All He Needs

by Shirley Hailstock

  Pulling a chair around, Carter sat. He reached down and took her feet in his hands. Removing her sequin-encrusted heels, he lifted her legs to his knees and began methodically massaging her insteps. Renee’s eyes closed at the pleasure his strong fingers evoked. She leaned back in the chair. The sensation felt so good—too good, she thought. While she wanted it to continue, she knew better. Pulling away, she placed her feet down and slipped her shoes back on, despite the fact that her feet hurt.

  “It’s time for me to go,” she said.

  “Can I drive you somewhere?”

  “I have a car service,” she told him.

  “Cancel it. Let the guy go home to his family. I’ll drive you.”

  She hesitated.

  “It’s a drive, not a commitment,” Carter said.

  Renee knew his views on commitment. She also knew tonight wasn’t a night that she should get into a dark car with him and rest her head on his shoulder. And she was too tired to talk about them as a couple.

  “He’s waiting,” she said. “I’d better go.”

  Carter didn’t move to stop her when she started walking. Renee refused to turn and look over her shoulder, but she knew he was watching her.

  Half an hour later, the limousine pulled up in front of her house and the driver helped her out. Thanking him, she went up the few steps to her door. She unlocked it and waved the driver away. Stepping inside, she heard a car door close and looked toward the sound. Carter smiled as he crossed the street and came up the steps.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I came for my good-night kiss.”

  Renee was stunned. Pulling her inside, he closed the door behind them. She took a step back, but he caught her around the waist, tightening his embrace. She offered no resistance as his long arms gathered her close. Renee smelled Carter’s cologne—she remembered it from a past life. Three years of feelings rushed into memory at what they had once shared.

  For a moment, Renee thought of pushing him back, but she wanted to be in his arms. For just a few seconds of pleasure, she told herself, she’d remain where she was. She relaxed, allowing her body to accept all the pleasure signals she was getting. Carter’s kiss was soft on her mouth. His hands crushed the purple satin as she pushed herself closer to him. Her arms snaked around his neck and she let the full force of sensation drive her up the sensual ladder to a higher rung of pleasure. Carter’s hands banded her body. They were warm as they slid up her spine to rest on the bare skin of the low-cut gown.

  Delirium was setting in. Renee raised a leg up Carter’s and settled between his legs. She felt his erection and the heat that told her he was aroused. The thought triggered her own arousal. She knew this was the point to push back; if she went further, there would be no return. She’d told herself this was it. Either stop or be prepared to follow this to the end.

  Carter lifted his mouth from hers. His eyes held desire, but he was restraining himself.

  “That was some kiss,” she said.

  “For me, too,” he returned.

  “Would you like something to drink?” she asked. The heat they’d produced with only a kiss had burned the air dry.

  He shook his head.

  For an eternity, they stared into each other’s eyes. Neither spoke, neither moved. Then, as if there was music somewhere in the background, they began to slow dance across the foyer and into the main room. Carter held her tight, but not so she couldn’t escape if she wanted to get away.

  She didn’t.

  They were alone. No one here to see them and no one expected. Renee stopped moving. She looked up, and her eyes rested on Carter’s mouth. His lower lip quivered slightly. She wouldn’t have noticed if she weren’t a kiss away from him. Raising her hand, she touched his mouth. He kissed her fingertips gently. Fire plowed through her skin, working in circles and folds through her fingerprints and burning through to her flesh.

  Moving her hand, she pushed herself up and put her mouth on his. This time the kiss wasn’t soft or chaste. It was raw, wet and hungry. His mouth assaulted hers. Their heads bobbed from side to side as sensation ran through them like lightning bolts looking for a grounding wire. Renee forgot the years of separation, forgot that she and Carter had new lives and careers. All she knew was that she wanted him, and he wanted her.

  Her dress crisscrossed at the back, threaded by a white ribbon that tied at her lower back. Carter found the bow and pulled. The dress loosened and fell. Renee caught it between them. Cool air rushed against her back but was quickly replaced by the heat of his hand. When he smoothed his strong hands over her bottom, Renee instinctively seized as new arrows of electrical current shocked her. She knew his hands, knew the feel of them, the size that was perfectly fitted to the exact curvature of her body.

  She ran her hands over his arms and around his back. His mouth continued to work magic on hers. His head pushed her back, bending her over as the two seemed to merge into one. Renee didn’t know how her dress slipped from her shoulders. Only when Carter’s hands found her bare breasts and patted his thumbs over them, causing her to utter a cry of pleasure, did she realize the dress hung near her arms.

  His mouth followed his hands, and she arched toward him as the erotic stroke of his tongue introduced her to a world of sensual pleasure. Slipping her arms from the dress, it fell like a pile of purple roses around her feet. Carter lifted her out and carried her toward the stairs. Renee laid her head between his shoulder and neck, and teased his ear with her tongue as he staggered like a drunk man up the stairs.

  There was a soft light coming from her bedroom and Carter headed that way. Inside he took her to the bed and slowly let her slide down his body until her feet reached the floor. He looked down at her. Renee felt as if she was the most loveable person in the world. With only his eyes, he could tell her everything she needed to know.

  When he kissed her again, his mouth was back to the tender, thoroughly satisfying kiss that, despite its gentleness, wrung everything from her. It forced her to want him, to use her hands and the soft movement of her hips to tell him she was ready for him. She wanted his body merged with hers, wanted to feel their joining and wanted to enjoy the pleasure of making love.

  Renee pulled Carter’s bow tie loose, unbuttoned his shirt and pressed her wet tongue to his slightly moist skin. Tasting the salt of his body, she felt his hands squeeze her bottom as he pulled her tighter against his erection. Holding on to her sanity, she pushed his jacket over his arms. One at a time, he slipped his arms free. The jacket fell to the floor, but Renee was oblivious to it. Her eyes were trained on the uncovered skin of his chest. For a long moment she only looked at him. His darkened skin was smooth and contoured, as if some hand had personally outlined him, not in plaster or bronze, but in flesh and bone. Renee’s throat went dry.

  Yet her need multiplied. She pressed herself to him, running her hands over his shoulders and arms, feeling sparkles of electricity. Hooking her arms around his neck, she kissed him. She was only a head shorter than his six-foot frame, yet she went up on her toes. She loved the taste of him.

  His breathing was hot against her mouth and her heart thumped so hard, she thought it would burst through her chest. She couldn’t take this torture much longer. She needed him now. Wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone.

  She wanted to know that the beauty they had created three years ago had only been on hold, had not died away. She brought her hands to his belt and released the buckle. In seconds they were both naked. Carter lifted her and placed her gently on the bed. He stretched out next to her, kissing her so lightly it was like being caressed, yet he was driving her wild. His mouth traveled over her contours, kissing her eyes, her mouth, her shoulders. Taking his time, he moved from one area to another. Large hands massaged her back and came around to skim over nipples that stood erect at his touch.

 
Carter rolled over her, cupping her face and looking down at her. Her hair had come loose from its moorings, and he threaded his fingers through it as his mouth descended to take hers. Inside her hunger and need combined to a pleasure–pain paradox. Carter reached over the edge of the bed and found his pants. In seconds, he had a condom out of its package and had placed it over himself.

  Renee didn’t wait for him. She pulled him down on top of her and opened her legs for his entry. When it came, her eyes fluttered. The rhythm was slow to begin, but soon changed to a frenzied pace that she didn’t think she could maintain. Yet the deep pleasure drove her further and further along the ride with Carter.

  Guttural sounds mingled in the air. Renee was unsure if they came from her throat or Carter’s. She didn’t try to distinguish one from the other. He was here. With her. She’d forgotten how good they were together, how his body completed hers, how they moved in unison and gave all. She held nothing back. Whatever she felt, she let Carter have. He filled her time and again, their bodies meeting, retreating, meeting again. Each drive had her eyes closing and her body taking in the passion that only the two of them could create.

  Carter rolled her over the big bed, carrying her over and under him. Renee was immersed in the pleasure he granted her. Biting her lip, she took the pleasure his body offered her. Yet neither Renee nor Carter would give in. She reached for more and more until the scream she’d pinned inside her wouldn’t remain quiet. It was about to release.

  She moved, rolled, reversed positions with Carter until she was over him, her body pumping his. His hands smoothed over her belly and squeezed her breasts. The action released something wild that lay dormant inside her. Like a suddenly awakened tiger, she ravished him. Hunger for him drove her to oblivion.

  Somehow they rose to a higher level than ever before. For a space of a lifetime she held the pleasure. Then she collapsed onto his sweat-slick body. Renee could say nothing. Carter’s arms embraced her. Large hands roved over her back and the curve of her bottom. Their breath was ragged and loud, but the air was filled with the aftermath of lovemaking.

  Carter brushed her hair aside and kissed her forehead. Renee had never felt more cherished.

  * * *

  Sanity returned with the sunlight that streamed through the windows. Renee smelled coffee and bacon. Opening her eyes, she pushed herself up on her elbows and looked at the empty place where Carter should be sleeping. He was gone.

  “A man who cooks,” she said out loud as she smiled.

  Dressing quickly, she rushed down the steps and burst into the kitchen.

  “You’re cooking,” she said needlessly.

  Carter wore one of her aprons and boxer shorts. Nothing else. The sight had her body going into overdrive.

  “I’m starving,” he said.

  He turned to face her, and Renee felt all the heat of last night’s bedroom gymnastics return to claim her. Carter placed breakfast on the table. The two of them ate in silence, yet their eyes spoke, their hands talked and the smiles they offered each other told a story that only they would understand.

  Over coffee and juice, the English language returned to their minds. “Shouldn’t you already be at work?” Renee asked.

  “I called in and told them I’d be late.”

  “How late?” Renee smiled tantalizingly.

  “How late do you want me to be?” Getting up from the table, he came to her and pulled her out of her seat. He kissed her, long and hard. Renee tasted the juice he’d drunk. Her knees went weak, and she wondered if he’d always have that effect on her.

  She lay against him when he lifted his mouth. His heartbeat was steady in her ear. She liked being where he was, felt as if this was where she belonged. But they were competitors. They were going to have to discuss their relationship soon. But not now, she told herself. Now, she just wanted to stand here in her kitchen, with the morning sun streaming in, and be wrapped in Carter Hampshire’s arms.

  * * *

  Grand Central Terminal was packed with weekend travelers. Renee searched the cavernous structure for Dana. They’d agreed to meet by the double staircase in front of the three tall arched windows facing the main concourse. The sun shone brightly through them, and Renee squinted as she searched the room.

  She spotted Dana walking across the marble floor, holding two cups of coffee.

  “Do you have time?” Renee asked, accepting one of the cups.

  “My train leaves in forty minutes.”

  They climbed the stairs and found a seat away from the moving mass of people.

  “What did you think of the party?” Renee asked.

  “It was wonderful!” Dana’s eyes opened wide. “You and whoever created those graphics are geniuses. I imagine sales are through the stratosphere.”

  “They’re greater than projected. And, by the way, who did you leave with? I couldn’t see his face.”

  Dana looked down, a shy smile on her face. “He is an advertising director at Juvenock Magazines. He saw me to my hotel, chastely kissed me on the cheek and promised to call.” She took a drink from her cup. “This morning, when I checked out, there was a card waiting saying he enjoyed last night and would call later today.”

  Renee smiled. “Maybe I should go back to being a wedding consultant for one more wedding.”

  Dana sat up straight. “Not so fast. We live in different states. You know that rarely works out in the long run.” She smiled brightly again. “But for the time being, it might be fun.”

  Renee knew Dana’s situation and how cautious she was with men. The loss of her fiancé had changed her. It had taken her a long time to get over that, and even longer to begin dating again. Renee was glad to think that her cousin was healing.

  “What about you? Are you and Carter...friendlier?”

  A frisson of emotion ran through Renee. Just hearing Carter’s name raised her temperature and pumped her heartbeat.

  “We’re friendlier,” she admitted.

  “Did he ever explain why he left three years ago?”

  Renee understood that was a question that Dana broached with caution. Renee took a sip of her coffee and looked Dana in the eye. She explained what Carter had told her.

  “He was in Afghanistan?”

  Renee nodded. “Our relationship hadn’t developed very far and he didn’t want to have someone worrying about him at home.”

  Dana sat quietly for a very long time. Renee wondered what she was thinking. Did this remind her of her lost fiancé?

  “I know you might think that doesn’t sound like a good reason, but it was.”

  “How can you say that?” Renee asked.

  “Renee, he was protecting you.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “Answer a question. Were you in love with him when he left?”

  Renee waited a moment, then nodded.

  “Did he know that?’

  “Not in words. I’d never said it.”

  “But we all know when a relationship crosses the line and changes, matures, turns more serious.”

  Renee couldn’t deny that. She nodded quickly even though Dana had not asked a question.

  “He was saving you from pain in case something happened to him.”

  Renee weighed her words.

  “But why didn’t he tell me?”

  “Because it wouldn’t have spared you. If you’d known, you’d have waited, written, called. You’d have done all the things I did.” She stopped.

  Both women stared at each other.

  “Then when you couldn’t reach him by phone or mail, when you got no responses to anything, you’d have fallen off the deep end, like I did.”

  Renee gripped her cup with both hands. “I fell off of it anyway.”

  “You did, but there’s a differe
nce.”

  “What’s that?” Renee asked.

  “You have another chance. He’s back, safe...” Dana didn’t go on. Her voice cracked.

  Renee reached over and squeezed her hand.

  It was time for Dana’s train, and the two walked to the platform together and hugged goodbye.

  “Renee, think about giving him another chance.”

  “I’ll think about it,” she said. “Carter asked me to think about it too.”

  Dana smiled, hugged her again and got on the train. She waved from one of the windows, but her words hung in the air as the huge silver cars rolled out of the station.

  * * *

  The office was less frantic then it had been the day before. Renee and Carter hadn’t arrived together. He’d had to go to his apartment and change clothes, and she’d had to meet Dana, but not before they had spent a long time in her shower and then again in bed before parting. Renee could still feel the evidence of their night together. Throughout the morning, she kept smiling as she remembered the two of them making love and holding each other. She wished it had never ended.

  Dana’s words rang in her ears. Give him another chance. What was last night, if not a chance?

  The phones were ringing, and the office was full of flowers, bottles of champagne, some of the world’s best chocolate and notes of thanks from several of the past evening’s guests. Renee continued to get job offers and questions about sharing their technology from some of the publishing professionals.

  News reporters wanted interviews, but Renee wanted to escape. For a short moment, she considered going up to the 38th floor and hiding out in Carter’s office. But Carter was one of them—the competition that was desperate for her technology. He didn’t feel like one of them when she remembered his hands on her body, but her brain knew going upstairs would be a monumental mistake.

  Diana and Teddy’s arrival was a godsend. Her secretary would hold all her calls, giving her some needed downtime. Now that the first issue was history, they had work to do to get the second one to press and get a head start on the next six. She’d finally feel comfortable when they were months ahead of the curve.