Tempted by a Carrington

by Linda Hudson-Smith

  Wide awake, Dallas whistled. “Wow! Don’t know what I did to deserve this, but I’m thrilled.” He stood and strode over to Lanier. Lifting her chin with two fingers, he planted a juicy kiss onto her lips. “You look stunning! And we’re home alone. I can’t wait to have you.”

  “Stop talking and get on with it,” she said sassily.

  He grinned. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

  Dallas carried Lanier over to the sofa and sat her down. Kneeling down in front of her, he brought her face to him and kissed her hungrily. His hand slid under her gown and met with bare skin. He tenderly fondled her breasts. She smelled so good, and he knew her perfume would linger on him for a long time afterward.

  Dallas freed her breasts from his hand and imprisoned one with his mouth. Suckling her twin mounds, he felt his manhood expanding. It was too soon to end the foreplay they both wanted more of. His hands moved downward. Pushing up the gown, he caressed her bare thighs, massaging her soft flesh with gentle fingers. He nudged her knees apart with his own then inserted his fingers into her moist femininity, causing her to moan lustily. The sounds coming from deep inside her heightened his desire. Lanier squirmed and gasped as his hot hands roamed over her bare, feverish flesh.

  “Lanier, Lanier, I need you so badly. You drive me crazy. I love you, baby.”

  Lanier couldn’t utter a single word. Dallas’s sweetly tortuous foreplay had rendered her speechless. She wanted him inside of her so bad it hurt. Her body’s desire for release was insane.

  With his lips locked onto hers, Dallas took out his wallet and fumbled around for a condom. He unzipped his slacks and took them off along with his briefs. He sheathed his manhood quickly and turned to her.

  Spreading apart Lanier’s legs and bringing her buttocks to the very edge of the sofa, Dallas slowly entered her, shuddering from pure desire. With his knees resting firmly on the carpet, Dallas began thrusting, making Lanier cry out from sheer pleasure.

  Lanier squeezed his manhood from within and Dallas gasped. As she clenched and unclenched her muscles, he fought even harder to hang on. “Oh, Lanier, you have no idea how good you make me feel…”

  Shushing him with her mouth, her tongue coiled around his. The uncontrollable feelings washing over her were almost too hot to handle. Riding atop the wild jerking motions of her body, Lanier closed off her mind, enjoying every second of the powerful climax roaring through her. Her wild shuddering caused her to dig her fingernails into Dallas’s back.

  With his manhood about to burst, Dallas deepened his thrusts, turning himself loose on her with a fury. “Lanier, I can’t hold out any longer.”

  His body bucked and trembled and his release was beyond intense. As he lay still inside of her, he stroked the length of her hair. “I don’t know how I’m going to find strength to pull myself up.”

  “Just lay within me until you feel stronger. You’re spending the night with me, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

  Removing an afghan from the sofa back, Lanier covered Dallas and they snuggled close on the sofa. What he really wanted them to do was climb the stairs and fall into bed together, but he’d have to wait for more strength to come.

  Lanier laid her head on his chest. “Are you satisfied?”

  “I couldn’t be more satisfied. Girl, you wore this brother out. Being inside of you is a feeling I can’t describe.”

  “That’s good to hear. It’s important for me to know I satisfy you. If I don’t, you just might go elsewhere.”

  Dallas turned his head. “Is that what you think? Why would you believe I’d go somewhere else when it’s only you I love and only you I make love to?”

  “That didn’t come out right. I don’t know how to make it sound right. I hurt you, and I’m sorry.”

  “Lanier, I’m not hurt. I’m disappointed. I do everything in my power to let you know you’re the only one, yet you still doubt me. Why?” The hurt in his voice was unmistakable.

  “I don’t doubt your love, Dallas. I see the effort you put into making me feel loved. Please charge it to my head and not my heart. Can you do that?”

  Dallas raised an eyebrow. “Don’t I always?”

  Lanier smiled. “You’ve got a point. I’m thirsty. Want something to drink?”

  “I’ll get it. A Diet Coke?”

  “You got it! I’m going upstairs to shower. Do you mind bringing the drinks up?”

  “Not at all. Want some company in the shower?”

  Lanier grinned, her eyes flashing flirty signals. “You know it. I’ll wait for you.”

  Dallas smiled. “You won’t have long to wait.”

  Knowing his strength hadn’t returned full-force, Dallas waited until Lanier disappeared before he put on his briefs. It would’ve embarrassed him if he had trouble getting up from the sofa. Once they got married, he thought any and all embarrassment would go away.

  Once we get married. Is that ever going to happen for us?

  Out in the kitchen, Dallas removed two Cokes from the refrigerator.

  As he headed toward the staircase, he laughed, shaking his head. His legs were still weak and wobbly from such a powerful climax. For an athletic man of his weight and stature, he should be able to run a marathon after any type of activity. Of course, other activities didn’t cause his body fluids to drain completely.

  One step at a time, man. Lanier’s waiting.

  After setting the sodas and a glass of ice on a nightstand, Dallas stripped down again.

  Not wanting to waste a moment of his time with Lanier, he joined her in the shower. She was already squeaky clean but eager to get her hands on his body. She poured a generous amount of shower gel onto the bath sponge and began to play.

  Because Lanier was dead tired, she had no plans to draw out the shower. It was still early, but she was ready to hit the sack. She didn’t necessarily have to fall asleep, but she wanted to get comfortable. Lanier looked forward to turning on the television or the radio and just lying in bed until she fell asleep. When she was with Dallas, she loved nothing more than to lie in his arms and listen to his beating heart.

  Unable to fall off to sleep, Dallas rolled onto his side. He was surprised to find Lanier still awake and he looked down into her eyes. “I have something important to say,” said Dallas. “It’s about Casey Rayburn, from the town house complex.”

  Lanier momentarily froze in her spot. “I know who she is. What about her?”

  “She’s a troublemaker. She thought she was being mysterious or something and started sending notes to my house, referring to herself as a secret admirer. I only figured out today that it had to be her. The only time I recall giving out my home address is when I filled out that visitors’ card.”

  Lanier hushed Dallas with two of her fingers to his lips. “Let’s not waste another moment on Casey Rayburn. She’s not a part of our future. I’m not buying one of her townhomes, so we never have to see her again. As for us, think we can go another round?”

  Dallas still felt too weak to make love to Lanier again. Swallowing his pride was easy because he could be up front with her without her ridiculing him. “Girl, I love the way you turn on this big guy, but I’m bone tired. I’ve spent a good deal of this day on a plane. Then I rushed over here to see you. Think I can get a rain check?”

  She leaned down and kissed his mouth softly. “Hate to admit it, but I’m bushed, too. All I could think about was getting in this bed while we were in the shower. Rain check granted.”

  Lanier fell asleep right away, but Dallas was having a hard time with it. He couldn’t stop thinking about Lanier’s response when he told her about Casey. Her lips had told him not to waste any more time on Casey, but her demeanor said otherwise. This wasn’t the last he’d hear about it, he guessed. As he’d a
lready told the young woman, Lanier wasn’t someone to mess with. The look he saw in her eyes had revealed her true feelings about Casey.

  Chapter 11

  The party held in honor of the Hurricanes’ megawin was in full swing. The team had won big, beating their opponents by six runs. Dallas had popped two homers in the late innings, making them his second and third home runs of the evening.

  Lanier wore a Vera Wang winter-white gown that was a vision of pure elegance. The formfitting gown clung like a second skin to her beautiful body. A sheer white silk shawl rested beside her. Sparkling shoes and an accentuating clutch were perfect complements for the designer gown. The solitaire pear-shaped diamond pendant and matching brilliant earrings she wore sparkled with pizzazz.

  Seated quietly on a chair in a corner, Lanier’s eyes darted everywhere, drinking in all the activities unfolding inside the beautifully decorated ballroom of a private mansion belonging to the owner of the Texas Hurricanes. Lanier had been to many social affairs with Dallas, but this was by far the most upscale and largest event to date. He had told her that over five hundred people were invited to the party, and he couldn’t imagine anyone had sent their regrets.

  The magnificent estate home sat on several acres and was certainly big enough to handle such a large group of people. The grounds were impeccable. Since the weather was great, many guests mingled in the lavish gardens and around the Olympic-size pool, where fine linen-draped tables were decorated with lovely floral and candlelit centerpieces.

  Dallas appeared in Lanier’s vision, and he looked debonair in a black tuxedo. It didn’t matter how many times she’d seen him in black-tie attire, she was still turned on by his gorgeous appearance. In fact, all the Carrington men looked hot in formal attire. Austin and Houston were off somewhere with Ashleigh and Kelly, and they had all arrived together in a white stretch limo. Beaumont and Angelica hadn’t arrived yet.

  Lanier’s dark eyes stayed riveted on Dallas and the beautiful, curvaceous female who’d just come up to him. Throwing her milk-chocolate arms around his neck, she drew her leg up, resting her thigh against his. Lanier stiffened, disliking the provocative stance. She sat up ramrod-straight in the chair and settled into a position where she couldn’t miss any action.

  As the woman’s ruby-red lips went to Dallas’s ear, Lanier strained to hear what she said, although there was no chance of eavesdropping at such a distance. She could easily imagine that the woman was saying something sexy to her man.

  Dallas looked totally uncomfortable as he did his best to extract himself from the willowy arms threatening to ruin one of the best nights of his life. He tried to turn back to get Lanier’s attention, hoping she’d see how awkward this was for him, but the woman wasn’t having it.

  A couple of seconds later, the woman literally tried to pull Dallas out onto the ballroom dance floor. Digging in his heels, he strongly resisted her, but she was determined to have her way and kept pulling on him. Finally, he picked up the woman, set her aside, and then gave her a piece of his mind. Whatever he said to her earned him a dagger-sharp look. Just as Dallas turned and walked away, the woman shouted something at him that Lanier couldn’t hear.

  Dallas rapidly made his way over to Lanier, holding his hand out to her. “They’re playing our song. The dance floor is calling us, sweetheart.”

  Lanier looked puzzled. “Since when did this become our song, Mr. Carrington?”

  Dallas grinned. “Every love song is ours. I get excited every time I get an opportunity to bring you into my arms and hold you tight. Come dance with me.”

  Obeying his soft-spoken command, Lanier followed him and relaxed into his arms. She laid her head on his broad chest, loving how secure she felt. As he swept her over the dance floor, Dallas kept his arms wrapped around her.

  As the slow song ended, loud shouting reached Lanier’s ears. She turned around. Two sturdily built males swore loudly at each other, slurring their words. Several men got between them and the arguing instantly stopped.

  Horrible memories of the past came roaring back to Lanier as she looked on in horror, recalling the shouting and cursing of her own childhood. Barbara and Joseph used to verbally tear each other to shreds. She had been taught that once words left the mouth, they couldn’t be recovered. Her mother had told her not to say or do anything she might have to apologize for later, yet Barbara had lived her life very differently. As her parents’ arguments escalated, they’d go at each other physically.

  Unable to bear her childhood memories, Lanier pulled away from Dallas and headed for an exit that led onto a marble terrace with a beautiful panoramic view. Until tears spilled onto the exposed flesh of her cleavage, Lanier hadn’t realized she was crying. The disturbance inside had set her back many years. The volatile arguments that had occurred in her childhood home had suddenly resurfaced and began taking over her mind. She didn’t want to relive those horrid times, especially when she desired to have the best future possible. Now it looked as if her dreams of a bright future had been threatened once again.

  Would she ever be free from the shackles of her past?

  Dallas came up behind Lanier and wrapped his arms around her waist. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Everything’s under control. Sorry you had to witness that madness.”

  At a loss for the right words, Lanier shivered. Fearing her voice would crack, she remained silent. The turmoil inside her stomach had her nauseated and terribly on edge.

  How could she tune out the violence occurring inside her head?

  “Why aren’t you answering?” His nose nuzzled her neck. “What’re you thinking, sweetheart? Wherever you are, please let me in.”

  Lanier tilted her head back against his chest. “I’m okay, Dallas. The ugliness just brought up bad memories.”

  Dallas wanted Lanier to understand that this episode wasn’t the norm. If she was to end up his wife, she’d more than likely see some unpleasantness. “What you witnessed happens, Lanier, but it mostly occurs in the stands. People get too much to drink and then act out. Winning is not an excuse to get rowdy, but the participants in it look for any excuse to cause trouble. You’ve seen news stories about fans damaging public and private property after a major win. You’ve been to several formal events with me, and nothing like this occurred.”

  Lanier slowly turned around to face Dallas, resting her back against the cool iron railing. All she wanted was the comfort she found within the confines of his strong arms.

  Dallas saw the depth of sadness in her eyes when she finally looked at him. “The violent behavior you saw is a downright disgrace to the owner and players. I don’t even know who those men are, but the owner will find out.”

  As much as Lanier would like to know who the men were that started the altercation, she figured it didn’t matter. She knew that neither man involved was a member of the Hurricanes.

  Looking into his eyes, Lanier smoothed Dallas’s hair with the palm of her hand. “I know you can’t control it, but it still unnerves me. I’ve lived in so many violent homes.”

  “I know you have, and I’m sorry you had to endure that way of life. But that’s all over now. You don’t ever have to be around those kinds of people. I’d never insist on you coming to a team function, knowing your fears. And I’d be happy to stay away, too. I only want to be with you, wherever you are.”

  Tears welled in Lanier’s eyes. “You’re so sincere. It’s hard for me to be around rowdiness. I have a hard time with what went on inside because it brings back bad memories. I don’t want to live like that.”

  Dallas felt a hidden meaning lurking within Lanier’s remarks.

  Would she dare give up a life with me because of bad behavior in my profession? It exists in all walks of life, not just in the lives of the rich and famous.

  Dallas dropped several kisses atop Lanier’s head. “We can go ho
me if you don’t feel comfortable staying. The dinner and awards ceremony is over and there are no more speeches tonight. I won’t miss a thing if we leave.”

  Lanier tenderly kissed Dallas’s mouth. “I wouldn’t think of ending your well-deserved evening. If I felt that strongly about leaving, I’d call a cab.” She kissed him again. “You earned this special celebration. As always, you were brilliant!”

  Dallas bowed from the waist, tipping a nonexistent hat. “Thank you very much. This is our third pennant win, yet none of the others felt this good. Want to know why?”

  “Why?”

  “You’re sharing it with me. Success is nothing more than a good feeling without someone special to celebrate with. Thanks for being here for me.”

  Dallas’s comments had Lanier all choked up. Too emotional to relay her thoughts verbally, she kissed him passionately, showing him how happy she was to be there for him and with him. Dallas was the only man for her.

  Lanier, Ashleigh, Kelly and Angelica escaped to one of the mansion’s twelve luxurious bathrooms to freshen up their makeup. Inside a spacious sitting room, plush velvet benches in royal purple looked invitingly comfortable.

  Kelly chuckled. “I wonder who the chick was that made a fool of herself earlier.”

  Wishing Kelly hadn’t brought up the ugly incident, Lanier’s smile rapidly turned into a rancid frown. She refreshed her lipstick but didn’t comment.

  Ashleigh gave Kelly a slightly scolding look, letting her know the remark was in poor taste. She did not want to see her friend’s evening ruined by some mindless female who didn’t seem to care how cheaply she portrayed herself in public.

  As the four women left the bathroom, that very woman entered. Stopping abruptly, she stared Lanier up and down. “I agree with my girlfriends—Dallas can do much better for himself. You must be willing to do things in the bedroom most women wouldn’t consider. What a waste of his precious time.”