by Mari Carr
“A room?”
“In the hotel.”
She paused to consider his proposition. She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted any man. But the idea that’s he’d planned this whole evening, wined and dined her with the intention of seducing her, left her suddenly uncertain.
“Fuck. Nat, I’m sorry. It was presumptuous. I know.”
She quickly shook her head. “No, Ewan. We’ve been steadily marching in this direction for three years. I…you just surprised me. That’s all.”
“Are you attracted to me?” he asked.
“You know I am. Christ, haven’t I proven I am? Yes.”
“Natalie. We can go home or we can go upstairs. The decision is completely yours.”
She looked at his serious, beloved face and smiled. “How could you think for a minute I’d say no to you? I want to go upstairs, Ewan. I want it so badly.”
His smile was genuine, beautiful. “Come on. I don’t think I’m going to be able to wait much longer to hold you. You are so gorgeous tonight.”
“Sweet talker.” He paid the bill and she tried to ignore the growing heat in her body. She was going to sleep with Ewan tonight. She’d had sex before. Scratched the itch, so to speak. She couldn’t remember ever waiting for sex with more anticipation.
As the elevator took them up to their room, Ewan kissed her gently and she felt like a princess, the most cherished woman on the planet.
He held her hand as they walked along the lushly carpeted hallway. “So you were awfully sure of yourself,” she said as they paused outside the door.
“I don’t know if it was confidence as much as hope. I want you, Natalie. I’ve wanted you for years.” She’d intended her comment as a joke, a smartass way to bring a bit a levity to a moment that was suddenly too serious, too important.
Ewan’s response threw everything into another realm and she realized whether she admitted it or not, tonight was different. Tonight was special.
He slid the card key through the slot and gently pressed on her back, guiding her inside. She gasped when she saw the room. It was lit by several candles and the king-sized bed was covered with luscious, bright-red rose petals. The Jacuzzi tub at the side of the room was filled, steam rising from the hot water, and there was a bottle of champagne chilling on the counter of the wet bar.
“This looks like…” She couldn’t make herself say the word.
He smiled. “The honeymoon suite. It is. It’s a Tuesday night. It wasn’t booked, so I grabbed it. I remembered some of your comments about romance and your lack of belief, so I thought I’d bring you here. Prove to you that it really does exist.”
“Tonight’s lesson,” she whispered. “It’s romance?”
“It does exist, Nat. And if any woman ever deserved to be romanced, it’s you.”
She swallowed against the lump his words had provoked. He was wooing her, romancing her. Giving her the most precious moment of her life.
“Ewan,” she said, but the rest of her words failed. Nothing she could say would tell him what this moment meant to her.
“Are you sure you want this, Nat? Sure you want me?”
“You know I do.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “Then I’m yours. Come here.”
She walked into his arms as if she were returning home after years away. There was no question in her mind that in this moment in time, she was exactly where she wanted to be.
He kissed her softly and when she tried to deepen the embrace, he pulled away with a sexy grin. He walked over to the table by the window and pressed play on a CD player she hadn’t noticed. She gave him a quizzical look.
“I came over this afternoon to pick up the key, drop off a few things.” He reached out for her hand as a slow song began to play. “Dance with me, Nat.”
She bit her lips to stop the slight quiver his sensual gaze provoked. She took his hand, let him pull her close, let the music take over as they gently swayed and turned. She rested her head against his chest, felt the strong, steady beat beneath her cheek as he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.
She’d never danced with anyone like this, though she’d photographed it, captured this moment a million times in the past. Always the observer, never the dancer. “I like this song. What is it?”
“Falling Slowly. It’s from a movie I saw once.”
“It’s nice.”
They didn’t say anything else as the song continued, simply held each other and moved. As the music drifted away into another song, Ewan grasped her head in his hands, smiled as he bent down to steal the perfect kiss. His lips rubbed lightly against hers, enticing her to open her mouth. She sucked in a deep breath of his air, reaching out to taste him as well. Their tongues met, touched, played. If there was ever a moment in her life she’d want to freeze, this was it. She wanted to stop time, wrap up the occasion in tissue paper and tuck it in her pocket, so she could always pull it out and come right back here.
He kissed her cheek before turning her away from him. He draped her hair over her shoulder so he could lower the zipper on her dress. Then he slid the silky cloth over her shoulders and she kicked it off when it hit her ankles.
“Oh damn,” he whispered, and she didn’t bother to hold back her wicked smile.
She looked at him over her shoulder. “Like what you see?”
His gaze was locked on her back. No, she thought, definitely lower, as he studied her garter, her stockings, the bare skin her thong didn’t even begin to cover.
“You take my breath away, Nat.”
His comment caused the same effect in her and she smiled as she turned to face him again. Her fingers tangled with his as they fought to unbutton his shirt. After everything they’d done the past few days, she’d yet to see him without his shirt. She couldn’t wait to unwrap the present, discover what treasures lay beneath. He slid the shirt off, dropping it on top of her discarded dress.
She couldn’t resist touching him and she ran her fingers along the defined muscles of his chest, around his nipples. Bending forward, she ran her tongue along his pec, grinning when his tiny nub tightened.
“I want to see the rest of you,” she said, her hands drifting to relieve him of his belt. He helped her, pushing his pants and boxers off in one swoop, kicking them off along with his shoes. She swallowed heavily. She’d felt his hard length before, but the true sight of it was magnificent. He was beautiful, though she knew he wouldn’t want to hear her use that word. She imagined photographing him, capturing his defined lines, using shadows and lighting to accentuate every curve that made him uniquely masculine and sexy.
Ewan gripped the elastic waistband of her thong, pulling it over her hips and allowing it to fall. “It’s just going to be in my way,” he said and she laughed, delighted by his honesty, his ability to make the night magical and whimsical at the same time.
He kissed her again and, as one, they moved toward the bed. She tumbled down onto her back and Ewan crawled over her. He pressed against her knees, pushing her legs apart so he could kneel between them. She gasped when he ran his hands through the evidence of her arousal and she cried out when he used that wetness to slide two fingers inside her. He didn’t stop once he’d breached her; rather, he worked his fingers against her flesh until she was writhing beneath him, begging for more.
Ewan continued to caress her with his hand. She twisted her head, struggling for air as he touched her deeply. She was assaulted by the scent of the roses as she moved, reminded again of how much he’d done to make this night perfect. He’d given her so much.
“I want you inside me,” she said, reaching out, trying to draw him closer to her.
He grabbed a condom from the side table. “I meant to take this slow, Nat, but I need—”
“I don’t want slow. I just want you. Please.” Her last word fell out in a breathless sigh and he covered her, caging her below his large frame. He placed the head of his cock at the entrance to her body, stopping for only a second.
; His eyes met hers. “I’m going to make love to you, Natalie. I don’t want you to mistake this for anything else.”
She only had time to nod once before he pushed into her, proving with his actions the truth of his words. He was showering her with love, with beauty, with peace and freedom. Those concepts would terrify her later, she had no doubts about that. But for tonight, she wanted them more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life.
Over and over, he came into her until she came twice, each climax unique. The first hit her fast, overpowering her senses as she screamed and she was only vaguely aware that Ewan was still moving. When the second came, it built slower, hung on longer, each of Ewan’s thrusts sending spirals of pleasure coated with pain to every nerve ending in her body. It was simply too much, too good. She moaned, pleaded, begged for more. Ewan never stopped. He gave her everything.
“God, Nat,” he cried as she felt the spark of her third orgasm. She thought briefly her life was passing before her eyes because surely this one would kill her. No one could withstand this much pleasure and live to tell about it. He groaned and she knew he was close. She thanked God he was close.
“Come with me,” she said through gritted teeth. He groaned as he came, the pulsing throbs of his cock shoving her into another climax. Her entire body shook with the delight, her skin supersensitive and ultra aware of the sweat running down the side of her face, the tightness of the rose petals as they clung to her back, Ewan’s labored breathing against her neck, the weight of his body as he collapsed on top of her.
He turned to lie beside her, pulling his cock out by millimeters since each slight movement sent her inner muscles into a fresh round of contractions, causing her to cry out, hold him close.
He cupped her face when it was apparent retreating from her body wasn’t going to be easy. He kissed her and grinned. “Like a bandage,” he whispered, as he quickly withdrew completely.
“Ah,” she sighed, wincing as her body rejected his abandonment. She quivered in the aftermath, struggled to close her thighs. It had been too long. No, she thought, as she looked at Ewan and recalled his lovemaking. She’d never been with someone like that…and she suddenly felt as shy and uncertain as a virgin. “Well, that was interesting,” she said, forcing her voice to return to its natural state.
He shook his head, pulling her closer and kissing her face, her eyes, her brow. “Don’t,” he said, his voice husky, almost hoarse. “Don’t go there. Not yet.”
She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes against the tears gathering there. How did he know? How did he always know?
She swallowed against the lump in her throat and decided she owed him something real, something true.
“I’ve never experienced anything like that, Ewan. Anything so…” Her insecurities, her pride kept her from speaking the word.
It didn’t matter. Ewan knew. “Perfect.”
That was definitely the word that had been hovering on the edge of her lips and she fell silent, unable to refute the truth, though terrified to admit it. He ran his fingers through her hair and she melted further in his arms. She’d never wanted this affection, this closeness in the past, but she could no more leave his arms now than she could cut off her own nose. She needed to be here.
When the silence became too heavy, she looked up, consumed with curiosity. What was he thinking? Was he as floored as her?
The questions clogged her throat. One week was all he’d asked for. One week to play their game. It was all he owed her and all she wanted. It was time to get back on track. She dug deep to find the Natalie she could control, the one she could understand, but she’d deserted her, left her high and dry.
“So,” she began, cursing the shyness in her voice. “Do you think we can we do it again?”
He laughed at her request. “Oh hell yeah, but later. For now, I gotta rest up. I may be young, babydoll, but I’m not Superman.”
She laughed, relieved he so quickly reverted to form. The fun, laid-back Ewan she could handle. It was the passionate lover, the romantic man who was wreaking havoc on her head and…
She closed her eyes, afraid to think the word. It came anyway.
Heart.
He was touching her heart—and it scared the hell out of her.
* * * * *
Ewan roused several hours later. A quick glance at the clock confirmed it was a couple hours before dawn. Natalie was wrapped up in his arms, her head using his chest as a pillow. Her breath was warm, soft against his skin, and he closed his eyes, savoring the feeling.
She was magnificent. Amazing. Everything he’d dreamed she’d be, but so much more. He’d always suspected her sensual side, knew from her fiery nature outside the bedroom she’d be incredible between the sheets. All he’d needed to do was convince her to leave her hang-ups at the door. So far, so good, but he didn’t harbor any illusions he’d made it safely to shore yet. There was still a lot of fight left in his woman. He just hoped his stamina outlasted hers.
He gently lifted her head, placing it on the pillow. She murmured but didn’t wake, instead moving to her back. He wrapped the blanket around her as he rose from the bed and went into the bathroom. He chuckled as he looked at himself in the mirror. He had at least a dozen rose petals stuck to his body. He peeled them off before brushing his teeth.
Ewan studied his reflection, trying to ignore what he knew was running through his mind. He’d been enamored of Natalie Miller since they’d first met. Like any young guy, he’d dreamed of capturing her for a night or two, plotted ways to get her into his bed—inviting her to Baltimore for art shows, festivals, concerts. The more she rebuffed his advances, the harder he tried. Soon, however, he was devising ways to get her to come to Baltimore simply because he wanted to see her. His advances became less about sex and more about her. She fascinated him, enticed him.
He scowled. He was in way over his head. He was in love with Nat and he knew it was going to take a hell of a lot longer than a week to claim her closed-up heart. Something was holding her back, keeping her from making the leap from a solitary life to one shared with family, friends, a lover. He suspected she was protecting a secret, something so painful she felt the need to shut the world out, keep everyone she knew at arm’s length. Until she trusted him enough to confide in him, he wasn’t sure anything he did or said would bridge that gap.
They needed more time. Sighing heavily, he shook off his heavy thoughts. It was only Wednesday and they were still on Tuesday’s lesson. Three days. He had three days to convince Natalie to trust him, to show her that having an exciting life wasn’t worth a damn if you didn’t have someone to share it with.
Tiptoeing back into the bedroom, he spotted her camera on the nightstand. He’d been carrying it around since taking it from her on the fishing boat. He kept waiting for her to ask for it back, but she hadn’t yet. He knew she had other, bigger cameras with her. The little pocket-sized job he’d taken must be her personal one, while she used the professional cameras for her more serious shots.
She looked so beautiful, her blonde hair across the pillow, her usually tense, alert features soft, peaceful. He picked up the camera and snapped a quick shot. He thought the flash would disturb her but he must have worn her out more than he realized.
Grinning, he slowly dragged the sheets away from her body, watching as, bit by bit, more of her luscious body was revealed. He stopped after baring her breasts, his gaze studying her pink nipples as they went tight with the cool air. He continued moving the sheet down, stopping again to study her mons. She kept her light hair trimmed close and he felt the urge to run his fingers through it. Removing the sheet entirely, he climbed back on the bed, carefully spreading her legs so he could kneel between them.
She sighed, but again, she didn’t stir.
“Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty,” he whispered as he leaned forward and dragged his tongue against her slit. A tiny bit of moisture met his lips and he glanced up, not surprised to find her sleepy gaze on him.
/> “Hungry?” she asked, and he chuckled at her mocking wit. She used sarcasm as a shield. He’d realized that from their first meeting. Knowing that made it easier to dismiss, and he knew she was confused by his lack of offense each time she made some cutting comment, provoking no response.
“Starving,” he replied. He lightly ran his tongue along her drenched flesh, thrilled by the copious amount of juice her body had produced. Regardless of her confusion about her feelings, her body was opening to him, inviting him in. He pushed his tongue into her sheath as her hands found his hair. She caressed his face, his cheeks, as he savored and sampled every part of her. When her response to his intimate kisses turned from comfort to desire, he moved over her, stopping only to place hot, deep kisses on each nipple.
“Need you,” she whispered.
He continued upward until his lips found hers and they kissed for hours, days, until the heat between their bodies threatened to consume them.
