3, 2, 1...Married!

by Sharon Sala

  “You—you’ve wanted me for a long time?” She swayed toward him.

  “Yeah. For years.”

  “Oh, Holt.” She lifted her face, offering him her mouth. “Don’t you know I feel the same way? I’ve wanted you since the first day I walked into that stupid little trailer you used as an office and you hired me to be your secretary without even checking my credentials.”

  “You’ve wanted me that long, huh?” His sex throbbed. His heartbeat roared in his ears. If he didn’t take her and take her soon, he was going to die from frustration.

  Bennie slipped her arms around his waist and pressed her breasts against his chest. “It seems as if I’ve wanted you all my life, but you never…you always treated me like a buddy.”

  He nuzzled her neck, then painted a moist trail from her earlobe to the V of the shirt she wore. His shirt! Bennie trembled.

  “You are my buddy,” he said, his lips on her throat. “My best friend. My invaluable assistant.” He cupped her hip with one hand, while the other hand maneuvered her head closer and closer to his. “But tonight I want you to be my lover.”

  He had doomed them both. The logical part of his brain tried to warn him, but his aching body overrode all sensible thought. Nothing mattered, not Jackson Construction, not any future socialite wife, not even the risk of losing Bennie’s friendship forever. Ruled by desire and desire alone, he consumed her mouth in a kiss of total possession. And she surrendered with a whimpering cry of acceptance.

  Holt worked his hand down her leg, then up and under her shirt. His fingers encountered the smooth, firm flesh of her naked behind and began a slow, sensuous massage. Bennie clung to him, shivering, as he deepened the kiss. While his tongue explored, taunted and tasted, his fingers slipped inside her. Keening softly in her throat, she closed her thighs around his hand, both capturing and encouraging his rhythmic probing.

  Moisture coated his hand as she melted around him. Releasing her head, he moved his other hand down to the buttons on the shirt. With a frantic jerk, he ripped open the only garment that stood between him and the naked flesh he longed to see and touch. With her breasts exposed, he lowered his mouth to lave one tight nipple.

  Bennie cried out with agonized pleasure, as pure sexual sensation flooded through her body. Like liquid fire racing through her veins, passion set her ablaze.

  “Oh, Holt!” She threaded her fingers through his hair and held his head in place at her breast, savoring the sweet torment of his talented tongue.

  Pushing her ever closer to the brink with his attentive mouth and hands, Holt taught Bennie what it truly meant to be a woman—his woman. From her urgent little cries of surprise, Holt surmised that her sexual experience was limited. The realization that he wasn’t competing against a horde of former lovers pleased him in a way that shocked him.

  She was ready for him. Hot and wet and pliable. But she was so close to climaxing that he chose to give her release before seeking his own pleasure.

  No other man had ever given Bennie an orgasm and having Holt be the first was like a precious gift. Racked with shudders of fulfillment, her body spiraled out of control.

  Holt swept her up into his arms and carried her inside to the bed. With trembling fingers, he removed his shirt from her body and came down over her.

  He had never wanted anything in his entire life the way he wanted Bennie.

  Chapter 6

  His sex brushed her intimately. Their gazes locked and held as Holt braced himself with his arms on either side of her. Bennie’s mouth opened on an in-drawn breath. A log in the fireplace crackled. The same breeze swirled the lace curtains that draped the open French doors. And somewhere in the faraway night, distant thunder rumbled.

  Bennie reached up to touch his sex. He jerked when she caressed him. He was large and hot…and she was totally fascinated by the look and feel of the silky smooth shaft.

  She placed her arms around Holt’s neck, her actions a silent invitation—no man in his right mind could resist.

  His sex probed, seeking entrance. She opened her thighs and lifted her hips. With one powerful, penetrating lunge, he thrust into the welcoming heat of her moist sheath. She cried out as he filled her, his size stretching her until the fit was perfect.

  Clinging to him, she undulated her hips, beckoning him to embed himself completely, fully, to the very core of her body. Easing his hands under her, he lifted her hips. His sex pulsed inside her. He moved slowly, allowing the feeling to surround him. She was hot and wet and so very tight.

  “It’s been a long time for you, hasn’t it, honey?” he whispered in her ear.

  “Yes,” was the only reply she could manage.

  She loved the feel of him so deep within her, plunging and retreating with a throbbing rhythm. She had never felt so complete. Her lips sought his, wanting his mouth on hers. He consumed her, taking her wildly, his tongue delving to taste and entice.

  Her breasts ached. Her nipples beaded. And as if understanding her hungry need, Holt suckled one breast and then the other. She arched her spine, rooted the back of her head into the pillow and joined him in the mating dance. Her body moved beneath his as if they had made love a hundred times. Perfectly matched. Each beat in unison.

  With every thrust, Holt increased the tempo. The building urgency inside them coalesced at a frantic pace, whirling them into a spinning vortex that consumed them.

  Perspiration coated their bodies. Mouths and tongue moved with frenzied pleasure. Hands and fingertips sought out each sensitive spot. They pawed and clawed, moaned and groaned, tossed and turned in an act of passion that neither had thought possible.

  As her body tightened in agonized expectation, Holt pounded into her repeatedly. She fell apart in his arms, crying out his name, weeping with release. And while wave after wave of completion washed over her, he rode her hard, until he reached his own climax.

  They lay entwined, their bodies sticky with sweat, each one’s heartbeat audible to the other.

  Bennie lay beneath Holt, exhausted and satisfied beyond her wildest dreams. This was what lovemaking was supposed to be. An all-consuming passion with a man you loved to distraction.

  Holt eased off her onto the bed, then drew her up against his side. She cuddled close to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He kissed her temple, then ran his fingertips down her arm, over her waist and across her hip.

  “Holt?” She wanted to tell him that she loved him and that he had made this experience the most incredible event of her entire life.

  “Shh. Don’t talk, honey. Not right now.” He caressed her hip lovingly.

  “Mm-hm.” She closed her eyes and allowed the languid, sated cloud on which she floated to carry her off into sleep.

  Something tickled her neck. Something warm and moist. And now something was moving over her breasts—that same warm moisture. Bennie’s eyelids fluttered. She opened her eyes and glanced down to see Holt’s head, his mouth at her breast.

  Oh, thank you, it hadn’t been a dream! She and Holt really had made love.

  “I want you again,” Holt said. “And this time, we won’t take any chances.”

  He took her hand and placed it around his sex, letting her feel the protective sheath. Startled by the realization that he was wearing a condom, Bennie grabbed his shoulder and shoved him away from her. Where had he gotten a condom?

  “Where did you get that?” she asked.

  “Bathroom. I found them in a basket with shave creme and a razor.”

  “Rene?”

  “That would be my guess.” Holt sat back against the headboard and opened his arms. “Come here, honey.”

  She hesitated momentarily, then went into his embrace. “We forgot about protection the first time, didn’t we?”

  “Yeah, I’m afraid we did. I’m sorry, Bennie. It was my fault. I should have—”

  She placed her right index finger over his lips. “Neither one of us was thinking straight. We both lost control.”

  He nuzzled her ne
ck as he stroked her hip. “I’m fast approaching that point again.”

  “Oh, Holt.” She couldn’t resist him. Didn’t want to resist him.

  Their second mating was less hurried, less frantic, leaving them time to explore each other’s bodies more thoroughly. After bringing her to the edge several times, without allowing her to plunge into the abyss, Holt lifted her up and on top of him.

  She teased him, dangling her breasts over his mouth and rubbing her mound intimately against him. When he’d taken as much of her torment as he could endure, he clutched her hips and brought her down over his rigid sex. She tossed back her head and forked her fingers through her hair, lifting it into the air.

  Holt guided her movements, lunging upward as he watched her dark, curly hair fall about her shoulders when she spread her open palms on either side of his head. Her full, round breasts demanded his attention. He lifted his head and brought one tight, begging nipple into his mouth.

  She rode him at a steady pace, allowing the friction to stroke a spark in her femininity. With each passing moment the tiny flame grew hotter and brighter until it blazed out of control. As a shattering completion claimed her, Bennie drew every ounce of pleasure from her climax, then slid down on top of Holt and closed her eyes.

  While fluttering aftershocks rippled through her system, Holt stirred beneath her. She opened her eyes and smiled at him. He returned her smile, then flipped her over and grabbed her ankles. As he slid across the bed, he dragged her with him. When his feet hit the floor, he lifted her legs and draped her heels over his shoulders. She lay before him, her thighs spread, her body open and totally vulnerable to whatever he intended to do to her.

  “Holt?”

  “I’m just going to love you some more,” he assured her.

  He caressed her belly, then moved lower to twine her dark curls around his fingers. She sighed. His hand opened to cup her mound. She bucked against his hand. He stroked her repeatedly until he felt her relax, then he moved closer and rammed himself to the hilt. She writhed and squirmed. She had taken all of him before, yet this time she felt more invaded, more completely impaled. He urged her hips back and forth, up and down, as he hammered into her.

  When she felt the renewal of aching sensation, she urged him on, encouraging his completion with each movement of her body. They shared a simultaneous orgasm that depleted every ounce of energy they possessed. Exhausted afterward, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  Bennie woke to the sound of running water. When she opened her eyes, the bright morning sunshine prompted her to shut them again. With her eyelids closed she felt around on the other side of the big bed. Empty. That meant Holt must be in the shower. Turning her head toward the inner room and away from the windows and open French doors, she eased her aching body up enough to rest her back against the headboard of the cherry canopy bed.

  Every muscle in her body had been used thoroughly during their lovemaking and she felt the aftereffects of Holt’s ardent attention in every fiber of her being. The soreness was a delicious consequence of their unrestrained passion. In her heart of hearts, she had always known sex could be wonderful and Holt had proven to her just how wonderful.

  She felt perfectly comfortable naked. And why shouldn’t she? After their heated lovemaking sessions, Holt had not only seen every inch of her body, he was now intimately acquainted with it. As she stretched her arms over her head, she smiled with delirious happiness. Her dream had come true—Holt was her lover. Now, nothing stood between them.

  With her gaze riveted to the closed bathroom door, she contemplated the look that would be on his face when she told him that she had been a debutante, that she was a member of the DAR and that she had a multimillion dollar trust fund. Of course, she’d wait and surprise him with that little bit of news, after he proposed to her.

  Hugging herself tightly, Bennie giggled. Easing out of bed, she searched and found Holt’s shirt. She slipped into it, then realized several of the buttons were missing. She closed her eyes to savor the memory of Holt ripping the shirt off her body last night.

  Just as she began twirling around and around in a gleeful dance, the bathroom door opened and Holt emerged, shirtless, barefooted, but wearing his jeans. Their gaze met. She smiled. He smiled.

  “Good morning,” he said.

  “A very good morning.” She raced across the room and then threw her arms around him.

  He clasped her waist with both hands. “We need to talk, Bennie.”

  She tried to kiss him, but he held her at arm’s length. “What’s wrong?”

  “Probably nothing,” he said. “But just in case there is, I want you to know that I’ve decided to postpone wife hunting until we find out whether or not you’re pregnant.”

  “What?”

  “I could have gotten you pregnant last night…that first time when I was so careless.”

  Bennie eased out of his hold. “What do you mean you’re going to postpone wife hunting?”

  “Well, it wouldn’t be fair to a prospective wife if I had to break our engagement so I could marry you, if you turn up pregnant.” Holt looked at her beseechingly, his hands held open in supplication.

  “Oh.” Oh! Now she understood exactly what he meant. Last night hadn’t meant the same to him as it had to her. All that passionate lovemaking hadn’t meant that he loved her. It had meant only that he’d wanted her. And this morning, his greatest concern seemed to be that he might have gotten her pregnant and ruined all his matrimonial plans.

  Damn him! Damn him for making her believe that he loved her. Oh, no, you can’t blame him for your own misguided delusions, she told herself. He doesn’t know you’re in love with him. He thought last night was all about good sex and nothing more. You’re the fool who’s in love. Not him. You’re the idiot who convinced herself that he felt the same way you did.

  “If I’m pregnant, you’ll marry me?” she asked.

  “Bennie, honey, you know I will.”

  When he took a tentative step toward her, she held up her hands in a stop gesture. He halted immediately.

  “But if I’m not pregnant, you plan to follow through with your campaign to find a suitable wife, someone with the proper background.”

  Having the good grace to look embarrassed, Holt dropped his gaze to the floor. “You know, you were right about our being good work partners. And after last night, we found out that we’re good bed partners, too.” When she groaned loudly, he lifted his gaze in time to catch the anger in her eyes. “So, if we have to get married, it won’t be that bad for either of us.”

  “But you don’t want to marry me, do you? You think my blood’s not blue enough! I’m not what you want, am I? If my family had the right connections, you’d marry me in a New York minute. I’m good enough to screw, but not good enough—”

  Holt bolted toward her, grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Shut up! Dammit, just shut up!”

  She fought to free herself from his hold, but he gripped her with fierce tenacity. They glowered at each other, each intensely aware of the other.

  “Bennie, honey, if anything, you’re too good for me. You’re beautiful and smart and I’ve never cared for anyone as much as I care for you. Don’t you see, you deserve a guy who can love you the way you want to be loved. A guy who can promise you the moon and stars.”

  “You gave me the moon and stars, Holt. Last night.” She dared him to deny the power of their lovemaking.

  He loosened his hold about her shoulders. She eased away from him, tears gathering in her eyes.

  “How soon can you take a home pregnancy test?” he asked.

  “Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth!”

  She stomped across the area rug to the bathroom, went inside and slammed the door. Balling her hands into fists she pummeled the wall as the ache in her heart spread through her chest and tears streamed down her face.

  “Bennie?” Holt called out to her from the bedroom.

&n
bsp; Hurriedly, she locked the bathroom door.

  “Honey, come out and let’s talk this over like two reasonable adults.”

  “No!”

  “I don’t understand why you’re acting like this,” he said.

  “Then you’re a bigger idiot than I am!”

  “Are you angry because I got so carried away that I didn’t use a condom the first time?”

  “No!”

  “Then what? Look, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings in any way. You know the last thing I’d ever want is to hurt you. You’re my best friend.”

  “Well, I don’t want to be your best friend,” she told him. “I thought last night changed our relationship just a little. I thought we were more than friends now.”

  Holt knocked on the door. “Come on out here and let’s talk this over face-to-face. We are more than friends,” he admitted. “But you said yourself that last night would be a moment out of time, that tomorrow didn’t matter.”

  “I lied!” she screamed. “So sue me!”

  “Bennie, if you don’t come out of that bathroom and explain to me what’s going on with you, I’ll…I’ll…”

  “For your information, Holt Jackson, I love you. I’ve loved you for five long years. From the first moment we met, I knew you were the one and only man for me. All I’ve ever wanted is to be your wife!”

  “My God! I had no idea.”

  “Well, now you know. So, please go away and leave me alone.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Please, Holt. Let me keep a little bit of my pride, will you? Just leave me alone. I promise that I’ll take a home pregnancy test.”

  “I don’t want to leave you this way,” he said.

  “I’m not coming out of the bathroom until you’re gone, even if I have to stay in here all weekend.” And she meant every word of what she’d said. No way was she going out there to face him, now that she’d admitted she loved him.

  “If I do what you ask, will you promise that you’ll come to the office tomorrow morning, as usual? We’ll discuss everything then and work out a solution.”