by Ginny Baird
"You called?" he asked, as the swinging door closed at his back.
"David," Marie said, holding up a long, gleaming knife. "I have a proposition."
David swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Oh, yeah?" he asked, his voice suddenly squeaky as a thirteen-year-old's.
"You and I are engaged," she said, digging the knife into the breast of the turkey and slicing off a chunk.
"Okay," he said, making no effort to move from where he was.
"Come over here, will you?" she said, motioning with the knife. "I don't want to shout it, for heaven's sake."
David steeled himself and took a few steps forward.
"What's wrong with you, anyway?" Marie asked. "One minute you're the loving fiancé, the next you act as if you're afraid..." She looked down at the knife which she'd thrust back into the turkey carcass.
"Oh, no!" She burst out laughing. "No, no, no..." Marie snorted. "You couldn't possibly have thought—ha!" She dropped the knife to the carving board.
"Hey!" Mark shouted from the dining room. "Are we going to get any dinner in here, or should we all just depart and leave you two alone?"
"David," Marie said, bringing herself under control and standing to grip him by the elbows. "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear. "She found herself giggling uncontrollably. Her? A menace? Hooo.
"David," she said again, blinking hard and straightening her quivering lips. "Here's the deal."
He looked at her without flinching, his crystal blue eyes calm.
"You and I are engaged."
"Okay."
She narrowed her eyes and resisted another giggle. "You started it, I didn't."
"Okay."
"Therefore, you are mine until the night is through."
David's heart did cartwheels, but he didn't say a word.
"What I mean is, we can play this game for a few hours, just to get my family off my back. But when the clock strikes midnight..."
Holding his tongue seemed to be working so far, so why wreck it now, David reasoned.
"Then you go home."
"Got it," he said, bowing backwards as she dismissed him with a wave of her knife.
And then he darted through the swinging door and gave Johnny a high-five before Marie could rejoin them.
"More wine?" Johnny asked, passing the carafe in Marie's direction.
She'd already had two glassfuls and was thinking she should stop. But then she looked over at David holding court at the other end of the table and motioned for Johnny to fill her glass halfway.
Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was the lateness of the hour. Or maybe, it was because she was so full of sweet potato casserole and pecan pie she couldn't think straight. But the truth of the matter was that David looked good sitting there in her father's chair.
He seemed so at ease with her family. And, for a man who had never met them before, it had certainly been a baptism by fire. Yet, none of it appeared to faze David at all.
"Sweetheart," he asked, looking in her direction as he stretched back and patted his belly. "Can I help you with the dishes?"
"See there," Meg said, nudging Johnny. "This man isn't domestically impaired. He's offering to help in the kitchen."
Johnny flushed and drained his wineglass. "Oh now, honey, you know I'm helpless when it comes to you ordering me around."
David knew just how Johnny felt. He got to his feet, the room turning a bit at an odd angle. Just how much wine had he had? Though he hadn't been counting, the carafe had seemed to make quite a few trips to his end of the table.
"Come on, hon," Marie said, coming over and rubbing the back of his waist.
Wow. The room came into focus then, along with all sorts of electrifying images in David's mind.
He pulled a stunned Marie into his arms. "Baby," he said, his voice husky from the wine, "you should know better than to touch me like that in public."
Someone at the table let out an amused giggle. But all Marie could see was the fire in David's eyes. It was all too clear what was on his mind.
"Maybe we should get going," Jill said, tugging on Dan's sleeve and rising from the table.
"No," Marie said, trying to break the lock of David's arms but failing miserably, "stay."
David nodded slowly as a sexy grin worked its way across his kissable lips.
Gracious! Marie thought, feeling a little sweat trickle down her cleavage beneath her too-warm dress.
"Ah, yeah," Mark said, slapping the table loudly and springing to his feet. "Time's a-wasting. We'd best all get on the road before that big storm hits."
"Storm?" Marie asked, finally wriggling free of David's embrace and practically running to the opposite end of the room.
"Yes," Meg said, as Johnny went to collect their coats from the hall closet. "Haven't you heard? They've predicted a lot of snow tonight."
"Say," Jill said, as Marie wondered what on earth she was going to do once she was left alone with David in the house, "You sure you don't want us to stay and help with the dishes? We've made quite a mess."
But David just smiled and muttered something about helping the little woman all she wanted.
Little woman, her foot! If Marie had had darts to throw, she would have aimed them straight at David.
What was wrong with her anyway? This entire fiancé thing had already gotten out of hand. There she'd sat all through the meal, envisioning David as a permanent fixture in her father's chair. And rather than her siblings, all the other seats around the table had been occupied by imaginary children—her and David's, to be exact. Six of them altogether.
She shook off an unwanted chill as David's warm hands settled on her upper arms.
"Sweetheart," he said, leaning over and kissing her fondly on the forehead, "don't you want to go and say good-bye to your brothers and sisters?"
"Of course," she said, her face the temperature—and the color, she just knew it—of stewed tomatoes.
Marie stood on the front porch and said her goodbyes, each sisterly and brotherly hug punctuated by some whispered comment about what a catch David was.
When she turned to go back in the house, David was standing in the doorway.
"How much of that did you hear?" she asked, feeling her breath stick in her throat.
"None of it..." David began.
But before Marie could get out her sigh of relief, he finished, "Except for all the good parts about what a great catch I am."
She tried to think of something witty to say, some snappy comeback that would break the heated tension of the moment. But instead her boot heel caught on a floorboard and she stumbled forward into David's arms.
"Hey," he said, shoring her up by the elbows and then tugging her in close."I think that you're quite a catch, too."
"David," Marie said, as he pulled her to him, her soft breasts pressing his pounding chest. "I think we're letting heat out."
Didn't he know it. David swooped in for a kiss, oblivious to the fact that his backside still propped open the door.
"David!" she said, stopping him in mid-approach. "My electric bill!"
David turned and looked into the house, then gave her a thousand-watt smile. "You're right, my sweet fiancée, we're burning way too many lights in there. Where do you keep the candles?"
Chapter Twelve
Marie struck another match, wondering what on earth she was doing. But then David came up and nuzzled the back of her neck with his five o'clock stubble, and she knew exactly.
"Oh, David," she said, as little tingly kisses worked their way around the side of her neck, "you just... you just—"
"I know," he said, hungrily looking in her eyes. "You do it for me, too."
He laid his hands on either side of her glasses frames and gently tugged the turquoise wires from behind her ears.
"David," she said, her breath straining with the word. For heaven's sake, she couldn't even say his name without a million shivers racing down her spine. "I can't see a thing without those."
; "Give me your hands," he said, whispering a kiss first onto one eyebrow, and then another.
Marie tightened her grip around his back.
"No," he commanded, with a fierce nibble to her neck. He raised his head and looked down into her eyes.
Even through her hazy vision, she could see him wanting her, needing her. She released her grasp and willingly surrendered her hands to his.
"What you can't see," he said, lowering her hands to the front of his jeans. "You can feel..."
Marie held her breath, as her heartbeat became a gallop.
He brought her hands around to his lean hips and held them there. "And, you can certainly hear..."
He paused and then put his mouth over hers and completely devoured her in a passionate kiss.
"Marie," he said, pulling back for a moment. "I have something very important to tell you."
And, this time, she wouldn't stop him. Because nothing in her entire life had felt so right, as she stood there holding him, unabashedly enjoying the feel of his muscular body.
"I'm glad I didn't tell you earlier, that you didn't let me," David said, his voice a low tremble. "Because then, it was only something I thought was coming..."
He pulled back his brow and swept loose strands of her hair behind her ears.
"Marie," he said, taking her chin in his hands, wanting so badly to kiss her, to dive into her sensuous fire once again—but knowing he needed to finish. "I've fallen in love with you."
She felt her knees buckle, but he lowered his strong arms and caught her around the waist, just in time.
"You look like you need to lie down," he whispered, giving her the softest kiss. "Which way is the bedroom?"
Marie didn't know what had happened to her voice, but it was gone. Or, maybe he'd scared it out of her with his sinful-as-sex, wet kisses.
He loved her? Loved her?
Her heart thumped loudly in response. No, it couldn't be. Not so soon after...
But then again, this felt nothing like Cecil, or Paul, or even eager Eddie, her very amorous date for the high school prom.
But, she ached in her very soul to believe this was love.
Fortunately, his safe supporting arms were still around her. "Ah... I do need to lie down."
He bent low to scoop her trembling knees into his left arm, but she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"David," she said, as he straightened to look in her misty eyes. "I don't know how, I don't know why... but I've fallen in love with you, too."
Through the mist, she saw him flash a smile, and then, quicker than she could blink, she was quite literally swept off her feet and carried down the hall.
David dropped Marie onto the cushiony goosedown duvet, then straightened to loosen his belt. Though she couldn't see the details of his features, she'd captured it all picture-perfect in her mind. His ocean blue eyes, his divinely lopsided grin, his gloriously golden, manly-smelling skin...
Marie reached up and caught the front of his jeans by the waistband.
"What's this?" he asked, as she tugged him forward.
"David Lake," she said, her voice taking on a sultry quality he'd never heard. "I'm ready."
David sucked in a breath as Marie unbuttoned his pants and yanked down his fly.
"Come here, David," she said, sliding her hands down into his jeans and under the band of his briefs. "I want to see you."
David exhaled and dropped his jeans to the floor, not sure his own knees would hold up during all this excitement.
"Wow!" he said, kicking off his shoes and the rest of his jeans and springing onto the bed. "Keep talking!"
"Oh, honey," she said, purring kisses into his chest as she unbuttoned his shirt. "You haven't heard anything yet."
David fell back on the bed in wonder. Ecstasy. Excitement, as she trailed kisses down his chest, stopping at his navel to tease it a little with her tongue.
Marie didn't know what was happening, or what had overcome her. All she knew was that she wanted him, and wanted him in the worst way.
She caressed his broad chest once more, exploring the muscles there, then trailed her fingers softly, slowly down the line of his belly.
"Marie, Marie," David moaned softly. "Oh... don't stop."
He sounded positively... out of control.
She was liking this a lot. Then she straddled him and slid one hand over his hard arousal, rubbing it gently through the soft cotton of his briefs. Taking the initiative again, she pulled them off, leaving him. naked except for his open shirt.
David sat up and pressed her lightly on the shoulders. "You have me at a disadvantage," he said, kissing the top of her head.
Marie looked down at her sweater dress, wadded up around her thighs, and knew he was right. She reached for his hands and brought them to her hemline, encouraging him to help her.
In one quick move, David had lifted the dress over her head and reached for the clasp at the back of her black lace bra, as her hair cascaded down around him in waves.
"Help me," he pleaded, unable to work the clasp to his hurried satisfaction.
She reached back behind her and undid her bra, shaking it loose so her ample breasts fell freely into David's waiting hands.
"Baby," he moaned, leaning forward to lick and nibble, caress and suckle, until her panties felt damp and she knew she'd have to remove them.
Marie climbed off of him and sat on the side of the bed to remove her pantyhose and high-cut underpants.
"Come," he said, quickly shucking his shirt. He pressed her down onto the bed, "it's my turn."
She lay back on the pillows as he crouched over her in that panther-like pose she now loved so well.
"Marie," he said, lowering sensual kisses to her neck, her lips, her breasts. "I do love you, I do."
He brushed his length against her, and she felt her insides clench with a desperate yearning to know more of him.
David lowered his hips to hers, supported himself on one elbow, then used his free hand to caress her breasts once more. He lightly pinched her erect nipples and rolled them until she cried out with pleasure. Then he brought his full warm mouth down upon each, in its turn, to arouse her even more.
"David," she said, shifting her hips, "I don't think I can wait..."
That was all the encouragement he needed to lower his hands to her hips, stroke her thighs, then slip a hand in between her legs. He inserted one finger and tested the wetness there with a tender skill.
"Oh," Marie cried out, feeling her body convulse. "Oh, oh..."
David slowly withdrew his touch, and parted her thighs, positioning himself to enter her.
She gripped her hands around his naked backside and pulled him into her—hard.
He began to move in a powerfully erotic rhythm and her whole world started to dissolve.
Marie arched her hips as David caressed her breast with one hand and cupped her bottom in the other. Then he began to ride her hard and fast.
"More!" she cried out, as he tightened his grip and lowered his mouth to hers.
Their tongues tangled, their teeth nipped, and he thrust harder, over and over again, sending her to one peak after another. Marie bit his shoulder, his neck, lost in passion... until they each cried out, a deep primitive sound that united them both and sent them spiraling into bliss.
David wrapped his arms around the sex goddess snuggled against his chest. He had suspected from the start there was more to Marie than met the eye, but he'd had no way of knowing she'd respond so ardently.
"Well. That was heaven on earth. What next?"
"Dunno," she murmured. "Let's do it again."
"You're insatiable."
"If you've got a better idea, I'd like to hear it," she said sleepily.
He ruffled her already tousled hair. "You're only half awake. How about a bedtime story?"
"Hmm. Just so long as it's not Silence In The Trees."
"Hell, no."
Something in his tone made Marie sit up partway, and study
him for a long moment. "Wait a minute. Are you telling me you didn't like that book?"
David yanked up the sheet and buried his chin in the covers. "Guilty," he said, barely visible from his eyebrows up.
He lowered the blankets and gave a tentative smile. "Do you hate me?"
"Hate you? Oh, David! You nut," she said, giving him a playful shove. "Silence In The Trees was without question one of the most boring books I've ever read. But"—she stretched one long leg over his marvelously hairy calves, and snuggled closer—"I thought you liked it!"
"Well, honestly," he said, lightly caressing her arm. "It was a strain making it past Chapter Two."
"But you said—"
"No, I didn't," he said, shaking his head. "I said I thought you'd like it. Hey, wait a minute!"
He tilted sideways and tried to meet her eyes. "Next, you're going to tell me you don't like reading Publishers Weekly either."
"I don't," she said, sounding indignant. "Except, of course, when business calls for it. I'm a bookstore manager, what do you think? I read all the journals, but that doesn't have to mean they're my idea of fun."
David swatted her on the bottom through the thick layer of bedclothes. "That's my girl! I knew you had better sense than that."
He cocked one eyebrow. "You prefer that steamy stuff—"
"Romance, David. It's called romance."
"Oh, right. I really liked the part where that buxom librarian and her friendly doc were getting, uh, romantic."
Marie grabbed him by the chin and looked up. "Admit it, big boy, you liked that book, didn't you?"
"Wellll..." He drew the word out, stalling for time.
"David Lake!" she said, releasing his chin and popping his shoulder. "You were really into it... I saw you. Anyway, what do you like to read?"
"Well, I've got another confession," he said, ducking back under the blankets. "And this one, I don't think you're going to like as much."
He couldn't see her troubled look.
"I don't read much," his muffled voice said through the covers. "Not really." He peeped out into the darkness, expecting a verbal assault. "That is, unless you count the sports section of the newspaper."
