Having made up her mind, Miranda’s body relaxed against his. She was going to enjoy finishing what they’d started…and being fully awake for the entire episode this time.
The hand at her waist moved to her hip, then nimble fingers pulled up her sheep shirt and then moved to her groin, gently pulling at the dark curls that covered her mound. His fingers moved lower still, and she raised her left leg, resting it atop his leg that was parallel to hers to allow him access, then gasped when his fingers slipped inside her.
Jon interrupted the foreplay for a quick trip to the bathroom. She could make out his pale form when he emerged and knew he had completely undressed as well as applied protection.
He dumped his clothes in the easy chair where he had initially slept, then climbed on the foot of the bed and groped for her. “I’d imagine this is what it’s like being legally blind. But I guess blind people want to make love, too.”
Miranda was glad he didn’t turn on the light. As much as she wanted to see his physique, she preferred total darkness to the harsh, glaring light of the bulbs in the lamps. Instead she raised her arms, wrapping them around his broad shoulders as they kissed, her hands eager to explore the planes of his back. She loved the way he cupped her jaw, probably because he had to use his hands as a guide. Her toes bent back and forth. Kissing Jon was sheer heaven.
When the kiss ended Jon laid back on his side and turned her, spooning her once more. The sudden action confused Miranda. It was more of a position to fall asleep in. Surely he didn’t mean for that to happen?
Her uncertainty vanished the moment she felt him guiding his solid erection between her thighs from behind. She quickly lifted her leg the way she had just minutes before, and with one push he joined them together. Miranda stretched her body, threw her head back and let out a mixture of loud breaths, pleasured sighs, and primitive moans. He felt long and thick inside her, and with each thrust he gave her more.
She gasped when he swiftly rolled onto his back, bringing her with him. She found herself in the most unladylike of positions, lying atop him flat on her back, her legs spread-eagled, impaled upon him. Her first instinct at being in such a raw, provocative position made her proceed to bring her thighs together. She abruptly halted at a sudden pressure as Jon’s large palm pressed flat against her lower abdomen, the tips of his fingers playing with her pubic curls. It was a startlingly erotic accompaniment to his thrusts, and it quickly became even more so as his hand slowly moved downward, until his long middle finger found her swollen nub and began to stroke it. With his left hand he undid the buttons of her sleep shirt. When he finished he pushed both sides of it open and his hand went to her breasts, squeezing the fleshy mounds and pinching her hardened nipples.
Miranda all but howled in ecstasy. She didn’t remember sex being this good with anyone. In her elation she naughtily observed that Jon’s frame wasn’t the only part of his anatomy that was long. She no longer cared about the unseemliness of her position and simply gave in to the pleasure Jon was giving her with his hands and with that part of him that made them different.
Jon panted as he ground his hips upward. Miranda was tight and moist, enveloping him like the welcoming arms of an old friend. The only thing he regretted was not getting a good look at her body. By now his eyes had adjusted as much as they were going to, but the darkness of the room was reminiscent of a total eclipse.
The lack of lighting highlighted his other senses, smell, touch, and hearing. The sheets were permeated with the scent of Miranda’s essence mingling with that of his own. Her breasts filled his palms, fulfilling the promise of fullness he’d glimpsed the first night they danced together, and she squealed when he played with the stiff peaks her nipples had formed. The globes of her butt felt cushiony soft yet firm pressed up against his groin. Her belly felt taut under his fingers and palm, and the hair that covered her mound curly in texture. Her pleasured moans and cries increased his own pleasure, as did the slight creaking of the bed, and most of all, the way her muscles clutched at his penis, as if she didn’t want him to take it back. Jon felt with certainty that he wouldn’t be able to hold back very long, not with the intense pleasure she was giving him. It was so delicious, so sensual.
The nape of Miranda’s neck rested on the tip of his shoulder, and the top of her head cushioned by the pillow beside him. His hand left her nipples to reach up and turn her face toward his. Their hungry open-mouthed kiss did nothing to disrupt their rhythm, and just when he felt he could stand it no more her body jerked wildly and she moaned wildly into his mouth, and he in turn let himself go.
Chapter 15
The first thing Miranda saw when she opened her eyes was silky blond hair on a pale-colored chest that rose and fell with breathing.
Good Lord, what had she done?
The sensations flooded her body, reminding her that she’d done something that made her feel indescribably good. Jon had been a superb lover. He’d more than fulfilled the promise of that first kiss, and not just because it had been so long since she’d had sex.
The man was good.
But that wasn’t the point. She didn’t want to fall into bed with any man who was clearly wrong for her...and Jon Lindbergh was wrong as saying that one and one made three. It was true they had much in common, but there were other factors to consider. He intended to stay here in Bismarck permanently, while she was only here to keep from going broke. The minute she could find viable employment in an environment where she wasn’t the only person with a complexion darker than an eggshell, she was out of here. Jon didn’t intend to settle down, while she wanted what most women wanted...a husband...a home...kids. And, most important of all, if word of their affair, no matter how brief, should leak back to Bismarck somehow, they could both lose their jobs.
It was too late to take back what happened overnight, and Miranda couldn’t honestly say she even wanted to. She hadn’t simply wanted to experience Jon as her lover, she needed to. But she had to put a stop to this right away. Maybe Jon thought that their having been to bed together meant she was willing to be his Miss Winter. Well, she didn’t care how cold it got, no way was she going to knowingly jump into a relationship that would end the moment the temperature reached seventy degrees. That wasn’t romance, it was a business arrangement…and one with no soul at that.
But now that she knew firsthand just what she would be missing…would that really make it any easier? And what about her feelings, her instinct that kept telling her that Jon was the man of her dreams, as unlikely as that seemed?
His hand clamped her forearm, jolting Miranda out of her thoughts. As she watched, Jon’s eyes slowly opened. “Good morning!” he said cheerfully.
“Good—” the rest of her cautious greeting got cut off as he pulled her down toward him and kissed her senseless. It didn’t matter, she told herself, even as she kissed him back. Just this once...it would never happen again.
But when his hands began to roam down her back, dangerously close to her backside, Miranda sat up.
“Jon, we have to stop.”
“I’d thought you’d gotten over that,” he said easily.
“No, I haven’t. Last night was last night. But it’s morning now.”
“Yes, it is,” he said heartily. He broke into the old Johnny Nash calypso hit, I Can See Clearly Now as he fastened his eyes to the sheet that covered her.
So he had been as curious to see her naked body as she had been to see his. That was all well and good, Miranda thought, but it wasn’t going to happen.
“I’m going to take a shower, and I’ll get dressed in there as well,” she said as she slid her hips out of his reach, keeping her torso covered with the bed linens. At the same time she reached to the side and behind her, looking for her sleep shirt.
Jon’s eyes danced. “It’s, uh, on the chair.”
Miranda panicked as she remembered their going into each other’s arms again after a brief rest. She’d completely removed her already unbuttoned sleep shirt and thrown i
t in that general direction as she and Jon made love a second time. A wave of fresh memories brushed over her, of her being under him, wrapping her legs around his lower back, her arms around his upper back, of her own back arched as he filled her and she met him thrust for thrust. She remembered how he had rolled them over, barely missing a stroke, so that she was riding him. She remembered feeling his large hands on her breasts, on her buttocks, remembered the glorious feeling of sliding up and down his long pole, of having him deep inside her body…Her chest rose and fell as the pace of her breathing quickened.
Now Jon was looking at her like he was the big bad wolf, no doubt salivating over getting to see her naked. But she wasn’t conceding defeat.
With her right hand she made a test yank and saw that the top sheet was a little loose on the bottom. She took a deep breath to build up her confidence, then used all her strength to pull it out completely, like a magician demonstrating how to yank a tablecloth from a fully set table without disturbing any of the dishes. Jon’s eyebrows shot upward in visible surprise. Proud of herself, she wrapped herself in it, retrieved her small weekend bag, and disappeared inside the bathroom. Once behind the door she opened it a crack and tossed the sheet back to him, closed and locked the door.
Jon raised the linens that covered him, looked at his full morning erection, and said, “Sorry, pal, but you’re gonna have to forget about it for now. The lady just said no.”
It came as a tremendous disappointment that she chose to keep herself concealed from him. He’d been looking forward to seeing her wearing only the silver charm bracelet she never seemed to take off. While Jon had no doubt in his mind that he and Miranda would make love again, but he also had an unpleasant stabbing feeling in his belly that told him he needed to address his behavior of last night.
When she emerged from the bath, fully dressed, he had dressed in his t-shirt and jeans from last night. He approached her and took her hand. “I have something I want to say to you, Miranda. I know I went against your instructions last night. I owe you an apology for not honoring the promise I made you.” He couldn’t bring himself to actually say he was sorry for making love to her, but at least he’d acknowledged that it had been wrong for him to promise he’d sleep in that chair all night and then make his way into bed with her.
She gracefully pulled her hand away and displayed an embarrassed half-smile. “That’s a very gallant thing for you to say, Jon, and I know you’re trying to be a gentleman…but I think both of us know it’s too late for that.”
The quiet dignity with which she pointed out that he’d gone back on his word made Jon feel like a scoundrel, but he had no one to blame but himself for ignoring her instructions and taking matters into his own hands. He couldn’t be hypocritical enough to pretend to be sorry about it, but nor could he deny he had acted like a heel rather than the gentleman his mother and grandmother had raised. “I’m sorry I didn’t honor your wishes, Miranda.”
She nodded. “Thank you for saying that. And now that it’s been settled, I’d prefer that we didn’t speak of it again.” Her lips curved upward in a smile. “I’m sure that this time you’ll respect my wishes.”
“Into the memory bank it goes,” he promised. He took her hand and pressed his lips against the back of it. “Instead I’ll look forward to creating a new memory with you.”
She opened her mouth to protest, and he brought his index finger vertically against her mouth. “Shh. Never mind. Forget I even said that.” As she turned away from him he thought he saw her shoulders tremble. He wanted to pull her close to him, tell her she had nothing to be ashamed of, but he knew he had to let her come to terms with her feelings on her own instead of trying to force the issue.
Jon didn’t see what the big deal was. They’d had sex…good sex…no, make that phenomenal sex. They’d even managed a Round Two, in spite of the two-hundred-mile drive after a full day at work that would do in most people. And what a round it had been. There was no longer any question of sex between them being as fluid as their dance movements. He’d never had such well-coordinated lovemaking. They switched positions without stopping, starting off with him on top and ending in reverse. He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her…gripping her hips and holding them hostage while he filled her, then squeezing her breasts and planting playful pinches on her engorged nipples.
He’d hoped to have Round Three this morning, but she’d put the kibosh on that, so there was nothing he could do. Jon knew his hunger for Miranda stemmed from having gone too long without experiencing the irreplaceable feeling of a woman’s body…and Miranda wasn’t just any woman. He’d wanted her and waited for her longer than he had anyone…and he was glad he had. But she’d insisted it couldn’t happen again.
How would he manage to spend another night in the same room with her on a completely chaste basis, without kissing those tasty lips, touching those luscious rear cheeks, running his hands over the perfect contours of her figure?
Jon didn’t know that the same question, but about him, burned in Miranda’s brain as well.
At seven-fifteen p.m. Miranda removed the rollers from her hair and carefully combed it out. She’d had to touch it up herself since coming to Bismarck, and while she didn’t do a bad job, it lacked the polish that she got from the salon, and her new growth was wavier and thicker than the straighter texture of the rest of her strands. It actually was quite becoming on her. This afternoon she’d covered it with a heavy knit cap—with a satin sleep bonnet sewn inside as a makeshift lining to prevent the wool from breaking off her tresses—but she wanted to look pretty for Jon tonight.
She’d been so relieved when he informed her that the front desk told him they had a room for him tonight due to someone who checked out after a one-night stay. She knew she couldn’t bear to sleep in the same room as Jon without making love to him again, and miles away from Bismarck or not, she didn’t want to play games with her heart, even if her body was more than willing.
The day had been pretty close to perfect. She’d had her ski lesson, found she rather liked it, and afterward Jon had worked with her more. Together they skied down a special series of baby slopes especially for beginners. She knew he was an experienced skier and could be zooming down more challenging slopes with Jae and Brian rather than spending his morning with her trickling down little molehills. Was he trying to make up for his misstep of last night, or had he intended all along to stay with her? She would never know.
Jon checked in with the front desk on their way to the hotel restaurant for lunch, and that was when he was informed he had a room.
They had lunch with Jae and Brian by prearrangement, meeting them at twelve-thirty. Miranda fully expected Jon to join the Gallaghers for some serious downhill motion after lunch, but he ended up spending the rest of the afternoon with her, first returning for some more gentle skiing and then wrapping up by going tubing down the special course with barriers to prevent possible injury from straying and loss of control. Jae and Brian joined them before too long, and the four of them spent two hours speeding down the course, an exhilarating feeling that Miranda mentally compared to making love to Jon.
At four they called it an afternoon. “Listen, nothing against the pizza and wings and sandwiches they serve in the restaurant here,” Jon said as the four of them trudged back to the hotel, “but surely there’s a place in this town where we can get some real food.”
“I’m game,” Brian said.
Jae laughed. “Somehow I doubt there are any Korean restaurants up here.”
“I’d settle for something that’s not microwaved,” Brian replied.
Miranda rubbed her lips together. “Some nice stick-to-your-ribs homemade cuisine, mmm.” She was ravenous, her appetite heightened by the afternoon’s activity as much as it was by those amorous thoughts of the night before that she suspected weren’t going away anytime soon.
“I’ll do some research,” Jon offered. “What say we all meet in the lobby at seven-thirty?”
; “I’m sorry to say our choices are slim,” Jon said when they met at the allotted time. “There’s a pizza place, a Chinese restaurant, a Subway, and a Dairy Queen.”
Miranda groaned.
“No Italian?” Brian asked.
“No seafood?” Jae echoed. “I could really go for a good paella.”
“Come on, Jae, you can’t even find that in Bismarck,” Brian pointed out. “You sure aren’t going to find it up here in the northern plains. There’s probably not even a Red Lobster within fifty miles of here.”
“At this point I’d even settle for a Bob Evans or a Perkins,” Miranda whined. “I’m so disappointed.”
“There is one other choice,” Jon said.
The three of them asked “What?” simultaneously.
“A place featuring Norwegian cuisine.”
Miranda immediately thought of the toxic fish her mother had described, then dismissed it. That was a Swedish dish. Still, Jae’s response summed up her own feelings.
“Norwegians have cuisine?” she asked. Then she caught her husband’s eye and the two of them broke into laughter.
A Kiss of a Different Color Page 14
