“All of that.”
He did more looking into her eyes, more of what she thought of as soul-searching, although it seemed as if it wasn’t so much her soul he was searching now, but his own.
After another moment his smile grew and turned devilish. “If you change your mind, I’m gonna have to run naked through the snow to cool off.”
She wanted him naked all right, but not in the snow….
And her answer was to pull free the back half of his shirttails from his waistband and kiss him again, marveling at just how far her newly discovered wild side would go. Because she’d never taken any steps whatsoever to seduce another man and yet here she was…
With her thigh riding higher and higher on Dag’s…
He was returning her kiss again but still cautiously. At least for a few minutes—maybe while he made up his own mind about the wisdom in this.
But then his mouth opened wide over hers once more, his tongue reclaimed hers with a vengeance, and that hand at her side went straight up to cup her breast, sending a tingle of delight to skitter across the surface of her skin.
That was when inhibitions flew out the window.
Shannon yanked the remainder of his shirt from his jeans and both of her hands crawled up the widening expanse of his back, pressing her palms to follow the highs and lows of muscle and bone and sinew.
When she reached his shoulders he broke away from kissing her long enough for her to pull his shirt off, and for one brief moment before he returned to that kiss, she got to see the glory that was a professional athlete’s shoulders and biceps and broad, broad chest.
And even when he’d blocked her view, even when he’d drawn her into another wildly wet and wicked kiss, she could still run her hands all over that naked torso, glorying in the feel.
She hadn’t had quite enough of that when, without warning, Dag tore his mouth from hers to do a quick repositioning that turned him to lie flat on his back on the sofa, lifting Shannon to sit atop him, straddling that portion of him that had apparently caused him problems last night and tonight offered only promise.
He unfastened the buttons of her sweater while she feasted on her second view of his bare chest and flat, honed stomach, running her hands from its center to his sides to absorb the sight and feel of him all at once, provoking him to arch his waist off the couch just enough that the hard ridge of him tantalized her even further.
Then off came her sweater, leaving her lacy, demi-cup bra and the upper swell of her breasts exposed to him.
She thought she would feel more shy than she did at that first loss of her own clothes but instead that wilder side took over once again. She basked in the heat of his dark eyes as they took their turn at feasting on her with an appreciation that brought a smile to his oh-so-ruggedly-handsome face.
But looking wasn’t nearly as good as touching and with a little laugh, Dag pulled her down to kiss her again, rolling them both to their sides.
Somewhere along the way her bra had come unhooked and he tossed that aside, as well, giving himself free access. Free access that he used to best advantage as one mighty hand closed around her now-naked breast, kneading, caressing, massaging, causing a fresh wave of desire to erupt in her that was relayed in the pinpoint pebble her nipple became in his palm.
But last night there had been even more…
Even better…
And when his mouth abandoned hers so he could kiss a moist trail downward to take her breast that way again, she couldn’t keep from greeting him with an arch of her spine and a soft moan.
Circling, flicking, nipping at her. Teasing her nipple with the faint tip of his tongue. Sucking hard, then soft, he brought things to life in her that were sweeter and more intense than she’d ever known.
His hands went to the button on her jeans, opening that, too, unzipping the zipper. He pulled her pants off, taking her stockings with them, while his tongue twirled around the outer edge of her navel, before his mouth found her other breast and occupied it with the same wonders.
That was when it occurred to her that she could have more of him, too. That his jeans could go the same way hers had.
She reached for his waistband button, finding so much more than she’d bargained for in the burgeoning behind that zipper that almost parted on its own when the button was undone.
With a little help from him, off went his jeans and socks, as well, and then he clasped her rear end in one hand big enough to cradle it and pulled her tight up against him.
But not so tight that she couldn’t fit her hand between them to find that steely shaft and enclose it in her grip to make him groan with pleasure and pulse into her palm.
He abandoned her breast again and rediscovered her mouth with his, kissing her with a wide-open, seeking kiss as he shed her lacy panties.
Then he reached to the floor, fumbling among their discarded clothes until he found his jeans and took protection from his pocket. He returned to kissing her with a sexy playfulness while he put on the condom.
Once he had, he was moving her again. This time to lie on her back so he could come over her, between her legs that parted in invitation.
But it was more kisses that came first. Beginning at her knees, going up one thigh. He dropped a kiss at a spot just below her belly button and proceeded to leave a trail of them up her middle to her breasts again.
One after the other, he drew her straining, arousal-engorged breasts into his mouth, flicking his tongue to her nipples, using tender teeth to drive her to the brink of insanity with wanting so much more that she would be writhing beneath him.
And when she was, the body kisses began again, this time traveling up her breastbone to her throat, to her chin, to her mouth…
And at the same moment his tongue made an impertinent entrance, he slid into her down below, too, in one smooth movement that joined them as if there were no other, more perfect fit.
Shannon’s body answered all on its own. Her spine arched from its lowest point, pulling her shoulders, her neck off the sofa in turn, before the full ripple washed through her and the pure force of having him inside her became a reality.
An incredible reality…
Only then did he begin to move—slowly at first, making it easy for her to follow his lead, building desire, anticipation, increasing speed and intensity until their mouths separated and just their bodies moved in perfect rhythm, perfect harmony, perfect communication. Faster and faster. Shannon clung to Dag’s massive shoulders. His big hands were on either side of her head. His long, strong arms braced him above her. And with each thrust of his hips, each meeting of hers to his, each pitch that took him to the very core of her, passion mounted and grew. And grew…
Until things sprang to life in her that had never known life before, taking over, taking her over, embracing her to lift her higher and higher and higher still.
She could feel her own heartbeat racing. She could feel the power and strength in every muscle of Dag’s body. She watched his own passion mounting in the tense lines of his sexy, sexy face until she couldn’t keep her eyes open to see it as she reached that peak he was taking her to, a peak better than she’d known was possible. A peak that held her in an explosion of ecstasy that she’d never experienced the same way, with the same astounding, astonishing, breathtaking splendor that seemed to freeze her in time and space for that one blissful moment…
That one blissful moment that Dag suddenly burst into himself, plunging so deeply into her that it was more than a meeting, a matching, it was a union, a melding together of spirits and souls, a bonding that Shannon had also never experienced, that left her not only spent, not only satisfied and satiated, but a little dazed and dumbfounded by just how profound it had been…
Then Dag lowered himself to lie fully atop her, to kiss the side of her neck, to breathe warmth there and bring her back to earth, to herself, to a place where she could catch her own breath and tell herself it had just been some phenomenon of rapture…
“
Wow…” Dag whispered in awe.
“Wow…” Shannon echoed the word and the sentiment.
“That was something…”
Something she still couldn’t fully fathom.
And maybe neither could he because for a brief while they just stayed the way they were, basking in the afterglow before he slipped out of her, rolled to his side and half covered her with his big body while he insinuated one arm under her, wrapped the other over her, and held her to him.
“Tell me I didn’t hurt you,” he asked then.
“You didn’t,” she answered, looking up at him, savoring the sight of his hair mussed more than usual, of the tiny lines that formed around the corners of his mouth when he smiled. A smile so sweet she couldn’t keep from raising a hand to his cheek.
“Now tell me you want me to stay the night,” he commanded.
“I want you to stay the night.” She had no problem saying it because she couldn’t imagine having him get up, dress and go. She couldn’t imagine losing the warmth of his amazing body and getting into her bed tonight without him.
But now that neither of them was going to have to face that, Dag settled his chin on top of her head. She could feel fatigue weighing him down as he muttered, “Good. So good…and if you give me just a catnap, it can be good again…” he tantalized.
Shannon nuzzled into his neck and closed her eyes. “I guess we’ll see,” she taunted him.
“Oh, yeah, we’ll see all right,” he said as if he were accepting the challenge.
But accepting it or not, the arm that was across her stomach suddenly became slack enough to let her know that he’d fallen asleep, and Shannon closed her eyes, too.
She was warm and oh-so-comfortable there on the sofa, with Dag’s big body partially her blanket, the fire still roaring and the Christmas lights shining down on them.
And in that moment that had its own special kind of perfection, she fell asleep, too.
Chapter Twelve
Every Christmas Eve, Northbridge held a non denominational service at the church followed by a potluck supper in the church basement. Year after year, much of the town chose to spend that evening dressed in their finest, attending the event with their whole family. This year the Mackeys and the McKendricks planned to be among them.
To Dag that meant that he was going to be with Shannon again. But in advance of that, he slipped out of her apartment well before dawn and went to his house to work all day.
Had it been up to him, he would have spent the day the way he’d spent the previous night—with Shannon, making love, napping, making love again and again and again.
But he’d also seen the merit to Shannon’s wish to keep things private. So it wasn’t until everyone was dressed and ready to leave for the Christmas Eve service that evening that he saw her again. And by then it had already been arranged that she would drive into town with Hadley, Chase and Cody.
Saying that he wanted his own vehicle at the church to allow himself the freedom to leave whenever he chose, Dag was left to follow behind Chase’s car, watching Shannon through his windshield.
At the church they all filed into a pew—with Shannon separated from him by Chase and Hadley—and the most Dag could do was steal a few glimpses of Shannon during the service.
The service that spoke of gratitude and caused Dag to think how grateful he was to have met Shannon, to have had the night together that they’d had.
The service that spoke of counting blessings and making the best of every gift, and also brought Shannon to Dag’s mind.
The service that spoke of rejoicing and celebrating and holding close what was most dear—and again it was only Shannon who Dag could think of in those terms.
When the service was over, they went into the church basement where there were so many people that Dag still didn’t get a minute alone with Shannon. A minute to pull her into his arms the way he was itching to. To kiss her, to feel her body against his like he had so many times last night.
And now that the meal was finished, while everyone else mingled, Dag was sitting alone at the cafeteria table, nursing a glass of eggnog and watching Shannon.
Three-year-old Tia had taken her to the Christmas tree to show her the ornaments that Tia’s preschool class had made. But when desserts were laid out on the buffet table, Tia abandoned Shannon to an elderly couple who Dag thought were likely talking to her about her late grandmother.
And all Dag could think was how beautiful Shannon was and that he wanted her so much it was almost driving him out of his mind…
She’d twisted her hair into a knot at the crown of her head and left the ends of it to spring out like a geyser. She was wearing a simple, long-sleeved white mohair knit dress that skimmed her curves and wrapped the column of her neck in a high-standing turtleneck. The hem of her dress ended just above her knees and from there Dag’s gaze followed shapely legs to the three-inch high heels that he couldn’t help picturing her wearing with nothing else at all—something he thought he might be able to persuade her to actually do now that he’d discovered a hint of a daring streak in her. A hint of a daring streak that he took great pleasure in bringing out in her.
But then there were so many things he took great pleasure in bringing out in her. So many things he just took pleasure in when he was with her.
Everything, in fact…
Gratitude and counting blessings and cherishing gifts and rejoicing and celebrating and holding close what was most dear…
The sentiments of the service came back to him then, making him recall that it had been Shannon he’d counted as a blessing, Shannon he’d been grateful for, cherished and rejoiced and celebrated in. Shannon he’d mentally held close and dear…
And it struck him that the things he’d felt making love to Shannon had been unlike anything he’d ever come across with anyone else. What he’d felt since then, what he’d felt all through the church service, what he felt at that moment, wasn’t anything he’d ever felt before, either. Not even with Sandra. Not with anyone.
But the day after Christmas, Shannon was leaving…
And suddenly that became an unbearable thought.
How the hell had he come to that? he asked himself as it struck him just how unbearable a thought her leaving was. How had he gone from believing she was engaged, from knowing to steer clear of her not only because of the other guy in her life but also because she wanted bigger and better things than he could offer, to this? To wanting her so much he would have gladly faced another five men—all of them with crowbars this time—if it meant he could end up with her?
Now that was crazy!
But somehow it was true.
And as that fact sunk in, Dag had to face it.
He wanted Shannon Duffy.
And not just in bed.
He wanted Shannon Duffy in his life. Constantly and continuously. Permanently. In his life, by his side, as close as he could get her every minute from now until the end of time…
That beautiful woman in white…
Who was more recently out of a relationship with another man than Sandra had been—a man Sandra had ended up with after all.
That beautiful woman in white who wanted a bigger life—much like his mother had always wanted more…
Maybe I’m just the dumbest idiot who ever lived, he thought as he reminded himself of the two reasons he’d known from the beginning not to get involved with Shannon.
Two penalties, he told himself, in a game he swore had to be squeaky-clean for him to ever play again…
And yet something caused him to balk at thinking of Shannon in terms of infractions—hockey or otherwise. Shannon was too good for that. She was generous and kind and funny and sweet and caring.
Did she want a life that had more to offer than she’d known growing up? Than she’d known through the course of taking care of ailing parents?
She did, but Dag understood that. And he couldn’t fault her for it. He’d wanted to play hockey and he hadn’t let anything h
old him back. Good parents or not, Shannon could well have done the same thing. But she hadn’t. And now that she was free to do more, to have more of the kind of life she wanted? He couldn’t hold it against her that she was determined to do that.
Plus there wasn’t anything in what she wanted, anything about Shannon that was really like his mother—it wasn’t as if Shannon put on airs or thought she was better than anyone, she just wanted a bigger bite of life. And he thought she deserved that. If anyone deserved that, it was someone who had done as much caring for and sacrificing for other people as Shannon had.
But if he thought that she deserved a bigger bite of life, he couldn’t be the one to ask her not to take it, he told himself.
Because that’s what it would cost her if he tried to keep her by his side, in his life, as close as he could get her every minute until the end of time.
It meant asking her to sacrifice what she wanted again.
Unless he did the sacrificing…
It took him a moment to accept that as potentially another way to go. And another, longer moment to consider it.
He could change his own course for her…
Surprisingly, that wasn’t so difficult a thing to imagine once it had occurred to him. It was a lot easier to think about that than about her walking away the day after tomorrow and his never seeing her again.
But here he was, thinking about throwing his own plans out the window, about making a significant—a huge—alteration in his own life, without knowing how she felt.
And that was a very big deal.
Because it was the feelings that really mattered, he reminded himself. Shannon had turned down three proposals because her feelings for those other guys weren’t strong enough, because they hadn’t matched up to what her parents had felt for each other. If she wasn’t feeling anything for him that was as strong as what he was feeling for her…
Dag stalled. He couldn’t think beyond that.
He couldn’t entertain any thought beyond that one, now that that one had come into his head—did Shannon have feelings for him? And if she did, were they the kind of feelings he had for her? The kind her parents had shared that had made them content to live any sort of life as long as they lived it together?
The Bachelor’s Christmas Bride Page 16
