Leslie Kelly, Jennifer LaBrecque

by Blazing Bedtime Stories Vol. V (lit)

  A sudden horrifying thought hit her. Forget sweet temptation. How about abject humiliation? She was no petite, diminutive little thing. What if he staggered beneath her weight? “I’m not sure you can carry me—”

  “For Pete’s sake,” he interrupted her, taking her by surprise and scooping her up. Instinctively she looped her arms around his neck, holding on, putting his jaw and the strong column of his neck within tantalizing, kissable proximity.

  “Are you good?” he asked, his breath warm against her cheek. Her heart thudded like a mad thing in her chest.

  “I’m fine,” she managed to say. It was both heaven and hell to be cradled against his chest. His hair teased against her wrists and fingers. His scent, a combination of his cologne, soap and man, wrapped around her. For a brief second she gave into temptation and rested her head against his shoulder.

  He crossed the room, taking care to angle through the doorway so as not to bump her feet on the doorjamb. He stopped midway down the hall. “This should be safe.”

  She wanted to laugh hysterically, as if anything within shouting distance of him was safe. Right. “Thanks.”

  He released her legs and she slid down his front. However, his arm remained wrapped around her shoulders and she still had her hands linked behind his neck.

  With a harsh intake of breath and a low, heated, “Cara mia,” Jake pulled her more firmly to him and nuzzled her temple. Gomez to Morticia.

  Without thinking, she nibbled at the spot between his ear and jaw. She felt him shudder beneath her lips. She gave up, gave in. She was tired of fighting her attraction to him. “Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?” Morticia to Gomez. Loosely, would you like to sleep with me tonight?

  He leaned into her, pressing her against the wall, and feathered kisses over her temple, down her cheek. “Are you sure, Goldie?” Why couldn’t he just shut up and let her lose herself in the magic of the moment? He smoothed his thumb over the angle of her cheek. “I’m the same man…I can’t make any promises….”

  No, he wouldn’t make promises. He was a man of honor. He’d been straightforward with her from the beginning. But for him to give her an out, a chance to say no when she could feel the hard press of his erection at the juncture of her thighs—most men would simply run with the opportunity. But then again, Jake Malone wasn’t most men. She knew he couldn’t offer her what she wanted long-term, but for tonight he’d be hers.

  “I’m sure,” she said, canting her hips against his in blatant invitation.

  He groaned and swooped in for a kiss, his mouth hot and demanding, their tongues tangling impatiently. He tasted good and felt even better. She moaned into his mouth and they strained against one another. She slid her hands beneath his shirt and explored his back. Velvet skin over well-formed muscles. He cupped her breast through the layers of T-shirt and sweatshirt and she ached for more. He dragged his mouth from hers, his breathing ragged.

  “Wrap your arms around my neck again,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “Because, Ms. Dawkins—” he slowly traced a circle around her nipple with his index finger “—we’re going to slow this down. I’ve waited too damn long for you to rush this now.” Yes! He’d wanted her from the beginning, too. He brushed his finger over her hardened point and it was like a direct line from her breast to the slick heat between her thighs. Was he trying to make her crazy? He was doing a good job. “I’m going to carry you back into my room—”

  “But the glass.” She still had a little sense left.

  He cupped her breast in his hand. “I guess we’ll both have to stay there. Because I’m not going to make love to you in one of my brothers’ beds. I want you in mine.”

  Well, then. If he kept touching her like this and saying things like that, he could have her right here in the hall if he wanted to. But the bed probably was a better idea.

  She wrapped her hands around his neck again. “Ready when you are.”

  JAKE SHOULDERED BACK through his bedroom door. There was no way in hell she was sleeping anywhere but his bed tonight. He’d wanted her from day one. God help him, he’d tried, he’d really tried. He’d made sure he was out of the office on days she was scheduled to come in. He’d tried to stay away tonight and he couldn’t.

  Her head against his shoulder, she laughed softly. “I guess I can say you walked across broken glass for me.”

  “Twice.” Jake smiled at her whimsy. That was part of her charm—the mixture of practical businesswoman and romantic. He might not be capable of giving her what she wanted long-term, but tonight he’d offer her everything he had.

  He settled her on the bed and then stood back to look. “You are beautiful,” he said. And she was.

  “You are obviously delusional, but thank you.” She glanced at the lantern on the nightstand. “You can turn that off.”

  “I will if you want me to, but I’d really, really like to see you naked.” Whoa. Maybe that sounded a little crass. “I mean, I’ve thought about you naked a lot—” Way to go, hoss. That was way better than I’d like to see you naked. Now he sounded like a pervert.

  “You have?”

  She didn’t sound or look offended. Actually, she looked kind of pleased. And since confession was reportedly good for the soul… “Yeah. I have. Numerous times.”

  “Oh, good. Me, too.”

  “You’ve thought about me naked?”

  She settled back on her elbows and the expression in her eyes sent his dick into warp mode. “More times than I can count.”

  Well damn. That was both arousing and intimidating. She’d mentioned a big stick earlier. He was comfortable with his stick but what if it wasn’t as big as she’d imagined? “I can turn the lantern off.”

  She looked up at him and the courage and trust in her eyes stole his breath away. “I’m not a Playboy centerfold—”

  “Honey, I’m no male porn star.”

  She smiled. “I’m willing to leave it on if you are.”

  “On it is.” And then, because he figured she’d be less self-conscious if he got naked first, he pulled his T-shirt off.

  “Oh.” She sat up.

  “Oh?” She hadn’t sounded disappointed.

  With a sly smile, she knelt on the mattress. She reached out and trailed her finger along his skin. “I like your chest hair.”

  “I’m glad.” That was a relief. Men without body hair seemed to be in vogue these days and that wasn’t him.

  “Not nearly as glad as I am.” Goldie leaned forward and scattered a series of quick kisses over his chest, ending with a wicked swipe of her pink tongue across one of his flat, male nipples. A fireball rushed through him. He hooked his thumbs in his sweats and pulled them down and off.

  “Oh. My.” There was no mistaking the appreciation in her blue eyes.

  He smiled and reached for her. “I take it you approve.”

  “Definitely.”

  He settled on the bed, propping himself on one arm. “Then for God’s sake, woman, put me out of my misery.”

  “Misery?”

  He grinned. “I will be in absolute, utter misery until I see you naked again.”

  Her smile teased as she pulled his sweatshirt over her head and off. “Better?”

  Her nipples thrust against the T-shirt in rigid attention. “We’re getting there.”

  She reached beneath the hem of the shirt and shimmied the pajama bottoms down and off, leaving her legs bare but her upper thighs and torso covered. Her legs were slender, yet toned. In about two seconds, or less, he mentally had them wrapped around his waist.

  “Come here,” he said. “You’re like the Christmas present I’ve been waiting to open since before Thanksgiving.” He settled back against the headboard and tugged her to him. On her knees, she straddled his thighs.

  There was a nervous, shy edge to her smile. “Then I guess it’s Christmas in May. Unwrap me.”

  His hands weren’t quite steady as he caught the hem of the T-shirt and tugged it up and off her.
For a second, time stood still. Goldie wasn’t just another naked woman in his bed. She was the embodiment of womanhood, and she was his…at least for tonight. Full, round, rose-tipped breasts, smooth alabaster skin, and at the juncture of her thighs, a trim dark triangle of curls. He forced himself to breathe. “You are absolutely perfect.”

  NO MAN HAD EVER looked at her the way Jake did. A heady combination of lust and reverence shone in his eyes. And for that moment, she felt perfect.

  He pulled her down to the mattress to lie beside him. He looked at her from head to toe, his glance leaving a trail of fire in its wake. He cradled her head in his big hand, his eyes fathomless. She smoothed her hands over his muscled shoulders, reveling in the feel of him beneath her fingertips. Everything else faded to nothing as her senses became focused on the two of them.

  It became a mutual exploration of one another. With his mouth, his touch, his whispered words, he wooed her.

  “I’ve waited so long to do this,” he said, scattering kisses down her neck, across her collarbone, until he reached her breasts. Her heart raced and she buried her hands in his hair, gasping as he flicked his tongue against her nipple. First one and then the other, winding her spring of wanting inside her tighter and tighter.

  “And this…” While he licked and sucked her sensitive nipples, he skimmed his hand over her belly and the curve of her hip. Her muscles clenched in anticipation of his touch. He stroked her inner thigh and ran his fingers along her skin, almost but not quite touching her where she ached to be touched. Finally, he dipped his finger into her wet slickness.

  “Yes, oh, yes.” She almost didn’t recognize her own voice.

  She reached between them and stroked the length of him. He was all ridged velvet stretched taut. She loved the feel of his heat, his hardness against her palm and fingers. He moaned and pulsed beneath her touch. She stroked up him, catching a small pearl of moisture on the tip of her finger, then smoothed it back down his length.

  Finally, it was no longer enough to touch and be touched. She didn’t just want him inside her, she needed him inside her as desperately as she needed her next breath.

  “Do you have—”

  “Yes.”

  It could’ve been awkward as he retrieved a condom from the nightstand and rolled it on, but it wasn’t. It was simply the next step in the journey they were taking together.

  They both gasped in pleasure as he entered her. She was tight and wet and he was just the right size to stretch her and fill her. Fully in her, he paused and she pulsed around him. “Oh, honey…”

  “I know,” she said. It was as if they were custom-made for one another. And it wasn’t only physically—it was as if they were tuned into what each other wanted and how they wanted it.

  With each stroke, they shared a give-and-take, gaining momentum. Everything became distilled to just the two of them. The need for release, the need to give pleasure. When her orgasm rolled through her it was unlike anything she’d experienced before. Jake took her and went with her to a new place. It was a place she never wanted to leave.

  6

  “MORNING.”

  Goldie blinked, momentarily disoriented. Oh, yeah, Jake’s bed, Jake’s cabin, mind-boggling sex a couple of times in the night. She was with the program pronto.

  “Morning.” For about one millisecond she considered being embarrassed about what had happened last night, but she equally quickly dismissed the silly notion. They were both adults and they’d both had a good time. A very good time.

  And there were more pressing issues. She needed to brush her teeth. She wasn’t about to risk turning off the sexiest, most interesting man she’d ever found herself in bed with when halitosis was an easily addressed issue. “Is there a spare toothbrush in the bathroom?”

  He grinned and nodded. “Let me pull on my jeans and shoes and I’ll give you a piggyback ride over to see.”

  “A naked piggyback ride?”

  “It sounds like just the way to start the day.” The way he looked at her changed her insides to mush. “I may never clean that glass up.”

  Goldie liked the fact that there was no awkwardness, no self-consciousness between them. She watched him rise from the bed sporting an early morning hard-on. He certainly had a nice package. Not so big a woman wanted to beg her partner to keep that thing away from her and not so small that she wondered if it was in. She’d definitely known it was in.

  And the rest of him was more than easy on the eyes. Well-shaped, muscular legs, an extremely nice male derriere, trim waist, and once again she exalted in the hair on his chest. That was nice—very nice. What the heck, it was all nice.

  He pulled on his jeans and shot her an amused glance. “You through looking?”

  Totally unabashed, she smiled back at him. “For now.”

  “Then climb on, babe.”

  Hmm. They’d seen one another naked but that had been in lantern light. This was different. He was about to see her in all her bare splendor. She hesitated. Her thighs could be tighter, her belly flatter and her breasts definitely perkier. Then again, he’d liked it all well enough last night. She threw off her self-consciousness along with the covers. The flicker in his eyes said he didn’t see a thing wrong with what he was looking at. Good nonverbal response.

  “Are you through looking?” she asked.

  “Not by a long shot. But if you don’t get on now, you can forget about brushing your teeth.”

  Yes. That was precisely the thing to say. She started to roll to her knees and her body put up a screaming protest.

  Jake noticed her hesitation. “You okay?”

  “Fine.” The best cure for a sore muscle group was another workout, which was precisely what she had in mind.

  She climbed on his back and he didn’t even try to hide his groan. “It’s definitely decided. I’m not cleaning up the glass…and I forbid you to, either.”

  She wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing her mound against his bare back, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “You forbid me?” She flicked her tongue against the skin right behind his ear and rubbed her nipples against his back.

  “Goldie, you keep that up and we’re definitely not going to make it into the bathroom.”

  She laughed, loving the way he made her feel, as if she was the sexiest woman on the planet and he couldn’t keep his hands off her. “I’ll behave.”

  “Well, don’t behave too much.” He skimmed the back of her calf with his hand.

  “Count on it…as soon as I’ve brushed my teeth.”

  Chuckling, Jake made quick work of carrying her to the bathroom. Riding piggyback naked was a decidedly erotic experience—one she could get used to with him. Who was she kidding? She could get used to a lot of things with him…only now wasn’t the time or place to think such crazy thoughts.

  He deposited her at the bathroom door. “I’m not much of a cook, but are you hungry?”

  It was kind of embarrassing to admit, because she obviously had plenty of flesh on her bones, but she was ravenous. Good sex could work up quite the appetite. “I am. But give me a minute—and a T-shirt—and I’ll cook.”

  His grin stole her breath. “That’s a deal. There’s a package of spare toothbrushes in the cabinet under the sink. Chad’s anal about that kind of thing.” He would be. “Help yourself.”

  Once she closed the door behind Jake, Goldie glanced in the mirror and then wished she hadn’t. Ouch. Her hair looked as if it’d been put through a blender. Good God almighty. But Jake hadn’t seemed to notice or if he had noticed, he hadn’t seemed to care. She certainly hadn’t caught any expressions of horror on his face. Quite the contrary.

  She found a fresh toothbrush and took care of that, also finding mouthwash and gargling for good measure. She finger combed her hair and washed her face. Opening the bathroom door, she discovered a T-shirt folded neatly on the floor outside, which she promptly donned.

  A quick glance in the bedroom showed he’d cleaned up the lamp
debris while she’d been in the bathroom. She found Jake in the den.

  “The power’s still out,” he said, “and until the rain stops and the water subsides, I’m sure Rotter’s Creek is impassable. We’re stuck here until we can cross the creek.”

  “Oh.”

  “The good news is we’ve got a gas stove, so we can still eat.”

  Correction, she thought, the good news was that they were stuck. He might be forbidden fruit, but if a girl was stuck, a girl was stuck. She had to take the necessary means to amuse herself.

  “What about the hot water heater? Gas or electric?” She could use a shower.

  “Unfortunately, electric. But it should still have about a shower’s worth stored in it.”

  “It’s all doable.” But mostly he was doable. “How about we eat first?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Typical man.”

  Goldie had seen eggs in the fridge the night before. She took quick stock of the cabinets. Beans, an unopened jar of salsa. This could work. She turned to Jake, who stood propped in the doorway, silently watching as if he was perfectly content to check her out checking his cabinets’ contents out. “How about huevos rancheros?”

  “You can do that?”

  “I can do that.”

  “You’re a goddess.”

  Goldie laughed and nodded. How was it being with him was so easy? “Of course I am.”

  She pulled all the ingredients out of the cabinet and he straightened from where he’d stood propped in the doorway. “Want me to open those?”

  “I thought you said you were lousy in the kitchen.”

  “I said I couldn’t cook very well. But I open a mean can.”

  “Open away, then.”

  In the meantime, she took eggs and preshredded cheese out of the refrigerator and then dug a large skillet and lid out of the cabinet. Within minutes she’d dumped out the cans, cracked a few eggs—two for him, one for her—and had breakfast simmering on the stove.