Making her Smile - EPUB

by Elizabeth Lennox

  She groaned, her fingers curling into his hair as he took that nipple into his mouth and sucked hard against the peak. Damn, he loved this about her. She was so responsive. So ready for any touch. He loved it!

  “Slower might not be better,” she whispered, and arched her back as his mouth teased her nipple.

  “Slower is more fun sometimes,” he argued right back, moving to her other breast while his fingers teased the first one. Immediately, he felt her legs lift up, wrapping around his waist as her hands slid down against his arms and shoulders. Her touch was so soft, so delicate, he thought he might just burn up as she slid her hands higher.

  When he took that other nipple into his mouth, Marie lost her words entirely. Excellent! As he moved over her body, he found more spots that had the same effect. Her stomach, the small spot on her hip, her inner thighs. And when he pressed her legs open, he discovered something more amazing. Marie tasted even better than he’d imagined. Also, he’d thought she’d sparked apart earlier, but that was nothing compared to her reaction when he sucked that small bud into his mouth. When his fingers slid into her heat, that only added to her reaction. Pressing against the inside as he teased that bud, it took almost no time at all before she was experiencing another climax. The liquid heat flowing from her core as she writhed in his arms was such a turn on, he could barely hold back as he rolled another condom down his length moments before entering her.

  Filling her up, he watched her eyes, her facial features, making sure that he didn’t hurt her. But it looked like she was enjoying everything just as much as he was. The tight heat surrounding him as he started thrusting was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. She was so tight, so perfect, and he loved the way she lifted, meeting each of his thrusts.

  Too soon though, she was coming apart in his arms again. Normally, he would want to prolong their pleasure, but she just felt too good and her orgasm pulled him right over the edge with her. A few more thrusts and he was gone, holding Marie close as they both struggled for air.

  Rolling over, he pulled her close, staring up at the ceiling. This was how it was meant to be. This was his woman. If he hadn’t known that earlier, feeling her splinter apart like that told him everything.

  He felt her curl up against his chest, one of her legs sliding against his, and he knew what he had to do. Marie was perfect for him. He wanted her in his life forever. Only one thing to do.

  But when he looked down, he realized that his “forever” was going to have to wait. Marie was sound asleep, curled up against him.

  With a chuckle, he let his head fall back against the pillow as he contemplated tomorrow.

  Chapter 8

  Marie woke to the smell of coffee and stretched. That movement woke her up faster than normal and she looked around, wondering where she was. The breeze fluttered the white, filmy curtains that hung down around open windows that looked out at a turquoise sea. There were a few boats out in the bluer waters, but otherwise, nothing impeded the glorious view.

  Why was she so sore? Moving, she realized that there was only a light sheet covering her. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she looked around, trying to get her muddled mind to figure out where she was. The clock beside the bed told her that it was only eight o’clock. Much too early to be awake. Unless she had to be at work.

  Her head flopped back down onto the pillow. Thinking was too hard. Maybe in an hour, she told herself and curled back up.

  The laughter behind her aborted that mission and she glanced over her shoulder as Phillip walked in. He was wearing only a pair of board shorts, his amazing chest completely bare for her viewing pleasure. When he sat down beside her on the bed, handing her a cup of coffee, she realized that he smelled like salt and sea.

  “Have you already been out swimming?” she asked, blinking as she tried to figure out what was going on. “Why are you here? Where is here?” she asked.

  His chuckle caused a spark of heat to hit her right beside her heart. But still, nothing made sense.

  “Aruba? Last night? Anything ring a bell?”

  She stared at him, wondering if Phillip was speaking English. She pushed a pillow behind her and tried to sit up, but…

  “Coffee,” she told him and lifted the mug to her lips. “Good,” she mumbled, then lowered the cup again, holding it close to her chest as if it were a treasure.

  His tanned fingers pushed the sheet out of the way, his hand sliding up her calf.

  Okay, that woke her up a bit faster than normal! She almost spilled her precious coffee when his hand touched her like that. And yeah, the memories of last night flooded through her brain. “Phillip!” she gasped, leaning forward as the heat and lust hit her.

  “Yes?” he asked, leaning forward to kiss her neck.

  “We can’t!”

  He laughed and continued nibbling. “Oh, you’re going to toss me aside now that the morning has arrived?” He moved his lips to her earlobe. “I think that’s cruel, my dear.”

  She shivered, still cradling her cup of coffee. “Last night…” she started to say that last night had been a mistake, but he nipped at her earlobe before she could say the words and all that came out was a moan. One hand reached out and touched his chest, her fingers curling around the muscles that had so fascinated her last night.

  When he pulled away, Marie whimpered, her body primed for another round of that incredible pleasure.

  “Why did you stop?” she asked, wishing she didn’t sound so needy.

  “Because I won’t let you use me and toss me away, Marie,” he teased with a twinkle in his eye as he lifted her coffee cup out of her hands. She let out another whimper as he set the coffee on the bedside table, laughing at the storm growing in her lovely hazel eyes. “Yes, you can have your coffee, but right now, I need you to answer a question.”

  “What’s that?” she asked, looking at all the glorious skin she wanted to touch and explore, then over at the cup of coffee that was just out of reach. Marie wasn’t sure which was more tempting at the moment.

  He reached into the bedside table, but it wasn’t a condom that he pulled out. It was a little black box. Opening the lid, Phillip revealed a stunning diamond ring. It was just a center stone, nothing else, but it sparkled like…well, like a diamond!

  “What’s this?” she asked, not daring to touch it as she stared down at the beautiful ring.

  “Marie,” he began with a formal tone, “I stupidly engaged myself to the wrong woman. But you’re the right one. I fell in love with you the moment you stepped into my office last year. Even during the interview, I knew that you would be my best friend, but…well, I let things get out of hand.”

  She touched the ring, then quickly pulled her fingers away. “Phillip, you just…” she wasn’t sure what to say. “We’re business acquaintances,” she told him, even though she loved him with all of her heart.

  “Is that how you really feel?” he asked, confident that she felt the same way about him. “Before you answer that, you should know that you talk in your sleep. So, you’ve already told me that you love me last night.”

  Her eyes widened with horror at the possibility. “I didn’t!” she gasped, pulling back as she stared at him, trying to discern if he was teasing her or not.

  “You did. And a whole lot more.” He leaned forward and kissed her gently. It was the sweetest kiss, and she wanted more, but he pulled back about an inch, looking into her eyes. “You love me and hate Lillian, apparently.”

  “I don’t!” she asserted vehemently. “Lillian is a lovely woman! I don’t hate her!”

  He laughed, shaking his head. “Not what your subconscious told me,” he argued. “But that’s okay,” he said as he took the ring out of the box. Taking her hand, he slid the ring onto her finger. “Because I love you too. And now, we’re going to be married.”

  “Married?” she gasped, looking down at the ring.

  “Yes. Married. Tomorrow if I can arrange it, so if there is anyone you’d like to invite, then t
ell me now, because we’re not leaving this island until you are my wife and I can call you…oomph!”

  Marie tackled him, pinning him onto his back on the bed. “I do love you, Phillip. I’ve loved you ever since our first lunch together.”

  “Not the first time we met?”

  She laughed and shook her head, straddling his stomach as she bent lower. “No. The first time we met, you were laughing with Lillian about something and I hated you. Instant hate. But then you hired me and I forgave you.”

  “And fell in love with me, right?”

  She shook her head again. “No. It took about a week for me to fall in love with you.” She looked down at him, serious and intent. “Phillip, I know you don’t really love me. And this is just a rebound relationship. So…”

  Marie blinked as she tried to figure out how she ended up on her back with Phillip looming over her, her arms pinned above her head.

  “Marie, you need to get this thought through your very intelligent head. I love you. I never loved Lillian. She and I admitted that we’d made a mistake in getting engaged. It was stupid and pointless, and I wasted a lot of time. I’m not doing it again.” He lowered his body so that he was covering her, pressing his legs between hers so he could settle himself against her more completely.

  “I love you,” he told her as he lowered his head to kiss her. “I love the way it takes you an hour to wake up in the morning,” and he kissed her neck. “I love the way you try to boss me around.” He kissed her shoulder. “I love the way you laugh at my jokes in the morning, your efficiency around the office, the way you smile while we talk over lunch and dinner…” he lifted his head and looked down at her. “This isn’t a rebound relationship, Marie. You are who I’ve been dreaming about for months. You’re the woman I’ve wanted, but I wouldn’t allow myself to admit to wanting. I’ve wasted too many months. I’m not wasting any more time.” He smiled as he shifted against her hips, the heat increasing between them as he reached for another condom. “We spend almost all of our time together already. You tell me all of your secrets, we talk over lunch and dinners about our days and frustrations, argue about politics and social issues, laugh at inside jokes…we’re practically married. I’m just making it official.”

  Marie couldn’t argue since he was sliding into her body, filling her up, making her feel perfect and whole. “Yes!” she sighed as she lifted her hips to receive him, shifting to take all of him into her body.

  “I’m taking that as your answer,” he said and started moving, thrusting into her heat as only he knew how. And when they both found their own release, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently, sealing their silent vow of love.

  Curling up against his side, she smiled as she stared at the ring on her finger. “Are you sure?” she asked softly, looking over her shoulder at him.

  He pulled her closer, kissing her naked shoulder. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life,” he replied.

  Phillip and Marie’s Wedding

  The warm wind blew off of the ocean, tugging at the chiffon of Marie’s dress. She didn’t mind though. Marie stared up at Phillip, thinking he was the most amazing man in the world. For the past three days, he’d been trying to convince her to marry him. She’d held off until he admitted over dinner last night that he’d put off setting a date for his wedding to Lillian because he knew that she wasn’t the woman for him. Marie had seen the look in his eyes and finally accepted that this wasn’t just a rebound fling. This was real. His feelings for her were just as real, just as powerful, as hers were for him.

  She loved him. And as he took her hands in front of the minister, she knew that this was as real as possible. He loved her too. She knew that with all her heart.

  “I do,” she vowed and slid the platinum ring onto his finger.

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister announced with a smile.

  With his new impatience, Phillip didn’t wait for the minister to give him permission to kiss her. As soon as they were pronounced married, he pulled her into his arms, kissing her until she was breathless, and the church staff that had been brought in to act as witnesses clapped their hands excitedly.

  And when it was all over, they sipped champagne and danced on the patio of his house looking out over the beach. Yes, Phillip had arranged for someone to come in to prepare an elaborate meal for the two of them. But she wasn’t hungry. At least, not for food. As the music played softly in the background, Phillip swayed with Marie in his arms.

  “You’re my wife,” he pointed out and bent to kiss her gently.

  Her smile widened as she looked up into his handsome face. “I am.”

  “And I get to see your face every morning when you wake up. No more phone calls. No more imagining. I get to see you slowly wake up.”

  Marie laughed and lifted onto her toes. “Sorry about that,” she teased.

  He laughed as well. “Believe me, it’s going to be my pleasure.”

  Excerpt from A Difficult Man to Love

  Release Date: December 25, 2017

  Click HERE for Details

  

  “This isn’t going to work,” Hayden chanted under her breath, feeling like a beggar as she stepped into the beautifully decorated office. Smoothing her hands down over her hips, she wondered if she looked as pathetic as she felt. Her borrowed dress was too big while her shoes were too small. It was irritatingly hard to look confident when one was wearing an ill-fitting, borrowed outfit.

  “What am I doing here?” she whispered as she stared out the floor to ceiling windows. The view was magnificent! She’d never seen Washington, D.C. from this height before. The headquarters to Chenko Industries wasn’t actually in Washington, D.C. but was right across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia, hence the sky rise building and the amazing view. The buildings in Washington, D.C. weren’t very high. There was an old law limiting the height of buildings in the nation’s capital to be no higher than one hundred and ten feet. That law had been amended, but the buildings still couldn’t be very high. Hence, any tall buildings were constructed just outside the actual city limits in both Virginia and Maryland.

  And there were very few plants, she thought.

  Her eyes scanned the horizon, looking for green. There was the National Mall, which was a swath of grass going from the Capital building all the way down to the Lincoln Memorial with the Washington Monument right in the middle. The grass was lined with big, tall, beautiful trees, but…

  With a sigh, she turned away from the view. She was focusing on the wrong things. Finding patches of green amidst the sea of concrete structures was not going to help her figure out how to broach the subject of selling her land. Especially not after her last meeting with the loathsome male. She’d been so adamant, so firm about not selling her family’s land and home to the man who had…well, he’d irritated her with his arrogance and…and his eyes. Yeah, his eyes had conveyed a completely different conversation.

  Of course, that wasn’t the reason she’d refused to sell to him, it had only been why she’d been so rude.

  Hayden pulled oxygen into her lungs, trying to get her head back in gear. It was just the thought of how tall he was that was making her feel like this. Shaky. Nervous. She wasn’t excited. Nope. She rejected the possibility that this this tingling sensation was excitement.

  He was a challenge, she told herself. And Hayden always loved a challenge.

  Even when she looked like a pauper, Hayden thought with a bit of humor. The borrowed clothes didn’t fit her properly and everyone could see that. Even the man’s assistant had looked down her nose at Hayden’s dress and shoes.

  Ugh! There was nothing to be done about it though. She was a glorified farmer, just like her father and grandfather. She might have a degree in botany and know the technical details on how to grow things and she grew things that made a yard more beautiful instead of something one could put on a table, but in essence, she was still a farmer. Nothing more, nothing l
ess.

  Normally, she derived a great deal of pride in her work, loving the plants that she raised and knowing that her “babies” were superior, healthier. But, in this kind of corporate environment, she was only human and she still felt…awkward. Amid the beautiful ladies who knew how to elegantly walk into a room in heels and converse on just about any subject, how to sway their hips so that a man took a second look, Hayden felt like a schoolgirl playing dress-up.

  Lifting her chin, she shook off her self-pitying thoughts. She shouldn’t concern herself with someone else’s opinion. She knew who she was. Deep down inside, she was a good person. She didn’t lie, cheat, or steal. She loved to read anything she could get her hands on and she cared about the world and her community. At the end of the day, being a good person was all one could ask, right? Knowing how to buy the perfect dress was not her priority.

  Shake it off, girl!

  Viktor’s hands crumbled the note his assistant had given him. She was here. The gorgeously defiant, stunning woman from the plant nursery was waiting for him in his office. Storming out of the meeting without any explanation didn’t concern him. His second in command could take charge. Nothing else mattered because…Hayden Ferrant was in his office.

  The woman had haunted his dreams over the past month. He’d thought of her too many times, smiling over the stubborn tilt of her jaw, which was such a contradiction to her adorable nose and her soft, full lips.

  Walking down the hallway, he accepted that he was more interested in this woman because she’d defied him, threw his offer to buy her land in his face. Yes, she was lovely. But he had around many beautiful women over his lifetime. They were always around, always more than willing. But Hayden Ferrant…chert! She was one of a kind. Smart, unconsciously sexy, and independent to a fault. Despite her lack of creature comforts, she had scoffed at his offer.