Dana gave him a half-smile, hoping he’d respond this time to her gentle query. Instead of refusing, he turned back and walked toward her again. With scarcely an inch between them he looked down at her. His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath.
“No tub. Not yet,” he said with soft gravel in his voice. “Because when you’re in that tub, I will be with you.”
Before she could move or speak, her gaze locked with his dark eyes and all the breath went out of her. “Marshall—”
“No,” he whispered, shifting a fraction closer. “Don’t say anything.”
“Why?”
He dipped his head lower until his lips came close to hers, not touching, but teasing, his breath the only caress. “Because if I hold you in my arms, I won’t want to stop. I’ll want it all. All you want to give me.”
Her breath tightened. Oh, yes. I want so much to give you everything. She ached with needs, and she didn’t want to hold back her feelings any longer.
Marshall touched his mouth to hers, grazing it with a sweet, almost chaste touch that tortured. When he pulled back she thought he’d finished. Instead he caressed her lips one more time, tender and exploring. She responded, hoping, wanting so much more.
Pulling back, he took a deep breath, chest heaving as he clenched his fists. He hadn’t touched her anywhere else during the excruciatingly wonderful kiss. She knew the power she had over him right then and almost took advantage of it. Almost threw herself into his arms and pushed him over the edge. Instead she watched as he gave her a last scorching look, then turned and left.
Chapter Nineteen
Marshall stared into the flames dancing in the fireplace. Silence covered the house, except for the snap of sparks in the hearth and the insistent tick of the grandfather clock. He heard Dana moving around in the bedroom and his imagination powered into overdrive.
Dana smoothed moisturizer on her arms, on her flat stomach, and on her long-as-sin legs.
Heat rose in him at the thought of her naked, and he wanted to barge into her room and tug her into his arms.
“Marshall?”
Her soft voice made him jump. In seconds he took her in, her navy T-shirt, her relaxed fit jeans, her feet covered in white athletic socks but no shoes, her damp hair appearing dark red rather than the fiery color he was used to seeing. His gut made another helpless clutch of burning need.
“You all right?” she asked when he continued to stare at her.
He broke from the trance. “Yeah. Want something to drink? I’ve got some wine around here. Pop, milk, water, you name it. If you’re hungry there’s plenty in the fridge.”
She stuffed her hands into her pockets. “No, thanks. I’m good.”
A raw, primordial rhythm seemed to beat inside him. He might have kissed her before but he ached as if he’d never touched her in his life.
Dana moved toward him and he half hoped she’d sit in the leather chair, half hoped she’d sit next to him. She sat on the other end of the couch from him, and he sighed with relief and disappointment. Part of him wanted to scream. What he’d felt for Eva and Helen paled in comparison to the overwhelming, gut-wrenching protectiveness burning a hole in him.
She sat sideways so her leg came up on the couch part way. He wondered if she used the position of her leg as a mental or physical barrier. She stared into the fire, and he found the quiet surrounding them almost comforting.
She sighed. “This place would be good for writing. It’s so tranquil here.” When she smiled at him he saw the world in her eyes. As if something had broken lose and set her free. “I think I might be over the writer’s block. And I owe it all to Macon.”
“Why did being here help?
“I didn’t think it would. You remember what I told you in the car and about what I said to Kerrie?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t explain what I meant earlier. I do understand what you’re talking about. I’m just afraid I’ve got a lot of things in my life that aren’t settled yet. I don’t have that break loose feeling that you have.”
She seemed to brighten, as if his acknowledgment that he understood warmed her from within. He liked that. He liked it a lot.
Clasping her hands together in her lap she asked, “What’s holding you back, Marshall? What is your road block in life?” A reluctant edge crept into her voice. “What are you afraid of?”
“One question at a time.” Marshall sagged and put his head back on the cold leather. He closed his eyes. Maybe he could answer her if he didn’t have to watch her animated face or see her reaction to what he decided to reveal. “I’m not afraid of much.”
She made a scoffing noise, but he didn’t open his eyes. “I don’t believe you. I’m a writer. Remember? I specialize in watching people and looking at their reactions. Paying attention to what motivates them.”
“So you’ve got me all figured out?”
“No. You’re a tough nut to crack. Like a piece of granite that refuses to be carved. I’m not sure what to make of you, and I think you like that I can’t figure you out.”
He raised his arms above his head, then tucked his hands behind his neck, trying for a casualness he didn’t feel. “Why do you care so much? Most people give up by now.”
“You don’t want anyone close to you. Are your parents even close to you? Your brother and sister?”
“Yeah. Family is important to me.”
“What about Eric?”
Marshall shrugged, resolved to keep his eyes closed. “We’re best friends, and he tries to bring me out but there’s no point in that.”
“What about Logan? You guys seem like good buds.”
“We’re friends, but he’s got plenty of demons of his own.”
“I sensed that.”
He felt her shift, and he opened his eyes and lowered his arms. Instead of looking at her, he kept his gaze pinned to the hypnotic waver of flames in the fireplace. If I look at her it might be all over. I’ll cave in. “Anything you don’t sense?”
She cleared her throat. “Maybe. Like why you’re determined to keep me safe.”
“It’s my job.”
Maybe his tone kept her from asking more about that subject, and she plunged into another topic with a vengeance. “Eva and Helen really ruined you for other women, didn’t they?”
He did look at her this time. She smiled with self-satisfaction and the grin of a woman who had hit the mark.
“Yeah. They did.” Okay, if you’re going to play it hard, I’ve got something for you. “Who ruined you?”
Dana felt his question all through her body, from the top of her head shooting straight to her toes. Oh crud. If he didn’t plan on getting involved with her, emotionally involved, what did it matter? Nothing to lose at this point, she concluded.
“I…no one—”
“If that isn’t a load of bull—”
“It’s not. No one ruined me.” She licked her lips. “I’ve done more damage to myself than anyone else could have done. You’ve got to let people do things to you. Deep inside where it hurts. If you keep people shut out, then no one can do damage, can they?”
His eyes changed from semi-hostile to curious. “Right. So who was he? Who was the bastard that hurt you?”
“I’m not telling you anything.”
“Come on. Fair is fair. You know about Eva and Helen and what they did to me. Or what I allowed them to do.”
He turned his body so that he mimicked her. When he lifted his leg onto the couch in that half open stance, Dana let a wave of pure need grip her body. “It’s complicated.”
“So?”
She waited, trying to bring on the courage. She began, as tentative as a baby attempting first steps. “Frank Bevans.” She took a deep breath. “It happened when I was in college. A relationship that went bad. That’s all I’m going to tell you for now.”
His eyes narrowed, dangerous and dark. “I could make you talk.”
She uttered a nervous, thin laugh. “How? Arre
st me again? Threaten to keep me here until I spill my guts? If you want to keep yourself aloof from women, Marshall, why are you asking about Frank? What do you care?”
His chest expanded as he took a breath that shuddered through his frame. “Do I have to spell it out?”
Please do. Please. I’m drowning here. “I’m not a mind reader.”
Marshall leaned forward, his casual stance turned to intense, his gaze capturing hers in a breath-stealing grasp that threatened to send her out of control. If he didn’t say something or do something in the next minute, she’d do…what? Run screaming from the room?
“We’ve kissed, Dana,” he said huskily. “We’ve done far more. We’ve been pretty intimate.”
Ire rose in her, and suddenly it felt like old times between them. “As you’re so fond of saying…so? If it’s just lust and you only want to have sex with me, then I’m not willing to tell you about Frank and about—”
“Damn it, Dana.” Before she knew it he moved across the couch and stared her down like a fighter ready for fisticuffs. “Tell me or I’ll have to do something desperate.”
Her breath came in tiny puffs, almost gasps. She thought about leaning away, but knew he’d follow. “Do what? Tie me up? Throw me in the clink?”
His gaze went from determined to startled amusement. One corner of his mouth twitched, then his eyes turned inferno hot. Not with anger, but a mingled toss of intense desire and exasperation. “Brat.”
The one word did it. She giggled. “Bully.”
He slid one hand behind her neck. “Apologize.”
“For what?”
His mouth was so close now his warm breath touched her lips. “For being a maddening, crazy—” He swallowed hard.
“Yes?” She knew the word came out like a plea for more, but she couldn’t help it. His warm fingers caressed the back of her neck and sweet tingles radiated down her spine.
“For making me care about you so much,” he said, his throaty confession sounding raw and hurting.
His words made her heart beat faster and warm gratification filled her heart. Before she could think or say another word, his mouth came down on hers. Hard.
Oh God. Yes.
This was it. No more waiting. No more insane repartee designed to keep them apart.
Without preliminaries Marshall plunged his tongue inside, tasting her like a man drinking his first cup of water after a trip across the desert.
She exploded into her need, almost ripping the buttons from the front of his shirt. Under her quick fingers his shirt parted and she sighed. Dana couldn’t remember feeling this uninhibited. Desire bit her like a snake, stabbing deep with teeth that pumped heavy passion through her in great waves. She arched against him as his hot kiss tormented her with a provocative rhythm. Restraints came down, washed away by a fierce hunger. Emotions engulfed her as hard and hammering as surf driven by high winds. Up and down it tossed her, the white water closing over her head. She decided to drown. She wouldn’t kick to the surface and try to escape.
Marshall groaned into her mouth, dizzy with pleasure as she traced her hands over his face. He drank in her sighs and sounds of pleasure. Cupping her back, he smoothed her shirt across her skin, teasing. He wanted to touch her soft skin so much he burned deep in his loins, the arousal turning him hard and aching.
As he stopped kissing her, his right hand came up and cupped her neck in mockery of imprisonment. He let his fingers glide with self-assured strokes along her skin. She shivered and touched his chest again. He let out a rough noise, caught between a growl and a gasp as she traced her fingers across his muscles. Like a feather she teased him.
Marshall never wanted to please a woman as much as he wished to please Dana, and he knew he’d do anything to get her to that teeth-grinding point of release. He’d love her until she screamed and begged him for it, and until he teetered on the edge of explosion.
Dana knew they’d lost control. Without a doubt this man gave her security she’d never had with another man. She trusted him with her life.
Slipping her hands over his shoulders she gripped the wide, incredible musculature and felt him move under her touch. His breath came hard and eager. She welcomed the lustful, super heated need in his eyes as he looked at her.
Marshall attacked her neck with nibbling kisses that excited her even more than the touch of his fingers had moments ago. His hands cupped her hips, then reached around to delve under the waistband of her loose jeans. The flicker of his fingers above her buttocks made her arch against him in frantic jerk. She opened her mouth to speak yet nothing escaped but a whimper.
At the same time his hand found her breast and cupped it. As his thumbs flicked over her lace-covered nipples, the burning sweet pleasure made her writhe in his arms. Before she realized it he’d tilted her backwards on the couch, freeing her breasts for his view. As he leaned over her his gaze took her in, transfixed as if he’d captured an unimaginable prize. The firestorm in his eyes told her everything a second before he cupped her breast again and his tongue explored. She panted and arched, wanting to be closer.
Dana never thought, not in a trillion years, that anything could feel this good. As he taunted her nipples with lingering licks, she drove her fingers through Marshall’s hair and cupped the back of his head. She anchored him, pressing him onward until he encompassed one nipple in his mouth and suckled. She shuddered again and again, loving his unremitting possession. She couldn’t pretend only lust drove her headfirst into his arms. She’d fallen into an emotional roller coaster that demanded fulfillment for her mind as well as her body. This man had taken her emotions to places they’d never touched on, driven her to seek answers. Perhaps, in his arms, she’d find her Nirvana.
Dana whispered his name, desperate for a rescue from the building pressure. On and on he tongued her, lush strokes that brought her to blinding arousal. Then he sucked hard and without mercy. She cried out as an ache throbbed between her legs.
“Marshall, if you don’t—oh God.”
Marshall knew she hung on the edge. He zeroed in on the waistband of her jeans as he made short work of the snap and zipper to gain access to the soft skin beneath. His hand slipped into her pants at the same time he captured one of her nipples between his teeth and tugged. A plea slipped from her and she lifted her hips to give him better access. His fingers traced and lingered and taunted until she squirmed. Marshall slipped down, searching until—
Dana saw heaven.
“Yes,” she groaned as his middle finger found her, touching the hot wire drawn tight with excitement.
Marshall started a slow journey over slick, hot softness. Her eyes popped open and she stared at him wildly. Before Dana could catch her breath, his soft, barely there touch sent her flesh into a trembling that astonished her and blew her right out of her mind.
She uttered a strangled moan as he strummed her flesh with fluttering brushes and swirls.
The warmth that poured through her earlier turned to a conflagration as he concentrated on her greatest pleasure, then slipped one finger deep inside her. She gasped as he inserted another finger and stroked, giving her no mercy. She felt herself tightening against invasion and welcoming it at the same time, incredible pleasure clasping her muscles over his fingers.
Dana twisted in his arms, her groan of rising pleasure stifled when Marshall captured her mouth with his. He circled over and around with his thumb. Sparks of light seemed to dance against the inside of her eyelids as her breathing accelerated. A deep throbbing began inside her.
He moved his thumb once. Twice. Three times.
She lost it.
Burning, breath-stealing passion consumed her and she detonated. A gasping whimper escaped her.
She opened her eyes at the crest and saw the savage male pleasure etched into his face. Another twist of his thumb sent her up higher and her body trembled against his, convulsing. A buzzing filled her ears and she felt lightheaded as the last tremors rippled through her. She moaned as he eas
ed his hand away and rested his palm against her belly.
She buried her face against his throat and waited as she caught her breath.
Seconds later he looked at her, a tender, heart-melting smile curving his sexy mouth. “You’re beautiful. So beautiful.”
She smiled back, unable to contain the joy that bubbled up inside her. Her body had known it perhaps before the rest of her did.
I love him. I’m helplessly, irretrievably in love with him.
She loved him so much she ached to give him the same screaming pleasure she’d experienced moments ago.
Dana realized she couldn’t wait any longer to be his.
“Now.” The word escaped her with a shiver. “Marshall.”
“Now,” he agreed.
As he pulled back she saw the flush in his face and knew she affected him as much as he did her. He swung her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. His bedroom.
She barely had time to revel in the feel of powerful muscles holding her when he lowered her to the bed. Dana registered few things about the darkening room in her sensual haze, pin-pointing all her concentration on the man before her.
Marshall slipped out of his shirt, flinging it away. It hit something and landed on the floor with a soft swish. He yanked off his athletic shoes.
He hesitated for a moment, standing with his legs apart and his chest heaving with each breath. Dana sucked in her breath, a primitive thrill responding to the naked male before her. A wicked grin came to her lips.
He’s male all right. So male I want to torment him and make him feel so much pleasure he’ll never forget me as long as he lives.
Dana watched him disrobe, and she took in the broad planes of his shoulders, the defined pectorals in his chest, the ripple of muscle in his stomach. Excitement ran through her like a rushing river. Unable to wait, she sat up and reached for his waistband, struggling with the buttons as she ripped at them. Seconds later they came undone. He took control, shoving his pants down along with briefs until they landed on the floor. Dana caught a glimpse of hard masculinity. Then she was in his arms again.
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