Her beautiful chestnut hair was still in the loose braid he'd put it in before they both went to sleep. With as much as she'd freaked out when her hair tangled up with her bag strap, he thought it would be safer to confine it for the night. He didn't want to hurt her by laying on it, much as he'd love to feel it wrapped around him as he slept.
A light sprinkling of cinnamon freckles dusted over her nose, her pale skin making them all the more visible. He ran his thumb down her cheek, amazed at the contrast between their two skin tones. Her lips were so soft, such a beautiful shade of dusty rose, an almost perfect match for her nipples.
His already partially erect cock grew fully hard the instant he thought about her breasts. Carefully, he teased the sheet down her chest until he'd exposed her to the waist. The cool air in the bedroom made her nipples tighten into erect points, impossible to resist. He looked until he could no longer hold back and bent his head to taste one of the rose-colored peaks.
Lara shifted slightly in her sleep and sighed. “Matt."
Satisfaction filled him, followed by tenderness. His mate knew it was him, even in her sleep.
Lapping and tonguing her nipple, his cock grew harder with his need to be inside her. To be one with his mate again. A stark contrast to the wild joining of a few hours ago, he wanted this time to be a slow, tender lovemaking. He wanted to show her how much in love he was, even if he couldn't say it yet.
Love. The moment he thought the word, he knew how right it was. That she was his mate undoubtedly came into play, but love was the only word that fit. He'd never really been in love before but he had no doubt and he relished the feeling.
He pulled the sheet the rest of the way off both himself and Lara, then grabbed a condom and slowly spread her thighs to move between them. Her pussy was waxed with just a small patch of curly chestnut hair at the top. That little touch was enticing, drawing his eye. She moaned and spread her legs further apart, exposing more of the tender pink lips of her pussy to his gaze.
Mouth watering, he needed to taste her spicy-sweet flavor again. He eased quietly, slowly down until he could ease his tongue between the lips of her pussy and gently stroke her clit. He paused and did it again. Then again. Lost in her scent and taste, he didn't notice she'd woken up until she grabbed his hair and moaned his name.
"Matt. Oh god, Matt. That feels so good."
The rhythmic bucking of her hips taught him the speed she wanted. She gasped when he inserted a finger gently into her hot, wet vagina and found the textured spot that would drive her crazy. He rubbed his finger firmly over it in circles, his tongue continued to alternate between stroking her engorged clit and trailing around her vagina and perineum.
It wasn't long until he felt the grip of her pussy tighten on his finger as she began to come. She screamed out his name and bucked wildly. He slowed down but didn't stop until her body stopped pulsing around his finger, the last bit of pleasure wrung from her.
He pulled away from her grasping hands just long enough to slip the condom on and then knelt back over her. Holding his cock in his hand, he circled the sheathed head around the entrance to her vagina, teasing her.
"Matt, please. Please fuck me again.” Breathless, she begged him.
"No, this isn't fucking any more. This is making love."
He rocked his hips, gently and gradually, entering her in a tantalizing cycle of advance and retreat until he was fully seated inside her, all the while kissing and nuzzling her face and neck. His gentle, soft caresses a loving counterpoint to his hard cock. They were as close to being in a single body as possible. He stopped to relish the intimacy for a second before he began to move in earnest.
Alternating long, slow strokes with short, quick thrusts, he had to fight off his own orgasm. He needed Lara to come again before he did and she had to know who was making love to her.
"Look at me, Lara. Open your eyes and look at me."
Gorgeous hazel eyes looked into his own, wide and filled with an emotion he was afraid to name.
"Play with your nipples. I want to see you touch those delicious breasts."
To his delight, she obeyed him and cupped her breasts in both hands, pushing them together and then sliding her hands to the tips until she teased her nipples. She pinched them between her fingers then ran her nails across their puckered tips. All the time her eyes were locked on his.
A devilish smile was all the warning he got before she lifted her breasts and bent her head so she could snake her tongue out and lick her own nipples.
The erotic sight turned the fire in his groin into an inferno. Desperate to make sure she came before he did, he eased a hand between their bodies and found her clit. Caressing it in ever quickening circles, he thrust faster and faster, unable to make himself slow down. Just as he felt his balls tighten and his orgasm explode up his spine, he heard Lara scream his name as she came at the same time.
Afraid of crushing her, he rolled onto his back and took her with him, his cock still deep within her. Needing to touch her, caress her, he ran his hands up and down her spine as their breathing slowed back to normal.
Unable to put off the necessity of dealing with the condom any longer, he gently pulled his cock from Lara, rolled her off and soothed her sleepy protests with kisses until she settled on her side. After a quick trip to the bathroom, he crept back into bed and curled around his mate again.
Coyote sighed in approval and drifted off to sleep as well. For now, all was surprisingly right with the world.
* * * *
Lara woke gradually, warm and incredibly secure in the arms of the man she realized she'd fallen in love with almost at first sight. She savored the warmth and cozy peace of being held and snuggled. How many years had it been since she had actually slept the night with a man? She'd never spent the night with a man she loved before.
She realized Matt was awake when he trailed light kisses along her shoulders, nipping at her neck and soothing the small bites with tender licks. “Time to get up, sleepy head. I have to work today and we both need a shower. Plus we need to figure out how to set you up for whatever you need to get done today."
He nibbled on her ear lobe. “I can tell you're awake, you're breathing differently and your nipples are hard."
No longer able to contain herself, she laughed. “Okay, I'm awake."
She pulled away from his hard body and sat up, facing him. Completely naked, she felt a little awkward and pulled the sheet up to cover at least her legs and lap. She tried to smooth her hair to find it loosely braided, only then remembering that Matt had re-braided it after the first time they made love. A warm glow ran through her—how many men would even think to do that?
Seeming completely unconcerned with his nudity or his morning erection, Matt lounged on his back on the bed. He reached a hand out and caressed her hip, sneaking under the sheet. He made no demands with it, just seemed to want to touch her.
"What time do you have to be at work?” She really didn't want to leave, despite the fact she knew she had a deadline in four days and had no clean clothes here. She didn't even have a toothbrush.
"Nine again. It's only six right now, though. What do you need to do today?” His hand continued to stroke her leg.
"I took most of the pictures I need yesterday. Today I need to do some layout work and actual writing.” So close to being done, she'd have once wanted to celebrate, but now she tried not to think about it too much. It meant the end of her visit here.
"Okay, how about we both shower, then I'll take you back to the park and you can retrieve your car. This evening I'll meet you at the B&B for dinner.” His eyes narrowed for a moment. “And we'll really eat our dinner this time. I don't suppose you'd care for Mexican food for breakfast?"
This time both she and Matt started laughing and couldn't stop. They had become so wrapped up in each other and in the fantastic sex, they'd completely neglected to eat the dinner he'd made a special stop to get. No wonder she was starving.
"How about if I
take it back to the B&B with me and we can reheat it for dinner tonight? I think I'd like coffee and some pancakes for breakfast today. Maybe a slice or two of your bacon.” She teased him with a smile.
"Deal.” Matt hopped out of the bed and tugged her over for another kiss. “Let's shower and get moving."
* * * *
Matt finally dropped her off by her car only a few minutes before nine. It took her a lot longer than normal to get ready to leave. Each task was interrupted by caresses and kisses. She'd really not wanted to leave, so she didn't try to evade Matt and even instigated a few encounters of her own. It was a good thing they'd managed to stop short of making love again or they would have been considerably later than they were.
The keys to her rental were in the second pocket of her pants that she checked and she loaded the bags of food into the trunk of the car. Thankfully, the morning was cool enough that the food would be fine for a little while. At least long enough for her to take another walk and try to make a few decisions. Big decisions.
Walking along the Bayside trail again, she tried to make sense of the jumble of emotions and desires. Somehow she'd managed to fall for Matt in just a few days. Never a believer in falling in love instantly, she'd have to change her tune now. It's hard to disbelieve when it happened to you.
She would be free after this book was turned in, no longer tied to a hideous travel schedule or a goal that ate up years of her life. She had a good amount of money set aside and would get another portion of her advance on acceptance of this book. She'd meant to go home and rest, maybe try to live a normal life for a while.
At the bottom of the trail, she sat down in the sand to try to think. Eyes closed, she tried to picture her home but all she could come up with was the image of a sterile apartment, an office full of pictures and files and a few dead houseplants. While it might be the place she returned to between trips, it wasn't a home.
She had no real home. Her parents were traveling the country in their retirement RV and she occasionally got a postcard from them, but they seemed relieved when she'd moved out of their house in the first place. She certainly had no home with them.
A cold, wet nose pushed against her elbow, startling her out of her melancholy realization. It was her companion from the prior day, apparently ready to keep her company again. She examined him carefully, comparing him to the photo the ranger had shown her. He had to be a coyote.
But so what? She knew deep down that he wasn't out to hurt her. He wasn't even trying to get food from her. Her innate love of animals and their acceptance of her made her not care what breed he was. The coyote just seemed to want to help her feel better and talking to him seemed to help her.
"Hi, boy. You know, a ranger finked on you and told me you aren't a dog, you're a coyote. And I'm not supposed to fraternize with you."
The coyote whined and set his head in her lap.
The expression was so blatantly pitiful that she had to laugh. “It's a good thing I'm not afraid of you. I try to make up my own mind about people and animals. And I like you."
She started petting the coyote, rubbing his big ears and digging her fingers into his dense fur.
"You know, I've spent five years fulfilling the promise I made to a ghost when I was a teenager and I'm almost done. But what then? I think I've fallen in love with a man here but I'm scared. Scared that he won't be able to accept and love me."
His golden eyes looked up at her when she stopped petting.
"Sorry.” She went back to rubbing and thinking out loud.
"I could be safe and just leave. Cut my losses and not risk being hurt by giving up in advance. But I don't want to give up and I really don't want to lose what I think I've found with Matt. So I think I really have only one viable option—
I have to tell him about the ghosts and take a chance that he can deal with it."
She sighed heavily. “I'll have to do it within the next couple of days. Maybe tonight, if I can manage it. Then there are a few days left for him to digest the reality before I actually leave."
The coyote sat up and nudged her cheek with his nose before giving her a huge lick along one side of her face.
"Ewwwwww.” She complained at the same time she was laughing and wiping the canine saliva off her face. “I'm glad you approve of my plan."
Suddenly the coyote's head whipped around and he took off into the brush. A few seconds later Lara heard the crunch of shoes on gravel. She stood up, ready to return to the B&B now that her mind was made up and she had a plan to put into action.
A polite nod at the older man on the trail and she headed back to her car. There was a lot of work to do today to get the book finalized.
Then she could take the risk of her life.
Chapter Fourteen
Matt had to take more than one deep breath before he could manage to get out of his truck in front of Lara's B&B. He was afraid, something he wasn't used to feeling, but he also wasn't used to having this much to lose.
She loved him as a man. She'd told Coyote so and he'd wanted to weep in joy at her admission. What about Coyote? What about the reality that he was of the Desert Song People, a coyote and a man in one body but who could wear either form? Could she love that?
He'd never told his ex-fiancé. Never trusted her enough to share that secret with her. Now he had to tell Lara if he was going to convince her to marry him, to love him for the rest of their lives. He already belonged to her, was mated to her. They were meant to be together—there would be no one else for him now.
He'd just raised his hand to knock on the door of her cottage when the door swung open and Lara bounced out and threw her arms around him. She pulled his head down for a long, slow kiss.
Embracing her, he pulled her firmly against him and returned her kiss, trying to convey all his love and passion in that act. He ran his hands up and down her back and gently while rubbing his hard cock against her. Damn, he couldn't get near this woman without getting a hard-on. Hell, he couldn't even think of her without getting a hard-on.
She pulled him into the cottage and he saw the coffee table now had a sealed box on it and there were only a few scraps of paper loose on the surface. “Where's the manuscript you were working on?"
"It's done. I managed to finish a few days early and it's ready to mail to my editor tomorrow."
She almost vibrated as she told him the news, clearly thrilled to be done.
"Congratulations, honey. That's great. I'm sure your editor will love it, too."
He was right; he had to tell her today. She might still change her mind and decide to leave now that her book was done, despite the plan she'd developed earlier. He gave her a huge hug of congratulations, chuckling as she continued to wiggle excitedly.
Her news did provide a great excuse, though. He'd already called Cody and arranged for his friend to provide a safe place at Del Fantasma for him to tell Lara his secret. Cody would be able to help her if she ran from him or became hysterical. He didn't think his mate was the type to completely freak out, but he didn't want her to be at risk if she did. He needed her to be safe, above all else.
"I wanted to ask you out for a drink tonight anyway and Cody wanted to check in with you. How about we celebrate with a visit to Del Fantasma for an hour or two, then we can come back and have our leftovers?"
She looked a little hesitant but she nodded. “Okay. We probably should talk anyway. Now that I've finished the book, I have some decisions to make and want to talk to you about them."
His stomach felt as if it tied itself into knots. He didn't want to lose her for anything, ever. Was she reconsidering?
Lara got her coat and wallet. For once she left her camera bag behind, though he noticed she tucked it under one of the living room chairs where it was almost completely out of sight. After locking the deadbolt, they climbed into Matt's truck and headed toward the bar.
The drive was silent, uncomfortably silent for them. Lara seemed worried and very on edge. He was only a step away f
rom throwing himself at her feet and begging. Too many questions were waiting for answers, too many secrets were at stake and their future seemed cloudy and unformed.
They finally arrived at the bar. Since it was still an hour before it opened, no patrons were there. He helped Lara from the truck with only a brief kiss then led her around to the employee entrance off the kitchen. “Cody and I have been friends a long time. He said it would be okay to come early so he'd have time to talk."
The wary look from Lara worried him for a moment, but she entered the kitchen ahead of him. Cody was already there, waiting for them while his kitchen staff worked furiously to prepare for the evening to come.
"Hello, Lara. I'm glad Matt convinced you to come.” Cody's innate vampire powers made his voice extremely soothing and persuasive. It made Matt want to growl, even though he knew his buddy wasn't intentionally using them on his mate.
Cody shot him a warning glance, obviously picking up on his jealousy. “Come back to my office, you can have some privacy there."
He led the way down the employee hallway and into his office, opposite the storeroom. Matt watched the lovely flex and sway of his mate's ass as he followed her. Arrgh. Now was not the time for a painful hard-on. He tried to look anywhere else instead.
"How is your book coming, Lara? Has Matt been able to help you?” Cody played innocent disturbingly well.
Lara's face lit up with a return of her prior excitement. “It's done. Completed and ready to go to the editor for acceptance. I'll still have to make some changes after the editors get a chance to work on it, but the bulk of the work is done."
"Congratulations.” Cody sounded genuinely pleased for her.
Cody motioned toward the four leather chairs clustered around a round table that already had two dark drinks set out on it, their glasses beaded with condensation. “I know you usually just have tea, Lara, but Matt said you needed to have a talk and I've made you a different kind of tea—
Texas Tea. It's my special choice to be drink of the day today. Just be careful, they're potent."
Texas Tea [Del Fantasma] Page 10
