment of shattering clarity Daniel realized he craved the ultimate connection with this woman. He turned, and her moist kiss glanced his hip.
Before he could speak, he had to swallow twice over the lump in his throat. “Inside you, Sara. I have to be inside you, baby.”
Nodding, she got to her feet and let him lead her to the bedroom. He kissed her thoroughly, his tongue dueling with hers in a prelude to the movements their bodies would make. The fact that she tasted like him made him all the more determined to possess her. He would have traded the farm to be able to slide inside her with nothing separating them, to feel her moist, feminine walls cling to him, and then to experience the vibration of her every tiny inner shudder.
He almost did it. He pushed inside her just a bit to torture himself, but a thin thread of common sense made him pull out. His groans of frustration mingled with hers.
Sara clutched at him. “You’re not leaving,” she said desperately. “Tell me you’re not stopping.”
His hands trembled as he removed hers. “One second. Hold on for me. One second.”
Daniel nearly ran to the bathroom, where he’d left his shaving kit with the condoms inside. He grabbed a handful and returned to Sara, careful not to look at her. His restraint was so tenuous, he’d never felt so out of control before. He threw the plastic packets on the bedside table, except for one, which he tore open. Only after smoothing on the sheath did he allow himself to gaze at her.
Her hair was a mussed cloud of brown silk, her eyes were dark with need, her lips were swollen from his kisses. Her arms lay at her sides, ready to enfold him in a tender embrace. Her knees were bent, her thighs open so that he could see the very heart of her femininity, the glistening essence of her arousal. Daniel was transfixed by the sight of her, and for several moments stood gazing at her in silence.
“Daniel?” Sara said, a husky catch in her voice that grabbed his heart.
He slowly lowered his body to hers, pressing his hard chest to her soft
breasts. “Do you know how beautiful you are?” he asked, entering her in one fluid stroke.
Sara gasped and wrapped her arms around him.
“I know you make me feel beautiful,” she whispered.
“I want to be as close as I can get.” He pulled back and thrust deeply into her.
There was something humming in the air between them. Something that neither had planned. Something that indicated this went way past sex to something she’d never before experienced. Sara was frightened, but what she felt for Daniel wouldn’t let her draw back even to protect herself emotionally.
“More,” she pleaded. “More.”
Gritting his teeth, he thrust as far as he could. Shudders racked her, but she held on tight to Daniel, his violet eyes her only anchor to this world.
Daniel savored the miracle of Sara coming apart in his arms. They were skin to skin, closer than close, with nothing separating them. He was filled with triumph and awe. He wanted to pause to memorize the expression on her face, but she moved, and her inner muscles clenched around him. The pleasure was so intense, it was nearly unbearable, and his strangled cry mingled with hers as they exploded into another realm.
Chapter Ten
The next morning Sara woke slowly. She squinted her eyes at the sliver of light coming through a gap in the curtains. Her cheek rested on Daniel’s shoulder with her hair splayed across his arm. Her breasts pressed against his ribs, while her legs twined with his long muscular, hairy ones.
Her palm lay on his chest, and she could feel the pounding of his heart. It seemed to permeate her skin, and she had the sensation of having Daniel in her blood, her brain, her heart, even her soul.
It was such a disquieting notion that she gingerly pulled her hand away. She pushed her hair out of her face and was struck again by how close they were. She could see each individual whisker on his jaw. His kiss-swollen lips were gently parted, and his lashes were a black veil over his eyes.
His hair tumbled over his forehead in appealing disarray.
Entirely too appealing, she decided.
She carefully untangled her legs from Daniel’s and, holding her breath, shifted her body. Just when she was sure she would escape without waking Daniel, his hand snaked out and clasped her wrist.
“Mornin’, darlin’,” he murmured in a sleepy, sexy voice. “Where are we goin’?”
Sara smiled at his use of we. “I was going to take a bath.”
“And now?”
She wondered when he was going to open his eyes. “I guess I’m not going anywhere unless I plan on leaving my left hand with you.”
His lips lifted in a grin. “Guess not.” With a seemingly effortless flick of his wrist, he eliminated all her hard-won inches away from him and hauled her across his torso.
Then he opened his eyes.
His bright violet gaze knocked the breath out of her.
“Hi, beautiful,” he said.
“Hi, beautiful,” she echoed.
The memory of the night before connected them like a strand of silk. Its impact showed on his face as it probably did on hers. Silence stretched between them, and she could drink of absolutely nothing to say to fill it. Feeling both warm and raw, Sara broke eye contact and looked away. Her gaze caught on the bedside table, where several plastic packets lay cluttered. Humor replaced self-consciousness.
Looking back at Daniel, she smiled. “Were you a Boy Scout?”
He quirked a dark eyebrow. “Yeah. Why?”
She rubbed his rough chin with her index finger. “Don’t they have some sort of motto about being prepared? It’s a good thing you remembered to bring protection, because I wasn’t prepared.”
He looked pleased. “You didn’t bring anything?”
“No. Why should I?”
He dragged her down for a kiss instead of answering the question. When he released her, he licked his lips. “You don’t ever have to worry about protection, Sara. I wouldn’t want any surprises.” He laughed. “Unlike my brother-in-law Russ.”
Sara nodded, recalling a conversation she’d had with Carly just a few days ago. “Carly said he’s been dropping hints, but she’d like to put off the experience of having children a little longer.”
Grimacing, Daniel nodded. “I think I’d like to put it off forever.”
“That makes sense,” Sara said thoughtfully. “You’ve been looking after your brothers and sister for so long, you probably feel you’ve already had the headaches and responsibilities of families.”
“Yeah, and not enough of the pleasures associated with making them.” His gaze meandered down to her breasts. “My hand has decided it wants to join yours in the bathtub.”
“Oh, really?” Sara laughed. “Just your hand?”
“Well, if you’re gonna be greedy,” he said in a put-upon voice, “I guess I could let the other hand join you too.”
“Such generosity,” she said in mock praise. She walked her fingers up his arm and saw goose bumps rise on his flesh. Something else was rising too. She bit her lip to keep from smiling. “Both hands and nothing else? We’ll see.”
They made it out to the slopes after brunch. Daniel had skied only one time before, so, despite his natural athletic ability, it took him a while to get used to it. After he’d crashed a couple of times in the fresh powder, Sara came to his side and tried to help him back on his feet. He swore under his breath. “This is nuts.”
“You could take a refresher lesson,” Sara suggested.
He shook his head and brushed snow off his sleeve. “I don’t want to waste the time.”
Sara didn’t think it would be a waste of time, but she kept her opinion to herself.
He looked at her. “Go ahead. What am I doing wrong?”
“You’re sure you want to know?”
“I asked, didn’t I?”
Sara pointed to his long legs. “You’re locking your knees. If you bend them, you’ll have enough flexibility to keep your balance. Right now you’re too stiff.”
“Okay. Bend my knees.” He tugged on his ski cap with an expression of renewed determination. “And I always thought women liked their men stiff.”
Sara stared at him as he scooted back on track. It took her a minute before she understood his double entendre. She laughed and called after him, “I said your knees were too stiff, Daniel. Your knees.”
The weekend passed in a series of golden moments that Sara knew she would remember for a long time. He coaxed her into staying in his suite, so she moved her clothes from her room to his. Because of their constant proximity, she learned little things about Daniel that she hadn’t known before. Such as the fact that Daniel woke up in a wonderful mood. He displayed not a bit of crabbiness; instead he liked to talk and cuddle. She wondered if he’d always been that way. If so, then she understood why his mother had adored him.
If the conversation lapsed more than three seconds past 1:00 a.m., he was out like a light. He liked to be touched by her and not just sexually. He would sprawl his big body across the bed and hint that he needed a back rub. When she instinctively took his hand, he never failed to close his around hers. He liked privacy, but he included her in that privacy. When they were in the restaurant or lobby, Sara noticed he tended to gravitate to a quiet cubby or corner.
Their last night at the resort he led her to a little place away from the crowds, where they drank Irish coffee and admired the lighted view from the window.
From the booth next to them came a woman’s raised voice. “That’s all? It’s been a lot of fun, and you’ll always remember this weekend? I thought this was more than just a fun weekend, Tom.”
Sara heard the woman’s distress and looked around for an unobtrusive way out of the nook she and Daniel shared. There was none, she realized, cringing. She hated to eavesdrop, and this kind of conversation would have been conducted best in private. Carefully avoiding Daniel’s gaze, Sara studied her mug of coffee.
“Carrie, I told you from the beginning that I’m not interested in
getting tied down.” The man’s voice was unemotional. “I had a good time and made sure you had one too. Don’t make it into something it’s not.”
“I guess I’m just not as good at meaningless involvements as you are, but I can take a hint. It’s over. Excuse me while I pack.”
Sara’s heart twisted at the woman’s pain. Then she gave a sigh of relief at the sound of retreating footsteps.
Daniel gave a low whistle. “That was sticky.”
Sara nodded. “I guess goodbyes often are.”
Daniel shrugged.
Silence descended between them, and Sara couldn’t help but see a parallel between that couple’s relationship and her relationship with Daniel. The only difference was that Sara completely understood that Daniel was not interested in commitment. She wondered what would happen when Daniel’s interest in her waned. Her heart sank at the thought.
“You’re awfully quiet,” he said, wrapping his hand around her shoulders. “What are you thinking about?”
“That couple.”
“Yeah. It left a bad taste in my mouth.”
“Their ideas about their relationship were obviously worlds apart. He didn’t seem to have any problem saying goodbye. I guess it made me wonder…” Sara hesitated, thinking this was an uncomfortable discussion.
“Wonder what?” he prodded.
She swallowed past the hard knot in her throat. “Well, I guess I wonder how you say goodbye.”
Daniel looked at her as if he’d swallowed a lemon. “Why the hell would you wonder that?”
Feeling defensive, Sara moved away from him. “Just curious, I guess. I mean, I’m sure you’ve ended relationships before, and I was curious about how you handled it.”
Daniel looked distinctly ill at ease. “It usually isn’t a big deal because I make sure from the very beginning that the woman understands that I don’t want marriage. The difference between me and that guy is that I make sure that’s what the woman wants too.”
“And it’s never gotten sticky?”
