“Oh, that sounds good, and this feels good, too,” she said, running her hand over the iron-ridged hardness of his erection, the smoothness of its head, stroking him into oblivion.
Rory was about to lose it, but somehow he managed to ask, “You’re still on the Pill?”
She met his gaze. “Yes.” Her words came out as a whisper. “And I haven’t done this with anyone else since you.”
His gaze burned into hers when he said, “I haven’t done this with anyone else since you either.”
He watched the slow lifting of her brow and knew now would be a perfect time to tell her there was never a Shari. There had never been anyone but her. But he knew to do so would mean divulging other things, providing explanations, and even now although he knew she wanted this, she wanted him, he wasn’t sure she wanted a future.
“You and Shari never made love?” She asked, like the information had left her breathless and dizzy. She of all people knew how sexual he was.
“No. We never got that far. Besides, I couldn’t imagine going inside any woman’s body other than yours.” And that had been the truth. No other woman could turn him on as quickly and as completely.
“Oh, Rory. That means…”
“Yeah.” He shuddered at the same time she did at the thought. That meant he would definitely be keeping her on her back this weekend, against the wall, on the table, on the floor, in the shower. Whenever. Wherever. They had twelve months to make up for. But somehow during those intimate moments he would break through her mind’s defenses, as well as her heart’s, and make her realize an affair was the last thing the two of them wanted to share. There had to be something more solid and concrete between them.
Something more permanent.
When he leaned forward to kiss her, the thought of forever was on his mind, and when he felt her place the tip of him against her wet opening, he entered her in one hard stroke.
He released a low growl when he felt her muscles clamp tight on his throbbing erection. He sank in deeper, with the intent of going to the hilt. And to accommodate him, she spread her legs wider, seemingly needing him as much as he needed her.
And this weekend, he intended for her to get as much of him as she could take. He intended to have his Cat purring one minute and scratching heatedly the next. He intended for her to see that in bed or out, they were meant to be together.
Cat pulled back from Rory’s kiss and met his intense gaze when a torrent of sensations overtook her at being completely filled by him. They were so closely connected that the firm and solid plane of his stomach rested smack up against the flatness of hers. And she could feel the thick width and length of him, throbbing inside her. Her inner muscles gently squeezed him, and she heard another low growl come from deep within his throat. And when he began to move, in and out, she grabbed hold of his shoulders as the lower part of her body picked up the rhythm he was creating.
When he went in, their bodies would automatically lock tight while he grinded her almost into the wall, forcing her body to arch into him for even deeper penetration. Then he would pull out. Almost. The friction of flesh sliding against flesh made sensation after sensation roll through her. An urgency for more was creeping up her spine, rushing blood through her veins, and making more heat settle in the area where their bodies connected.
And then he increased the tempo and went faster, harder. Cat wondered if it was possible for a person’s body to shatter into a thousand pieces, because hers was definitely heading there. He was wringing her out wet. She gasped when he went deeper, harder still, and wondered if her body would make a permanent impression on the wall.
His movements became even more frantic, urgent, his breathing that much more forced. And the dark eyes that dared her to look away filled her to overflowing. She loved him. She would always love him. And she was determined that before they left the cabin, he would know just how much and that an affair would not work for them.
Then she felt him stiffen, felt the first sign of a release shoot inside her. And the moment she felt it—the hot, sticky substance his body had created—she shuddered, and his name slipped from her lips just moments before he captured them in his.
He rocked into her, time and time again, then the big O hit both of them, throwing their bodies into long, deep, mind-blowing spasms. Of all the times they’d made love, she’d never known a time that had been so powerful or so intense. She couldn’t hold back the convulsions that began overtaking her as another intense and fiery orgasm ripped through her.
He hollered out her name, and she felt it again, a thick stream of release shooting inside her, making their connection that much more profound, intimate, and urgent. And when he gripped her hips to get the full effect, she knew if she hadn’t been on the Pill, there was no way she wouldn’t be getting pregnant at this very moment.
When he released another hard groan, his shaft tightened inside her. She held hard to his shoulders and knew round two was about to begin. She also knew that one day she would have his baby…as well as his heart. With this man she would have all the things she’d ever wanted but had been afraid to go after.
A life with Rory was all that really mattered to her. It was the only thing she wanted.
Five
“Hungry”
Cat shifted positions on the black leather sofa, not remembering how and when she’d gotten there, and glanced over at Rory. He was on the floor naked, on his knees, placing more logs in the fireplace. He looked so completely male, so powerfully sexual, that all she could do was stare. Apparently he didn’t know just what a tempting pose he was in. He had one of the finest butts she’d ever seen.
When she didn’t answer, he glanced over his shoulder and saw just where her gaze had been. He smiled. “What are you doing?”
“Watching you.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
She laughed. “Considering how we’ve spent the first hour, I’d like to think it’s a good thing.”
“I’d like to think so, too. I miss being with you.”
“In bed?”
He was glad she’d asked. “No, sex between us will always be good. But I missed your company, as well. I missed knowing you would be coming by on Friday nights and I would talk you into staying over. I miss taking you to the movies, dinner, and our talks. Hell, I missed spending time with you, period, Cat.”
He watched a slow smile touch her lips. She liked knowing she’d been missed. “And do you know what the hardest day was of all?” he asked.
“No, what?”
“Your birthday. I know how special your birthday is to you, and I regretted not being there to make it even more exceptional.”
She shifted, trying to get more comfortable on the sofa while remembering that day. Her parents never had a lot of money, but they always made sure each of their six children had birthdays they would remember. There had never been a birthday when she didn’t get something, even if it was something inexpensive like a box of crayons and a coloring book.
She glanced back over at Rory. “Dad said you came by.” Her parents and Rory had developed a close relationship that didn’t end when the affair had. Although her mother and father never brought it up, she heard Rory had dropped by to check on them periodically.
“Yes, I decided to leave my gift to you with your father instead of dropping it off at your place.”
Cat nodded, remembering the beautiful bracelet he’d given her. Considering they had broken up, at the time she’d thought it had been kind of him to get her anything. She had left a message on his answering machine thanking him. “You could have come over, Rory.”
“No, I couldn’t.”
Startled, she blinked. And then she remembered. She had said a lot of things to him that night, and now she vividly recalled telling him not to show his face around her place again. She suddenly felt a thick knot in her throat. It was a wonder he was even speaking to her. She’d been in rare form that night and had gone off on him something terr
ible.
“Rory, I—”
“No, it doesn’t matter,” he said, crawling back over to the sofa. “We’re back together, and that’s all that matters.” He reached out and slowly began caressing her arm. “We want the same things now, so there won’t be a misunderstanding between us ever again. Neither of us want love and commitment. Now, I’m going to ask you again. Are you hungry?”
Hearing him state that false assumption hurt. “Yes, I’m hungry.”
He stood, and then he took her hand and pulled her up with him. Neither had bothered to put their clothes back on. “Then I think we’d better get dressed so I can feed you. How do salmon patties and grits sound?”
“Mouthwatering.”
“Like this?”
He pulled her closer to him, and the mouth that settled over hers was firm, and the taste and scent of him were renewing her senses. Cat practically melted against him, and she felt herself moaning deep in her throat. When he raised his head, the eyes looking down at her were dark, heated.
“Umm, no. Not even close. Mouthwatering salmon patties can’t compete with your kiss,” she said honestly. “And I think that’s what I missed the most. Seeing you each day, and knowing that before you left at night you would give me a kiss to make my toes tingle, a kiss that would make it much easier to get through the next day. Then there were our talks, and the time we spent together doing things, like the time you showed me how to landscape my yard. There were so many things I missed not having you around, Rory.”
Hearing her say that made him feel good. She’d never admitted that she liked having him around before, although he’d assumed she did. Her saying it definitely hit a positive chord. He bent his head and took her mouth gently. The warmth of his lips touching hers increased his pulse rate.
Cat reached out and cupped the back of Rory’s head. She could tell from his expression that her words had surprised him. Had he not known she had enjoyed his company? If that was the case, then she would use time this weekend to make sure he understood that now she knew how special things had been between them, and he was wrong in thinking she didn’t want love and commitment. But if a loveless affair was all he was interested in now, what was she going to do?
When he ended the kiss, she buried her face against his throat. “My overnight bag is still where I left it, by the door,” she said, needing to concentrate on something other than his mouth.
“Need help unpacking?”
“I packed light, which means I didn’t bring a lot of clothes.”
“Oh, and why was that?” he asked, sliding his palm along her cheek.
Cat inwardly berated herself for almost giving something away. “I thought I was going to be here alone and didn’t need a lot of clothes. I had planned to spend most of my time inside.”
“Well, I’m here with you, and you’ll be spending some time outside, starting in the morning. How would you like going fishing with me?”
“Fishing?”
“Yes.”
She grinned. “Umm, that will depend.”
“On what?”
“On how much sleep I get tonight.”
Rory broke out in a hearty laugh. “In that case, you won’t be going fishing with me in the morning. Just be prepared to help cook my catch when I get back.”
Cat smiled. “Okay, you have a deal.”
Rory smiled in undisguised delight as he watched Cat pull the items out of her overnight bag. “You weren’t lying when you said you packed light, were you?”
Startled, Cat turned, and her eyes met his. She felt heat move into her cheeks. She didn’t know he’d been standing in the doorway and wondered what he thought about ail the sexy lingerie she had brought. The only clothes she packed that were decent enough to wear outside was the outfit she’d arrived in and the one she had changed into after her shower: a pair of white capri pants and a green midriff top. “Ah well, the lighter, the better.”
“Yeah, and I personally think less is best,” he said, grinning mischievously.
Cat rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be preparing dinner?”
He chuckled. “Yes, in fact, I came to let you know that everything is ready.” He crossed the room, stood next to her, and picked up a book she had unpacked. Landscaping Made Simple.
Rory raised a brow, smiling. “You’re going after my job? I don’t see you being the dirt-under-the-fingernails type.”
Cat laughed. She couldn’t see herself being one either. “No, I decided to learn something about what you do. After we broke up, it dawned on me just how little I knew. You would mention things; we mostly talked about my work.”
She stood still for a moment, biting her lip, and knowing he would be too kind to say that the reason they had mostly talked about her work was that her work—and only her work—had been the focus of any of their discussions. She had enjoyed talking to him about her goals, her plans for the future, her various clients, and the different proposals she and Lisa had been working on. It wasn’t until they had broken up that she realized just how little she knew about what his landscaping company was all about. She had an idea, and he had helped her put together her yard. But still, she hadn’t realized how selfish she’d been in making it “all about her” and not dwelling on his needs.
“So what have you learned so far?”
She couldn’t help giving him a flirty little smile. “One thing I learned is that landscaping is for the birds, literally. I didn’t know until I read that book that bird lovers can actually landscape their yard to attract birds. Did you know that certain birds, like the brown thrashers, house wrens, and orioles eat a variety of insects and if you landscape your yard with flowers that draw certain types of insects, then you’re in business.”
Rory nodded. “Yes, I knew that.” And he was impressed that now she did, and most important, that she had cared enough about what his job entailed to have taken the time to find out.
“What about mating?” he asked, placing the book aside.
“Mating?”
“Yes, since you learned something about birds, did you also read about how they mate?”
Cat’s brow furrowed. “No, it wasn’t in the book.”
“Umm, how unfortunate,” he said, smiling.
“Do you know something I don’t know?” she asked, smiling back.
“Possibly. They don’t mate like humans.”
She laughed. “I didn’t think so.”
“Their courtship and mating rituals are among the most varied for all species. It’s said that a bird without a mate is a bird without an offspring.”
Cat chuckled. “Now that’s definitely not true with humans.”
“Definitely.”
Cat enjoyed this sort of banter with Rory. Before, their conversations always tended to be more on the serious side. She was about to say something when her stomach rumbled.
“I think I’d better feed you now.”
“Yes, I think you’d better.”
After dinner they had cleaned up the kitchen together before going outside on the porch to sit in the swing. They were sitting close together, with Cat practically in Rory’s lap, and for over an hour he questioned her on how much she knew about landscaping.
“How would you like to go with me when I fly out and give an estimate for my next project? We’re about to bid on a shopping mall in Los Angeles.”
She turned in his arms and glanced up at him. Lisa would take off and go on those sort of trips with Peyton all the time, but Cat had never traveled anywhere with Rory, mainly because he’d never asked her. But then she knew why. It would have been a waste of time on his part, since she never would have allowed herself any time off from her work.
“Um, sure. I’d like that. Thanks for the invite. Just let me know when.”
Rory looked surprised. “Just like that?”
She frowned. “Just like what?”
“You would go out of town with me, just like that? What about your own work?”
�
�There shouldn’t be any problems if it’s during a time we don’t have planned seminars. No big deal.”
Rory remembered a time when it would have been a big deal. They had been alone at the cabin for little more than five hours, and already he could see changes in her. Changes he definitely liked. He stood and brought her up with him. He took hold of her hand. “Come on—let’s go.”
She lifted a brow. “Where are we going?”
“Inside. To make love.”
Six
Very early the next morning, Rory slipped out of bed. He glanced back over his shoulder at Cat while he slipped into his jeans. She was sleeping peacefully, dead to the world, an understandable state, since they had hardly slept at all last night.
They were lucky the cabin was out in the middle of nowhere, on private land. There hadn’t been any neighbors around to hear the sound of the headboard hitting the walls and no reason to drown out the moans, cries, and, in some instances, the screams of pleasure that had been torn from both of them. A clear indication of how their night had gone. His Cat had also clawed up his back pretty good, which was another sign. But then no pain, no gain.
“Rory?”
He turned. She had opened her eyes just enough to look at him. She wasn’t as dead to the world as he’d thought. “Yes, sweetheart?”
“Where are you going?”
“Fishing.”
She switched her gaze from him to the window. “But it’s still dark outside.”
He grinned as he walked back over to the bed and sat down on the edge. He gently pulled her into his arms, sliding his arm in back of her so she could rest her head on his shoulder. “Yeah, and that’s the best time.”
“Umm, who am I to argue, since you’ve proved countless times that you know a lot about perfect timing.”
He glanced down at her. “You think so?”
“I know so.”
“Thanks for that vote of confidence.” He could tell she was still sleepy, and he was tempted to kiss her until she forgot all about sleeping, but doing so meant he would forget all about going fishing. He would take the time to taste her—all over—when he returned. Besides, he didn’t intend to stay away long. The lake was within walking distance and could easily be seen through the trees. If things went as planned and the fish were biting as he hoped, he would be back before she woke up good.
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