His patience had already worn thin. Usually, when he saw what he wanted, he went for it. I have to be me. He smoothed the lather over his face. “I have to be me.”
They had done the impossible and fallen in love romance-novel style. The how didn’t matter. All that mattered was she was his, and after tomorrow, she wouldn’t be able to live in denial any longer.
Chapter Six
Saundra lay in bed and watched Jeremy sleep. After his abrupt shower last night, he had crawled into bed with her without a word and held her until she’d fallen asleep. Just what she had needed.
With the rising of the sun came quite a bit of clarity. The points Miranda had made during their conversation had remained with her. She was only twenty and in a completely different frame of mind when she’d met Nathan than she was in now. But with as loopy as she’d been acting over the past few days, she wouldn’t blame Jeremy for running as fast and as far away as he could. Then add in Miranda on top with her brand of craziness. Any man in his right mind would avoid her family.
I have been seriously tripping.
In her mind, she’d been worried about the prospect of marriage with him, and the poor man hadn’t even said he wanted to be more than friends. Shoot, he hadn’t even tried to kiss her. Wright women had a tendency toward the melodramatic and easily blew things out of proportion. With her luck, she had done just that.
Her cell phone beeped, indicating a text message.
The caller ID brought a smile to her face. Reba.
We won’t be angry if we don’t see you today! LOL
Entirely too crazy. I need to introduce her to Miranda. She felt Jeremy stir behind her. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see a glimpse of his firm butt as he entered the bathroom. Lord knew he could wear the hell out of a pair of briefs.
She dialed Reba’s number.
“What are you doing on this phone, woman? Did you leave that man in a towel again?” Reba teased.
“He’s in the shower.” He has got to be the cleanest man ever.
“Ooooo, I see potential there. Girl, I need to work on you. Get off the phone and join him. Remember, condoms are your friends.” She disconnected.
I know she didn’t just hang up on me. Shaking her head, she re-fluffed her pillow and rested. She had brushed her teeth and freshened up when she’d first woken over an hour ago, but she still didn’t feel like getting up and starting the day. Maybe by noon she’d be ready to head over to the conference and listen to one of the book discussions, but for now, she felt like being a slug.
She didn’t know what to say to or do about Jeremy. Awkward was putting it lightly. She wished she could rewind the past forty-eight hours and start over or at least rewrite those chapters of her life.
Just as she was dozing off, she felt Jeremy’s strong arms spoon her close to his body. Both nights that he had held her, she’d felt his hardness against her backside. But always the gentleman, she also felt him backing away when he would wake. This time he didn’t back away, and she was glad.
This was the life. Within his arms, she felt loved. She rested her hand atop his. “I could stay here forever,” she whispered.
He nuzzled her neck, softly saying, “I owe you an apology.”
With the way her body warmed from the gentle grinding of his hardness, she couldn’t imagine what he wanted to apologize for.
“I haven’t been myself lately.” He nibbled along her ear lobe. She had forgotten how good it felt.
“How so?” She rolled over to face him.
Gazing deep into her eyes, he said, “If I were myself, I would have told you yesterday that I’ve fallen in love with you.”
He took her bottom lip into his mouth and nibbled until she tingled. He had this nibbling thing down. The sensations going through her body had her so rattled, she couldn’t even comment on what he had said. These sensations had nothing to do with the five-year hiatus she’d had from sex. She had never experienced anything like this before and knew she would never again with anyone else. Jeremy was truly her king. This would be the first time she actually made love.
“I love you.” She pulled back. “I have since you rescued my luggage from Senior Rude.”
“That long?”
“Well, maybe not until you wanted to sample each other’s meals at the restaurant.” Her eyes traveled along his athletic torso, enjoying every ripple. Not too large or too small, just right. She pulled her still sensitive bottom lip into her mouth. “Where do we go from here?” she asked nervously.
“Shhhhhh.” He cupped her face in his hands, bent, and brushed his lips over hers.
The light yet potent bushing touched her core and left her wanting, needing more. Heart and mind racing, she slowly took his bottom lip into her mouth and suckled.
He moaned his satisfaction of her boldness, wrapped his arms around her and took control of the kiss. She opened freely and tasted every succulent inch of his mouth. Overwhelmed, she backed away to catch her breath.
He returned his oral assault to her ear, softly saying, “Do you want me to stop?” He slipped his large hand under her T-shirt and fondled her breast.
If he stopped, there would be a problem. A half-sighed, half-moaned “No,” was the best she could manage as he pulled the T-shirt over her head and tossed it to the side. Every kiss laid on her bare shoulder disseminated warm waves of passion throughout her body. He lowered himself and took one of her caramel peaks into his mouth licking, flicking, caressing her into full submission.
Saundra grew weak in his arms. He had melted her, and she couldn’t believe it would get any better. But better it became as his thick fingers nudged her panties to the side, then entered her. Nathan and the other man she had been with were straight missionary style with little to no foreplay. This new experience excited and worried her. What if she couldn’t pleasure him as he pleasured her?
As if he sensed her trepidation, he murmured, “It’s all right, baby.” He suckled along her inner thigh as he removed her panties, causing her legs to tremble with need. “You’re hot and wet for me.” He took off his briefs and lay proudly with his hardness resting heavily against her thigh. “Feel me.”
Holding him, she wanted to do a whole lot more than touch him. Power, a throbbing power was in her hand. A throbbing that matched the throb between her legs. With her hand wrapped around him, she slowly stroked from tip to base, base to tip and repeated the motion.
“That’s it,” he groaned more than said. His fingers slipped into her and continued doing their fancy work. Just as she thought she couldn’t stand the intensity anymore, he proved her wrong.
His mouth joined his fingers in a beautiful duet of ecstasy. With every flick and lick of his tongue, sensually charged shards shot through her, sending her into a tailspin. She reached to grasp something, anything before she blew away. He held her waist down and continued his siege until her climax knocked her breath away. Once she returned to earth, he seared a trail of kisses from her panty line, along her waist, between her breasts, along her neck to her ear.
“I love it when you cry out for me.”
Dazed and heart beating dangerously fast, she said, “Teach me how to do the same for you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close for a deep, passionate kiss. He eased his hand beneath her and spun them both over so she’d be on top.
A quick study, while stroking him with her hand, she began with her mouth on his chest. Strokes, licks, flicks, caresses, and kisses pushed him into the frenzy he’d put her in. Power, an odd sense of power flowed through her.
She lowered herself and examined him carefully. “I’m sorry, I’ve never done this before.” She touched his tip with her tongue and swirled the wetness. “Umm salty.” She licked off the rest, then peeked up and connected with the passion in his eyes. Bev had been correct. Not all heat meant fire, and this form of burning was quite good.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked. “You look strained.”
“
No, baby,” he caressed her back, “continue exploring. It feels good.”
She suckled along his shaft, then took him into her mouth. She’d seen this done, but actually doing it sent a rush through her. In, out, deeper, umm she could do this all day. Before long, she figured out how to stroke him with her hand and work her mouth and tongue at the same time.
His fingers weaved through the curls in her hair to her scalp and massaged. “I don’t want you to stop, but I need for you to stop.” He pulled her up by the arms and flipped them over so he’d be on top.
Having such a large man over her didn’t intimidate her in the least, especially since that man was her king. He reached over to the dresser and grabbed a condom. He must have placed them there after his shower, because she hadn’t noticed them before. He opened the packet and protected them both, then positioned himself between her legs.
A little nervous—a lot nervous—she studied every inch of his handsome face. This was the man she wanted to share her life with; the one who had restored her trust. “I am truly in love with you.”
Lowering himself, he kissed her gently, then penetrated oh so shallow and waited. A tight fit. She couldn’t remember telling him how long it had been since her last sexual contact. She prayed she hadn’t told him when she’d been intoxicated. Either way, she was grateful he was taking it slow. As she became more accustomed to his body, he kept his strokes shallow.
“How is that?” he asked, his voice strained.
“Deeper,” she breathed and gyrated beneath him. Each stroke probed deeper and deeper, pushing her closer and closer to the edge.
Climax threatening to overtake her, she drew in one of her legs, changing her angle. “Jeremy,” she panted. “Umm this umm.” Implosion shouldn’t feel so good.
He trapped her knee under his arm and continued pumping. Her body sheathed him perfectly. Caressing, pulling, now tightening with each stroke. His gaze locked onto hers. She gripped his arms in hopes of not flying away as she cried out. Their climaxes ran together, merging, binding their souls together.
They needed to shower, but neither wanted to move. Jeremy brushed his lips over Saundra’s. “You’re my heart. I love you so much, that if you wanted to leave, I’d let you go.”
She lay atop him and rested her head on his chest. “I’m not going anywhere. I plan to stay trapped in paradise with you forever.”
EPILOGUE
The next day, Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman
As the shuttle boat that carried them from the Destiny to the pier readied to dock, Saundra found herself a tad bit disappointed.
Jeremy drew her hand to his heart. “Is something wrong?”
She looked over the throngs of people exiting the boat, rushing to the shops that lined the shore. “I just…” She sighed. “In a way, I expected to see Miranda.”
Chuckling, he stood and pulled her along. “That makes two of us. She is out of her mind.”
They followed the line of people onto shore, then strolled hand in hand along the boulevard. The shops and street vendors weren’t quite ready for customers yet, so they found a shady spot to sit and people watched.
“There they are!”
Saundra and Jeremy looked down the boulevard and saw Miranda flailing her arms and running toward them.
“It’s them! I found them!” Not too far behind were Marcus, the Wright family and some people Saundra didn’t know.
A deep belly-laugh erupted from Jeremy as he stood. “That’s my parents. She actually did it!” He drew Saundra into his arms. “I pray you want to marry me as much as I want to marry you, because I don’t think we have much choice in the matter,” he joked.
“I’d love nothing more.”
He bent and kissed her.
Miranda stopped short of the couple. “Save that for the honeymoon.” She grabbed Saundra by the hand and pulled her into her embrace. “I’m so happy for you.” She released her. “We have a ceremony to get ready for.”
“Can I at least introduce my fiancée to my parents?” Jeremy asked.
“Yeah, Miranda, he hasn’t met Mom and Dad,” she got out just as the rest of the family arrived.
“Two minutes, then we have to go. We’re on a tight schedule here. The wedding starts at eleven.”
“But we don’t have proper licensing or anything. I don’t know how to get married in another country.”
Disappointment clouded Miranda’s face. “Who do you think you’re dealing with here? I’ve had this planed for months. Everything has been taken care of.”
“Of course you have.”
After proper introductions to the family members, the couple was whisked away to begin their happily ever after.
THE END
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
This is my second story with physical abuse as a backdrop. If you know someone or are someone in an abusive relationship, you may not have any idea what to do or where to go. Here is a good place to start: http://www.domesticviolence.org/
My other title that has domestic violence as a backdrop is Whisper Something Sweet and won the 2008 Emma Award for Best Steamy Romance of the year. Visit my website http://deatrikingbey.com for information on my releases and lots of good stuff.
Following are two titles from my eBook Love’s Desire, a short story collection that captures the essence of first love, love lost, love found and love’s passion. Stories range from highly erotic to sweet romance. For a free copy of Love’s Desire, let me know you’ve purchased one of my other eBooks at [email protected].
Love’s Desire Sneak Peek…
Blind Date
How complicated was it to accept a simple donation? Trisha thought from the backseat of the limousine. Her best friend had organized the fundraising event, thus couldn’t participate in the bachelor auction, so she had begged Trisha to. Purchasing some strange man for a date didn’t sound the least bit appealing to Trisha, but she gave Britney a $2000 donation for the charity.
Try to do a good thing and bam! Britney had entered Trisha into the auction and won “time” with some guy who couldn’t get a date through traditional means. She chuckled. Okay, so the charity had screened the men and each was to be an effluent, upstanding citizen who was doing his part to help a worthy cause. Either way, she still didn’t want to be bothered, but agreed to attend the photo shoot. At least she was getting a good meal out of the deal.
The limousine stopped in front of a luxury condominium complex. “Is there a restaurant inside?” Trisha asked the driver.
“No, ma’am.” He glanced at the clock. “We’re running a little late. The photographer should already be there.”
If it weren’t for knowing Britney was on the up and up, there was no way Trisha would have walked into the building. Gumbo and crab cakes…Nose don’t fail me now! Trisha thought as she stood outside the condominium door. Cajun food was her favorite.
Inside the palatial, southwestern-designed abode, the photographer stood ready and waiting. She clicked a few pictures of Trisha in the living area.
“Dinner’s ready when you are,” said the most handsome man Trisha had ever seen in her life. Before she could respond, he disappeared into the kitchen.
“When is...” Trisha trailed off. She’d wanted to ask the photographer when her date would arrive, but had forgotten to open the stupid envelope with his profile in it that Britney had given her, so she didn’t even know the guy’s name.
“You can go ahead and eat. Your date was tied up and can’t make it.”
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