by Judy Duarte
Maybe she gave him some sign of her lack of stamina, because he moved them both so that her back was against a wooden pillar. By insinuating one knee between her thighs, he prevented her from slipping to the floor but at the same time created a new and more disturbing sensation.
With both hands free he explored the contours of her body through her dress and caressed her breasts as best he could above her body shaper, soothing one ache while he created another. “You’re incredible, Lisa,” he whispered. “So beautiful.”
His words were potent, giving her confidence, empowering her. She had planned this, she thought with smug satisfaction. Orchestrated events to her liking. And it wasn’t over yet. Plain Lisa Jane Martin had Riley Douglas right where she wanted him.
Well…almost.
With renewed strength she left his lips and straightened to the task of loosening his tie. When he reached to assist, she pushed his hand away and tugged it off herself, then unbuttoned his shirt. Underneath he wore a stark white T-shirt that almost glowed in the moonlight. She ran her hands over his chest through the soft fabric, and he eased back only enough to tug it off over his head.
She let her fingers hover over his skin for a moment, anticipating the warmth of his flesh. She heard his intake of breath and looked up to read expectancy and arousal on his shadowed face. Lisa’s heart pounded with anticipation.
She touched his chest then, soft hair, warm skin, lean muscle beneath. With his hands at her hips he simply experienced her exploratory caress.
Senses filled to brimming with his textures and heat, she ran a finger over his lips, then leaned upward for more kisses.
As he obliged her, Riley found the zipper on the back of her dress and pulled it down, lowering the front.
The salesgirl had told her the black strapless corset was all the rage. Putting it on, Lisa had compared it to a sausage casing, but the end result had made the dress fit perfectly. Riley was looking at her as if she were a mouthwatering breakfast, and she didn’t mind.
He took the support of his knee away, so that she had to stand on her own, and he leaned down to kiss the tops of her breasts where they spilled over the corset. The tingling sensation his lips created sent Lisa’s blood pulsing.
He straightened and kissed her again.
What was expected now? What was she supposed to say? Or do? She refused to show her awkwardness about any of this. Would he ask her if she wanted to get comfortable? Would he invite her into his bedroom? That might ruin the spontaneity, but she couldn’t quite see baring it all out here on the porch with a thirty-foot drop below.
The thought gave her a twinge of panic. “Can we go inside?”
“Sure.” He took her hand and she held up the front of her dress as he led her easily into the house. He paused and looked into her eyes. “Upstairs?”
One word, but it was his way of asking if they were going to move forward with what they’d started, as well as her chance to call a halt if she chose.
The same word gave him her answer. “Upstairs.”
He let her walk ahead of him up a winding black wrought-iron staircase. From behind he finished unzipping her dress and cupped her bottom as though he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
At the top he pointed to an open doorway, and she preceded him into the bedroom. After turning on a bathroom light, he left the door open a sliver, permitting only a slim measure of light to escape.
His broad form was in silhouette as he came toward her. Lisa’s heart thudded with swift and unexpected delight and she kicked off her shoes. She’d imagined moments like this a hundred times in her girlish fantasies, and now her dreams had come to life. Riley leaned over the bed and, with a swoosh of silken fabric, pulled back a dark coverlet.
She let her dress fall to the floor and stepped out of it. There wasn’t a second left for awkwardness, because he reached for her and snagged her around the waist, pulling her down with him on the bed. The sheets were cool against her bare back. Satin.
“This is sexy, but let’s get rid of it,” he said, reaching to find the hooks on her corset. Good luck, she thought, but he found the fasteners and released her breasts from their confinement.
He definitely knew what he was doing when he found her hard, sensitive nipple with his tongue. Freedom was one thing, but indulgence, oh, indulgence was even better, she discovered with a shudder. This was what she’d been missing. This was what scriptwriters tried to convey on screen and novel writers attempted to put on paper. No one had ever described it well enough.
She had a lot to learn.
Riley lavished attention on each breast and then on her mouth again. She wasn’t sure which one of them reached for her underwear, but they both gave a tug from a different angle and the cotton garment was tossed aside. Gwen had tried to talk Lisa into a thong, but French-cut briefs had been as far as she’d been comfortable going. At this point she didn’t think Riley would have noticed or cared if she’d been wearing boxers.
And surprisingly the complete lack of clothing didn’t matter to her. She’d shrugged off her inhibitions the moment she’d put on the red dress.
This woman made Riley so hot, he didn’t know how he was going to last long enough to perform the act. She’d been turning the tables on him for days. Tonight she had turned him inside out. Showing up in that dress and with that look in her eyes—that look that dared him to try not to fall victim to her seductiveness.
He dipped his hand lower and found her slick and swollen.
She made a sound halfway between a laugh and a cry.
He kissed her again because nothing was enough. Her mouth was sweet and her reactions so artlessly real, he’d lost himself in their first kiss and didn’t want to be found.
She set his senses ablaze. “Your skin is so smooth,” he praised her.
She bracketed his face with both hands, as though intent on his words.
“Your breasts…”
“What about them?”
They were gorgeous. Full and sensitive. “Let me just say…Lily Divine passed on some incredible genes.”
Her lazy smile tipped his equilibrium.
When had he lost control of this game?
When had Lisa Martin become someone he desired?
He didn’t want to think about it. He shucked out of the rest of his clothing and took great care in kissing and stroking her, tasting the skin behind her ears and at her throat. He used his fingers to coax a series of surprised little gasps and had her raising her hips off the bed.
She grasped his shoulders so hard, her nails bit into his skin. “Riley,” she said breathlessly.
“Yes?” He looked into her eyes in the darkness.
“Nothing. I just wanted to say your name.”
“Say it, then.”
“Riley Douglas.”
He reached for the night table, found the box of condoms he’d placed in the drawer earlier and sheathed himself.
She touched his shoulder almost hesitantly.
Riley leaned over her and kissed her. She drew him down to her, eagerly accommodating his weight.
“Keep kissing me,” she urged.
He did and guided himself, hoping he wasn’t shaking as much on the outside as he was on the inside.
Lisa sought his tongue and took it into her mouth in an erotic imitation of what their bodies were straining to do.
“Relax, Lisa.”
“Riley.”
Was she just saying his name again? Entering her took a moment of intense concentration while he kissed her and purposefully eased his way.
Her body accepted him all at once, and she grasped his upper arms at the same moment, as though he’d just pushed past a resistance.
Dull recognition nagged at the back of his mind while extreme pleasure flooded his senses. “Lisa, what…?”
“Don’t say anything.” She wrapped herself around him and made him forget reason and thought.
All that existed in the moments that followed was the two of them floa
ting on a sensual ocean of enjoyment.
Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew she was taking more from him than he’d ever intended to offer, but he couldn’t hold back. He wanted to give her more and he wanted more of her. As though detachment hadn’t been bred into him from birth, he wanted all of her. Riley felt as if he’d been missing this, even though they’d never before shared a bed.
She climaxed with a soft groan and a shudder, and he gritted his teeth to draw the pleasure out for her. When her body relaxed, he allowed his own swift release and then shifted his weight to her side and kissed her.
She met his gaze in the darkness, and he thought he sensed a question. He threaded his fingers through her hair, combing it away from her face, and caressed her cheek with a thumb. But she said nothing.
Lisa wrapped her fingers around his wrist and moved so she could lie comfortably and kiss him.
Time didn’t exist as their hearts returned to a normal beat and the air-conditioning cooled their heated skin. Riley couldn’t remember ever spending leisurely after-sex time with a woman before. He wanted to kiss her as much now as he had hours ago. And he was still enjoying it every bit as much as before they’d had sex.
He’d only had this place a few months, but he’d planned to keep the cabin to himself. He was glad it had been Lisa he’d broken the rules for. He was glad he’d brought her.
He ran his fingers through her hair, catching in the tangles they’d created together. He lowered his face to the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent—a scent more intoxicating than the wine—then placed slow kisses along her shoulder.
They lay with their legs tangled, and she sensuously rubbed the sole of her foot against his calf.
Riley rose over her and looked into her eyes before he kissed her. Within minutes he was ready again and she was smiling a welcome.
Lisa had dozed for a few minutes, but she woke to the unfamiliarity of the room and her bed companion. She had to go to the bathroom, so she got up and closed herself in the adjoining bath. The reality of what she’d done tried to burst her bubble of pleasure, but she fought it. She’d known full well what she was doing. She’d wanted this more than anything. She wasn’t going to be sorry now. A minute later she padded out and gathered her clothing.
“I have to go home. The boys will need to go out.”
Riley leaned on one elbow. “Can’t they wait till morning?”
“I never leave them alone this long at night.” She took her clothes into the bathroom and talked to him through the partially open door as she dressed. “Besides, we don’t want to be seen returning to my place in the morning.”
“You’re right.” The sound of sheets rustling accompanied a click as he turned on a lamp. She saw the light through the crack in the doorway as she stuffed herself into the corset.
“My God,” he said.
“What?”
“Oh, my God.”
“What?” She had her dress on and was struggling with the zipper. She opened the door to see what had upset him.
He stood beside the bed naked, his boxers in his hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“That you were a virgin, Lisa.” He raked a hand through his black hair and it stood up in unruly waves. “I am so dense. I knew there was something I wasn’t paying attention to. I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Heart pounding, she turned back into the bathroom, found a comb in a drawer and tried unsuccessfully to tame her hair. Her inexperience shouldn’t have to be embarrassing.
“For not knowing.”
“What was to know? I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want it to be a big deal.” Wherever she’d left her purse, she had a scrunchie. She moved through his room, ignoring him as he tried to step into his pants and follow her at the same time.
“It is a big deal.” He grabbed his socks and shirt. “You’d never had sex before. I was your first partner and I didn’t know.”
She was ahead of him on the iron staircase. “I really didn’t want you to know. And now I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Lisa.”
“Please?” she said, finally pausing in the living room but not looking at him. “Please, Riley, can you just let it go?”
Behind her he was silent.
She picked up her handbag, found her hair tie and gathered her hair into a knot on her head. “Will you take me home now?”
“Of course. Whatever you want.”
It was much more awkward putting their clothing and shoes back on than it had been taking them off. They descended the stairs and Riley opened the garage doors.
After he’d locked the place up, they were on their way back toward town. The ride was dark and silent, punctuated only by the burning looks she sensed him sending her way. She would never let him know how she really felt.
The streets of Thunder Canyon were deserted this time of night, and Riley drove directly to her house and parked in the drive.
One news van was parked across the street.
“Don’t get out,” she said. “I don’t want the papers to have a picture of our good-night.”
“Okay.”
“Thanks for dinner. And the wine. And making those arrangements with the reporters.”
He reached for her hand. “Lisa.”
She looked at him finally. He was as handsome as ever. Mr. Cool. “We met before.”
“Before what?”
“Before I inherited the Queen of Hearts.”
His eyebrows rose in confusion. “We did?”
“Yes.” Her heart chugged nervously, but she forced the words out anyway. “I was your chemistry tutor in high school.”
For a moment she thought he was going to deny it, but then he nodded. “I remember having a tutor to get through that class. That was you?”
“It was me.”
“Well. Funny how life comes around in a circle sometimes.”
She didn’t think there was anything funny about it. “Yeah.”
“I’ll call you.”
“You’ll see me at the mine tomorrow.”
He released her hand and reached for her shoulder, but she opened the car door, turning on the overhead light. “Night.”
Lisa hurried to her door, fumbled for her keys and let herself inside. Why she’d told him, she didn’t know. She hadn’t meant to ever let on.
Joey and Piper were excited to see her, sniffing her skirt and her feet to see where she’d been. She let them out back and peered around the corner of the house to see Riley’s red car drive away.
Her first day and night as the new and improved Lisa had gone quite well, she thought, unwilling to acknowledge the awkwardness at the end. No one could possibly think this evening had been boring. It had been box-office, Julia Roberts exciting. Dogs petted and fed, she trudged upstairs, stripped out of the dress and got in the shower.
After she’d dried her hair and fought for a spot between her two pets in her bed, she relaxed against the pillows and sighed. At least now she did feel different. Still like a fake, but at least a more knowledgeable and experienced fake.
She smiled to herself. Experienced with none other than wealthy Thunder Canyon scion, Riley Douglas.
Lisa stared at the newspaper on Bernadine’s desk the following morning. The Shady Lady or the Lucky Lady? the caption under two photographs read. The photograph on the left was a picture of Lily Divine that Lisa had never seen before. The dark-haired woman was garbed in the red dress now on display at the museum. Someone had retouched a black-and-white photograph to add color. Lily was smiling her confident smile and had been cropped out so that only the shoulder of the man beside her could be seen.
The picture on the right was present-day living color. Last-night color to be exact. It was Lisa in her red dress, smiling a self-pleased smile at the camera. A quick glance at the surroundings showed it to have been taken outside the restaurant.
One can see the resemblance between these two auburn-haired beauti
es, both residents of Thunder Canyon, both well-to-do women, both knockouts in red. Is there more than a physical resemblance between the two?
“What is that supposed to be implying?”
“Who knows?” Bernadine replied.
Lisa held the paper up for a better view. “Do I really look like her?”
“Well…yes.”
Lisa smiled. “Not a bad thing.”
“Not at all.”
“What business do we have today?”
“We have a letter from a Logan Banks’s attorney claiming that Logan is your cousin and entitled to his share of the Queen of Hearts.”
“Never heard of him.”
“Didn’t think so, but we’re checking him out anyway. We have to send a legal response.”
Lisa poured herself a cup of coffee. “Isn’t this about the fourth new cousin I’ve had?”
“Fifth. Great suit.”
“Thanks. I did a little shopping. Oh, yeah…” She fished in her bag and pulled out the signed contracts. “He signed ‘em.”
Bernadine smoothed the papers on her desktop. “All the incorporation papers have gone through. We have our ID numbers and we’re ready for business. Have you decided about Riley’s loan offer?”
“Won’t any bank in Thunder Canyon give me a loan now?”
“Bank loans require collateral. They’d ask for a share of the mine.”
“Okay.”
“The personal loan ties up less of your assets.”
“But I don’t want it to be personal.”
“You don’t want to owe Douglas.”
“Exactly.”
“Whatever you prefer. Want to have lunch?”
Lisa assured her she did, but added, “We’ll have to be back for the state inspection at the mine this afternoon.”
“What is it? Water quality?”
“It’s basically a run-through of regulations since we’re not pumping yet. They’re going to check for proper storage of explosives, escape routes, ladders, marked ore shutes.”
