by Sandra Field
‘Well, seeing as you put it like that…’ Shelby said, laughing, and left the window to go in search of her clothes.
Less than ten minutes later, having washed and dressed in shorts, top and trainers, she tripped down the stairs and went in search of him. She found him eventually, leaning against the fence that marked the boundary of the garden, talking on his mobile phone. He beckoned her over and, as she drew closer, she could hear his side of the conversation.
‘It was who we thought, then? Which station? Let’s hope they throw away the key…My pleasure, Oscar, and I hereby notify you I’m taking a long leave of absence.’
Shelby’s ears perked up at that. ‘Hey, are you talking to Dad?’ she asked, and Gray nodded, holding out his hand for her to come closer.
‘Yes, that’s Shelby you can hear. She finally decided to get up. I think she wants to talk to you. Hold on.’ He handed over his phone, then slipped his arms around her.
‘Hi, Dad,’ she greeted her father cheerfully, resting her weight against Gray.
‘Hello, darling. You sound more chipper today. Feeling better?’
‘Much. It’s probably got something to do with the company,’ she added, winking at Gray, who quirked an eyebrow back at her.
Oscar Greer laughed. ‘Of course it has. I remember how it felt to be with the right person. Nothing to compare with it. You take care now, and enjoy yourself. Oh, and tell Gray something for me. Faint heart never won anything.’
Shelby frowned, more than a little confused by that. ‘OK, I will. Bye, Dad, See you soon.’ Closing the phone down, she handed it back to Gray, who slipped it into the pocket of his shorts. ‘Dad said to tell you faint heart never won anything. Do you understand that?’
‘It’s a private joke,’ he responded inscrutably.
‘Yes, but what does it mean?’ she insisted.
‘I’ll tell you one day,’ he told her unhelpfully. ‘Now, what were you saying about my legs?’
Her smile broadened into a grin. ‘I like a man with long legs. They’re very sexy.’
He grinned back at her, and there was a rakish gleam in his eye. ‘Mmm. I was just thinking the same thing about you. I’ve been imagining you wrapping them around me when I make love to you,’ Gray added huskily, and a powerful wave of heat started in the pit of her stomach and swept through her entire body.
Shelby made a growling sound. ‘I love it when you say things like that. Tell me more.’
‘Do you really feel better today?’ he asked instead, and the prosaic question made her tut.
‘Much. Why?’
Gray lowered his head towards hers. ‘Because I’m badly in need of sustenance. I’ve been starving for your kisses for far too long.’
The tone and texture of his words caused Shelby to shiver in anticipation. ‘Then you’d better not waste time talking,’ she invited, and he needed no further encouragement.
Gray took her lips with a depth of need that blew her mind. Of the kisses she could remember, nothing compared to this. It might have been shocking if she hadn’t felt an equal hunger. He sought and she gave, revelling in the release of his pent up passion. She had wanted him to kiss her like this, and it gave her the freedom to kiss him back without reservation.
When they finally broke the kiss, her heart was thundering wildly and she could scarcely breathe. Yet it felt wonderful, for beneath her hand she could feel the rapid thud of his heart and could see the way he had to drag air into his lungs.
Gray rested his forehead against hers and strove for a measure of calm. ‘Now do you see why I had to hold back?’ he asked thickly, and her nerves responded instantly.
Oh, yes, she saw. ‘Is it always going to be like this?’
‘What do you think? My passion for you can never be moderate,’ he confessed in a husky growl her senses instantly responded to.
‘I’m glad we got over the past. Think what we would be missing. Do you feel foolish for turning me down all those years ago?’ she just had to ask, but he shook his head.
‘No. It wasn’t the right time. You had a lot of growing up to do.’
Naturally she frowned at that. ‘Oh, I did, did I? What makes you think I didn’t know my own mind?’
‘Oh, you knew your own mind, all right. Which is why you were having so much fun playing the field,’ Gray responded, and she knew she only had herself to blame for his thinking. She had covered her tracks well.
‘Maybe you’re right,’ she conceded. One day, if their relationship should turn out to be more than an affair, she would tell him the truth.
At that point her stomach growled, and Gray released her. ‘Come on, Red. Let’s drive into town for breakfast. Then we’ll buy your painting equipment and drive up into the mountains.’
‘That sounds like a wonderful idea,’ Shelby agreed instantly.
Fifteen minutes later they were in the car and on their way. It turned out to be the most perfect day she could ever remember. After a lazy breakfast, having found the things she needed, they stopped off to buy a picnic lunch then headed inland. Everywhere they looked was a feast for the eyes. They were so spoilt for choice that in the end Gray simply parked the car and they walked.
Whenever Shelby saw something she just had to sketch they would stop. Whilst she painted, Gray stretched out beside her. Sometimes he would watch her work, and at others he closed his eyes and dozed.
By mid-afternoon Shelby was beginning to feel hungry again. Gray found them a sheltered spot, miles from anywhere, and spread out the blanket he had carried from the car. Here they could eat and look at the stunning view at the same time.
Some time later, Shelby sighed. ‘I should have done this a long time ago. I’ve been so busy focusing on my career I’d forgotten what it feels like to really relax.’
‘So the knock on the head saved someone having to knock you on the head to get you to take a holiday?’ Gray teased lightly, and she threw the crust of her sandwich at him.
Taking two plums from a bag, he handed her one, then lay down and made himself comfortable with his head on her lap. Shelby leant back against a convenient outcrop of granite and slowly ate her plum, and all the while her fingers idly combed through his silky black hair.
‘Oh-oh. You’ve got a grey hair!’ she exclaimed, tossing the stone of her plum back into the bag.
‘I’m surprised there’s only one,’ Gray replied dryly, handing her his plum stone to deal with. ‘The amount of worry you give me, there should be more.’
‘When have you ever worried over me?’ Shelby wanted to know, putting the plum stone in the bag along with her own.
Gray captured her hand on its way back to his hair. ‘More times than I care to remember.’ One by one he began to lick her fingers clean of plum juice.
Shelby caught her breath at the sensuousness of it. ‘Are you sure you want to be doing that?’ she asked, finding it highly arousing. ‘It’s giving me ideas.’
‘I hoped it might,’ he responded, moving his tongue in lazy spirals round her index finger.
‘I’m shocked!’ she gasped, stifling a groan of pleasure. He was turning her on as easily as if he had flicked a switch.
Gray abandoned her fingers in favour of tracing lazy circles around her palm with his tongue. ‘Brace yourself, Red. You ain’t seen nothing yet,’ he promised.
‘You always seem such a gentleman,’ she retorted, biting her lip as his tongue discovered the pulse at her wrist.
He looked up at her then, eyes gleaming hotly. ‘You bring out the beast in me!’
Her smile at that was a study in provocation. ‘Thank God. I thought I might be losing my touch.’
Gray shook his head. ‘That will never happen between you and me. You only have to touch me and I go up in flames.’
It was an opportunity not to be missed, and Shelby swiftly bent down and kissed him. She took her time, tasting his lips before slipping her tongue inside and wreaking her own brand of sensual havoc. When she was done, she raised her head just enough to see him.
‘Like that?’ she asked softly.
He smiled wickedly, deliberately misunderstanding. ‘I liked it so much you can do it again.’ Raising his hand, he curled it around her nape and urged her head down.
This time the kiss was mutual and all the more potent for it. The more time they took, the swifter was her body’s response. Her heart had quickened its beat, sending her blood pulsing thickly through her veins. Every nerve was aroused, aching for more.
‘Gray?’ His name was an aching plea against his lips and drew an immediate response.
‘Yes,’ he confirmed tautly, moving so that she was lying down and he was bending over her.
The weight of his body resting on hers was an indescribable pleasure. Her breasts swelled in response, her nipples hardening to sensual points that craved to be touched. When one hard male thigh slid between hers, she uttered a moan of pleasure and arched against it instinctively. Her hands sought to touch him wherever she could, tangling in his hair one moment, tugging at his T-shirt the next so that she could explore the tanned flesh beneath it.
It was incredibly satisfying to feel him shiver beneath her touch. To know that she could affect him so strongly. When his hand slipped beneath her top in search of her breasts she could hardly bear the suspense of waiting, and when his fingers finally brushed the lacy bra aside and claimed her aching flesh he felt it in every inch of her body. He subjected her to the most delicious torment, teasing her with lazy circles of his thumb until she wanted to scream. Then and only then did he take the time to swiftly remove her top and bra and claim the turgid peak with his mouth.
Her head went back as his tongue laved her sensitive flesh, teasing her with flickering strokes that stole her breath until at last he began to suckle, drawing her deep into his mouth until she groaned deep in her throat at the pure unadulterated pleasure. Then he began to repeat the process on her other breast, and she was helpless to do anything other than close her eyes and succumb. Yet eventually that was not enough. She wanted to touch him, to make him feel what she was feeling, and she began tugging at his T-shirt, pulling it up until Gray was forced to stop what he was doing and raise himself enough to allow her to pull the top free and toss it aside.
Their eyes locked then and oh, so slowly he lowered himself until their skin touched. It was an instant of pure pleasure that stole their breath and left them, for vital aeons, not daring to move. Shelby breathed in deeply, her arms gliding around his neck.
‘Mmm, that feels so good,’ she murmured huskily.
‘Almost too good,’ Gray agreed, tracing a line of kisses along the tender lines of her shoulder and neck. His hand made a slow exploration down the curve of her waist, only to be frustrated by her shorts. ‘You’re wearing too much,’ he growled, nimbly dealing with the button and zip.
‘So are you,’ she pointed out, and he moved.
‘That can soon be put right.’
Shelby raised her hips to allow him to remove the last of her clothes and then he dealt with his own. Seconds later he lay down again and, with nothing between them, everywhere they touched flash-fires started to blaze. The freedom to explore was intoxicating, the pleasure given and received beyond anything either had experienced before. It was hard to tell where one body ended and the other began as they writhed together, each kiss and caress drawing gasps and sighs of pleasure as they drove each other closer to the edge.
When his hand found her intimately and began a stroking caress, it was so overwhelmingly erotic that Shelby could feel her body tighten, the pressure rapidly building and spiralling upwards towards the inevitable.
‘No. Wait,’ she gasped urgently, but it was already too late. She had no power to hold back an explosive climax that had her arching into his hand and crying out. The waves of pleasure pulsed through her as she collapsed, and conflicting emotions surged through her. As much as she had enjoyed the release, it wasn’t how she had wanted it to be. She had wanted them to come together.
Sensing her disappointment, Gray settled himself between her legs, taking his weight on his arms as he looked down at her flushed cheeks and glittering eyes. ‘That’s only the beginning, darling. Stay with me,’ he urged and with infinite care he began to arouse her again.
Shelby knew he was right when within minutes she could feel her body starting to turn molten again. Her desire had only died back, not been put out, and soon it was a growing fire in the pit of her stomach. Determined that he should not get off scot-free, she used her lips and hands to caress him wherever she could reach, and it was highly arousing to hear him gasp beneath her touch and shudder with the pleasure.
When he entered her she was ready for him, and it was the most beautiful moment of her life. He didn’t just fill her physically, he filled her emotionally too. He completed her, for in her heart they were two halves of a whole. Only in these precious moments was she totally whole. She wanted to capture the moment in her memory for all time, but when he started to move thoughts flew from her mind and there was only feeling.
Folding her legs around him, she held on, moving to meet his thrusts. They were slow at first, measured by the strength of his control, but as need grew she could feel his control slipping away, until finally he abandoned it altogether in the search for mutual satisfaction. It came in a white-hot explosion that shattered her first and then Gray. They cried out at the sheer perfection of the moment.
Tears sparkled like diamonds in her eyes as she slowly floated back down to earth. Nothing could really have prepared her for what she felt then. The tears were of joy, for she knew that this was what she had dreamed of for so long. Gray was hers, and she was for ever his. Nothing could ever replace this. She wouldn’t even try.
Gray somehow found the strength to roll on to his side, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he strove for breath. Turning his head, he looked at her and something knifed through him as he saw one perfect tear trickle from the corner of her eye.
‘Hey. Are you all right, Red?’ he asked, concern making his voice raspy.
Her response was to turn on her side to face him, her lips curving into a beatific smile. ‘I’m perfectly fine,’ she told him, searching his eyes for any signs of how he felt now.
‘Why the tear?’ Gray wanted to know, using a long finger to wipe the moisture away.
She sighed, so replete she felt as if she was lying on cotton wool, not a rough blanket. ‘Because that was so beautiful. Wasn’t it?’
His hand cupped her cheek, and at last he smiled rather bemusedly. ‘It was surely way beyond my expectations. I always knew that you and I could have something special.’
The words surprised her. ‘Isn’t it always like that?’ she asked, and Gray went still before uttering an odd laugh.
‘Trust me, Red. What we just shared was one of a kind,’ he assured her swiftly.
Shelby looked at him soberly. ‘I have to trust you. You’re the only one with a link to what I can’t remember.’
Very gently he rubbed his thumb over her lips. ‘Hey, forget what you can’t remember. What we just shared is what counts. It has to mean something.’
‘Perhaps it means we love each other,’ she suggested, knowing that that was what she would like it to mean, but Gray could have other ideas. She had no reason for thinking his feelings towards her were anything more than physical.
An odd gleam shone from the back of his eyes. ‘Perhaps it does,’ he agreed lazily.
As an answer it left a lot to be desired, but she pursued it. ‘Are we in love?’
‘What do you think?’ he countered, and his voice took on a husky edge.
She frowned at him, hard. ‘Do you have any idea how aggravating it is to have your question answered with a question?’
His smile was roguish. ‘I’ve a pretty good idea.’
Shelby narrowed her eyes at him. ‘You’re avoiding the question!’
‘Yes,’ he admitted at once, and she sighed helplessly.
‘OK, so I have to make my own deduction. We’re not i
n love, and you don’t want to tell me because you don’t want to hurt my feelings by telling me before I remember for myself. Right?’
‘Wrong,’ he batted back instantly, and Shelby’s heart did an almighty flip-flop in her chest as his answer registered.
‘Are you…’ she began croakily, then had to stop to moisten her mouth. ‘Are you telling me we do love each other?’ she asked incredulously.
‘Not exactly. It would be truer to say one of us loves the other,’ he enlarged, moving closer to her.
The bottom of her stomach dropped out. Oh, God, did he mean he knew she loved him? It would be excruciatingly embarrassing if he felt nothing for her but, having come so far on an idle remark, she had to go on.
‘Meaning…?’
Sapphire eyes looked directly into hers. ‘Meaning I love you,’ he said simply, and she lay there, stunned.
‘You do?’ She couldn’t help the question sounding so doubtful, but it was the last thing she had expected him to say.
‘As God is my witness. I love you, Shelby Greer. I’m hoping that maybe you love me too.’ His words as well as his expression reflected hope muted by doubt. It was this uncertainty that convinced her he really wasn’t joking.
Her spirits suddenly soared as it dawned on her that her wildest dream had just been answered. Love shone from her like a beacon. ‘But of course I love you, Gray. I always have!’
It was his turn to show surprise. ‘Always?’
Laughing, she nodded. ‘Yes. Always.’
‘Hmm, as I recall, you weren’t too enamoured of me for a while,’ he reminded her.
‘True, but even though I hated you for what I thought you’d done, I loved you too,’ she admitted, causing his smile to turn wolfish.
‘I’d never have guessed. Remind me never to play poker with you,’ he declared, running his hand caressingly over her hip, inflaming senses that had barely died down.
Shelby inched closer till their lips were a mere breath apart. ‘Keep that up, mister, and you’ll have to pay the consequences,’ she warned him, letting her own fingers trail down his chest until they found a flat male nipple which they began to tease into a hard nub.
