His arousal thrust against her. She reached for his zipper, but he stopped her before she could tug it down. “Wait.”
Wait? No way. She’d waited long enough. Not just for tonight, but for him. Her perfect type, so different than what she’d expected. So much more, she could hardly wrap her head around it.
Speaking of wrapping around. She slid her fingers around him through the fabric of his slacks. She wanted him now. She wanted him forever. If he went back to New York it would break her heart, but at least they’d have this moment. Right here, right now.
“Why? I’m ready, Scott.” No way he could tell her he wasn’t. Not with the proof right there in the palm of her hand.
“I am too.” His voice was strained. “But I need you to give me a minute.” He stood. “Please.” He leaned over her to place a searing kiss on her mouth. “There’s something I need to do. I’ll be right back.”
Before she could protest again, he disappeared down the hall. What the hell?
Forty-nine seconds later he returned. The longest almost-minute of her life. A mysterious smile curved his lips as he pulled her from the couch and led her down the hall.
In his bedroom, dozens of candles lit the room with a warm, flickering glow. Soft music played. A vase of roses sat on the dresser. Smaller vases graced the nightstands. Another mixed arrangement of tulips and roses, tied with a pink ribbon, lay on the bed. A scattering of rose petals lay atop the gray comforter.
Gail gasped. “You knew I’d come back here with you?” Was she flattered or insulted?
“No, but I hoped. Desperately wanted. Didn’t assume.” Scott shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it on the chair in the corner. “But I wanted to be prepared. Just in case.” He loosened his tie and slipped it off, then undid the top few buttons of his shirt.
He smoothed a tendril of hair behind her ear. She shivered. His dark, intense gaze searched hers. “I wanted our first time to be perfect.” He took a step closer so only a breath separated them. “In every way.”
She traced her finger over his jaw. The stubble scratched the sensitive pad. “It’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.” She kissed him. “Not just tonight. Your tokens and notes. All of it. I’ve never really given a second thought to Valentine’s Day, but this one, I’ll never forget.”
He wrapped one arm around her waist and took her hand in his. Bringing their bodies flush, he swayed to the music. His cheek rested against hers. The soft exhale of his breath stirred her hair. A delicate shiver danced through her.
He kissed her. His lips nibbled at hers, then unerringly moved along her jaw to the sensitive spot behind her ear. He turned her gently so her back was to him. The zipper of her dress rasped as he pulled it down. His knuckles brushed her spine.
He eased the silk over her hips, leaving her clad in lacy red panties and a matching bra. She’d never owned anything as sexy in her life. She’d bought them for tonight, because she too had been hoping. Wanting. Prepared just in case, but not assuming. She stepped out of the dress and then turned to face him. His thumb slipped beneath the band of the panties to brush her stomach. Longing built. Spread.
Scott dropped to his knees and placed a searing, open-mouthed kiss on her navel. He tilted his head up. “I feel like a warrior of old come home to worship the beauty of the maiden left behind.”
The words should have sounded corny. A line to get her in exactly this state of undress. But coming from Scott, the sentiment was sincere, honest, and made her go weak in the knees. The look in his eyes was something she’d remember until her dying day.
She brushed a strand of dark hair off his forehead, then took his hand and pulled him to his feet. With trembling fingers, she undid the rest of the buttons on his shirt. He shrugged out of it and tossed it in the direction of the chair. It missed and fell to the floor.
Well what do you know? Beneath the suit and tie of a staid executive was the body of Adonis.
She ran her hands over his shoulders, down his chest, to the waistband of his pants. Her fingers fumbled, but she managed the zipper, easing it over the straining jut of his arousal. Along with his boxers, she pushed the slacks down his legs. He kicked them aside.
Dragging one hand across the defined muscles of his abs, Gail walked around him in a slow circle to feast her eyes on his naked backside. She bit her lip to stem the urge to take a bite out of one of the high, firm cheeks.
“Pink Jumpsuit had it right all along.”
“What?” The word was a choked laugh.
“You’ve got the nicest ass I’ve ever seen.” When her fingernails scraped over it, the muscles tensed and flexed, but he threw back his head and laughed out loud.
“There’s no need to bring her into this.” Taking Gail’s hand, Scott guided her to his front, wrapped his arms around her, and eased her down on the bed. Flickering candlelight danced around them. He pulled a single rose from the bouquet. With a feather light touch, he brushed the bloom across her collar bone, then down between her breasts. The silky petals caressed her like a soft whisper. He drew the flower across her nipple then lowered his head to suck the tightened peak into his mouth. A shudder trembled through her. Moist heat gathered between her thighs.
Leaving the flower to rest on her hipbone, he skimmed his fingers beneath her panties before sliding them off. His open palm grazed along her calf to the back of her knee as he hitched her leg over his.
While his hands stroked across her skin, his mouth ravaged hers as he bestowed nibbles and bites and licks. His teeth scraped her lower lip. His tongue darted out to soothe.
The wild beat of his heart thundered against hers, encouraging it to match the frantic pace. The hard length of him thrust against her. Ready. Demanding. He yanked open the drawer in the nightstand and removed a square packet. After, tearing it open in a quick, jerky movement, he rolled on the protective sheath.
Her body ached to be filled. And in the age-old language of lovers’ souls, his answered, and he slid into the damp center of her heat.
The delicious friction sent a spiral of sensations into her womb. They tightened and whirled before bursting open and zinging along her nerves. Her body trembled, her blood sang, and her heart soared.
Scott pushed deeper before his muscles tensed, then tremored as his release crashed through him. His hips rocked against hers. His harsh breath whooshed against her neck.
For endless, timeless moments, bodies, hearts, and souls entwined.
Later, Gail ran her finger through the soft whirl of hair around his flat nipple. She hated to ruin the absolute contentment flowing through her, but she had to know. This moment, right here and now, would either be the beginning of the rest of her life, or the end of it. “I know this probably isn’t the best time to ask, but have you made a decision about what you’re going to do with the company?”
“Yes.”
The speed of his response threw her. Although she asked, she hadn’t really expected a definite answer right away. Was she ready to hear it? No, but… “And?”
“I’m not selling Thompson and Sons.”
Staggering relief spread through her. She pushed up on her elbow so she could see his face. “Why not?”
He smiled, slow and sexy. “After this, you have to ask?”
“Because of me?” Elation coupled with trepidation filled her. He wasn’t leaving. But making a decision about the rest of his life because of someone he’d only known a month or so? Was he being rational, or letting his emotion, or worse his libido, lead him?
“Of course because of you.” He kissed her nose. “Not to mention small town life is growing on me.”
“Are you sure? Because you’re giving up the future you planned in order to stay here.”
“No, my love, I’m gaining the only future I want. The one with you in it. The only thing I’m giving up is the mistaken belief that there’s no such thing as love at first sight.”
Gail gasped. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?
> He framed her face in his hands and placed a tender kiss on her lips. “I’m falling in love with you, Gail.” He kissed her again. “Or maybe I’m already there. I’ve never felt like this before.”
Tears pricked her eyes. “Neither have I.” Not by a long shot.
“When I look back fifty years from now, and you’re still beside me, I’ll always remember this day. A day of firsts. It was the first time I sent you flowers. The first time you said yes to an official dinner date. The first time we made love.” His eyes darkened. “And it was when I realized for the first time what love really is.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Gail.” The words melted into a kiss and settled deep into her heart and soul, illuminating the certain future ahead.
A word about the author…
Debra St. John has been reading and writing romance since high school. She always dreamed about publishing a romance novel some day. Her dream came true when she started writing sultry contemporary romance with sexy heroes and spunky heroines for The Wild Rose Press. Although she’s a country gal at heart, she lives in a suburb of Chicago with her husband, who is her real-life hero.
~*~
Other titles in the Holidays at The Corral Series:
Christmas at The Corral
Thank you for purchasing
this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Valentine's Day at the Corral Page 5
